History Of The World Christian Movement The Seventeenth Century Global Religious And Secular Encounters

Beginning with the missionary expansion of the 15th century, this story goes on to trace the fracturing of the Christian movement among Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant versions; the impact of modern colonialism and the emergence of a new global reality; the wars of religion, the impact of the Enlightenment, the rise of Christianity in North America, and the modern missionary movement.

This thorough, lucid, solidly researched book, the first of two volumes, charts the history of global Christianity.

Wilbert Shenk presents five important papers on how Christian historical and mission studies need to be changed in the light of the emergence of World Christianity and the demise of the West as its spiritual and political center. Shenk introduces the entire question in a brilliant essay that portrays the demographic, cultural, and theological shifts in tectonics. His introduction is followed by five chapters and concludes with a reflection by four historians on the contents of this pathbreaking book.

The Cambridge History of Christianity offers a comprehensive chronological account of the development of Christianity in all its aspects - theological, intellectual, social, political, regional, global - from its beginnings to the present day. Each volume makes a substantial contribution in its own right to the scholarship of its period and the complete History constitutes a major work of academic reference. Far from being merely a history of Western European Christianity and its offshoots, the History aims to provide a global perspective. Eastern and Coptic Christianity are given full consideration from the early period onwards, and later, African, Far Eastern, New World, South Asian and other non-European developments in Christianity receive proper coverage. The volumes cover popular piety and non-formal expressions of Christian faith and treat the sociology of Christian formation, worship and devotion in a broad cultural context. The question of relations between Christianity and other major faiths is also kept in sight throughout. The History will provide an invaluable resource for scholars and students alike. How did Christianity fare during the tumultuous period in world history from 1660 to 1815? This volume examines issues of church, state, society and Christian life, in Europe and in the wider world. It explores the intellectual and political movements that challenged Christianity: from the rise of science and the Enlightenment to the French Revolution with its state-supported programme of de-Christianisation. It also considers the movements of Christian renewal and reawakening during this period, and Christianity's encounters with world religions in colonial and missionary settings. Book jacket.

Beginning with the missionary expansion of the 15th century, this story goes on to trace the fracturing of the Christian movement among Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant versions; the impact of modern colonialism and the emergence of a new global reality; the wars of religion, the impact of the Enlightenment, the rise of Christianity in North America, and the modern missionary movement.

Christianity is a global faith. Today, people are increasingly aware that Christianity extends far beyond Europe and North America, permeating the Eastern and Southern hemispheres. What we may know less well is that Christianity has always been a global faith. A vast untold story waits to be heard beyond the familiar tale of how the Christian faith spread across Europe. Not only was Jesus born in Asia, but in the early years of the church Christianity found fertile soil in Africa and soon extended to East Asia as well. In this brief introduction to world Christian history, Derek Cooper explores the development of Christianity across time and the continents. Guiding readers to places like Iraq, Ethiopia and India, Scandanavia, Brazil and Oceania, he reveals the fascinating—and often surprising—history of the church.

In 1900 many assumed the twentieth century would be a Christian century because Western "Christian empires" ruled most of the world. What happened instead is that Christianity in the West declined dramatically, the empires collapsed, and Christianity's center moved to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific. How did this happen so quickly? Respected scholar and teacher Scott Sunquist surveys the most recent century of Christian history, highlighting epochal changes in global Christianity. He also suggests lessons we can learn from this remarkable global Christian reversal. Ideal for an introduction to Christianity or a church history course, this book includes a foreword by Mark Noll.

This is a short, accessible analysis of Christianity that focuses on its social and cultural diversity as well as its historical dimensions.