Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity Book Review

Book Review:
Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity

In this paper, I will review Mark Noll’s Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. I will include a brief biographical sketch of the author and a summary of the content of the first six chapters of the book. In addition, I will include a statement of the author’s purpose and the extent to which he achieves his purpose and a statement on the uniqueness of the book as well. Finally, I will discuss the effect the book has had on me regarding my thoughts on Christian history.
To begin, I will provide a brief biographical sketch of the author gathered from his interview with Carl Olsen of Ignatius Insight. Olsen reveals that Mark Noll is the McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College. He is the co-founder and present director of the Institute for the study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College. Dr. Noll graduated from Wheaton as an English major and from Vanderbilt with his PhD in the History of Christianity in 1975. After four years of Trinity College (IL), Noll joined the Wheaton College faculty in 1979. He is the author of several other books including America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys and Is The Reformation Over? An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism. [1]
Next, I will summarize the content of the first six chapters of Turning Points. In Chapter 1, Noll details the fall of Jerusalem. In this chapter, the author discusses the strife between the Jews and the Roman occupiers of Judea that led to the Jewish revolt that began in Caesarea. He goes on to discuss Titus who wiped out the last of the Jewish revolt at Masada. Noll states that the significance of the destruction of Jerusalem is that it moved Christianity to the broader reaches of the Mediterranean world and beyond. He discusses other issues of the early church such as internal uncertainties on worship, the definition of a New Testament canon and early creedal statements.[2]
In Chapter 2, he talks about the Council of Nicaea. In this chapter, Noll discusses the Council of Nicaea in terms of doctrine, politics and Christendom. To begin, Noll states that the Council of Nicaea focused on who Jesus was in his person and on his work as Savior, rejected Arius and the Arian heresies and developed the Nicene Creed. Noll reveals that the church’s decision about the divinity of Christ had political implications as well concerning the emperor’s relationship to the church. Finally, Noll states that the church became less of a pilgrim community and the faith began to spread.[3]
In Chapter 3, he talks about the Council of Chalcedon. Noll states that after the Council of Nicaea, the question arose concerning how Jesus could be both fully divine and fully human. This controversy led to the Chalcedonian statement. Noll goes on to say Chalcedon’s answer to the question has held through the test of time that Jesus is “one person” with “two natures.” He concludes the chapter with the theological, intellectual and cultural importance of Chalcedon.[4]
In Chapter 4, Noll discusses the monastic rule of Saint Benedict. He states that Benedict’s Rule provided the shape for monasticism in the West. The author states that Benedict’s Rule combined zeal with stability and codified vows of obedience, which led on to vows of poverty and chastity. Noll says the Rule spelled out the theological justifications for important monastic practices and is marked throughout by a concentration on the spiritual realities that monasteries existed to embody.[5]
In Chapter 5, the author converses about the Coronation of Charlemagne. Noll reveals that after Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne the new emperor, Charlemagne took church – state cooperation, fixed it to Europe thereby handing down Christendom to succeeding generations. Noll states, “The fact that, to this day, church establishments of one kind or another exist in most northern and western European countries, long after the majority of European people have stopped practicing the Christian faith, represents a remnant of the Christendom established by Charlemagne’s coronation.”[6]
Finally, in Chapter 6, Noll speaks on the Great Schism. He states that relations between the Eastern and Western churches for centuries had been in decline and schism occurred when Pope Leo captured the Norman troops in 1053 and the Crusades sealed the schism. Noll states that the Great Schism was a major turning point because it brought to a head centuries of East-West cultural disengagement, theological differences and ecclesiastical suspicion.[7]
In this section, I will provide a statement of the author’s purpose and discuss the extent to which he achieves his purpose. To begin, Noll states in the introduction of his book that he wrote the book for lay people and introductory students rather than for scholars. He says that he wrote it with specifically Protestant evangelical Christian presuppositions but that he intends the book to be as fair and as nonpartisan as presuppositions allow. Still yet, Noll reveals that he wrote this book with an intent to “present Christianity as a worldwide religion rather than a faith for just Europeans and North Americans.” Finally, Noll states that if the book inspires others to think about why some turning points are not as important as other turning points, he will consider it a successful book.[8]
In my opinion, Noll achieves his purposes splendidly. The book easy to read and to understand for lay people and beginning students. In addition, Noll points out his biases to the reader when and where they occur so as a reader, I know what views are his versus the unbiased historical perspective. For instance, in Chapter 1, Noll states, “As comfortable as it would make Protestants to think that the New Testament always existed with firm, crisp boundaries marking it off from all other kinds of literature, the existing historical evidence shows that, though the Pauline collection and the fourfold gospel collection were used as authoritative documents from a very early period, it took a process of more than two centuries to define the precise shape of the New Testament.”[9] Moreover, I think he presents Christianity as a worldwide religion quite well with the topics he chose to discuss. The reader can follow history from Jerusalem, Turkey, Rome and North Africa to Germany, France, Switzerland and Ireland. As a reader, I definitely take away from the book that Christianity is a global religion. Finally, I did give thought to the topics he chose as to why they are important. I also considered what other topics he may have chosen to discuss and did not. Reading the introduction, I understand that he chose the important turning points he did because he states he knew something about them from his own teaching and reading.
Next, I will provide a brief statement on the uniqueness of the book. In my opinion, it is a unique book and for reasons stated by Noll himself. One, in studying just a few striking incidents Noll brings some order to a complicated subject. Two, he highlights specific moments of the actual history of the church often obscured. Three, Noll provides an opportunity to interpret why certain incidents may have marked an important fork in the road of Christian history.[10] In addition, this book “provides repeated, concrete demonstrations concerning the irreducibly historical character of the Christian faith,” “provides perspective on the interpretation of Scripture,” “is useful as a laboratory for examining Christian interactions with surrounding culture and “shouts out loud that God sustains the church despite the church’s own frequent efforts to betray its Savior and its own high calling.”[11]
In conclusion, my thoughts on the book are that Noll is an excellent writer and the book well written. Noll is concise yet thorough and easily paints a picture for the reader as if they were there. I think it is a great introductory book for lay people and students of Christian history. I enjoyed the turning points he chose to discuss in this book as well as the hymns, prayers and side notes he included at the beginning, end and throughout each chapter. In addition, the book has had an affect on my thoughts concerning Christian history. After reading this book, I find that Christian history is interesting, important to learn from and it is inspiring. I can see God working throughout the turning points discussed in this book and they are glimpses of him not found anywhere else. Finally, I have a new appreciation of Christian doctrine from reading about the origins of doctrines and how Christians arrived at the conclusions we have to this day.

Bibliography

Noll, Mark A. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. 2nd Ed.
Baker Academic. Grand Rapids, MI. 1997.

Olsen, Carl E. Has The Reformation Ended? An Interview with Dr. Mark Noll.
http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/marknoll intvw sept05.asp.
Sept 05.

[1] Olsen, Carl E., Has The Reformation Ended? An Interview with Dr. Mark Noll, http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/marknoll intvw sept05.asp , p. 1.
[2] Noll, Mark, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, p. 24-45.
[3] Noll, p. 52-62.
[4] Noll, p. 66-81.
[5] Noll, p. 84-94.
[6] Noll, p. 121-122
[7] Noll, p. 130-139.
[8] Noll, p. 13.
[9] Noll, p. 35.
[10] Noll, p. 12.
[11] Noll, p. 15-18