As the new year begins, I finally completed the review for a book I’ve had for several months. The Gospel According to Heretics was written to help Bible study students to understand certain ancient Christian heresies from the early church period.

This book is not for beginners. Instead of introducing you to the early church, Mr. Wilhite assumes you are already very familiar with it. This book is not about why Christians teach what they teach. It is about why the heretics taught what they taught. You should read standard books on early church history before you will find this book useful. Although I had studied the early church at the college level a decade ago, I would have benefited from some review before reading this book.

That said, Mr. Wilhite writes a good reference for people who can add it to their other study materials instead of reading it on its own. He explores 10 early “heresies”—variations from orthodoxy—and shows how they justified their spinoff teachings. He uses humor to make his points memorable. This humor is filled with inside jokes and will frustrate readers who are not familiar enough with the material (i.e. Apollinarianism is “God-in-a-bod.”) His ultimate point is that because of these heresies, the church fathers were driven to state their gospel more clearly. The heretics were actually good for the church in the end, although they did need to be removed. Mr. Wilhite also makes the suggestion that Islam can be seen as one of these early heresies, similar in tone and origin to them, but more extreme. This will be viewed as very controversial by many.

Bottom Line: A good academic supplement. Not a great book for light informational reading.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )