MacCulloch is a true historian and theologian savant. He leaves no stones unturned with the history of the Christian Church. A must read for all lovers of faith.

Quite a thorough, if not exhaustive treatise. Very insightful in many aspects, and skillfully woven together to give a broad scope of the history of what is collectively known as Christianity.
That said, my only reservation is that of all writing, in that, the author can, will, and does often struggle to keep personal bias out of the commentary.
It is INCREDIBLY long, but what else would one expect of a 1500 year history?! At least the narrator makes the journey enjoyable through wonderful tonal inflections, and a soothing voice.

This book is not worth your time. The author puts forward as astonishing insights facts that any casual student of Christianity or history might already know.The book is equal part misinterpretation of the biblical records and unfounded assumptions. To begin with, he is a thorough going materialist and he rejects from the outset the possibility of supernatural or miraculous intervention. He does not say so in so many words, but it is obvious from his tired hermeneutical position of dating the prophetic books by the events which they prophesy. I.e. They must be dated after the event, because they could not have known about the event before hand. He completely ignores their claim to be prophetic. He likewise classifies the miracles of Jesus as legends and myths without providing any reason to do so. It is not the fact of his materialism that makes the books so tedious. I have read many books by materialists who disagreed with the possibility of miracles. They at least have the honesty to recognize that their position was controversial and to provide some sort of rationale and argumentation for it. The author of this book does not. He simply takes it for granted that the basic premise of the Bible and Christianity is false and proceeds to extrapolate from that and interpret it in that light.

In that spirit he dismisses parts of the gospel narrative, such as the birth narrative, as "later accretions" without describing any evidence or reasoning to support that position beyond the fact that "they are not referenced by the rest of the Gospel." He continually puts forward as fact his own interpretations of the motives and underlying assumptions of the writers of Scripture, often which directly contradict the plain sense of the text. This would not merit a one star review if he provided even a semblance of an argument to support his interpretation. However, he barely even acknowledges when his interpretations directly contradict both the text and the traditions of Christianity and provides no rationale or supporting arguments or evidence. All of this with a tone of smug condescension and superior enlightenment makes this book a chore to listen to, despite the excellent narration of the reader. Barely worth your time as history, misleading and ignorant about Christianity. Give this one a pass.

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This was the text for a year-long class and I was so glad to find it as an audiobook as I often have vision problems. The narration is excellent and I was able to complete my class easily, using the audiobook and ebook editions together made the learning experience fun and exciting.

The breadth and depth of scholarship is veiled in the unassuming and unadorned, though thoroughly readable, prose. I hold to the historic truth of the Christian truth claims regarding the person and work of Christ and confess a version of reformed Protestantism, so my own convictions diverge from the author's but I am most appreciative and awestruck by this tome. Heartily recommended.

difficult to read, enjoyed the audio version. I would recommend to all history and religious readers.

I was amazed at the amount of information and how complex Christianity is. it's amazing.

The book is excellent. The narrator/reader is unfamiliar with Christian history and consequently mispronounces many words, which is annoying. Otherwise, all good.

I enjoyed this book as a text for Education for Ministry. Many of my course mates struggled at first with the "scattershot" approach, but once they understood the methodology, they too became grudging fans.
Having seen several DVD's based on "History of Christianity" prior to reading this book also contributed to my enjoyment.

Well written at the start, very well preformed but has rather strange editorial asides that do not add anything to the narrative, and they are very USA centered.

the closer one gets to the present the slower the book gets, until it is almost bullet point.

If you are looking for a pretty detailed overview of Christian history, with context, this is a good listen...if very long!