The Christian Story, Volumes 1–3 (Oakes): Finding the Church in Church History /

Aquinas and Augustine, Baptists and Anabaptists, Wycliffe and Wesley, homoiousios versus homoousios, Councils and Creeds, Reformation and Counter-Reformation—a lot of information—probably too much for most believers to sort through. Why would anyone want to take on the overwhelming subject of church history?

One good response is to remind ourselves of the famous motto: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” If church history is a litany of mistakes and false starts then it offers an unlimited number of opportunities to learn; it is a great source of practical advice on what not to do. No sect of Christianity is without fault. All of us need significant midcourse corrections to the path our own particular local congregation, denomination or church movement is following. At the risk of offending the reader right from the beginning, all of us teach at least some false doctrines, no matter what religious group we associate with. Church history tells us this has to be true. How are we to determine which changes are most needful right now? What practical steps do we need to take to pursue these changes? Of course, the divinely inspired word of God is the first rule for determining our steps.