Great Christian Classics is a hardback compilation of five remarkable narratives. This text includes Augustine's Confessions, Patrick's Confessions, John Knox's Reformation in Scotland, John Bunyan's Grace Abounding, and John G. Paton's Autobiography. Nothing is added or taken away from these original writings--no editorial comments or translations into modern English.

As a parent, I have always desired that my children would have the opportunity to read the classics of our faith. These classics help to connect the modern day church to its origins in the first generation church of the New Testament. However, even an adult can find it hard to take on this goal. One major hurdle is the difference between the Old English use of words and modern day English terminology. The authors of the corresponding Study Guide assist with this very issue.

The Christian Classis Study Guide is divided into chapters that completely reflect the chapter breaks in the Great Christian Classics text. Most chapters begin with a vocabulary section that familiarizes the student with some terms that are no longer common in English today. This section should be completed prior to the reading of the material in the text. After looking over the vocabulary section and reading the text chapter, the student has an assortment of study guide questions, similar in many ways to reading comprehension questions. They help to ensure that the student is truly understanding the material. Following the study guide questions are critical thinking questions that require the student to consider the importance of the material and how it relates to everyday life. Many chapters also suggest topics for a 250-word essay, which would enable students to really flesh out the material and make it their own.

All in all, families that choose to use Great Christian Classics and the corresponding Christian Classics Study Guide will find this to be a wonderful foundation for a high school level course in the History of the Modern Church. The choice of the five particular narratives in this study was an excellent one on the part of Generations with Vision. At first glance, the chapters in the Great Christian Classics seem very small and one can become overambitious in their approach to this study. Although the chapters are generally 5 pages of less, the profound truths contained in each as well as the need to become accustomed to the language style would lend to a pace of about a single chapter per week from this reviewer's perspective. With 41 chapters in all, this would nicely align with a 40-week school year. The Study Guide is spiral bound with plenty of lined space between questions to provide responses.

Great Christian Classics has provided our family with the impetus to take on other studies of the classics, as they are no longer as intimidating as they once appeared. Thank you to the folks at Generations with Vision!

Product review by Dawn Oaks, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, February 2011