10/01/2018Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation ), a graduate professor in multiple theological schools, overseeing more than 200 academic contributors, produces a deeply scholarly but accessible overview of Christianity in the "Global South," which refers to Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Oceania, and parts of Asia. Front matter, including separate essays on the five regions covered, and a perceptive introduction by historian Philip Jenkins, reveals a big picture. Six afterwords offer important projections, while 16 essays trace the historical and then contemporary experience of Christianity in eight areas (the Caribbean, Latin America, Oceania, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa). Entries on 150-plus nations tackle ethnicities, languages, government, religions, Christian denominations, major historical leaders, church-state relations, and more. Others examine disparate topics, such as music and asceticism. A general time line, extensive bibliography, thematic listing, and two indexes add to the work's utility. There are minor errors, but overall this massive undertaking, with its varied Christian perspectives, is extremely impressive in scope. VERDICT Readers with any interest in the areas covered, or in religion past and present, will want to explore these hefty volumes.—Patricia D. Lothrop, formerly of St. George's Sch., Newport, RI
The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South is a comprehensive, contemporary, and compelling resource on the history, theology, and missiology of Christianities in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Caribbean, and Oceana. Editor Mark Lamport, who has taught worldwide and has worked with George Thomas Kurian on several major encyclopedia projects, brings together a unique guild of 250 established as well as emerging scholars from 70 countries to present this brilliant resource.. .. The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South is an inevitable inventory for any library. It is a highly useful resource for students, teachers, and scholars of history of Christianity in the Global South or Christian studies in general.. .. I have personally benefited from this encyclopedia, both a contributor as well as a researcher.. . I highly recommend this encyclopedia to everyone interested in gaining fresh insights on Christian history and experiences of the Global South.
The Journal of Asian American Theological Forum (AATF)
Covering voices of Christianity in the Global South, this encyclopedia critically appraises transitional and transformative moments for world Christianity. As a compass pointing true north, this encyclopedia indicates the continuity between Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The entries in this book illuminate the face of Jesus Christ who shines on the thousand rivers, similar to a famous analogy in Buddhism of one moon reflecting in a thousand rivers. These volumes will be invaluable for those wishing to explore the present reality and future of Christianity.
"Country entries provide geographical description, ethnic composition, languages spoken, form of government, religions practiced, Christian denominations present, time line of the spread of Christianity in the country, major Christian leaders (all indexed), church-state relations, and much more. Topical entries consider key ideas characterizing Christian developments discussed in the geographical entries: e.g., 'China, History of Missions in.'"
At last we have a reference work on Christianity in the Global South that should be widely consulted by Christians throughout the world, especially in the Global North. While the demographic center of Christianity has long since shifted to the Global South, the evidence from courses in theology indicates a lack of engagement with this new center for Christianity. This volume provides the opportunity to listen and to learn from our brothers and sisters in the Global South—an opportunity not to be missed.
More than anything, the entries remind readers that Christianity is no longer exclusively a western phenomenon. Each entry gives readers an excellent introduction to this religion in whatever the country. Volume two tackles short histories of Christianity in its various global southern regions. The contributors take on Christianity in Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Oceania, and much, much more. The hopes, dreams, challenges, successes, and failures are brought out in these various brief summaries. These are excellent volumes for any size library and should find many users seeking their insights.
American Reference Books Annual
This compendium of more than a half thousand entries offers numerous intersections for readers to discover what Christianity has been becoming, illustrating complexity, connectivity, contingency, collaboration, constellation, and polyvocality. This encyclopedia is a valuable enhancement for understanding Christianities worldwide, regardless of how they are labeled.
Those of us who are studying, teaching, and writing in the area of World Christianity all need to be lifelong learners. This encyclopedia is a precious treasure chest of both seminal and recent essays covering the vast field of Christianity of the Global South, which has been a secret for far too long. The quality and quantity of the contributions in this monumental reference work provide a very valuable and inspiring panorama of the vibrant and diverse religiosity of the Global South.
This work is an inexhaustible mine of knowledge and information on Christianity in the Global South. It provides tremendous resources to scholars of Christianity and all those who desire to be informed about the history, challenges, issues, promises, and prospects of this face of Christianity and the influence it has on the global stage. The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South is a must-read for all.
This extensive, timely encyclopedia not only meets but exceeds the formidable challenges posed by its exciting, crucial subject: the shift of the Christian world’s ‘center of balance’ to the Global South, a region encompassing some 165 nations. From many and varied cultural perspectives, yet in an unwaveringly neutral, nonconfessional tone, the editor and contributing authors chronicle this epochal development with impressive erudition, broad circumspection, and critical insight, while artfully balancing diachronic consideration of historical developments with synchronic attentiveness to present conditions, problems, and promises. The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South sets the standard for its burgeoning field of study.
Among the available literature on the subject, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South is unique in many ways. One significant aspect is it covers many topics common to the five territories it discusses. This helps in conversations and dialogue among Christians within the Global South rather than they being seen strictly through Western lenses; and Christians connecting to each other can open up many new avenues in the study of World Christianity.
This impressive publication addresses its vital subject in numerous exciting ways, combining the perspectives of leading scholars from Europe and North America with their counterparts from the Global South, and bringing together the insights of practitioners and academic researchers. It provides accessible and reliable ways into the subject for the non-specialist and offers rich detail for the expert. I warmly recommend this invaluable resource, which will do much to open up the study of contemporary world Christianity in a manner that reflects its actual geographical distribution.
The past century has witnessed a dramatic shift in global Christianity. The language of the gospel is now heard in more tribes, tongues, and cultures than ever before. A truly global faith must listen well to each and every member of the family. The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South provides a much-needed voice for the church in the majority world. The result can only be a richer understanding of the gospel and a more loving expression of genuine faith.
The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South is an essential resource for scholars who are engaged with the transformation of the Christian religion wrought in modernity. This encyclopedia is focused on the growth of the Christian faith in the Southern hemisphere, including the African subcontinent and Brazil. It is clear that Christianity can no longer be thought of as a 'Western' religion, and the future of the faith is likely to lie with non-Western countries and non-Western visions of the Christian life. Those readers interested in the future of an ancient tradition will find themselves informed and interested by this significant scholarly achievement.
This encyclopedia is a beautiful, thorough, needed contribution. .. and I hope many Christians, all over the world, will use it.
Christianity has returned home. It started in a place geographically called ‘South,’ and for some time it became a property of the ‘North.’ We live now in a time where that fabricated division should no longer be accepted. The Earth belongs to God, and from every tribe, language, and nations he has called people to belong to his Family. For this reason, I heartily recommend the Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South. It is a treasure that needs to be appreciated with care and gratitude for those who spent years putting this information together.
A comprehensive and far-reaching presentation of the most important development in world Christianity in our time. The contributions here put us well on the road to reconceptualizing how to think of world Christianity amid such seismic shifts, and how we might interact with its many facets. This is a work I will return to again and again in the coming years.
It has often been noted that Western knowledge of the rapid expansion and development of Christianity in Asia, Africa, South America, and the whole ‘global south’ is woefully lacking. This extraordinary encyclopedia will go far to diminish that ignorance. In a dazzling series of essays and entries it explores at many levels the vibrant growth of Christianity and Christian theology at a time when the churches of the West are in decline. It should be read by all who suppose that the Christian faith is dying—and it can be both dipped into and read in depth with its endless riches and profound reflections.
"Country entries provide geographical description, ethnic composition, languages spoken, form of government, religions practiced, Christian denominations present, time line of the spread of Christianity in the country, major Christian leaders (all indexed), church-state relations, and much more. Topical entries consider key ideas characterizing Christian developments discussed in the geographical entries: e.g., 'China, History of Missions in.'"
"Country entries provide geographical description, ethnic composition, languages spoken, form of government, religions practiced, Christian denominations present, time line of the spread of Christianity in the country, major Christian leaders (all indexed), church-state relations, and much more. Topical entries consider key ideas characterizing Christian developments discussed in the geographical entries: e.g., 'China, History of Missions in.'"
