Twenty Questions That Shaped World Christian History
Overview
The questions of Christianity are perennial. For example: How are Judaism and Christianity related? Are Jesus and the Holy Spirit God? Is the end of the world imminent? How should we relate faith and reason? In this innovative work, Derek Cooper tells the story of Christian history by presenting the twenty questions (one for each century!) that shaped the Christian church throughout the world.
The result is a book that narrates the exciting history of Christianity from a global perspective by means of simple questions and concerns that still face the church today.
Each century of world Christian history is explored by means of one question that attempts to encapsulate the central themes and concerns of that century for Christianity. Coverage of each century is sensitive to world regions and theological and cultural concerns that are often overlooked and neglected in books that are oriented in a more Western way.
Dive deeper into the church’s past with Christian Community in History (3 vols.).
Key Features
- Covers historical events all over the world
- Provides an informative narrative while reminaing eminently accessible
- Shows the diversity of Christian theological development
Contents
- What’s the Relationship between Christianity and Judaism?
- What Makes Someone a Heretic?
- What Happens to Christians Who Backslide?
- Are Jesus and the Holy Spirit Divine?
- How Many Natures Does Christ Have?
- What Does It Mean to be Holy?
- What’s Islam?
- Are Icons Idolatrous?
- Who Has Authority over Newly Christianized Nations?
- Are These the End Times?
- Should Christians Fight Muslims over the Holy Land?
- Can Priests Marry?
- What’s the Relationship between Faith and Reason?
- How Should We Respond to Mass Death?
- Who Owns Newly Discovered Territory?
- Can Christians Own Slaves?
- Is Confucianism Compatible with Christianity?
- Is Conversion Necessary to Be a Christian?
- Does Evolution Disprove Christianity?
- How Does Christianity Look Worldwide?
There are many fascinating aspects to world Christianity. This broad historical introduction to some of the most important events in the church’s two-thousand year history provides a splendid introduction to the forces that shaped the world-wide movement of Christianity to this day. The author combines down-to-earth questions introducing some of the most important historical issues in Christianity with easy-to-read descriptions of the various political, theological, and social movements that have made Christianity into a global phenomenon. Especially for people new to the study of church history, this book provides a lively place to begin their investigation.
—Timothy J. Wengert, emeritus ministerium of Pennsylvania professor of Reformation history, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
Product Details
- Title: Twenty Questions That Shaped World Christian History
- Author: Derek Cooper
- Publisher: Fortress
- Publication Date: 2015
- Pages: 354
- Christian Group: Lutheran
- Resource Type: Histories
- Topic: Church History
About Derek Cooper
Derek Cooper received his PhD from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and is associate professor of world Christian history at Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. He specializes in church history and world religions and has written several books, including Exploring Church History, Unfollowers: Unlikely Lessons on Faith from those Who Doubted Jesus, and Hazardous: Commiting to the Cost of Following Jesus.