Christianity: The Biography: 2000 Years of Global History

by Ian J. Shaw

Overview

In Christianity: The Biography Ian Shaw charts the story of Christianity from its birth and infancy among a handful of followers of Jesus Christ, through its years of development into a global religious movement, spanning continents and cultures and transcending educational and social backgrounds.

This new, accessible overview of the global history of Christianity:

• Narrates the story of the Christian tradition and its global heritage over two millennia
• Introduces the major phases, developments, movements, and personalities
• Explores interactions of Christianity with the wider society
• Is written from within the evangelical tradition, but accessible to others
• Presents nuanced, cogent analysis that draws on the latest scholarship

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310536284
Publisher:	Zondervan Academic
Publication date:	01/31/2017
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	146,399
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Ian J. Shaw is Associate International Director of the Langham Scholars Program and Honorary Fellow, School of Divinity, New College, University of Edinburgh. He is the author of Churches, Revolutions and Empires: 1789-1914; High Calvinists in Action: Calvinism and the City; William Gadsby; and The Greatest Is Charity.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Opening Up a Life Story 1: The Cradle: The World into Which Christianity Was Born 2: Smiles: Early Church Growth 3. First Words: Early Christian Writings 4: Tears: Persecutions 5. Learning to Write 6. It’s Official: The Start of Imperial Christianity 7: Moving On and Out 8: Reflecting Inwardly and Reaching Out 9. Disagreements and Rivalries 10: Deepening Thinking Capacities 11. Growing, Contracting, Questioning 12: Divisions 13. Continuity and Change 14: Desires for Purity, Orthodoxy, and Piety 15: Enlightenment 16: Revolution 17: Challenge and Crisis 18. An Age of Turmoil 19: Creeping into Old Age, or Advancing into Young Adulthood? 20: Towards the Next Chapter in Life Further reading Index

Editorial Reviews

Believers need to know the story of their own faith, and Christianity: The Biography is a great place to start. It covers fascinating figures, movements and trends across two millennia without ever getting bogged down or side-tracked. It is not only clear and accessible, but also inspiring and wise.

Timothy Larsen

So-called 'histories of the church' are often essentially histories only of the church in the West. It is a joy to meet one that recognizes that 'world Christianity' began in the early centuries, and that the story of the Christian faith is a six-continent one. It is a joy also to find it so helpful and well written

Professor Andrew F. Walls

Christians today have largely lost their historical memory, and it is no surprise that as a result many are struggling to agree on the right way ahead for the church. Ian Shaw's remarkable book, encompassing in one volume the entire chronological and geographical range of Christian history, will prove invaluable in helping Christians to recover their historical memory and hence to find wisdom for the future.

Brian Stanley

The more we learn about Christianity's global reach, the more urgent is the need to re-frame how we understand Christian history. This book gets it right. It offers fascinating accounts of Christianity entering the ancient civilizations of Persia, India and China and its transformation of Ethiopia, Egypt and the Sudan — even while it was reaching the wild tribes of the remote British Isles. We learn too about the rise of Islam, the modern missions movement and the rapid worldwide spread of Pentecostalism. In sum, this text is a lively treatment of a truly global faith.

Professor Joel Carpenter

I've enjoyed Christianity: The Biography enormously! What an original idea. It presents the current scholarship in church history in a very engaging way. I hope this book is widely read... An absolutely outstanding volume!

Ian Randall