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Full Description
This book is intended to be ambitious and distinctive both in terms of the approach it adopts and the questions it poses. It is written in the belief that the modern experience of Christianity can only be appreciated fully in the light of its past history. It is thus the natural successor to An Introduction to the History of Christianity: from the early Church to the Enlightenment. As such the new book covers the chronological period from the eighteenth century to the start of the twenty first century. In addition it also explores the evolution of concepts first encountered in Introduction such as authority, tradition, reform and hierarchy, but now in their modern context, and concentrates once again on the mutual impacts of Christianity and the secular world. It will ask a series of questions about how Christianity developed in the new era, in the light of its relative successes or failures in previous ages. A broadly thematic rather than strictly chronological method will be at the heart of the structure. The book is organised into three main sections, each analysing a particular theme, and divided into a number of chapters. At the conclusion of each chapter a `Suggested Further Reading' section replaces a conventional bibliography.
Contents
An Introduction will outline some of the main themes and concepts of Christian history and alert readers as to how these have manifested themselves in modern times.Part One will concentrate on the main intellectual and cultural developments of the modern era as they relate to the history of Christianity. These will include the Enlightenment, the Romantic Movement, scientific theories such as evolution, and the progress of new methodologies in Biblical criticism. In Introduction it was argued that one of the major successes of Christianity had been its ability to assimilate the ideas, concepts and vocabularies of secular learning in a number of different historical contexts. Was it able to repeat this success in the modern era, or did it turn away from this positive engagement, or was the nature of modern learning unlike that in the past and antipathetic to Christianity in its essence? The main theme of Part Two will be the relationship between Christianity and the political, economic and social spheres. It will first of all explore the impact that industrialisation and urbanisation had on Christianity. Introduction discussed the ways in which Christianity `grew with the world' in which it found itself, especially during the medieval expansion of the economy and cities. Was modern Christianity able to do the same? Why did the numbers of practising Christians decline so dramatically in Western European industrial cities, yet remain vibrant in the United States? Then it will analyse the emergence of new, often atheistic and totalitarian, political philosophies in the modern era, and explore the reactions of Christianity to them. Did Christianity offer an alternative vision for modern living as it had for the ancient world? Did it result in a new age of martyrdom?Part Three will examine the expansion and ordering of Christianity itself in the modern age, again drawing on comparisons with previous challenges faced by Christians in earlier periods. It will investigate the reasons for the geographical expansion of Christianity, starting with the European colonial empires and their missionary efforts, and then the continuing growth in the contemporary Third World. It will also consider movements of renewal and reform within modern Christianity, and explore ways in which these have related to an expanding faith. It will view developments such as the Second Vatican Council or the Ecumenical Movement in the light of previous examples of reform and revival, and meditate on their relation to the concepts of reform, authority and tradition first outlined in Introduction.A Conclusion will draw the themes and ideas of the book together, and offer some thoughts on possible future courses for Christian history.A selection of Documents will fulfill a similar function to the one in Introduction, illustrating some of the points made in the main text from original sources.
