The Early Christians
By Richard Alderson
Day One Publications. 71 pages. £2.95
ISBN 0902 548 778
Dead Yet Still Speaking
By Paul Hill
Day One Publications
32 pages. £1.50
ISBN 0902 548 743
Church history is not the preserve of a minority who are academics. It is of great value to every believer. It recalls God's providence down the centuries and vindicates Jesus's promise: 'I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' It is a privilege to review booklets which give a thrilling picture of the early centuries and a glimpse of the reformers and the Puritans.
Richard Alderson provides a superbly written outline of the early Christians. We meet not only the great leaders but the general run of Christians as they lived, as they witnessed, and as they died to sustain their testimony. It is only 50 years since I read Foakes Jackson's history of the martyrs, yet I still found this booklet deeply moving.
Paul Hill presents a stirring record of Luther, Calvin, the English reformers and Puritans. It is marred by defective proof-reading - on page 17, Brian Edwards's biography of Tyndale should be 'fine' rather than 'find'. More seriously, on page 31 we are urged to worship the martyrs. The vitally important 'not' is missing. There are also minor inaccuracies - the 'Diet' where Luther stood trial was not a church council, but the gathering of German princes convened by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Then also, Hus was not burned in Prague but on the same day as his trial at the Council of Constance.
Of course, we will differ about how wide a survey should be and the authors may justifiably point to the brevity of space available in a booklet. Speaking personally, I would have welcomed some mention of the Lollards and the Anabaptists. But maybe they are already on the agenda for future publications! Meanwhile, I urge church bookstalls to give these booklets a prominent place.
