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Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History Review
Christians find their true family line not through tribes and ethnic blood but in the bond of faithfulness and shed blood that has united our family for millennia. We too often view Church history as the story of obscure aliens instead of the lives of brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. In this collection of forty-six brief biographies for children, Hannula sketches the stirring trials and triumphs of many famous and some lesser known figures in our family of faith—including Augustine, Charlemagne, Anselm, Luther, Bunyan, and C.S. Lewis. Through them we can begin to enjoy the old paths and find rest for our souls. User Submitted Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History ReviewsOctober 22, 2008 A MUST have for kids (and adults)! An exceptionally well-done treatment of dozens of key leaders from the last 2,000 years of church history. Hannula combines fine storytelling with a solid Reformed, Evangelical treatment of people and events. His brief biographical sketches (4-6 pages each) are excellent summaries and introductions. Do you know of Blandina or Boniface or King Gustavus Adolphus? You should! And in "Trial and Triumph" you will be introduced to them in moving narratives of their service to Christ and of their abiding influence. And, of course, those like Constantine, Augustine, Gregory, Huss, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Bunyan, Whitefield, Livingstone, and Spurgeon are not overlooked. A total of forty-six stories are included. Throughout this engaging book the author presents our fathers and mothers in the faith, not as detached figures in church history, but as our ancestors in the faith---part of that "great cloud of witnesses" who make up our "family history" in Christ and who serve as examples for us to follow. As the author says in the introduction, "God's greatest works are not the creation of the mountains and seas but His acts of saving love, which transform sinners into children of God. These stories were not written to exalt great Christian men and women. They were written to exalt the Lord who made them great." August 26, 2008 Are you willing to die for your Saviour? Opinion from an Apostolic Pentecostal Family: We really like this book. We use it as part of Ambleside Online Homeschool Curriculum. We don't know of any other book except "the book of martyrs" that the Amish has out that puts Christian Martyrdom in such a sober and accurate light. The first lesson was tough becuase of the tears my children found streaming down their face. They were literally putting themselves in the story as Polycarp (for example) and said if they were him they would be "scared to die because it would hurt", but ultimately they came to the realization that in Revelations we are told that we will be forced to choose between God and ________(fill in blank) and then suffer a consequence. I want my children to be prepared to know how to handle that situation and to know that to face death for our Saviour is just one way we can show Him our commitment. He paid the ultimate price for us. We want to have a willing heart to do the same for Him. This book helped us all (age range 7 to 31) to look at this very real and serious predicament and to answer and commit to a path of action should the time come. I cannot say that this book lists all the "dirty laundry" of the folks who are respresented but I can say that it doesn't matter... the heart of the matter was to inspire us to take a more steady and stronger course of action in our personal lives when challenged to "denounce Christ" or to "go with the flow" and relax a little... Thank you Richard for this awesome and inspiring book.... I will be giving copies to family for Christmas this year... February 14, 2008 Really Great Read This book is so informative. I have learned so much about church history from it. Although I wouldn't recommend reading it to a child under the age of 8, I think it has many good facts and lessons for a child to learn. I read this to my kids and they are always asking questions afterwards. It's thought provoking and inspiring. November 10, 2007 Short Biographies I use this book for homeschooling my ninth grader. It gives a great selection of short biographies on historical figures in church history. we used it regularly when studying the Dark and Middle Ages. Excellent buy. September 4, 2007 Biased hagiography I'm not sure that there's a time or a place for hagiography. Anyone other than a Christian from a reformed tradition will have difficulty with the biographies here. In general they fail to show the full human-ness of the subjects -- tho' the specifically Catholic or liturgical traditions are, if not condemned outright then certainly have a disapproving eye cast upon them. This work, like others of this kind, fail dismally in that they sanitize the lives of real, sinful human beings -- a standard even the Bible does not aspire to. Yes, many of these Christians have served God faithfully -- but in many more cases God has worked in spite of their failings -- some of which count among the serious sins -- abuse of fellow creatures, adultery etc. To set these people up as some kind of standard to which all Christians should aspire is a real problem, especially when the whole story is not presented. Frankly I find it much more inspiring to know that God can work through little old me, in spite of my many sins and failings. Faithfulness in the midst of sometimes significant short-comings is a much more realistic and holy goal. I bought this book as part of our homeschooling program, but I shall re-sell it. I'm not about to subject my children to these misleading stories. January 6, 2007 An Excellent Beginning to Church History Many people have a bias against history, thinking it is either boring or that it has no application and value for the modern time. As a result, many people of the past and their contributions to what we are now are never known. This book can change that. Its well written and engaging style warmly introduces the reader to many important people in Christian history, giving a brief summary of the lives of 46 Christian men and women, beginning with Polycarp down to the modern time ending with Richard Wurmbrand. We've been reading a chapter a week in our church's Wednesday night studies to a mixed crowd of adults and children. I think it says something of the author's ability to communicate when both adults and children say that have been blessed and inspired by the witness of these saints as Hannula tells their stories. September 25, 2006 Best kids' church history book available Very informative and wonderfully written stories of the heroes of the Christian faith. Riveting and inspiring! I've used this with my own children, in teaching Sunday School and in my 4th grade class. It's always the preferred book, even when reading from several other sources. Every Christian should read this book. May 13, 2006 Very interesting and well written We have used this book in our home school studies of the Middle Ages, and have loved it. The author makes the history come alive with his wonderful writing style and interesting information. We have used it alongside other books that sometimes discuss the same people in history, and this one is by far the most interesting narrative. I love it, as do my 5th and 2nd grader. We use it as a read aloud, but an older student could easily tackle it as a reader. July 20, 2005 book It was very interesting and informative. It gave us a view of what people go through to stay faithful to their belief in God February 21, 2005 False Advertising I bought this for my son to use for school reports. I had no idea it would have such an anti-Catholic bias. I thought it would encompass a more universal Christian theme. Rather, its story-telling promotes an agenda highly critical of Catholicism. It lacks objectivity. I plan to give this book away to a Protestant friend. For more Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History reviews click here.
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