Introduction To The History Of Christianity Second Edition

Tim Dowley's masterful one-volume survey of church history is now available in a new concise format designed with today's student in mind. Each section of Dowley's Introduction to the History of Christianity has been reviewed and content edited to create a more compact summary of Christian history. This new, shorter introduction retains the full-color format of the popular full edition, including the third edition's new images and maps. Dowley has assembled a global cast of respected scholars to write the full story of the rise of the Christian faith and to provide a rounded picture of the worldwide development of Christianity. The volume has been praised as accurate, scholarly, and balanced. Its writers are committed to Christianity but also to the unhindered pursuit of truth that does not avoid the darker aspects of the varied story of Christianity. The accessible text is supported by detailed timelines, maps, profiles of key figures in Christianity, colorful images, and a complete glossary. Each section includes questions for discussion.

Christianity is the world’s largest religion, and has had a profound impact on the course of civilization. Introduction to the History of Christianity is a beautifully crafted and clearly written introduction to Christianity over its 2000 year history. The broad underlying theme of the book is the interaction between Christianity and the secular world, exploring how one has shaped and been shaped by the other. The volume does not attempt to cover the whole of Christian history in detail. It focuses on three key chronological periods pivotal in the development of Christianity: Christ and Caesar, Christianity circa 300–500; Expansion and Order, Latin Christendom, circa 1050–1250; and Grace and Authority, Western Christianity, circa 1450–1650, as well as a concluding section on Christianity in the modern world, providing illustrative snapshots of the tradition over the course of its long development. In addition, the volume includes maps, timelines, quotations from primary source material, a glossary, and a further reading section. No staid, laborious introduction to its subject, Introduction to the History of Christianity offers an inviting and informative overview of this rich religious tradition.

Now in its third edition, Tim Dowley's masterful one-volume survey of church history has an updated design and new content, particularly in the section covering most recent Christian history. The inviting full-color format includes many new images and updated maps, while maintaining many of the features that made the second edition a popular volume for the classroom. Dowley has assembled a global cast of respected scholars to write the full story of the rise of the Christian faith and to provide a rounded picture of the worldwide development of Christianity. The volume has been praised as accurate, scholarly, and balanced. Its writers are committed to Christianity but also to the unhindered pursuit of truth that does not avoid the darker aspects of the varied story of Christianity. The accessible text is supported by detailed timelines, maps, profiles of key figures in Christianity, colorful images, and a complete glossary. Each section includes questions for discussion.

This reference book brings together information from a range of sources, to provide information on the history of Christianity. It has been updated to include recent events in Eastern Europe.

The history of Christianity in the United States is a fascinating and lively story. In this revised and expanded account, Nancy Koester introduces students to the major events and movements that influenced the tradition. This comprehensive and highly accessible overview of Christian history in the United States, from colonial times to the present, is informed by both classical and recent scholarship and is written for the nonspecialist. Extensive primary sources, images, questions, and other features make this one of the most engaging and lively introductions on the market.

Written by contributing scholars who are experts in specific facets of developing Christianity, this survey provides a well-rounded introduction to the history of Christianity and is ideal for anyone interested in the impact of Christianity of world culture down through history. It shows how Christianity emerged from its original Jewish context and developed into a worldwide religion, offering perceptive studies on how its origins and development were influenced by the changing social and cultural contexts in which the founders and leaders of this tradition lived and thought. Provides detailed evidence of the influence of Greco-Roman and Jewish religious concepts and religious movements on the origins of Christianity, considers the structuring of the church conceptually and organizationally in Europe, and discusses Christianity's spread and growth in America and throughout the world. Looks at the profound impact of the culture of the later Roman and medieval world on the development of Christian doctrine and intellectual traditions and helps readers understand the reasons for the divisions between Catholic and Protestant traditions.

Church historians have long known and appreciated Christianity's global history. Until recently, however, introductory textbooks on the history of Christianity focused almost exclusively on Europe and North America. Robert Bruce Mullins's A Short World History of Christianity, by contrast, offers a panoramic picture of the history of Christianity in its Western and non-Western expressions. It tells the story of the early church in the Greek East as well as the Latin West; of Christianity's spread into Asia as well as Europe during the Middle Ages; and its explosion around the world during the modern period. Mullins's highly readable narrative explores why global perspectives have emerged so strongly in our understanding of the story of Christianity and how they have impacted Christianity's perspective on its place in the world. This newly revised edition adds information on such global phenomena as early Syriac-speaking Christianity; the growth of Pentecostalism around the world, especially in the southern hemisphere; and recent trends in Christianity, including the elevation of the first pope born in the Americas. A time line of key dates, call-out boxes, and other helpful study materials are also provided. Beginning students will appreciate this memorable introduction to the most important events in the history and development of Christianity.

Combining the accuracy and readability of the first edition of this highly acclaimed text, Dowley has enhanced the second edition with new contributions from Pheme Perkins on "The Thought-World of Early Christianity" and Richard Burridge on "Jesus and the Gospels" as well as updated and revised contributions from Ward Gasque, Richard Pierard, John H. Y. Briggs, and more. With many new photographs, illustrations, maps, charts, and timelines, the inviting new full-color format tells the dramatic, intriguing, and often surprising story of Christians in their 2000-year journey to the present day.