Reclaiming the “Dark Ages”: How the Gospel Light Shone from 500 to 1500 (Imbert and Wright)

Description

See how the thread of orthodoxy runs throughout the history of the church – even in the thousand years known as the “Dark Ages”.

If you study church history closely, you will see that there is a continuous thread of faithful, glorifying theology that gives God due honour, that takes Scripture as the principal authority over life and faith, and that nourishes our wonder and worship.

Despite its somewhat derogatory name, we can see that the light of the gospel was by no means extinguished in the millennium between 500 and 1500. Iain Wright and Yannick Imbert outline the story of this time through the lives of ten key figures of the Medieval Church:

• Leo the Great (400–461)
• Boethius (476–524)
• Alcuin (735–804)
• Gottschalk (814–868)
• Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109)
• Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153)
• Peter Waldo (1140–1205)
• Bonaventure(1221–1274)
• John Wycliffe (1320–1384)
• Jan Hus(1372–1415)

Chronicles 1,000 Years of Orthodox Theology: see God’s providence in the faithful teaching of truth throughout history

Meet Key Historical Figures: some well–known, some less so, all in their place and time

Written for a wide audience: non–academic writing style makes this a great read for anyone interested in history

Contents

Leo the Great (400-461)
Boethius (476-524)
Alcuin (735-804)
Gottschalk (814-868)
Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Peter Waldo (1140-1205)
Bonaventure (1221-1274)
John Wycliffe (1320-1384)
Jan Hus (1372-1415)
Conclusion

Endorsements

"Evangelicalism, at a popular level, often rejects the Middle Ages as a period of sheer darkness, hardly worth knowing. Iain Wright and Yannick Imbert demonstrate that the medieval period is very much worth knowing. I gladly commend this volume as helping us to see the brighter side of what is often looked on as the 'dark ages'."
—Nick Needham, Lecturer in Church History, Highland Theological College, Dingwall, Scotland

"… an accessible, appreciative, though not uncritical introduction to … a period that, contra popular Protestant impressions, produced some great and influential Christian thinkers."
—Carl R. Trueman, Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies, Grove City College, Pennsylvania

About the Author

Iain Wright was born and educated in Edinburgh and is presently pastor of Covenant OPC, Orland Park, Illinois. He is married with five children and has served in the Royal Naval Reserve for almost forty years.

Yannick Imbert holds the William Edgar Chair of Apologetics at Faculté Jean Calvin, Aix–en–Provence, southern France. He also serves on the theological committee of the National Council of French Evangelicals.