An Introduction to Christianity

The key figures, events and ideas of Christian history, discussed within their own context.

Linda Woodhead (Author)

9780521786553, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 2 September 2004

456 pages, 27 b/w illus. 7 maps
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.71 kg

'['Introduction to Christianity'] literature endures … in two social locations: the academic textbook market for religious studies and Christian theological education as well as trade book expeditions into current public discussions of religion. Woodhead attends to both settings. … [She] devotes greatest time and energy to gradations between the polarities. Her forte is dealing with compromised, mixed, muddled and - better still - unintended, even ironic, social relations that Christians form with worldly principalities and powers. This approach makes hers a more refreshingly candid, nuanced handling of Christian history than most textbooks. … this book is of immense practical benefit … Exceptional strengths are Woodhead's skill in (re)incorporating women's history into the overall story and her ability to sift through and sort out the last half-century of Christianity's history.' Scottish Journal of Theology

An Introduction to Christianity examines the key figures, events and ideas of two thousand years of Christian history and places them in context. It considers the religion in its material as well as its spiritual dimensions and explores its interactions with wider society such as money, politics, force, gender and the family, and non-Christian cultures and societies. This Introduction places particular focus on the ways in which Christianity has understood, embodied and related to power. It shows how the Church's longstanding love affair with 'higher power', both human and divine, has been repeatedly challenged by alternative ideas of of 'power from below', both sacred and secular. Finally, by bringing the history of Christianity right up-to-date, this book explores the ways in which churches of both North and South react to the rise of modern democracy. Comprehensive and accessible, this book will appeal to the student and general reader.

Introduction
Part I. The Christian Revolution: Ascent to Power: 1. How Christianity came to power
2. Churches of east and west in the early middle ages
3. Christendom: the western church in power
Part II. The Modern Revolution: Compromises with Power: 4. The Reformation in context
5. Protestant pathways into the modern world
6. Catholic and orthodox negotiations with modernity
7. Twentieth-century fortunes
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Christian theology [HRCM], History of religion [HRAX], General & world history [HBG]