The 40 Most Influential Christians

Learn From the Greatest Teachers and Thinkers in Christian History

The Bible is the bedrock of Christian belief, yet how Christians think and talk about God, the Bible, and faith has been shaped by influential thinkers from the first century right up through the twentieth. In this book, Dr. Daryl Aaron tells the powerful stories of forty who have helped us better understand what we believe and why we believe it.

With insight--and some surprises--Dr. Aaron explores the lives and most important teachings of these giants of church history, from Justin Martyr and Augustine to Martin Luther, John Calvin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and many others, underscoring how their teaching has influenced the church--for better or, occasionally, for worse.

Let your faith be strengthened as you encounter those who paved the way for us, often risking their lives for the sake of the very beliefs we hold today.

My review:
    I'm not sure I agree with the author on all forty people in this book being the most influential Christians, but it is an interesting read. Each chapter is dedicated to a different person, and most are around six pages in length, though a few are longer.

    Some of the people in the book are people I have never heard of, hence my statement that I am not sure some of them belong in the book. I studied church history and don't remember hearing of some of them, but it was still interesting reading about them and about what they contributed to Christianity. Even with the people I am familiar with, I learned some new things about.

  This isn't a book you would read rapidly through, but one you would read a chapter or two at a time. The author did a great job of compiling information, putting the people in order that they came in

history, and making it and interesting and helpful book.

About the author:
    Daryl Aaron earned his ThM at Dallas Theological Seminary and his PhD at Graduate Theological Foundation. He spent fourteen years in pastoral ministry before becoming a professor of biblical and theological studies at Northwestern College. He lives with his wife in Mounds View, Minnesota.


The 40 Most Influential Christians is available from Bethany House Publishers.

Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy.