A History of Christianity is a six-disc BBC documentary hosted by historian Diarmaid MacCulloch (author of a series of extensive, scholarly works on the history of the faith.  I’ve had the opportunity to review the first disc in the series – The First Christianity.  MacCulloch takes viewers to modern-day sites and churches as he follows the path of Christianity from Jerusalem to the East.

With most of us being fairly unfamiliar with Eastern forms of Christianity, MacCulloch’s exploration of the roots of various Orthodox faiths is certainly fascinating and informative.  However, if you’re looking primarily for a documentation of the spiritual life of the church, or of theology, you won’t find it here, though some major doctrinal watersheds are explored.

Personally, the lack of division between the actions and beliefs of common believers from what could very well be political machinations (as opposed to faith-based decisions) makes me slightly uncomfortable, and always has.  Admittedly, this is difficult to hash out in the history of the Christian church, as only God can truly judge the heart and the motives of man.  Perhaps wading into this fray is a place that even angels fear to tread!

Interestingly, though MacCulloch isn’t promoting Christianity as a faith, there is a fair amount of the gospel presented – sadly it is also mixed in with some ‘works-based’ beliefs such as asceticism as a way of ‘earning’ one’s way into heaven.

MacCulloch is clearly fascinated by the institution and traditions of the church (which often have a tendency towards extra-biblical injunctions), and as such the first disc in the series is geared heavily in this direction.  Like most BBC productions, Christianity is presented in a secular (though respectful) point of view, and is placed on par with other “world religions”.

Starting in Jerusalem, traveling through the Middle East, and even to China, there is a good deal of great footage of historical sites (many of which you just don’t tend to see in most documentaries profiling the early church – they tend to go towards Rome.)  Christianity’s early interactions with Islam (some of which proved to be surprisingly peaceful) are also explored.

This first informative episode runs 60 minutes in length, and subsequent discs offer historical overviews of Christianity in Rome, Orthodoxy, the Reformation, Protestantism, and an episode entitled “God in Dock” (don’t ask me what this is about!)  From what I’ve seen of this first disc, A History of Christianity is more respectful of our faith than many secular documentaries that I’ve seen – taking what Christians say at face value without denigrating it, or speaking against it.  MacCulloch does a good job of keeping the first disc fairly ‘neutral’, if you can say that there is such a thing.

I’m certainly interested in watching the rest of the series, and my husband has found this first installment absolutely fascinating!

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