Christianity's Family Tree: What Other Christians Believe and Why

Hamilton does an adequate job of skimming over each of eight denominations. As with most things, the challenge is in the details. His own biases are apparent (e.g., the absence of the itinerant ministry in Methodist churches).

I was raised in the Catholic church and have recently been going to a church in the Assemblies of God. I am well aware that many people who are in either church would say "he's left the true faith" or "he's finally going to a Christian church" respectively. Both of these show an incredible amount of pomposity and lack of understanding for what each church offers. I found that my search benefitted from the approach of the Assemblies of God; however, that doesn't mean that everyone would...also, I may find that Jesus leads me back to the Catholic church someday. My point being, I'm not running away from one church to the truth, but rather exploring for the truth, as any good christian should do.After spending a few months dealing with an unfortunate obstinance of those of other denominations, my curiosity finally piqued enough to get me to start looking into a book that explains the different major christian churches. I had always been curious about these churches, and had wondered how they were different and what they brought to the table, but I had never "made the time" to really research it.Going in I had assumed that the author would be somewhat to heavily biased towards one particular denomination, but had hoped he would keep it to a minimum. What I found was that, while his writing definitely flows from his personality (which actually makes it more of a smooth read vs more "academic" books), he showed love and respect for each church's value in the world, and would end the chapters with a focus on what other types of christians could learn from that particular denomination. For example, the Catholic church's focus on the lives of the great christian warriors of the past, or the Episcopalian prayer book that has them reading the Bible every day. I really enjoyed this way of going about it...it seemed so christian of a perspective to take, and so true from my own experience. Also, it allowed you to relax and enjoy the chapter, while pausing to consider the beauty of that denomination in a bite sized piece at the end.This is a shortish book, so it is limited in scope; however, that doesn't decrease the value, because it is a wonderful primer. I was impressed with the information he was able to present, and I felt like there wasn't any wasted space. Altogether, it was a pleasant read from a Christ seeking man, who honestly shows each denomination in the light it deserves. I think we can all agree, that isn't the easiest thing for most modern christians to do, and for that, Mr. Hamilton deserves some serious kudos.

college book

This book is an easy read and provides a basic overview of Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Baptists, Pentecostalism, and Methodism all of which the author views are all Christian brothers and sisters with differences that we can all learn something from. So many anti-other churches ( especially anti-Catholicism ) seem to have too much of a slant their way. This book doesn't do that which is one of the key things that makes it so nice to read. It presents the basics in an easy to read manner. What I enjoyed most about this book was the authors overall tone. He doesn't try to sway the reader one way or the other. He simple presents simple, easy to understand information that will serve as a beginning to a deeper study. I honestly don't think he presents it with a strong Methodist view ( although he is a Methodist pastor ). He sees it like I do that all Christians who have the same belief at the core ( see Christ as Savior, etc. that mainstream Christians can agree on ) should get along, respect each others differences and learn what we can from those differences. At the end of the day, Christians should be reaching the world ( my insert - not in book ) for Christ and not arguing amongst themselves. A small book that gets deeper into Church History that you may want as a companion to this one is "Pocket History of the Church" by D. Jeffrey Bingham. It is written by a Protestant. I think you should also look into books from Catholics like Scott Hahn, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Patrick Madrid, Karl Keating and others. This is a good starter of church history, but to take it to a deeper level of study, I think learning about church history from Catholic and Protestant writers is helpful in a deeper understanding especially reading the early church fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, etc.

Our Sunday school class is really enjoying it!

I liked that this book wasn't a book on denominations that simply pointed out all the negative things. The author did a good job giving things that were in common with all believers and particular denominations. I gave it a four instead of a five because I felt the reader could have spent more time telling the reader some of the particulars about the denominations and their beliefs and practices.

Bought as a gift.

Used the book in a small group study with church members. It was very informative. Would recommend the book.