Overview: Christian Thinking through the Ages by author David Arnold, is an account of Christian thinking that starts with Jesus of Nazareth’s teaching and then describes how its reception has changed over the last 2,000 years.

Verdict: As noted, Christian Thinking through the Ages takes its reader on a journey through 2,000 years of ideas. It starts with Jesus of Nazareth’s teaching, looks at speculation about Jesus himself and his significance, and describes the attempts to establish uniformity of belief both in the Roman Empire and in the late Middle Ages.

It describes the thinking of medieval monks, schoolmen and friars, of the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment, and goes on to show how the twentieth century’s political horrors led to new theological ideas, most of which have yet to trickle down to the mass of Christians.

I grew up in a very religious household, thus the teachings of Jesus during this time were always freely available to me. These teachings, many delivered in parables, focused on a repentance that would redirect a life to God, a life absolutely obedient to the will of God and following the commandment to love one’s neighbor expressed in Mark 12:28–31.

But sometimes it is hard to find the truth of a historical figure and the truth of what they brought to the world, I get that. I mean, it can be so shrouded in other people’s reactions and what they thought of them that you can hardly see past all that to appreciate the person themselves.

So what author David Arnold does here in his dutifully-constructed new book Christian Thinking through the Ages, is bring forth a profound, yet immaculately balanced, and straightforward learning essay on the subject matter to hand.

One that both allows you to acquire knowledge along the way, perhaps enlightening the reader to aspects they themselves were previously unaware of, whilst at the same time allowing everything to be told in a genuinely cohesive and instructionally lucid manner.

Thus, and as much as this thoroughly beguiling new prose concludes with an explanation of the various ways Christian churches disagree with each other, the book, as a whole, nonetheless ends with the hopeful thought that what Christians have in common and can share with others are the words of Jesus and his sacrifice.

About the Author - David Arnold was born in Hackney in 1933. He was educated at an elementary school and at Christ’s Hospital, was a history scholar of Pembroke College, Oxford, and a fellow commoner of Jesus College, Cambridge. His working life was spent as a schoolmaster, ten years in grammar schools, twelve in independent schools, and twenty in sixth form colleges. He lives in West Sussex, UK.

Official Book Purchase Link