Introducing Christianity

by Adair; James R.

• ISBN13: 9780415772129
• ISBN10: 0415772125
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2008-01-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

What is Christianity? How did it begin? What do Christians believe? What are their customs and history? How has Christianity developed though the centuries, and how diverse is Christianity today? Introducing Christianity is an essential introduction to one of the worlda??s great religious traditions. James Adair narrates the history of Christianity: the intellectual and historical context of its origins, its triumph under the Romans, the upheavals of the Crusades, the Protestant and Catholic Reformations and the challenges of the Enlightenment and of the modern age. He explores the intriguing new forms Christianity took in the nineteen century, the evolution of sects such as Mormonism and Jehovaha??s witnesses, and its mission to Africa. Adair also interrogates Christianitya??s role in the modern world, as he surveys liturgical, geographical and denominational perspectives of contemporary Christianity. He concludes by investigating how Christiansinteract with modern culture, particularly science, the arts, ethics, political and other religions. Written in a vivid and lively style, by an experienced teacher, Introducing Christianity is the ideal resource for students beginning their studies of Christianity. Richly illustrated, it also includes quotations from original sources, learning goals, summary boxes, questions for discussion, and suggestions for further reading, and a comprehensive glossary, to aid study and revision.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
List of abbreviations of books of the Bible	p. xiii
Introduction to Christianity	p. 1
Basic questions	p. 3
What is religion?	p. 4
What is myth?	p. 7
What is sin?	p. 8
What is salvation?	p. 10
What is faith?	p. 12
What is the Bible?	p. 13
How is Christianity related to other religions?	p. 18
Christianity and the divine	p. 24
Sacred and profane	p. 24
Sacred time	p. 25
Sacred space	p. 27
Sacred symbols and artefacts	p. 30
Sacred interactions	p. 33
Sacred personages	p. 34
Sacred metatime	p. 38
Historical overview of Christinanity	p. 43
The historical and intellectual context of Christianity	p. 45
Judaism	p. 46
The Greco-Roman world	p. 55
The founder and the foundational documents	p. 64
Jesus Christ	p. 65
The historical Jesus and the Christ of faith	p. 77
The Christian scriptures	p. 83
Defining Christianity	p. 92
The first century	p. 94
Developments within Christianity	p. 102
A Jewish or Greco-Roman religion?	p. 104
Conflict and persecution	p. 116
Internal struggles	p. 117
External struggles	p. 132
The triumph of Christianity	p. 142
Three early emperors	p. 143
The Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople	p. 147
Theological reflection, East and West	p. 152
The monastic reaction	p. 160
The Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon	p. 162
Power shift	p. 168
The fall of the Western Roman Empire	p. 169
The rise of the Eastern Roman Empire	p. 171
The emergence of Islam	p. 174
Christianity reascendant	p. 175
Christendom at its height	p. 179
The Byzantine Empire	p. 179
The Holy Roman Empire and Christian Europe	p. 183
The rise of the papacy	p. 189
Holy war	p. 195
Winds of change	p. 203
Theological developments	p. 203
The Renaissance and Christian humanism	p. 208
Efforts to reform the Church	p. 210
Christianity beyond the Mediterranean world	p. 216
Upheaval in the Church	p. 222
The end of the Middle Ages	p. 223
The Protestant Reformation	p. 223
The Catholic Reformation	p. 235
Protestantism settles in	p. 237
Orthodoxy	p. 245
Different types of orthodoxy	p. 246
Reactions to orthodoxy	p. 252
Old world and new world	p. 264
The Church in the United States	p. 265
The Church in Europe	p. 274
The Church in Latin America and the Caribbean	p. 278
Diversification and expansion	p. 282
Developing theology	p. 283
Global missions	p. 291
The Church and the modern world	p. 297
Globalization: war, economy, technology, Christianity	p. 298
Eastern Christianity	p. 304
Roman Catholicism	p. 306
Neo-orthodoxy, Christian realism, and Christian existentialism	p. 312
The rise of Protestant fundamentalism	p. 314
World War II and its aftermath	p. 315
The ecumenical movement	p. 318
Varieties of Christianity	p. 323
A denominational/traditional perspective	p. 325
Varieties of church polity	p. 327
Catholic Churches	p. 329
Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches	p. 332
Anglican and Episcopal Churches	p. 335
Churches of the Magisterial Reform	p. 336
Free Churches	p. 337
Pentecostal and Neocharismatic Churches	p. 342
Another way to look at denominations	p. 344
A geographical perspective	p. 350
The Church in Europe	p. 351
The Church in Asia	p. 352
The Church in North America	p. 353
The Church in Latin America and the Caribbean	p. 353
The Church in Africa	p. 354
The Church in Australia and Oceania	p. 357
A doctrinal perspective	p. 360
The Trinity	p. 361
The Holy Spirit	p. 362
Justification by faith	p. 364
Church and state	p. 365
Eschatology	p. 367
Traditional and progressive churches	p. 370
A liturgical perspective	p. 375
Early Christian worship	p. 377
Liturgical (high-church) worship	p. 379
Traditional (low-church) worship	p. 383
Contemplative worship	p. 386
Christianity's interaction with the world	p. 391
Christianity and science	p. 393
Cosmology I: the heliocentric universe	p. 394
Geology	p. 396
Cosmology II: the Big Bang	p. 397
Biology	p. 398
Christianity and the arts	p. 405
Visual arts	p. 405
Architecture	p. 409
Music	p. 412
Drama	p. 414
Literature	p. 415
Christian ethics and politics	p. 420
Christ and culture	p. 421
Sexual mores	p. 423
Life and death	p. 425
Wealth and poverty	p. 428
Christianity and politics	p. 429
Christianity and other religions	p. 434
Christianity and spirituality	p. 434
Christian approaches to other religions	p. 437
Christianity and Judaism	p. 438
Christianity and Islam	p. 442
Christianity and the religions of South and East Asia	p. 443
Christianity and secularism	p. 445
Conclusion	p. 449
Timeline of Christian history	p. 453
Glossary	p. 460
Bibliography	p. 481
Index	p. 489
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