Our Help In Ages Past

OUR HELP IN AGES PAST
A Primer in Church History

This work is intended to serve as a short introduction or “primer” in the
study of church history. It presents a brief history of Christianity since its
beginnings in New Testament times to the present. It highlights key people,
events, movements, and ideas in church history, while providing its general
historical context. It also focuses on those who sought diligently to follow
the apostolic faith, as well as those who courageously undertook the work of
renewal, reform, and restoration. An underlying assumption of the study is
that God’s plan for redemption, for discipleship, and for his church has been
revealed in Scripture and was intended to be normative for ages to come.
The book is suitable for individual reading, group study, or classes in church
history. Each chapter is followed by suggestions for further reading, as well
as questions to stimulate reflection, discussion, and scriptural application.
Contents

1. Introduction
2. The New Testament Church
3. Christians in a Hostile World
4. The Church Confronts Heresy
5. Doctrinal Controversies in the Early Church
6. The Emergence of Catholicism and the Middle Ages
7. Luther and the Protestant Reformation
8. The Spread of Protestantism and Reform Movements
9. The Reformation and the Story of the English Bible
10. Anabaptists: Sixteenth-Century Restorationists
11. Denominational Growth and Religious Renewals
12. Modern Challenges to Faith
13. The Restoration of the Ancient Order