Overview

A candid narrative of the good, bad, and ugly of the early church. Where most books dance around the distasteful details of the church’s past, this one puts a spotlight on the negative and positive alike. With one ear attuned to the early church and another to contemporary culture, this book addresses the growing concerns both Christians and non-Christians have about how honest the church has been about its roots. While the facts are not always pretty, this book offers a forthright depiction of early Christianity, beginning with the apostles and ending after the time of Augustine. Sinners and Saints is the first of a four-volume series that humanizes the history of Christianity by honestly examining both the noble and ignoble actions, doctrines, decisions, groups, movements, and practices of past Christians. This book is a frank yet fair assessment of the church’s background to help the reader accurately understand Christianity’s background and recognize how it continues to shape the present.

Full Product Details

9780825444074

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Reviews

Derek Cooper has written a vibrant and energetic account of church history that usually gets forgotten or covered up. He offers no romantic narration of the good old days; instead Cooper lays out many of the absurd, embarrassing, funny, scary, and plain weird things that happened in the early church. You could just as well call it the 'horrible history of the early church' or 'the underbelly of church history.' It will make you laugh, squirm, raise your eyebrows in confusion, and even gross you out. A truly unique entree into early church history! -- (03/16/2018) Finally, a book about Christian history that does not pull any punches. Many tend to view the early church through rose-colored glasses, as a glorious time we should all strive to return to. Cooper's brutally honest portrayal of early Christianity and the surrounding culture reminds the church that we are just as fragile today as the earliest Christians were centuries ago and that there is no shame in being human. Cooper presents a thorough, detailed, user-friendly, and often gritty account of early Christianity that is both highly readable and absolutely fascinating. -- (03/16/2018) Few books these days surprise me, but Derek Cooper's Sinners and Saints has done just that. At times slapstick funny, at times borderline inappropriate, and at times profoundly moving, this book turns the black and white version of the Church's history into living color. As a lifelong reader of Early Church history, I learned new things on every page--things I had never read or heard before about the Church I love so much. It is clear from this powerful book that Derek Cooper loves the Church, the same Church our Lord loves and gave his life for. -- (03/01/2018) In Sinners and Saints, Derek Cooper escorts the reader on a revealing journey through early church history. Lovers of history and those who find history boring will enjoy and learn alike from this engaging book. It also provides a much needed corrective for Christians inclined to idealize and idolize Christian leaders in the past, as well as Christian leaders today--all who are without exception both sinners and saints. -- (03/16/2018) Virtually every family has an 'interesting' past--and the family of God is no different. Derek Cooper uses his skillful mastery of church history to shine a candid yet hope-filled light on the Church, helping us catch glimpses of our brothers and sisters with their makeup off. If you want to know what the Church's past is really like--free from cynicism and dry academic writing--this book is for you. -- (03/16/2018) Early Christianity is marked by the good, the bad, and the (morally) ugly. And people almost never simply fall into just one of those categories, but reflect a mixture of the three. While many Christian treatments of church history tend to emphasize our 'greatest hits' and reflect a tinge of triumphalism, Derek Cooper's Sinners and Saints recognizes the importance of being ruthlessly honest about our past. Such honesty is essential to understanding how God has worked through flawed humans in the past as well as in the present. This Real Story of Early Christianity is a page-turner that recognizes that authenticity in our present Christian witness begins with our willingness to tell the truth about our past. This way of telling our story is honest, compelling, and edifying! -- (03/16/2018)

""Derek Cooper has written a vibrant and energetic account of church history that usually gets forgotten or covered up. He offers no romantic narration of the good old days; instead Cooper lays out many of the absurd, embarrassing, funny, scary, and plain weird things that happened in the early church. You could just as well call it the 'horrible history of the early church' or 'the underbelly of church history.' It will make you laugh, squirm, raise your eyebrows in confusion, and even gross you out. A truly unique entrée into early church history!""--Michael F. Bird, Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia (3/16/2018 12:00:00 AM) ""Finally, a book about Christian history that does not pull any punches. Many tend to view the early church through rose-colored glasses, as a glorious time we should all strive to return to. Cooper's brutally honest portrayal of early Christianity and the surrounding culture reminds the church that we are just as fragile today as the earliest Christians were centuries ago and that there is no shame in being human. Cooper presents a thorough, detailed, user-friendly, and often gritty account of early Christianity that is both highly readable and absolutely fascinating.""--Bill Curtis, President of Christian History Institute (3/16/2018 12:00:00 AM) ""Early Christianity is marked by the good, the bad, and the (morally) ugly. And people almost never simply fall into just one of those categories, but reflect a mixture of the three. While many Christian treatments of church history tend to emphasize our 'greatest hits' and reflect a tinge of triumphalism, Derek Cooper's Sinners and Saints recognizes the importance of being ruthlessly honest about our past. Such honesty is essential to understanding how God has worked through flawed humans in the past as well as in the present. This Real Story of Early Christianity is a page-turner that recognizes that authenticity in our present Christian witness begins with our willingness to tell the truth about our past. This way of telling our story is honest, compelling, and edifying!""--Roy E. Ciampa, Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship (3/16/2018 12:00:00 AM) ""Few books these days surprise me, but Derek Cooper's Sinners and Saints has done just that. At times slapstick funny, at times borderline inappropriate, and at times profoundly moving, this book turns the black and white version of the Church's history into living color. As a lifelong reader of Early Church history, I learned new things on every page--things I had never read or heard before about the Church I love so much. It is clear from this powerful book that Derek Cooper loves the Church, the same Church our Lord loves and gave his life for.""--David W. Peters, author of Post-Traumatic God (3/1/2018 12:00:00 AM) ""In Sinners and Saints, Derek Cooper escorts the reader on a revealing journey through early church history. Lovers of history and those who find history boring will enjoy and learn alike from this engaging book. It also provides a much needed corrective for Christians inclined to idealize and idolize Christian leaders in the past, as well as Christian leaders today--all who are without exception both sinners and saints.""--Carolyn Custis James, author of Finding God in the Margins: The Book of Ruth (3/16/2018 12:00:00 AM) ""Virtually every family has an 'interesting' past--and the family of God is no different. Derek Cooper uses his skillful mastery of church history to shine a candid yet hope-filled light on the Church, helping us catch glimpses of our brothers and sisters with their makeup off. If you want to know what the Church's past is really like--free from cynicism and dry academic writing--this book is for you.""--J. R. Briggs, author of Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure (3/16/2018 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Derek Cooper is associate professor of world Christian history and director of the doctor of ministry program at Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. His other books include Twenty Questions That Shaped the First Twenty Centuries of World Christianity and Christianity and World Religions.

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