Sometimes we forget to listen to the full story. We like to listen to the powerful and the male[2. To be clear, I do not wish to demonize those who are putting together the Verge Conference. What these men have done to assist the church to see and live the mission of God is beyond anything I have ever accomplished. But the utter absence of vision to see what is missing from their conference just astounds me.] but often not to the full history of God in this world.

Reading the stories of Vibia Perpetua, Hildegard of Bingen, a fresh telling of Martin Luther’s ministry, and countless others who have either been caricatured or forgotten by history helps us to see how “Christian history tethers contemporary faith to ancient wisdom.”[2. From the introduction to A People's History of Christianity] This book is about helping a very forgetful people to remember. Just as Israel lived their faith in God through remembering his deeds of the past, we need to be better storytellers of the church’s history. It is that remembering (but not trying to get back to a better time) that will connect us with the God of our present.

Most engaging, ambitious, and demonstrative of a Christian identity that is broad, rich, and vibrant, is how Butler Bass weaves the stories of history, tying events from the far past with events from the near-recent past. She also weaves stories she learned from books with stories she is telling from her own experience, as well as stories from school: where the story is her learning about another’s story. This exciting backdrop for the study of the material grounds her understanding of how the church does AND OUGHT to relate to its own history. The subtle message implied here is that a church that is out of touch with its history is certainly out of touch with the Holy Spirit. She ends the book with a series of testimonies that show ways in which such an honest faith is one that is living.

My other review is here:
http://uncollusion.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/a-peoples-history-it-is/

http://lifeisafastsong.blogspot.com/2009/09/diana-butler-bass-review.html

Courtney Clark

Butler Bass is a church historian with a knack of communicating text and context of the events that have helped to shape Christianity over the centuries. In addition to an friendly and comfortable writing style the format of the book was also appealing.

She breaks down different historical eras of Church history in to broad categories located within history (The Way, The Cathedral, The Word, The Quest and The River). She then talks about the nature of Christianity as it was understood in the historical context and then for each of these areas and then talks about the devotional and ethical practices that characterize the various eras she discusses.

I would recommend this book as a terrific study book for congregations and people who are interested in knowing more about where the Church has been and done while also suggesting where God might be calling it go and do.

I found the theological basis of the book solid (and not just because she’s an Episcopalian like me) and her understanding of the various streams of the church to be grounded in solid scholarship, faithful observance and broad experience.

Take the time to read this, you won’t be disappointed. I suspect this will be one I’ll refer to again and again.

“At the present juncture of history, Western Christianity is suffering from a bad case of spiritual amnesia.” It is with this premise that Diana Butler Bass begins A People’s History of Christianity. Her contention is that plenty of people – both in the mainstream and within academia – have told the story of Christianity’s triumphal spread throughout the Western world. The problem is that, far too often, that’s the only story that people hear.

She calls this “mainstream” story the “Big-C” story. Because of our spiritual memory loss, Bass explains, we now inhabit “a [post-traditional] world of broken memories – in which some tell history badly, others do not know it at all, and still others use history to manipulate society to their own ends” (7). And, of course, all of us – evangelicals, mainliners, Roman Catholics, conservatives, moderates, liberals and everyone in between – are guilty of too much “forgetting” these days.

At the core of Bass’ concern for helping us recover our lost history is the threat that spiritual amnesia will become permanent: “At the center of the attempt to remember stands a startling question: Is spiritual amnesia a precursor to religious Alzheimer’s, a fatal loss of memory for which there is no cure?” A People’s History tells both smaller stories of faithful Christians that the “Big-C” story has forgotten and it re-tells and re-thinks the traditional narratives of more well-known followers of Christ in the hopes that readers can discover the “generative” Christianity behind the “Big-C” story of Christian triumphalism.

What I like about this book is that it helps readers to see that the stories we all know about Christian history are not always the whole story. A People’s History presents vignette after vignette on topics and people – both familiar and not-so-familiar – that helped me to appreciate the new life that can be found in what so many people consider to be “old and dead” Church history. From the stories of early Christian martyrdom and nonviolence to the new spin on reformation hymns, Bass does a good job of retelling the stories of church history in a way that helps folks to see the “good” of Christian history instead of the “bad.”

Of course, that’s also – in hindsight – my main concern about this book. In an attempt to showcase the ways that Christians have lived like Christians, Bass runs the risk of painting a too rosy picture of our past. Her rationale, it seems, is that if we can just focus on the good things that Christians have done in the past, maybe we can follow their lead and do good things now and in the future. The problem with this is that it leaves out something that Bass is (in the introduction) very concerned with namely, memory. Focusing on the positive aspects of Christian history which point to the radical, “way of life” Christianity of which we ought to be aware (and which we ought to be living) doesn’t excuse us from a knowledge of the many places Christians haven’t gotten it right (something of which “triumphalist” Western Christianity is also forgetful). Our knowledge of ourselves and the story from which we emerge cannot be fruitful if we are only given a picture of how we once got things right.

Moreover, the “remembering” that Bass does in this book focuses far too much (for my taste) on Western Christianity to truly be a “People’s History.” Granted, she acknowledges this limitation of her focus in the introduction but it seems that if she wanted to write an honest history as told by those outside the common narrative – one from which the people of modern Western Christianity would really benefit – she would have included stories of Christians in Latin America, Russia or other “non-Western” regions. Again, this springs from my belief that our “remembering” must be both honest and comprehensive and A People’s History, though encouraging, leaves much to be desired in this regard.

Aside from these criticisms, I did enjoy reading the stories of those who did “get it right” in our past – and I was surprised at some of the stories of major figures of which I was not previously aware. Bass’ book is well-written and will be useful for students of church history so long as it is not read in isolation.

“At the present juncture of history, Western Christianity is suffering from a bad case of spiritual amnesia.” It is with this premise

that Diana Butler Bass begins A People’s History of Christianity. Her contention is that plenty of people – both in the mainstream

and within academia – have told the story of Christianity’s triumphal spread throughout the Western world. The problem is that,

far too often, that’s the only story that people hear.

She calls this “mainstream” story the “Big-C” story. Because of our spiritual memory loss, Bass explains, we now inhabit “a [post

-traditional] world of broken memories – in which some tell history badly, others do not know it at all, and still others use history

to manipulate society to their own ends” (7). And, of course, all of us – evangelicals, mainliners, Roman Catholics, conservatives,

moderates, liberals and everyone in between – are guilty of too much “forgetting” these days.

At the core of Bass’ concern for helping us recover our lost history is the threat that spiritual amnesia will become permanent: “At

the center of the attempt to remember stands a startling question: Is spiritual amnesia a precursor to religious Alzheimer’s, a fatal

loss of memory for which there is no cure?” A People’s History tells both smaller stories of faithful Christians that the “Big-C”

story has forgotten and it re-tells and re-thinks the traditional narratives of more well-known followers of Christ in the hopes that

readers can discover the “generative” Christianity behind the “Big-C” story of Christian triumphalism.

What I like about this book is that it helps readers to see that the stories we all know about Christian history are not always the

whole story. A People’s History presents vignette after vignette on topics and people – both familiar and not-so-familiar – that

helped me to appreciate the new life that can be found in what so many people consider to be “old and dead” Church history.

From the stories of early Christian martyrdom and nonviolence to the new spin on reformation hymns, Bass does a good job of

retelling the stories of church history in a way that helps folks to see the “good” of Christian history instead of the “bad.”

Of course, that’s also – in hindsight – my main concern about this book. In an attempt to showcase the ways that Christians have

lived like Christians, Bass runs the risk of painting a too rosy picture of our past. Her rationale, it seems, is that if we can just focus

on the good things that Christians have done in the past, maybe we can follow their lead and do good things now and in the future.

The problem with this is that it leaves out something that Bass is (in the introduction) very concerned with namely, memory.

Focusing on the positive aspects of Christian history which point to the radical, “way of life” Christianity of which we ought to be

aware (and which we ought to be living) doesn’t excuse us from a knowledge of the many places Christians haven’t gotten it right

(something of which “triumphalist” Western Christianity is also forgetful). Our knowledge of ourselves and the story from which

we emerge cannot be fruitful if we are only given a picture of how we once got things right.

Moreover, the “remembering” that Bass does in this book focuses far too much (for my taste) on Western Christianity to truly be

a “People’s History.” Granted, she acknowledges this limitation of her focus in the introduction but it seems that if she wanted to

write an honest history as told by those outside the common narrative – one from which the people of modern Western

Christianity would really benefit – she would have included stories of Christians in Latin America, Russia or other “non-Western”

regions. Again, this springs from my belief that our “remembering” must be both honest and comprehensive and A People’s

History, though encouraging, leaves much to be desired in this regard.

Aside from these criticisms, I did enjoy reading the stories of those who did “get it right” in our past – and I was surprised at some

of the stories of major figures of which I was not previously aware. Bass’ book is well-written and will be useful for students of

church history so long as it is not read in isolation.

http://gotthammer.blogspot.com/2009/09/peoples-history-of-christianity.html

Being unemployed for 10 months meant a lot of different things. Aside from the obvious concerns of housing and food, I had to sacrifice buying books. Books, for most, are a luxury, especially outside of the more developed nations, but an Asher without a book is like… well… a morose sunshine, it simply doesn’t do. I borrowed books to make do- a begger cannot be a chooser, after all. But there’s simply something magical about owning a book, in my world. I can write in it; underlining, commenting, connecting the dots. And so, like any true addict, I found a way to feed my addiction. It turns out there are these sites spotted throughout the web that offer bloggers a selection of books to choose from and review, and then, in exchange for their review, the blogger gets to keep the book. SCORE!

A while ago, a bit longer than 30 days ago, I’m sure, I recieved a copy of Diana Butler-Bass’ A People’s History of Christianity in the mail. I was skeptical at first; I love history but loathe the way most history is presented: dry and boring and devoid of any true inspiration. Most history books, even those about the Christian tradition, give lost in facts and dates and reporting and lose the most important part of an account: the soul. They forget that the reason these facts are important in the first place is because of the people’s lives that wove them together. Bass’ account of the Christian story is encouraging and allows us all to take a sense of dignity in our ancestors. Where most only remember the great downfalls of our story, this book takes us in to meet little known but amazing heros of the Christian tradition. Her accounts kept me reading and gave me a more positive understanding of our heritage.

http://ashlovinit.blogspot.com/2009/09/addict-finds-way.html

It took me a while to get to this book. It seemed that whenever I had a moment, I would be distracted by another book. I think I was gearing myself up for a tough slog of a read.

After all, unlike most people reviewing this book, I am not a pastor nor a theologian nor do I play one on TV (or Internets). I am one of those “peoples” that Diana Butler Bass’ book attempts to record, far from the power play of Christendom. I just work part time for a non-profit helping women in crisis. I raise my tinies, trying to change the world one life at a time. Sure, my husband is a former pastor and may be one again. Sure, we love to wrangle theology and politics like other couples like to watch So You Think You Can Dance, Canada? But really, I’m just one of those regular folks without the glossy seminary degree or the famous friends or a passing acquaintance with Kierkegaard or the Pope myself. But I follow Jesus because, you see, he changed my life.

But now that I’ve read it? Oh, my. It is for us.

She’s telling our stories. She’s not telling the stories about institutional control or orthodoxy. She’s telling the narratives of our lives throughout history. Christianity is, after all, more than doctrinal wrangles, creeds and violence. It’s also passionate and compassionate, beautiful and inclusive stories.

I think it’s accessible, interesting and, frankly, a good read. I’d love to have read through it with a book group to discuss.

Thanks,
Sarah @ Emerging Mummy

I recently read A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story, the latest book from Diana Butler Bass. Bass takes the reader on a jaunt through the history of the church from the first century right up to today dividing the years into: early, medieval, reformation, modern and contemporary Christianity. In each of these eras Bass examines the particularities of devotion and ethics that characterized the believers of that time. These are each illustrated through stories of Bass’ own life journey and through characters of history – some well known and others less known.

While I am familiar with some of the general themes of church history from my courses in seminary, I found this to be a quality refresher. Addressing devotion and ethics was a somewhat tedious, yet predominantly helpful, mechanism to move through thousands of years of history in one book. I particularly appreciated the attention to particular characters throughout time that sought to love God and their neighbor in their time and place.

I recommend this book to someone that is looking for an introduction to church history and is willing to engage in the stories of individuals. Bass is a quality church historian and writer.

I recently finished Diane Butler Bass’s A People’s History of Christianity. Much like BU Professor Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, Bass focuses on the undercurrents of tradition alongside the established story that “everyone knows” about Christianity.

In doing so, she makes two distinctions from the outset. First, there are at least two different stories of Christianity to be told.

* The first is Big-C Christianity, full of all the triumphilism and conquest and Jesus that we know from history and Sunday School.
* The second is Great-C Christianity, for “Great Commandment”, that traces the stories of people who followed the Greatest Commandment in various ways without subscribing to Christendom.

Bass claims neither is better; she articulates that Triumphilist Christendom understands devotional life better and Great Commandment Christianity understands justice and ethics better. Both are necessary for the Christian life, and thus it is good that both are studied and learned from.

However, Bass is writing a Progressive Christian history, one that understands Tradition not as ways and philosophies that dominate one another, but rather tradition as “making connections though time.” She traces the times and instances, the backstories, the little powerful figures such as Teresa of Avila, the soft side of Augustine, and Abelard’s lover’s tragedy that rarely gets mentioned.

In particular, the latter example of Abelard drew back the curtain a bit more on my favorite Atonement theorist. The extended biography of his secret love, their hidden wedding, and the resulting castration of Abelard by his lover’s family was shocking and Bass’s connection of his experience of ‘rough justice’ and his rejection of violent atonement theories was very interesting. There are many such segments that trace a little-known side of a figure and use it to point towards the subversive history of Great Commandment Christianity.

Here’s a video interview that explains it a bit more: The Ooze TV (or on Youtube)

Personally, while I enjoyed the book, I know why. It seemed more to me like a “Pastor’s History of Christianity” with little nuggets of information that are woven together with lessons…much like a sermon. It’s goal is to persuade that since the beginning there’s been an undercurrent of Progressive Christianity that has only recently begun to rear it head. Since I do identify as Progressive…and I’m a pastor…then obviously it worked for me. But that’s not to say it will be acceptable to everyone.

All in all, I got a lot out of the book, but if you regularly pick apart your pastor’s sermons for factual accuracy and relevant historical lessons…you may want to pass on A People’s History.

Diana begins the book by telling the story of her having dinner with a friend who expressed some consternation at Diana’s ability to hold on to her faith. Her friend says, “I don’t have any trouble with Jesus. It’s all the stuff that happened after Jesus that makes me mad.” This same question rattles around the minds of many both within and without the church.

The answer for me (and for Diana) is that the true history of the Christian faith does not lay in the official history of its structures and theology. “Big C” Christianity as Diana calls it. The true history of the faith lays in the people who have faithfully lived out the message of Jesus in their everyday life. It is like a current flowing through the center of a large river. One only needs to look at the lives of various individuals throughout history to see genuine faith in practice…more often than not they are not the ones leading the Church…Big “C.”

For many, the inability to answer the tough questions of Church history (i.e. how can the church do the things it has done and still call itself Christian?) has caused many to neglect and reject history. This too has led to many problems because it creates an amnesia in the church that causes it to repeat many of the mistakes, heresies, and sinful actions of its past. Diana states, “Thus we inhabit a posttraditional world-a world of broken memory-in which some tell history badly, others do not know it at all, and still others use history to manipulate society to their own ends.”

Diana does a great job of finding some of Church history’s least noticed people (and some its most noticed people) and looking beyond the “official” history. She helps us see them as real people with real struggles, but also a real faith. She also reminds us of the importance of knowing our history…knowing OUR story.

Check out the video of Diana Butler Bass’s interview here.

By Eric Wright
I blog at themergeblog.

I was fortunate enough to take a history of mission course, however, which surveyed quite comprehensively the high points of the propagation of our faith since Adam. It occurred to me then, and even more so after having read A People’s History of Christianity, that the history I received was one marked by conquest – many times of ideas and too often of the sword. Sadly, this has been the prevailing history of our faith passed down through the ages: one that favors the powerful, reinforces institutional religion in all cases, and plays down (or ignores altogether) our more embarrassing moments.

Diana Butler Bass (former New York Times columnist and author of Christianity for the Rest of Us) writes A People’s History in direct challenge to this more popular version of Christian history, which she calls “Big-C Christianity.” According to Bass, a survey of popular understanding of church history reveals that the high points for most Christians are as follows: Christ, Constantine, Christendom, Calvin, and Christian America. This version of Christianity is militant, Bass asserts, a characteristic that runs tragically counter to the values of peace, justice and hospitality that have been the centerpieces of the faith since Jesus. As her subtitle suggests, Bass is setting out to tell “the other side of the story,” one that refuses to serve “as a nostalgia trip to some halcyon faith-filled days of old when the church got it right,” but rather as

… a history of hope – that regular people often “get it” better than the rich, the famous, and the powerful. (310)

Bass’s work will immediately draw comparisons to that of historian Howard Zinn, whose 1980 book A People’s History of the United States made waves with its review and (in many cases) revision of popular American history to offer a less power-centric perspective. Bass’s and Zinn’s common overarching goal about their respective subjects is where the similarities end, however. For one, Bass has about four times the number of years to work with than Zinn, who stretches 500 years of U.S. history into nearly 700 pages of exhaustive content. Bass covers her subject in just over 300 pages, a marvelous feat considering its vastness. Second (and this is a credit to Bass), A People’s History of Christianity is more of a celebration of the streams of our faith that have “worked” than a deconstruction of that which hasn’t. As important as Zinn’s work is for this nation’s public discourse, one cannot say the same about A People’s History of the United States. What’s more, lest the reader think Bass’s book is another installment in the “A People’s History…” franchise, it isn’t. As far as I can tell, there is no connection, and Bass is merely borrowing the title with the hope that her telling of Christian history will do for Christians what Zinn’s version of American history has done for discerning Americans.

In this reviewer’s opinion, it just may. Bass’s work is highly accessible, refusing to labor through murky theological topics and opting instead for the kinds of universally appreciated stories of Christians actually living like Christ. The layout of her book is not linear, but more topical, breaking down Christian history into five parts: The Way (Early Christianity); The Cathedral (Medieval Christianity); The Word (Reformation Christianity); The Quest (Modern Christianity); and The River (Contemporary Christianity). Furthermore, she breaks each section (except the last) out into three sections: an introduction to the issues of the time, a section describing the nature of Christians’ personal faith (Devotion), and a section describing the nature of Christians’ outwardly practiced faith (Ethics). In each section, Bass takes her narrative beyond the hot-button issues of the day to the movements and conversations bubbling right under the surface. She skips over St. Patrick, for instance, opting instead for Celtic pilgrim Brendan. Her section on medieval philosopher Peter Abelard and his lover Heloise (a nun who was also Abelard’s niece) is also not a story one reads in most popular church history texts, but Bass uses their stories to illustrate how “doubt and love merged into spiritual passion.” Provocative indeed.

Lest the reader miss the proverbial forest because of a tree or two, Bass comes back time and again to a few resounding themes consistent throughout Christian history, around which we can surely unite: love, charity, hospitality, and justice.

On charity:

Charity, a word that comprises love and justice, may well be the most sublime of all Christian virtues. Of all of Jesus’s teachings and works, his compassion toward the poor, suffering, and outcast claims the admiration of those even vaguely acquainted with the Christian religion. Oddly enough, however, ministry among the meek often provokes the ire of the established church. And those who serve the poor are often misunderstood and persecuted. (141)

This passage follows Bass’s telling of a story about a minister friend of hers in Memphis who attempted to serve the poor inside the church building, only to face fierce opposition from congregants. We all know of contemporary “radicals” who are met with similar ire because of their unconventional or “messy” methods, so one then reads of the controversial Medieval sect, the Beguines, differently in light of present-day experience. In her interweaving of more recent national or personal examples into her historical narrative, Bass really is at her best. Though not in the least preachy, Bass does not shy away from offering her perspective on the way certain pieces of history ought to be applied, a practice that is very much needed in the conversation but will undoubtedly get her in trouble in certain circles.

For one, Bass is unabashedly high-church (Episcopalian), and her liturgical leanings show themselves throughout A People’s History. She is quite affirming, for instance, of the medieval church’s emphasis on architecture as a primary way of experiencing the Divine. She cannot and should not apologize for her religious heritage, but she could lose a reader or two from the more Evangelical camp as a result.

Another small question I have about Bass’s work is regarding her use of so many virtually unknown figures in Christian history. In her attempt to find those people and movements that we haven’t heard of, might Bass be taking liberties with various parts of history? Might she be undeservedly elevating a few characters to an unrealistic position in order to make her points? I am not familiar enough with Christian history to know for sure, though several of her vignettes did cause me to question. One thing’s for sure: Bass did her homework, consulting the very best previous scholarship had to offer. The proof is in her nearly 25 pages of references at the end of the book. Furthermore, the endorsements of noted Christian historian Philip Jenkins and theologian Walter Brueggemann have to count for something.

For those who wonder how reading Christian history applies to our world today, Bass has an answer in her final section on the contemporary church (1945-present). She passes over a clear opportunity to preach to us her predictions of how the postmodern church will shake out, instead choosing to “interview” a few ordinary Christians for their thoughts. This method is consistent with her aim throughout: to tell inspiring stories rather than resort to the world of dusty facts and propositions.

As one who attempts to live out my faith with a few friends outside the formal religious institution, I was moved to greater devotion and action by the stories of Christian history’s micro-movements of love, many of which flew under the radar screen until now. Bass’s telling of them has a campfire feel, and I found myself leaning into every word. A People’s History of Christianity is not simply one of the most readable and relevant works of Christian history in the last 20 years, it ought to be required reading for all Western Christians. My guess is that even a non-religious person would come away from Bass’s work with a significantly different perspective on the diverse and passionate people that follow a loving and undomesticated Messiah.

- Steve Holt

Here’s a link to my complete review: http://c2rcc.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/57-a-peoples-history-of-christianity-by-diana-butler-bass/

A clip from my review: I haven’t read Howard Zinn’s bestselling novel A People’s History of the United States, although it is on my to-read list (along with 487 other books — I’d better get crackin’). I really like the idea, however, of re-telling history through the eyes of the people who lived it — both those who were powerful, and those who stood up to the powerful. A lot of times contemporary Christians want to throw out all of church history, labeling it old-fashioned and irrelevant. Butler Bass makes the wonderful point that there is so much to learn from the people who came before us, and throwing out this history is detrimental to Christians in 2009.

Too often we view church history, according to author Diana Butler Bass, as “Big-C” Christianity – Christ, Constantine, Christendom, Calvin and Christian America.

This narrow, “Big-C” view ends up portraying our historic faith as merely militant or meaningless to our modern setting.

Diana Butler Bass, in her new book, A People’s History of Christianity, brings the history of the church alive by illustrating and illuminating it’s living tradition, and the community of people who practiced love and mercy throughout the centuries.

Throughout the book, Bass shares our history of faith as being less of a magisterial narrative and more like a collection of campfire tales, that is, discrete stories that embody Christian character, virtue, suffering and a commitment to justice and mercy. In A People’s History of Christianity, it divides church history into it’s major sweeping epochs and then within each of them Bass artfully illustrates the devotional and ethical challenges and transformation by the people of God.

Read the rest at Provocative Church:
http://www.provocativechurch.com/2009/09/when-you-think-of-church-history-what.html

If you or someone you know dismisses Christianity because of the crusades, or the inquisition, or bad popes, this may be a book that should be read. The author divides church history into five parts:
1.The Way: Early Christianity, 100-500
2. The Catherdral: Medieval Christianity, 500-1450\
3. The Word: Reformation Christianity, 1450-1650
4. The Quest: Modern Christianity, 1650-1945
5. The River: Contemporary Christianity, 1945-Now

In each section she details the grassroots movements that sought to live the faith absent of a struggle for power and recognition. She shows how average Christians struggled to work for the Kingdom. And she shows how the more recognizable names–like Augustine of Hippo, Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and others–sought to live for Christ in there era.

While I would not say, at all, that Diana Butler Bass ignores the importance of Christian doctrine, I do think the only weakness may be that some of the erroneous thought of people throughout church history is given a bit too much credence without a critical evaluation. On the other hand, she does not make very many critical evaluations, so this is understandable. Also, I wonder why Pentecostalism was never acknowledged. I think it is an important part of church history.

I recommend this book. I think it is a great read. It is informative. It is uplifting. It brings hope. Even where you may disagree with the author, or dislike the direction she seems to be going, you do see her point and her reasoning. Again, I think this is the ideal book on church history for those who have become disenchanted with the church because of our history.

See original post at: http://nearemmaus.blogspot.com/2009/08/book-review-diana-butler-bass-peoples.html

http://treehousemonastic.com/2009/08/26/a-peoples-history-of-christianty-the-review/