Church history helps
Much later than promised, here are some of the resources I used to help me prepare for 'The Fire of God: the first 600 years of the church' at King's Church.
Books
The early church, Henry Chadwick. Good for overview and balanced perspective.
The New Lion Handbook: the history of Christianity, Jonathan Hill. It's got colour pictures! Particularly helpful on non-European Christianity but frustratingly sceptical at times.
A History of Christianity, Diarmaid MacCulloch. Absolutely massive. Not quite as generous to the church as he was in his excellent TV series (which you can watch here) but really helpful for considering non-mainstream Christianity and forcing you to think hard and charitably to those who came before us.
Church history in plain language, Bruce L. Shelley. Good for Christian perspective, to stir faith as well as inform.
A new Eusebius, J. Stevenson, rev. W.H.C. Frend. Once you know what's going on in history this is amazing: a collection of documents from the first Christians and their contemporaries. Brings you into closer contact with the people involved.
Audio
Ancient and medieval church history seminary course, David Calhoun at Covenant Theological Seminary (also available on iTunes). I couldn't help being reminded of Reverend Lovejoy by the lecturer's accent but he loves the grace of God and is committed to finding it in history.
Websites
Church history blog, Lex Loizides. Passionate about the glory of God, Lex's blog is full of exciting stories and great quotes.
Christian History Magazine. Lots of articles exploring many aspects of the early church, so you can dig around for what interests you.
New Advent. Huge amounts of original source materials. Not brilliantly laid out but helpful if you're looking for a particular article or person.
Books
The early church, Henry Chadwick. Good for overview and balanced perspective.
The New Lion Handbook: the history of Christianity, Jonathan Hill. It's got colour pictures! Particularly helpful on non-European Christianity but frustratingly sceptical at times.
A History of Christianity, Diarmaid MacCulloch. Absolutely massive. Not quite as generous to the church as he was in his excellent TV series (which you can watch here) but really helpful for considering non-mainstream Christianity and forcing you to think hard and charitably to those who came before us.
Church history in plain language, Bruce L. Shelley. Good for Christian perspective, to stir faith as well as inform.
A new Eusebius, J. Stevenson, rev. W.H.C. Frend. Once you know what's going on in history this is amazing: a collection of documents from the first Christians and their contemporaries. Brings you into closer contact with the people involved.
Audio
Ancient and medieval church history seminary course, David Calhoun at Covenant Theological Seminary (also available on iTunes). I couldn't help being reminded of Reverend Lovejoy by the lecturer's accent but he loves the grace of God and is committed to finding it in history.
Websites
Church history blog, Lex Loizides. Passionate about the glory of God, Lex's blog is full of exciting stories and great quotes.
Christian History Magazine. Lots of articles exploring many aspects of the early church, so you can dig around for what interests you.
New Advent. Huge amounts of original source materials. Not brilliantly laid out but helpful if you're looking for a particular article or person.