The Spreading Flame: The Rise and Progress of Christianity from its First Beginnings to the Conversion of the English - Softcover

Frederick Fyvie Bruce; F.F. Bruce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802818056 ISBN 13: 9780802818058

Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co, 1980

Synopsis

In this history of the early Christian Church, Professor Bruce divides the complex story into three sections. The first, "The Dawn of Christianity," deals with the Church from its infancy to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The second section, "The Growing Day," continues the story up to the accession of Constantine in A.D. 313 and the Church's consequent official status. "Light in the West," the final part, is about Christianity in Rome and its spread to the British Isles after the barbarian invasion. The picture that emerges is of the Church as an unquenchable spiritual force organized for tribulation, whose spiritual resources are never more unlimited than in times of seeming disaster.

A wealth of quotations from Jewish and classical sources, combined with F.F. Bruce's straightforward style, make this book a valuable contribution to the study of the history of the Church.

About this title

About the Author

F.F. Bruce (1910--1990) was Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester, England. He wrote more than forty commentaries and other widely used books, including Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, The Acts of the Apostles, The Gospel of John, and The Message of the New Testament. He served as general editor of The New International Commentary on the New Testament from 1962 to 1990.

Review

"This is the work of a most painstaking student and scholar well abreast of the latest historical research.... It shows abundant evidence of wide and careful study and gives us a concise and very readable account of the origins of the Christian Church, its chequered history, the heresies which challenged it, as well as the development of its worship, discipline and government.... It proves a valuable handbook for the theological student and for the ordinary keen Church member." The English Churchman

Edition details

• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co
• Publication date: 1980
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802818056
• ISBN 13: 9780802818058
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432