Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
Below is a comprehensive narrative summary of Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity by Mark A. Noll, followed by a chapter by chapter summary based on the standard structure of the book’s fourth edition. The narrative summary flows as a connected story of Christian history, and the chapter summaries sit after that as concise individual explanations.
Narrative Summary of Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
Turning Points is a panoramic yet focused exploration of Christian history that understands the life of the church not as a smooth, inevitable progression but as a series of decisive moments that shaped its doctrines, structures, cultural influence, and global reach. Mark Noll frames Christian history around a set of critical events that he calls turning points because they mark forks in the road where choices, contingencies, political pressures, or cultural encounters decisively altered the trajectory of the church’s story. His method is both narrative and interpretive: each turning point is presented with the story of what happened, the context in which it occurred, and reflections on why it had such lasting consequences. This approach brings out the contingency of Christian history, showing that familiar outcomes were not predetermined but emerged through real human decision making and historical pressures.
The book begins with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, an event that forced the early Jesus movement to define itself increasingly apart from its Jewish roots and to imagine its identity without the central temple that had shaped its earliest practices. This rupture pushed the church outward into the Roman world and set in motion developments in Christian organization, scripture formation, and self understanding.
From there Noll moves into the fourth and fifth centuries where the church negotiates its place in the Roman Empire through major councils. At Nicaea in 325 the church, under imperial sponsorship, hammered out a creed that affirmed Christ’s full divinity against competing interpretations. Two decades later at Chalcedon in 451 the church defined the mystery of Christ’s dual nature as both fully divine and fully human. These councils not only resolved theological controversies but established creedal norms that shaped orthodox Christian identity and set patterns for ecclesial authority.
The narrative then turns to the medieval world where monasticism and political alignments profoundly influenced Christian life. Benedict’s Rule provided a disciplined model of Christian community whose emphasis on prayer, work, and stability preserved and transmitted culture during tumultuous centuries. The coronation of Charlemagne as emperor in 800 symbolized the fusion of Christian and political authority in the West, inaugurating an era often called Christendom, wherein the church and state supported each other’s emergence across Europe. Yet even as Western Christendom matured, division grew between East and West, culminating in the Great Schism of 1054, in which competing understandings of authority, liturgy, and theology led to the estrangement of Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Latin Christianity.
The second millennium saw fractures that reshaped Christian identity. The Protestant Reformation, ignited by Martin Luther’s challenge to papal authority and his insistence on scripture’s primacy, opened new ways of understanding salvation, ecclesial authority, and Christian practice. Closely related was the English Act of Supremacy, which severed the Church of England from papal control and embedded Christianity within the politics of nation states. The Catholic reform movement responded with its own renewal and an outreach that produced the Jesuit order, whose missionary zeal reshaped Christianity’s global footprint.
In the eighteenth century the conversion of John and Charles Wesley initiated what Noll calls the new piety, a movement emphasizing methodical devotion, evangelical zeal, and personal holiness. This reinvigoration of Christian life influenced worship practices and movements well beyond its eighteenth century origins.
The French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century marked a profound rupture for Christian society. By challenging traditional authorities and elevating secular reason, the revolution accelerated the decline of Christendom in Europe and forced Christians to reimagine their role in a world shaped by modernity. Yet at the same time Christianity was spreading beyond Europe through missionary movements. The Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910 symbolized this shift toward a faith that was no longer primarily Western but truly global, bringing together leaders committed to evangelism and intercultural engagement.
Finally, modern developments in the mid twentieth century such as the Second Vatican Council and the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization reshaped how Christians understood themselves internally and in relation to one another across traditions. Vatican II encouraged Catholic engagement with the modern world and ecumenical openness, while Lausanne brought evangelicals together in a global conversation about mission and identity. Noll treats these as provisional turning points, inviting readers to consider how contemporary changes may continue to influence the faith’s future.
Throughout the narrative Noll’s voice is that of a historian sensitive both to the details of each era and to broad patterns across centuries. He stresses that these turning points did not happen in isolation but are interconnected episodes that reveal how Christian doctrines, institutions, cultures, and global presence have been shaped by decisions, crises, and encounters across two millennia.
Chapter by Chapter Summary
Below is a concise summary of each chapter in the most recent edition of Turning Points.
Introduction: The Idea of Turning Points and Reasons for Studying the History of Christianity
Noll explains his method of identifying decisive moments that reshaped Christianity. He argues that understanding turning points helps readers see how contemporary Christianity emerged from specific historical junctures rather than inevitable progress.
1. The Fall of Jerusalem (70)
The destruction of Jerusalem by Rome ended the temple centered Judaism that had framed early Christian identity. This forced believers to define Christianity apart from Jewish structures and helped propel its spread across the Roman Empire.
2. The Council of Nicaea (325)
Called by Emperor Constantine, the Council addressed theological disputes about Christ’s nature and affirmed his full divinity, producing the Nicene Creed. This established creedal authority and a model for future ecumenical councils.
3. The Council of Chalcedon (451)
Chalcedon resolved continuing Christological debates by affirming that Christ is truly divine and truly human in one person. This doctrinal definition shaped orthodox theology and contributed to differences between East and West.
4. The Monastic Rescue of the Church: Benedict’s Rule (530)
Benedict’s Rule provided a disciplined framework for monastic life that preserved Christian practice, learning, and culture through unstable centuries and influenced Western Christianity deeply.
5. The Coronation of Charlemagne (800)
When the pope crowned Charlemagne emperor, a new relationship between church leadership and political power was solidified. This event symbolized the rise of Western Christendom and the papacy’s influence.
6. The Great Schism (1054)
Cultural, theological, and political tensions between East and West culminated in mutual excommunications and formal separation between what became the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
7. The Diet of Worms (1521)
Martin Luther’s refusal to recant his criticisms of the Catholic Church marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. This shifted the understanding of scripture, authority, and salvation in Western Christianity.
8. The English Act of Supremacy (1534)
Henry VIII’s break with the Roman Catholic Church established the monarch as head of the Church of England, embedding Christianity within national structures and accelerating Protestant diversity.
9. The Founding of the Jesuits (1540)
The Society of Jesus emerged within the Catholic Reformation as a dynamic force in education, mission, and intellectual renewal, significantly expanding Catholic influence worldwide.
10. The Conversion of the Wesleys (1738)
John and Charles Wesley’s spiritual renewal sparked the Methodist movement and a new evangelical piety that emphasized personal devotion and active faith, influencing Protestant worship and mission.
11. The French Revolution (1789)
The upheaval of the French Revolution challenged the authority of church and monarchy, accelerated secularization in Europe, and forced Christians to rethink their place in modern societies.
12. The Edinburgh Missionary Conference (1910)
This gathering of Protestant mission leaders symbolized the shift from Western majority Christianity to a truly global faith with diverse cultures and contexts and emphasized cooperation in evangelism.
13. Vatican II and Lausanne (1962–74)
The Second Vatican Council modernized Catholic self understanding and ecumenical engagement. The Lausanne Congress brought global evangelicals together to articulate a shared vision for worldwide mission, representing significant developments in twentieth century Christianity.
Afterword: The Character of Christianity and the Search for Turning Points
Noll reflects on the nature of Christianity as a dynamic and historically contingent tradition. He invites readers to consider both the episodes selected and other possible turning points that reveal how the faith continues to evolve.