Details

<p>Preface xii</p> <p>List of Illustrations and Maps xiii</p> <p>Introduction 1</p> <p><b>1 Jesus of Nazareth and the Origins of Christianity 3</b></p> <p>The Significance of Jesus of Nazareth for Christianity 3</p> <p>The Sources of Our Knowledge about Jesus of Nazareth 5</p> <p>Jesus of Nazareth in His Jewish Context 7</p> <p>The Gospels and Jesus of Nazareth 9</p> <p>The Birth of Jesus of Nazareth 10</p> <p>The Early Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth 13</p> <p>The Teaching of Jesus of Nazareth: The Parables of the Kingdom 15</p> <p>The Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth 17</p> <p>The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth 19</p> <p>Events and Meanings: The Interpretation of the History of Jesus 21</p> <p>The New Testament Understandings of the Significance of Jesus 22</p> <p>Jesus of Nazareth and Women 25</p> <p>The Reception of Jesus of Nazareth outside Judaism 26</p> <p><b>2 The Christian Bible 28</b></p> <p>The Old Testament 30</p> <p>Major Themes of the Old Testament 32</p> <p>The creation 32</p> <p>Abraham: Calling and covenant 32</p> <p>The exodus and the giving of the Law 33</p> <p>The establishment of the monarchy 36</p> <p>The priesthood 37</p> <p>Prophecy 37</p> <p>Exile and restoration 38</p> <p>The New Testament 40</p> <p>The gospels 41</p> <p>The New Testament letters 44</p> <p>The fixing of the New Testament canon 45</p> <p>The Christian Understanding of the Relation of the Old and New Testaments 47</p> <p>The Translation of the Bible 49</p> <p>The Bible and Tradition 51</p> <p><b>3 Christian Creeds and Beliefs 54</b></p> <p>The Emergence of Creeds 55</p> <p>What Is Faith? 59</p> <p>Faith and reason 61</p> <p>Can God’s existence be proved? 63</p> <p>The Christian Understanding of God 65</p> <p>Christian analogies for God 66</p> <p>God as Father 67</p> <p>A personal God 69</p> <p>God as almighty 71</p> <p>God as spirit 72</p> <p>The doctrine of the Trinity 74</p> <p>God as the creator 78</p> <p>The Christian Understanding of Humanity 82</p> <p>Humanity and the “image of God” 83</p> <p>Humanity, the fall, and sin 84</p> <p>Jesus of Nazareth 86</p> <p>Early Christian approaches to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth 87</p> <p>The Arian controversy and the incarnation 88</p> <p>The incarnation: The Chalcedonian definition 89</p> <p>Jesus of Nazareth as mediator between God and humanity 90</p> <p>Islamic criticisms of the Christian understanding of Jesus of Nazareth 91</p> <p>The Christian Understanding of Salvation 92</p> <p>New Testament images of salvation 93</p> <p>Christ the victor: The defeat of death and sin 94</p> <p>Christ the harrower of hell: Atonement as restoration 96</p> <p>Christ the redeemer: Atonement as satisfaction 98</p> <p>The death of Christ as a perfect sacrifice 99</p> <p>Christ the lover: Atonement and the enkindling of love 100</p> <p>Salvation and the “threefold office of Christ” 101</p> <p>Grace 102</p> <p>The Pelagian controversy of the fifth century 103</p> <p>The Reformation debates of the sixteenth century 105</p> <p>The Church 106</p> <p>The unity of the church 106</p> <p>The holiness of the church 107</p> <p>The catholicity of the church 109</p> <p>The apostolicity of the church 110</p> <p>The Sacraments 112</p> <p>What is a sacrament? 112</p> <p>The function of sacraments 113</p> <p>Debates about baptism 115</p> <p>Debates about the eucharist 116</p> <p>The Christian Hope 117</p> <p>The New Testament and Christian hope 117</p> <p>The nature of the resurrection body 118</p> <p>Christian burial or cremation? 119</p> <p>Conclusion 120</p> <p><b>4 Christian History: An Overview 121</b></p> <p>The Early Church, c. 100–c. 500 122</p> <p>The apostolic age 122</p> <p>Early Christianity and the Roman empire 123</p> <p>Early Christian worship and organization 125</p> <p>Women and early Christianity 127</p> <p>The conversion of the Emperor Constantine 129</p> <p>The cities and the rise of monasticism 131</p> <p>The fall of the Roman empire 133</p> <p>The Middle Ages and the Renaissance, c. 500–c. 1500 135</p> <p>The development of Celtic Christianity 135</p> <p>The rise of the monastic and cathedral schools 137</p> <p>The “Great Schism” between East and West (1054) 138</p> <p>The crusades: Spain and the Middle East 139</p> <p>Academic theology: The rise of scholasticism 141</p> <p>Secular and religious power in the Middle Ages 142</p> <p>Popular religion: The cult of the saints 143</p> <p>The rise of the Ottoman empire: The fall of Constantinople (1453) 145</p> <p>The rebirth of western culture: The Renaissance 146</p> <p>Competing Visions of Reform, c. 1500–c. 1650 148</p> <p>Christian expansion: Portuguese and Spanish voyages of discovery 149</p> <p>The Lutheran Reformation 151</p> <p>The Calvinist Reformation 153</p> <p>The Radical Reformation (Anabaptism) 154</p> <p>The Catholic Reformation 155</p> <p>The Reformation in England 156</p> <p>The Council of Trent 157</p> <p>The Society of Jesus 158</p> <p>The Wars of Religion 158</p> <p>Puritanism in England and America 159</p> <p>A Protestant religion of the heart: Pietism 160</p> <p>American Protestantism and the Great Awakening 162</p> <p>The Modern Period, c. 1650–1914 163</p> <p>The rise of indifference to religion in Europe 164</p> <p>The Enlightenment: The rise of rationalism 164</p> <p>Christianity in the American Revolution 166</p> <p>Church and state in America: The “wall of separation” 167</p> <p>The French Revolution and “dechristianization” 168</p> <p>Orthodox resurgence: The Greek War of Independence 169</p> <p>A new expansion of Christianity: The age of mission 170</p> <p>The shifting fortunes of Catholicism 173</p> <p>The First Vatican Council: Papal infallibility 175</p> <p>Theological revisionism: The challenge of modernism 176</p> <p>The Victorian crisis of faith 177</p> <p>Pentecostalism: The American origins of a global faith 179</p> <p>The Twentieth Century, 1914 to the Present 180</p> <p>The Armenian genocide of 1915 181</p> <p>The Russian Revolution of 1917 182</p> <p>America: The fundamentalist controversy 184</p> <p>The German church crisis of the 1930s 186</p> <p>The 1960s: The emergence of a post-Christian Europe 188</p> <p>The Second Vatican Council: Reform and revitalization 189</p> <p>Christianity and the American Civil Rights Movement 191</p> <p>Faith renewed: John Paul II and the collapse of the Soviet Union 192</p> <p>Challenging the church’s establishment: Feminism and liberation theology 194</p> <p>Christianity beyond the West: The globalization of faith 196</p> <p>Conclusion 198</p> <p><b>5 Denominations: Contemporary Forms of Christianity 199</b></p> <p>Catholicism 199</p> <p>Eastern Orthodoxy 203</p> <p>Protestantism 205</p> <p>Anglicanism 206</p> <p>The Baptists 207</p> <p>Lutheranism 209</p> <p>Methodism 209</p> <p>Presbyterianism and other reformed denominations 211</p> <p>Pentecostalism 212</p> <p>Evangelicalism 213</p> <p>The Ecumenical Movement and the World Council of Churches 214</p> <p>The Erosion of Protestant Denominationalism in the United States 216</p> <p>Conclusion 218</p> <p><b>6 The Life of Faith: Christianity as a Living Reality 220</b></p> <p>Gateways to Exploring the Life of Faith 220</p> <p>Christian Communities: The Life of the Church 222</p> <p>Christian weddings 222</p> <p>Christian funerals 223</p> <p>The Service of Nine Lessons and Carols 225</p> <p>Christian Worship 226</p> <p>Prayer 228</p> <p>Praise 229</p> <p>The public reading of the Bible 229</p> <p>Preaching 230</p> <p>The reciting of the creeds 230</p> <p>The Sacraments 231</p> <p>Baptism 232</p> <p>The eucharist 234</p> <p>Rhythms and Seasons: The Christian Year 236</p> <p>Advent 238</p> <p>Christmas 238</p> <p>Epiphany 239</p> <p>Lent 240</p> <p>Holy Week 241</p> <p>Easter 243</p> <p>Ascension 245</p> <p>Pentecost 245</p> <p>Trinity 245</p> <p>The Structuring of Time: The Monastic Day 246</p> <p>The Structuring of Space: Pilgrimage and the Christian Life 247</p> <p>Conclusion 250</p> <p><b>7 Christianity and the Shaping of Culture 251</b></p> <p>Christianity and Culture: General Considerations 252</p> <p>Christian Symbolism: The Cross 256</p> <p>Christian Art 259</p> <p>Icons 262</p> <p>Church Architecture 263</p> <p>Stained Glass 268</p> <p>Christian Music 270</p> <p>Christianity and Literature 271</p> <p>Christianity and the Natural Sciences 275</p> <p>Conclusion 277</p> <p>Conclusion: Where Next? 278</p> <p>Further Reading 280</p> <p>Sources of Quotations 284</p> <p>Index 291</p>

<p><b>Alister E. McGrath</b> is Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford. One of the world's leading theologians, he has written numerous critically acclaimed books, including <i>Why God Won't Go Away: Engaging the New Atheism</i> (2011), <i>Darwinism and the Divine: Evolutionary Thought and Natural Theology</i> (Wiley, 2011), and <i>The Intellectual World of C. S. Lewis</i> (Wiley, 2013). He is also the author of some of the most widely used theology textbooks, including the bestselling <i>Christian Theology: An Introduction</i>, now in its fifth edition (Wiley, 2010), <i>Historical Theology: An Introduction</i> <p>(2nd edition; Wiley, 2012), and <i>Theology: The Basics</i> (3rd edition; Wiley, 2011).

<p><b>Praise for the previous edition</b> <p>"Meticulous and memorable, <i>Christianity: An Introduction</i> takes us on a breathtaking journey, and readers of all kinds <p>will enjoy the ride." <p><b>Darren J. N. Middleton, Texas Christian University</b> <p>"The finest text of its kind available. It is encyclopaedic in scope, reliable and quite accessible to the non-specialist. In this second edition, an already solid resource is made even more valuable." <p><b>David L. Johns, Earlham School of Religion</b> <p>Now available in a widely revised and updated new edition, this popular textbook offers a uniquely comprehensive and lively introduction to the life, ideas, and ethos of Christianity. Including a thorough and accessible summary of the history of Christianity in addition to thematic chapters on the Bible, the nature of Jesus, and core Christian beliefs, <b><i>Christianity: An Introduction</i></b> provides a comprehensive foundation to the subject for students at all levels. The new edition has been brought completely up to date, with chapters covering global Christianity, Christianity and world religions, Christianity as a lived reality, and current theological debates. Along with these updates, the new edition has been revised and restructured to better fit the one-semester course format. <p>Written by one of the world's foremost theologians, the new edition of this classic work will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of the world's largest religion.

Praise for the Previous Edition<br /> <br /> <p>Meticulous and memorable, Christianity: An Introduction (<i>second edition</i>) takes us on a breathtaking journey, and readers of all kinds will enjoy the ride.<b>Darren J. N. Middleton, Texas Christian University</b></p> <p><b> </b>The finest text of its kind available. It is encyclopaedic in scope, reliable and quite accessible to the non-specialist. In this second edition, an already solid resource is made even more valuable.” <b>David L. Johns, Earlham School of Religion</b></p>

GB