THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN BRITAIN
AND IRELAND:
From the First Century to the Twenty–First
By Gerald Bray
Apollos. 693 pages. £39.99
ISBN 978 1 787 941 209
It used to be said that, along with the Bible, every Protestant household in Britain would also possess Fox’s Book of Martyrs and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Here is another book that should be on the shelves of every Christian in Britain and Ireland.
When we are sometimes rightly concerned with the perilous state of the church in this country, it is encouraging to see that, through the ups and downs of the Christian faith in the British Isles over the last two Millennium, Christ is building His church in the good and the bad times.
It is difficult to imagine anyone with better credentials to guide us through this story than Gerald Bray. Not only is he an eminent theologian specialising in doctrine but he is also a first-rate ecclesiastical historian, an expert in canon law, and an excellent linguist to boot. All this enables Bray to admirably succeed in his aim to encourage an understanding of our Christian inheritance in these isles. He manages to be erudite (whilst eschewing copious footnotes, the academic research is evident) and accessible. He adopts a judicious approach to the different periods of Christianity whilst not hiding a strong evangelical faith.
There are continual ‘aha’ moments, when one thinks: ‘That explains that, then’! Every page seems to have new surprising snippets: ‘Modern readers are surprised to discover that Lady Macbeth was a supporter of church reform, but there we are – as so often, truth is stranger than fiction!’ (p.74). One of the unexpected bonuses not often found in history books is the sudden shafts of humour that light up the text. For example, when talking about George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, Bray comments: ‘He is also said to have run naked through the streets filled with the Spirit, something that in the English climate is hard to imagine without supernatural assistance’ (p.349).
This tome does a remarkable job in covering all corners of the British Isles and the different epochs of church history. Whilst being weighed more heavily towards the 16th and 17th centuries (the Reformation and its aftermath) followed by the modern period, the early and medieval era have the shortest chapters. Readers won’t agree with all Bray’s personal reflections and analysis of events, especially when he pulls no punches in the last chapter: ‘The Rivers of Babylon (since 1980)’. However this is also one of the most interesting sections of the book.
Hopefully, when the inevitable second edition is released, some maps could be included with the very helpful tables that are already there. Presumably photos weren’t used to keep the price affordable to all. I found this book so enjoyable and informative that I don’t hesitate to recommend it to all and I have been inspired to take God is Love, another hefty Bray tome, off the shelf to read next!
