The oral history of Christianity - Owen Collins

This major new study tells the exciting history of the Christian Church though the eyes of those who were actually there.All the most important and dramatic turning points are recorded from eye-witness accounts - from Moses to Martin Luther King.The Oral History of Christianity captures the dramatic events behind the story of the Church using first hand accounts from those who were there. It charts the unfolding development of the Christian faith over almost two thousand years and includes the most important turning points, speeches, declarations and developments.This is a unique book that serves both as a general introduction to history and also a reference tool for students. Just like the news footage of a TV report, these are the actual words that changed the course of world history.Included are such major events as: Christ's Sermon on the Mount about `blessed are the peacemakers', Augustine's `our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you', Martin Luther's `here I stand', and Thomas Cranmer's `I recant of my heresy'. Also quoted are Jonathan Edwards' reflections on the religious passion that swept America and Europe in the eighteenth century, John Wesley as he was banned from the Anglican church, Wilberforce on the abolition of slavery and the Pilgrim Fathers sailing to America. More recent turning points include David Livingstone's `anywhere, so long as it is forward', William Booth on the poverty of England, Bonhoeffer's courageous stand against Hitler and Billy Graham's impact as the most popular preacher the world has ever known.