Book Review: The 40 Most Infulential Christians {Bethany House}

The 40 Most Influential Christians Who Shaped What We Believe Today by Daryl Aaron
ISBN: 9780764210846
Paperback, 304 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Retail: $14.99

About the book (from the back cover):

Learn from the greatest teachers and thinkers in Christian history. The Bible is the bedrock of Christian belief, yet how Christians think and talk about God, the Bible, and faith has been shaped by influential thinkers from the first century right up through the twentieth. In this book, Dr. Daryl Aaron tells the powerful stories of forty who have helped us better understand what we believe and why we believe it. 

With insight-and some surprises-Dr. Aaron explores the lives and most important teachings of these giants of church history, from Justin Martyr and Augustine to Martin Luther, John Calvin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and many others, underscoring how their teaching has influenced the church-for better, or, occasionally, for worse.

Let your faith be strengthened as you encounter those who paved the way for us, often risking their lives for the sake of the very beliefs we hold today. 

About the Author, Dr. Daryl Aaron (from pg 303):

Daryl Aaron earned his MA at the University of Texas at Dallas, his ThM at Dallas Theological Seminary, his DMin at Bethel Theological Seminary, and his PhD at Graduate Theological Foundation. He spent fourteen years in pastoral ministry and now teaches at Northwestern College, where he is Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies. Dr. Aaron lives in Mounds View, Minnesota, with his wife, Marilyn. They have one daughter, Kimberly, who is a graduate of Northwestern College.  

My thoughts

Absolutely excellent! When the book first was available to me for review, I was somewhat hesitant to select it because to say "the 40 most" is quite specific. The concern I had was that the author, who I've not read any of his works before, would be biased and only include who he thought was beneficial. I will admit that I, after the fact, would like to have more information on the tertiary Christians that he barely mentions, such as Arius when talking about Athanasius, or Chrysostom when talking about Theodore of Mopsuestia. But I gather the reason Aaron only mentions these others are because their contributions were the result of faction, or they were deemed heretical, both of those in regards to Arius, or such as Chyrsostom, the work they contributed was expounded on more fully by later Christians. Even so, these also helped solidify beliefs of Christians. Aaron's words on the title of the book:

Regarding the title of this book...Please understand that I am not under the illusion that I have nailed the definitive top 40 list of theologians...I thought a more accurate title would be 40 of the Most Influential Christians Who Shaped What We Believe Today, in the Humble Opinion of One Particular Writer, but that seemed a little unwieldy to the publisher. Good arguments can be made that some of these should not have made it while others should have. (pg 13)

My thought is that the title would have been perfect if it were written hundreds of years ago! But really I think it would be better without "The". Each of the individuals in the book have indeed had quite a bit of influence on Christian belief; they were most influential, but not the most influential.

The writing style is very easy to follow, even for someone who has very little exposure to 'theology' and/or has a very basic knowledge of theology and church history {that'd be me}. I've read George Hodges' Saints and Heroes to the End of the Middle Ages and his Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages, {both of those are Amazon affiliate links} which acquainted me with some of the names in Aaron's book. This book, The 40 Most Influential Christians, actually has forty-two Christians who shaped Christian beliefs. Each chapter starts with a historical setting to give context -we can see where the individual was coming from in life, where they went and who they came into contact with, through their personal life and/or writings and ideas of the time. Next it talks about contributions that were made by the individual. Finally, the author includes a conclusion- this pretty much is how the person's contributions had affected beliefs to that point. Aaron says: 

Regarding format, each chapter will be divided into three main sections with two subparts: context (theological and biographical), contribution (theological and bibliographical), and conclusion (theological and personal)...What is most important in what follows is not getting to know these great Christian thinkers better, nor is it understanding theology better (in and of itself); rather, what is most important is getting to know God better. After all, our Savior, Jesus Christ, commanded us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). There are the stories of Christians who were trying to do that and trying to help others as well. (pg 14, 15)

I learned quite a bit of where a belief of today stemmed from and who spread it, and found it was generally because of their position, but not always. Also, there is a section titled "Brief Interlude: Meanwhile in Rome (or at least in Trent)" where we are enlightened with some beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, which to this point personally I had been fairly unaware. 

Going back to the writing style: for the most part the information is presented in a no-nonsense fashion. The facts are given, the works are offered, a conclusion is made. However, occasionally Aaron inputs his own personal beliefs into this {would you really expect anything different?}, but more often he imbues the information with a little humor. Not much but it is there and I like it. I'll give you an example of both (with my own emphasis added):

As a Protestant and evangelical, I would share these concerns; however, I also appreciate and applaud the intent of Christian mystics overall--to draw closer to God in experiential relationship. (pg 147, "Julian of Norwich, Monastic Mystic")

Scholastic theology at this time focused on the integration of theology (revelation) and philosophy (reason), so it stands to reason (no pun intended) that the thought of Aristotle would attract attention. (pg 135, "Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor")

At the back of the book are two things that I appreciate: Creeds (The Creed of Nicea & The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) & Resources, which includes both primary and secondary sources that I gather Aaron used to write this book. I love being able to read other books or articles on the subject presented in a book I am reading. He does include many footnotes throughout the book as well, which I also like.

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in history of the church and Christianity. I don't imagine those who are partial to the beliefs that were considered heretical (such as Arianism) would find this to be too terribly beneficial, I still think for the sake of knowledge it would be good. I would definitely recommend it to those looking to strengthen their beliefs- whether they agree with the "Christian" beliefs of today or not. I think that going through the book sheds light on why the belief sprang up -we get a glimpse of the brilliance -or lack of- of thought that brought it about. All glory goes to God that allows Christians to be enlightened by his word, the Bible.

One thing I would love to have seen in this book is more. More of the words of the bibliographical contributions of these Christians. More of the "why" they believed the way they did. We are only presented with enough to give us a basic foundation to move onto the next Christian who shaped the beliefs. I do think that in order to do that, though, the author would have to devote much more time and space to each person, as well as include more people. Perhaps that is just asking too much for this sort of introductory work, as I think of it. Or perhaps a book like I mention already exists and another of its kind is not necessary. Perhaps as stated in the introduction to the book, the focus would change too much by including more. Overall, it is a satisfying and good book. 

***Disclaimer: I received the book, The 40 Most Influential Christians Who Shaped What We Believe Today by Dr. Daryl Aaron, for free from Bethany House publishing for the purpose of an honest review. All opinions stated are my own. This post does contain affiliate links. See Disclosure/Policies.