Christian History An Introduction

A major new introduction to the global history of Christianity, written by one of the world?s leading theologians and author of numerous bestselling textbooks. 

• Provides a truly global review by exploring the development of Christianity and related issues in Asia, Latin America and Africa, and not just focusing on Western concerns
• Spanning more than two millennia and combining elements of theology, history, and culture, it traces the development of all three branches of Christianity ? Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox ? providing context to Christianity?s origins and its links to Judaism
• Looks beyond denominational history at Christianity?s impact on individuals, society, politics, and intellectual thought, as well as on art, architecture, and the natural sciences
• Combines McGrath?s acute historical sensibility with formidable organizational skill, breaking the material down into accessible, self-contained historical periods
• Offers an accessible and student-oriented text, assuming little or no advance theological or historical knowledge on the part of the reader

List of Maps and Illustrations xiii

How to Use This Book xv

1. The Early Church, 100–500 1

2. The Middle Ages and Renaissance, c. 500–c. 1500 71

3. Competing Visions of Reform, c. 1500–c. 1650 150

4. The Modern Age, c. 1650–1914 214

5. The Twentieth Century, 1914 to the Present 285

Where Next? 349

A Glossary of Christian Terms 351

Index 361

Alister E. McGrath is Professor of Theology, Ministry and Education at King’s College London, UK, and head of its Centre for Theology, Religion, and Culture. Prior to his current post, he was Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University, UK. One of the world’s leading theologians, he is the author of some of the most widely used textbooks on theology, including the bestselling Christian Theology: An Introduction (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), now in its fifth edition, and Historical Theology, second edition (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012). He is much in demand as a speaker at conferences around the world.