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Loading... The Division of Christendom: Christianity in the Sixteenth Century (edition 2007)by Hans J. Hillerbrand
Work InformationThe Division of Christendom: Christianity in the Sixteenth Century by Hans J. Hillerbrand
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In The Division of Christendom, revered historian Hans J. Hillerbrand details the events and ideas of the sixteenth century and contends that the Protestant Reformation must be seen as an interplay of religious, political, and economic forces in which religion played a major role. Hillerbrand tells the fascinating story of the ways in which theological disagreements divided the centuries-old Christian church and the roles that leading characters such as Luther, Zwingli, Anabaptists, and Calvin played in establishing new churches, even as Roman Catholicism continued to develop in its own ways. The book covers all significant aspects of this period and interprets these important events in their own context while reflecting on the consequences of the Reformation for later periods and for today. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)270.6Religions History, geographic treatment, biography of Christianity History of Christianity Reformation; Counter reformation (1517-1648)LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Hillerbrand began by setting the stage upon which Luther would burst onto the scene focusing not only on the condition of the Church, but also the political situation in Germany. Then Hillerbrand goes into what he calls “the first phase” of the Reformation in which Luther was the primary focus from 1517 to 1521, then after Luther’s stand at Worms the focus of the Reformation changes from a primarily religious controversy into one that politics begins to dominate in Germany. Yet, Hillerbrand doesn’t stop with Luther and Germany, as he begins describing the reactions to the German events in other territories before they lead to their own Reformation events. The Catholic Church’s response to the spread of Protestantism across Europe, the different forms of Protestantism besides Lutheranism, and the theological debates between all of them were all covered. And at the end of the book Hillerbrand compared the beginning of the 16th-century to the end and how each was different and the same after over 80 years of debate.
While Hillerbrand’s survey of the Reformation is intended for both general audiences and scholars, which he successes in doing, the epilogue of the book is what I believe is the best part of the text. Entitled “Historiography”, Hillerbrand discusses the various ways the Reformation has been covered by historians over the past 500 years and the trends in history as well. But in reviewing his own text, Hillerbrand emphasized the religious aspect that sparked as well as influenced the Reformation and the importance of the events in Germany which determined not only Luther’s but the Reformation’s fate in Europe. By ending the book on this note, Hillerbrand gives his readers much to think about on either to agree or disagree with his conclusion which is one of the many reasons to study history.
The Division of Christendom is a relatively, for 500 pages, compact survey of 16th-century Europe in which things both changed dramatically and yet stayed the same during a transformative time in Western history. As one of the foremost historians of the Reformation, Hans J. Hillerbrand knows this period of history as no one else and just adds to my recommendation to read this book for those interested in the Reformation. ( )