The Factbook’s Church History Themes and other Logos resources help you dive deep into the history of the church, from the time Jesus commissioned the building of his Church to the present day.
Note: Available in packages Starter and above.
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What Logos tools should I use?
Why study church history?
Studying church history helps us to understand where we fit today in God’s plan of salvation. In the same way that the surrounding text informs the meaning of a specific verse, the surrounding context of Church history informs the meaning of our specific place in it. We can learn from the stories of our ancestors, both their successes and failures, and we can be challenged by the unrelenting faith of the Church during seasons of immense persecution. Studying church history can help to answer questions like:
- How did the Church decide which books of the Bible are canon?
- Where did the term “Trinity” come from?
- What heresies did the Church refute throughout history (like Gnosticism, Arianism, Montanism), and how can we make sure they do not creep back into the Church?
- What other issues has the Church faced in the past, and how has it handled them?
- How has the Church’s view on the sacraments, like baptism, developed over time?
- Where do the creeds we say every Sunday come from?
What Logos tools should I use?
The Factbook has an entire section devoted to church history called Church History Themes. Each theme includes the theme’s timing, which era(s) it belongs to, and a brief explanation of what happened as well as key developments, people, events, places, concepts, and documents. To browse the church history themes, first open the Factbook by clicking the Factbook icon on the toolbar.
Then, expand the Factbook menu by clicking the Menu icon .
From the dropdown, select Church History Theme.
Finally, select your desired theme.
Note: If you’ve selected a church history theme but no information populates in the theme, make sure you’ve downloaded the Church History Themes resource to your library.
What resources should I use?
If you want to dive even deeper, all Logos packages include many valuable resources to aid you in your study of church history, such as:
- Church History in Plain Language (Bruce L. Shelley, 1995) - Shelley uses storytelling to bring church history to life, covering global Christianity from its origin into the 21st century with authoritative research and a captivating style.
- Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (John Foxe, 2000) - Foxe makes a challenging and inspiring tribute to the martyrs, beginning with Stephen and ending with the martyrs of his day.
- Forerunners of the Faith: 13 Lessons to Understand and Appreciate the Basics of Church History (Nathan Busenitz, 2020) - Busenitz captures the trials and triumphs of the historical Church, providing insights for how the ancient Christians responded to the problems of their day to become the pillars of faith we now consider them to be.
To view all church history resources already included in your library, first, click the Library icon .
Then, click the Menu icon .
Finally, expand the Subject filter and select Church History.
Alternatively, you can search for a specific resource in your Library using the search bar.