The Reformation (The Penguin History of the Church) (v. 3) Paperback – December 7, 1990

I read this wonderful book in 2005 and wrote this note: "Very well written & extremely interesting. I loved it!" I have just finished re-reading it (2024) and still love it. Its subject matter is of the highest interest, the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, all of the history laying the foundation for so much of the "modern" era. The author writes beautifully; the book is a pleasure to read for its content and the beauty of his prose. There are so many things of interest, from great and grand themes to little details. Mr. Chadwick is fair in his observations regarding all the theological combatants. He gives the combatants their day in court. He brings the era and its personalities and its history to life. He explains things beautifully, and sets forth the consequences of beliefs and actions. A great history of a great historical era. There are so many fascinating insights, too many to relate, so many outstanding vignettes in it. I love this one: [The issue deals with Calvinistic certainty about predestination and the Archbishop of Canterbury's attempt to enforce it] "When Archbishop Whitgift of Canterbury found that the Thirty-Nine Articles were too broad to avert academic dispute, he attempted to add new articles, the Lambeth Articles of 1595, precisely defining the doctrine of predestination. Lord Burghley, on hearing of them, told the Archbishop that the matter was too mysterious for his own understanding, and the indignant Queen required the Archbishop to withdraw them." Page 397I'm with Lord Burghley!As I've said, I love this book. Looking forward to reading it again.

I enjoyed hearing the other side of the picture presented. Catholic bias was always my concern in reading the history of Europe and the Catholic church; and this series has helped me find a more balanced view. I was intrigued by the many facets that influenced people in the pew and how they, in the long run, have purified ideas that are not helpful for a relationship with God, who calls us into being and is there at the door of death.

Chadwick's history is a solid conclusion to this 3-part history of the Church. Though avoiding the theological debates few of the Protestant, Catholic, or Anabaptist partisans will be pleased. Instead, this is a middle-of-the-road easy read that assumes some knowledge of the topic already. It is a fair introduction in a way but the assumptions of additional learning will leave some puzzled with unexplained references. This would be a fine companion, for instance, to one working through a more detailed lecture series such as, The Teaching Company: History of Christianity in the Reformation Era 18 Audio Cds with Course Outline Booklet (The Great Courses).We would have enjoyed also a more thorough coverage of the proto-reformation movements such as the Lollards and Hussites of the preceding centuries. True, there is a limit in the amount that can be covered in under 500 pages but those movements in particular seem especially relevant to this study. For a more in-depth study that takes those earlier reformation movements into account, see The Reformation (The Story of Civilization VI).For a study of this period, there are many works that cover the material with far greater detail. Others may provide a reasonable introduction to the reformation. This one falls somewhere in between. A solid, conventional history that attempts not to offend any of the Christian traditions involved. Despite the rather drab approach to history, it still manages to entertain and incite a desire to learn more. For that we can highly recommend this well-respected work.

This is a book for anyone who does not know anything about how the Christian church developed into the denominations and then came to America. Anyone that wants to understand Calvinism and Arminianism, and their opposing ideas on predestination and the priest hood of the believer needs to read their impact on the Reformation.

Another Chadwick book that I have ordered and read. Concise information and descriptions of the era, but easy to read and understand.

Chadwick's perspective on the Reformation Era contains a lot of great material for those interested in learning about the important and notable historical factors in the Age of Theological Reform. His work is dated in number of respects however, and should be read in conjunction with a more recent work of scholarship. Chadwick is also rather hard to fact-check in his own work, as he fails to directly cite sources for a number of his claims. His overall perspective is solidly historical; however, this book should not be read and understood as a critically-accurate account of the Reformation.

Interesting, and we think we have it bad now.

I am a Catholic and I wanted to know more about the protestant church. I was most interested in Martin Luther, a brave man whose ideas really make sense to me. I wonder where was the word of Jesus those days: that shows how manageable is the human mind and how important is to read, other than the bible. When I see the catholic church today I just realized that it has not evolved much since those days in the sense of its dogma, for example, the theory of not to have sexual relations before marriage .. in Africa lots of people are dying because of that. I'm sure there are some better books about the subject around.