131 Christians Everyone Should Know

by Mark Galli, Ted Olsen, J.I. Packer, et al.

Book Overview

Compiled by the editors of Christian History magazine, this book profiles 131 Christians whose inspiring lives were crucial to our heritage of faith.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080549040X
• ISBN13: 9780805490404
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

131 Christians Everyone Should Know

This is a great short story book for young to old, for bedtime to family times. Recommend it highly.

131 Christians AND Religous people

Good summaries of the people in this book. Just be aware 10-25% of the people in this book could more appropriately be labeled religious as opposed to Christian. Examples include Harry Fosdick, Menno Simons, Aimee McPherson, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila and others.

GOOD FOR DAILY DEVOTIONS

If you're a history buff and a Christian, you will enjoy and be inspired by this extremely readable little book. The summaries of each of the 131 christians are short, to the point, and inspire you to do further research. I think it's a great book to use along with my daily devotions-- one Christian per day!

A wonderful resource for Christians of any stripe...

The approach of this book is extremely simple, yet the product is absolutely fantastic. The editors of Christian History magazine (an outstanding periodical that I would recommend to anyone) have compiled a list of 131 key leaders in the history of Christianity, starting with Ignatius of Antioch and ending with Billy Graham. These key church figures are organized by category (Theologians, Poets, Missionaries, etc.), rather than by chronology, which can be helpful or annoying, depending on the readers' reason for reading it. Each person is described in two to four pages, with an interesting mix of significant events and trivial factoids. As with any list of this nature, one could quibble about their choice of 131 Christians. It seems odd that William and Catherine Booth were given two separate slots when so many other worthy candidates were omitted. Nonetheless, no one will ever agree upon such a selection process, and I'm sure that the editors themselves found it to be a most onerous task. In any case, I used this book as a supplemental text as I studied church history for two seminary courses. These snippets into the lives of my spiritual forefathers were not especially profound but did a fantastic job of summarizing and highlighting the key moments in their lives, while managing to maintain a more engaging storytelling approach than an encyclopedia or other general reference book. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading some fascinating snapshots into the lives of the key players in the story of Christianity. It would serve pastors well in helping to provide context for sermons. It would serve seminarians well as a quick reference to previous coursework that might need refreshing. And it would serve any faithful Christian well who is interested in reading about those who have gone on before us, providing the spiritual landscape that we now inhabit.

Christian history as biography

The good, the bad, and the ugly, they're all here: Preachers, theologians, scientists, philosophers, writers, artists, musicians, martyrs, mystics, 131 Christians (or people who have identified themselves as Christians) in all who have impacted history. And believe me, calling some of these people Christians is a stretch. (Will I see King Henry VIII in heaven when I get there? I guess its not for me to judge, but...) Indeed, not all of these people would be considered saints as some would define sainthood, but there is a certain comfort one can take in the flaws found in many of these individuals. And, of course, many are saints in every sense of the word. In reading about these people one cannot avoid becoming acquainted with the great events of Christian history and the history of the world. But history is about people, and that's where this book shines. Of course, there are some omissions (the omission of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. borders on inexcusable), but for a good reference on figures you've heard about but didn't know very well if at all, this book is hard to beat.