The Christian Tradition: A Historical and Theological Introduction

✍ Scribed by Peter Feldmeier

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Year: 2016
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 401
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Featuring an exceptionally lucid writing style and a holistic, integrated approach, The Christian Tradition: A Historical and Theological Introduction traces the history of Christianity across the world from its earliest origins up to the present. By connecting theological practices to
historical developments, it helps students understand and appreciate how theological values and perspectives have grounded major figures and movements.

Revealing the many ways that tradition, history, doctrine, and practice are in constant dialogue, The Christian Tradition offers a fascinating and balanced introduction to Christianity.

PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES:

Numerous visual aids, including more than fifteen maps, keep students engaged

A master timeline at the beginning of the book and chapter-specific timelines provide historical context

What to Expect segments give students a preview of the major concepts covered in each chapter

Text boxes throughout offer in-depth looks at specific events, figures, and ideas

Key terms are bolded at their first appearance, listed at the end of each chapter, and reviewed in a comprehensive glossary at the end of the book

Conclusions sections at the end of each chapter remind students of the most important parts of the material they've just read

✦ Table of Contents

Brief Contents
Contents
Maps
Timelines
Preface
Acknowledgements
A Christian Timelline
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction Christianity
Christian Sources: The Wesleyan Quadrilateral
The Bible as Authority
Chapter 2: The Old Testament
The Bible and History
Genesis and the Creation of the World
Genesis and the Patriarchs (18th Century BCE)
Exodus (13th Century BCE)
Judges (c. 1220-1020 BCE)
Monarchy (c. 1020-586 BCE) and Other Dynasties
Prophets
Main Theological Themes and Developments in Ancient Israel
Conclusions
Chapter 3: Jesus and the New Testament
The New Testament and How It Was Formed
The Gospel of Jesus
The Ministry of Jesus
Conclusions
Chapter 4: Christian Faith in the New Testament
Introduction to the Rest of the New Testament
Acts of the Apostles
The Apostle Paul (c. 5-64 CE)
Conclusions
Chapter 5: Christianity Becomes a Religion
From Judaism to Christianity
WHat is Christianity
Persecutions
Apologists
Conclusions
Chapter 6: The Life of the Early Church
From Apocalyptic to Eschatological
Church as Center
Moral Rigor
Asceticism
Consecrated Virginity
Veneration of Saints
Conclusions
Chapter 7: The Imperial Church
Constantine
Councils and Dogmas
Christological and Trinitarian Dogmas in Brief
Church and State
Patriarchal Sees
Conclusions
Chapter 8: The Great Fathers and The Quest for Union with God
Background
Fathers of the East
Augustine (354-430 CE) and the West
Conclusions
Chapter 9: Christianity's Spiritual Life
Monasticism
Spiritual Practices and the Public Church
Sacraments: Where Heaven and Earth Meet
Conclusions
Chapter 10: Expansion and Change in the East and North
Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
The Church of the East
Expansion of the Byzantine Church
The Surging of Islam
Conclusions
Chapter 11: The Church and the Western Empire
Reconstitution of the West
Ireland, England, and Scandinavia
Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire
Considering Papal Developments
Christianity and War
Conclusions
Chapter 12: Medieval Piety and the Rise of Universities
Culture Shifts in Europe
The Dominican Response
The Franciscan Response
Medieval Feminine Affective Piety
Shrines, Miracles, and the Medieval Mind
The Rise of the Universities
Conclusions
Chapter 13: The Renaissance
From the Late Middle Ages to the Renaissance
A Transformation of Culture
Humanism and the Discovery of the Individual
Southern Renaissance
The Avignon Papacy, Conciliarism, and Renaissance Popes
Northern Renaissance
Voices of Reform
Conclusions
Chapter 14: The Reformation
Background
Lutheran Reformation
Swiss Reformed Christianity
The Radical Reformation
The English Reformation
Conclusions
Chapter 15: The Catholic Reformation
Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation
Carmelites and Further Developments of Mysticism
Ignatius of Loyola and the Society of Jesus
The Council of Trent (1545-1563)
Eastern Orthodoxy at the Time of Reformation
Conclusions
Chapter 16: The Enlightenment
The Wars of Religion
The Enlightenment
Conclusions
Chapter 17: Colonization and Missions
The Christian Imperative to Convert Souls
Africa
The New World
Reactions Against the Slave Trade
The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
Asia
Conclusions
Chapter 18: Christianity in the United States to the Civil War
The American Colonies
Pietism, Methodism, and the Evangelical Movement
American Revivalism and Evangelicism
The American Revolution and the Seperation of Church and State
Catholics in America
Millennialism and New Denominations
Conclusions
Chapter 19: Modern Challenges to Christianity
The French Revolution and the Italian Risorgimento
Atheism
Evolution and the Scientific Worldview
Biblical Criticism
Church Responses to the Modern Challenges of Faith
Roman Catholicism
Eastern Orthodoxy: Russia and the Ottoman Decay
Conclusions
Chapter 20: The Rise of Evangelical and Pentacostal Christianity
The Modern Evangelical Movement
The Pentecostal Explosion
Conclusions
Chapter 21: Modern Faith and Future Trends
Leaving Behind Eurocentrism
The Growth of Christianity Worldwide
The Christian Explosion in Africa
South Korea
Prophetic Liberating Theologies
The Ecumenical Movement
Reconsidering the Religious Other
The Future of Christianity
Conclusions
Glossary of Key Terms
Credits
Index