Further Reading

Nicaea and its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology, by Lewis Ayres. This book offers a new account of the most important century in the development of Christian belief after Christ. He shows how the doctrine of the Trinity was developed, and in particular, argues that a conception of God's mysteriousness and spiritual progress towards understanding is central to that doctrine. He also proposes that modern theologies of the Trinity fail to appreciate the depth and power of Nicene trinitarianism.

Retrieving Nicaea, Development, and Meaning of Trinitarian Doctrine, by Khaled Anatolios. Anatolios offers a theological study of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, showing its relevance to Christian life and thought today. According to Anatolios, the development of trinitarian doctrine involved a global interpretation of the Christian faith as a whole. Consequently, the meaning of trinitarian doctrine is to be found in a reappropriation of the process of this development, such that the entirety of Christian existence is interpreted in a trinitarian manner. The book provides essential resources for this reappropriation by identifying the network of theological issues that comprise the "systematic scope" of Nicene theology.

Decoding Nicea: Constantine and Christianity, by Paul Pavao. Leaf through ancient documents. • Read the council's instructions to the churches. • Examine Constantine's review of the council. • Was Constantine a Christian? Scrutinize his deeds and decrees. • Challenge emperors with Athanasius. • And meet Sisinnius, the forgotten heretic who ended six decades of debate and violence with one word of advice.• Was the Trinity invented at Nicea? • Did the council rewrite the Bible? • Did Constantine change the Sabbath day? 

The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine, by Eusebius. This account is the only surviving historical record of the church during its crucial first 300 years. The bishop was a learned scholar who lived most of his life in Caesarea in Palestine, who broke new ground in writing this history and provided a model for all later ecclesiastical historians. His aim was to show the purity and continuity of the doctrinal tradition of Christianity and its struggle against persecutors and heretics.

The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, by Justo Gonzalez. The Story of Christianity provides a fascinating and panoramic history of the dramatic events, colorful characters, and revolutionary ideas that shaped the early centuries of the church.

Church History in Plain Language, Fifth Edition, by Bruce Shelley. Shelley's classic history of the church brings the story of global Christianity into the 21st century. He begins each chapter with three elements: characters, setting, plot. Taking listeners from the early centuries of the church up through the modern era, he tells his listeners a story of actual people - in a particular situation, taking action or being acted upon - provides a window into the circumstances and historical context, and from there develops the story of a major period or theme of Christian history.

Reading the Early Church Fathers: From the Didache to Nicaea, by James Papandrea. This book introduces the reader to the primary sources of Church history, with commentary that will help make sense of the events that led the Church from the New Testament era, through the apologists, to the development of the major doctrines of the Church. Instead of providing actual excerpts of the works under discussion, the book directs the reader to the primary sources available on the Internet.

How We Got the Bible, by Neil Lightfoot. This book seeks to be a factual account of how the Bible has been preserved and handed down to our generation. It will take you on a journey through human history to divine revelation, through time to the eternal. Chapters include a discussion of the making of ancient books, the birth of the Bible, manuscripts of the New Testament, the Sinaitic manuscript and other manuscripts, and many more. 

The Making of the New Testament, by Arthur Patzia. This is a textbook study of the origin, collection, copying, and canonizing of the New Testament documents. Like shrewd detectives reading the subtle traces of evidence, biblical scholars have studied the trail of clues and pieced together the story of these books. Patzia's book covers the early literary world, the gospels, the Pauline literature, and other literature such as the Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic Letters (Peter, Jude, James), Hebrews, the epistles of John, and Revelation. It also includes the criteria of being included in the Canon, textual variants, and the practice of textual criticism. 

The Heresy of Orthodoxy, by Andreas Kostenberger and Michael Kruger. This book explains how contemporary culture's fascination with diversity has reshaped our understanding of early Christianity. It discusses pluralism and the origins of the New Testament, tracing the development of the Canon, and manuscripts, scribes, and textual transmission. 

Constantine and Eusebius, by Timothy Barnes. This textbook is the fullest available narrative history of the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine, and an assessment of the part Christianity play in the Roman world of the third and fourth centuries. Barnes analyzes Constantine's rise to power and his government, showing how the emperor's Christian beliefs advanced his power. 

Backgrounds of Early Christianity, by Everett Ferguson. Now in its third edition, this book has long served as the standard introduction to the world of the early church. With 95 mostly new and improved photographs, the book explores and unpacks the Roman, Greek, and Jewish political, social, religious, and philosophical backgrounds necessary for a good historical understanding of the New Testament and the early church. 

The Early Christians in Their Own Words, by Tertullian, Hermas, Justin, Ignatius. This is a topically arranged collection of primary sources. It includes extra-biblical sayings of Jesus and excerpts from Origen, Tertullian, Polycarp, Clement of Alexandria, Justin, Irenaeus, Hermas, Ignatius, and others. Equally revealing material from pagan contemporaries – critics, detractors, and persecutors – is included as well.

A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, by David Bercot, Editor. What did early Christians believe about the divinity of Christ? What did they think about the resurrection? How did they regard John the Baptist? What were the beliefs of those who sat at the feet of Jesus' disciples? This dictionary has been developed to furnish ready answers to these questions and others like them. David W. Bercot has combed the writings of these early Christian leaders and categorized the heart of their thinking into more than 700 theological, moral, and historical topics to create this book.

More Books . . . .

Eusebius: The Church History, by Paul L. Maier (translation and commentary)

The Early Church (AD 13 - 33): St. Peter, the Apostles, and Martyrs, by James Papandrea. 

Early Christian Lives (Penguin Classics), by Athanasius, Jerome, Sulpicius, Gregory. 

The Landscape of Faith, by Alister McGrath

Christianity in the Second Century, by J.C. Paget and J. Lieu, editors.

From Nicaea to Chalcedon, by Frances Young and Andrew Teal

The Idea of Nicaea in the Early Church Councils, AD 431-451, by Mark S. Smith

Faith of Our Fathers: A Study of the Nicene Creed, by L. Charles Jackson

The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why it Matters, by Luke Timothy Johnson

How God Became Jesus: Real Origins of Belief in Jesus' Divine Nature, by Michael Bird

Christian Women in the Patristic World, by Lynn H. Cohick and Amy Brown Hughes

Wisdom from the Ancients: 30 Timeless Lessons from Early Church, by Bryan Litfin