The Story of Christianity, Volume 2 (Justo Gonzalez)

In the second volume of his history of Christianity, Justo Gonzalez covers from the Reformation to present day (AD ~1500-2010), broken into three sections:

• The Reformation
• Orthodoxy, rationalism, and pietism
• Beyond Christendom

Summary
Martin Luther's internal struggles and uncertainties led him to study the Word of God with vigor. In so doing, he found that the church of his day had strayed far from the teachings of the Bible. He posted his famous '95 Theses' in Wittenberg in 1517, hoping for debate. What ultimately resulted was revolution. He soon attracted a following- true believers in Luther's theology and/or those simply wanting to diminish the power of the Roman catholic church. And various other biblical interpretations arose, leading to Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, and Anglican schools of thought. Then as now, difference of thought wasn't well tolerated, and a long period of unrest ensued, culminating in the Thirty Years War (1618-48) a century later. 

After the Thirty Years War and other things like the Puritan Revolution, a continent weary of war went through an "Age of Dogma and Doubt," where religion started a shift into the private sphere when it became clear that forcing people to align with a given confession was unproductive and ineffective. The different schools of thought by this point each had developed their respective orthodoxies (which Gonzalez presents in simplified form), and there arose other schools of thought like rationalism, spiritualism, and pietism. The author concludes this section with an analysis of religion in the thirteen American colonies.

Gonzalez concludes by looking at an age 'beyond Christendom,' studying the shifting landscapes in the Americas and Europe, new schools of thought in Proteestant and Catholic theology, missions work and the unifying effect that has between different traditions, geographic expansion (so that Christianity is now truly global), and geographic shifts (where the world wars contributed to a 'crisis at the center' of the old Christendom, and led to a new 'vitality at the periphery,' as the church is now more centered in Asia, Africa, and Latin America).

Review
As with Volume 1, This is an excellent read. It's clear, succinct, fair, informative, and well-written. Gonzalez covers major events and personalities impressively. Highly recommended for anyone (Christian and non) who wants to understand this highly influential institution and how it obtained its present form.

Rating: A