The Breeze of the Centuries
Mike Reeves’ latest book on church history is excellent. In The Unquenchable Flame, he told the story of the Reformation through the lives of some of the most prominent Reformers. Here, he tells the story of the first millennium of the church through the writings of the most influential theologians of the age. The Breeze of the Centuries is the first of two books from Reeves profiling the important theologians of church history and the seminal works they penned.
This is a book unashamedly written for the newcomer to church history. Reeves rightly recognises that few Christians have a deep knowledge of the theologians who have shaped Christian thought, and is equally aware that most are hesitant to begin to read the dense books they produced. I have had a copy of Augustine’s City of God on my shelf for well over two years, but know very little about Augustine and less about what to expect in the 1100-page tome. This is where The Breeze of the Centuries comes into its own. Whereas most introductions to Augustine confuse his work rather than elucidate it, Reeves explains what the City of God is about and outlines its structure in just a page and a half.
This book is clearly written by an enthusiast of church history, but more so, Reeves has evangelistic zeal for people to engage with important figures from the past. The title is drawn from C.S. Lewis, who argued that people in any era are enslaved to the cultural presuppositions of the world they inhabit; the only way to avoid slavery to today is “to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds.” That means reading old books and learning from the writers of the past as well as the present. As Reeves adds, “if we ignore what the bulk of the church has said down through history, then we act as schismatically as if we ignored the church on earth today. More so, in fact.”
Each section of The Breeze of the Centuries covers a different theologian or group of theologians – The Apostolic Fathers; Justin Martyr and Irenaeus; Athanasius; Augustine; Anselm; Thomas Aquinas – “on their own terms”. Reeves begins with a profile of the character, then an overview of their most important works. He also includes a list of suggestions for where to begin reading them, and ends with a timeline of key dates in their life so their work can be easily placed in context.
Many of the names and books of church history sound familiar, but seem entirely foreign to the average person. The Breeze of the Centuries is a great book because it does not try to educate, but simply to introduce. You will not learn what the Summa Theologiae says about Christ, for example (although it’s fair to say that it says rather a lot!) but you will find out what the structure of the Summa is, and how it fits together, and how to go about reading it. The Breeze of the Centuries, then, is a fantastic guidebook to the great minds of the past. It should not fail to get you interested in some of the intimidating books of history, and then is the first place to look in order to find out where – and how – to begin reading them. If you have even a passing curiosity for theologians from the past, this book will be a very useful addition to your shelf.
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Ali grew up in London, but is currently at university in the North East of England. He helped to re-launch Crossring in 2009, and has acted as Managing Editor of the website since then. He occasionally dabbles in photography and web development - he also designed and maintains the Crossring website.
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