In the Prologue, Johnson writes: The narrative begins with Paul of Tarsus making his way from Antioch to Jerusalem, probably in 49 AD, to meet with the remaining followers of Jesus.

514) The Epilogue focuses on the papacy of John Paul II, his role in the fall of Communism, the Post-Soviet recovery of the Russian Orthodox Church; and describes the history of Christianity as a matrix for "a constant process of struggle and rebirth – a succession of crises, often accompanied by horror, bloodshed, bigotry and unreason but [with] evidence too of growth, vitality and increased understanding."

"[7] Alan Brien in The Sunday Times called it "vivid, colourful, clear and often at once impassioned and witty", a history "not be left to students and scholars" and "a treat for the general reader."

"[8] Martin E. Marty's New York Times review of the book in October 1976 asserts that "whether one can represent Christianity in only 556 pages becomes pedantic and frivolous in the face of the fact that Paul Johnson has successfully done so."

(p. 35)[10] Colin Gunton's review in Religious Studies describes the book as "long and enthralling", though it recounts reasons of state "encompass[ing] in the name of religion the subversion of the truth" for much of Christian history.

(p. 242) Johnson contrasts that account with the Pauline theology of truth and human rebirth and the Erasmian view of Christianity as in "full alliance with the Renaissance," including a distaste for persecution and oppression.

The review cites Johnson's argument for Erasmus and Paul as providing pedigree of principles for the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers when "for the first time since the Dark Ages a society came into existence in which institutional Christianity was associated with progress and freedom rather than against them."(p.