Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past

Robert F. Rea (PhD, St. Louis University) is professor of church history at Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, Illinois.

Robert Rea provides us with a passionate yet reasoned defense of church history in this thought-provoking study. Having been formed both intellectually and spiritually in a Protestant tradition that prioritized the Bible as the source of God's revelation to humankind, Rea discovered the wisdom of the church fathers and their successors in the course of his academic training. He presents in this book the fruit of years spent studying and teaching the ideas of Christian thinkers who flourished in the centuries after Jesus Christ and his apostles, with close attention to their historical circumstances. This is essential reading for all who teach or study church history or historical theology - two fields which Rea would prefer not to separate - since it offers not only an overview of the methods and concerns of theologians in the past but also important insights into how their work is received by Christian commentators in the present day.
-Mary Cunningham,
University of Nottingham, England

Robert Rea has done something unique in this volume. He has dispelled the false notion that knowing the Bible makes understanding church history irrelevant. He has made church history a vital cornerstone for those who desire to serve the church well today and into the future. He has done this by taking the time to tie it deliberately and directly to the local church and practical ministry. Written by a veteran of the classroom and the church, this volume serves both venues well.
-William R. Baker,
Hope International University

Robert Rea, who describes himself as a 'Bible-focused' Christian believer, wants others who focus on the Bible to take church history seriously. His careful, thought-provoking study shows why there is no biblical reason to fear 'tradition' properly understood, but every reason to heed believers from the past as guides to Christian life today. Most importantly, the book is successful in explaining why full commitment to Scripture demands close and respectful attention to the past.
-Mark Noll,
University of Notre Dame

Church history is the most important subject in the theological curriculum. I say this not only because I am a church historian but simply because it is true. Without a good grasp of the history of God's people through the ages one cannot understand the Bible, doctrine, ethics, ecumenism, spiritual formation or any other topic related to the life of faith. Robert Rea has given us here a readable and compelling statement of why that is so. This is a great primer for the study of Christian history in all of its multicolored meanings and forms.
-Timothy George,
Beeson Divinity School of Samford University

"Robert Rea, who describes himself as a 'Bible-focused' Christian believer, wants others who focus on the Bible to take church history seriously. His careful, thought-provoking study shows why there is no biblical reason to fear 'tradition' properly understood, but every reason to heed believers from the past as guides to Christian life today. Most importantly, the book is successful in explaining why full commitment to Scripture demands close and respectful attention to the past."

-- Mark Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame

"A thoughtful introduction to the use of the history of Christianity within our Christian lives and Christian communities. Rea deserves our thanks for a thoughtful and useful book."

-- Mark Granquist, World World, 37/1, Winter 2017

"I agree wholeheartedly with Rea: we need church history, and we can use it while affirming our commitment to Scripture. . . . I welcome that call, and I echo many of his explanations for how church history helps and how neglect of it impoverishes our churches. This book is a useful starting point for the pastor and layperson who want to know and discuss why church history matters."

-- Matt Shrader, Baptist Bulletin, November/December 2015

"This is a helpful volume that belongs in religious library collections. It is a perceptive treatment that convincingly argues about the significance of Christian history."

-- Michael W. Campbell, Journal of Asia Adventist Seminary, 16.2 (2013)

"Rea provides an accessible and compelling case for why and how the study of church history can actually serve the faith of Bible-focused Christians. Therefore, it would serve as an excellent textbook in a Christian college or seminary class, when many students are only beginning to taste the riches our historic faith has to offer."

-- Shane Shaddix, Themelios, April 2015, 40:1

"Rea is to be commended for making a cogent argument for the importance of historical theology to an audience that typically neglects it."

-- Jeremy Sabella, Catholic Historical Review, Winter 2016