Search

While understanding history has always been an essential task for God's people, rapid changes within the past two generations of Christianity have challenged many of our assumptions and methods for studying the past. How should thoughtful Christians—and especially historians and missiologists—make sense of global Christianity as an unfolding historical movement?Scott Sunquist invites readers to join him for a capstone course in historical thinking from a master teacher. Highlighting both the continuity and the diversity within the Christian movement over the centuries, he identifies three key concepts for framing church history: time, cross, and glory. These themes shed light to help us discern how the Jesus movement developed from the first century to the present, through an explosion of contextual expressions. Tracing these concepts through the centuries, we learn from the stories of Christians reflecting the glories of God's kingdom—and from their failures.Filled with historical case studies and stories from Sunquist's teaching around the world, The Shape of Christian History offers a framework for how to read and write church history. Even more, it demonstrates how the study of history illuminates God's mission in the world and sharpens our understanding of how to participate in that mission faithfully.

Asia is the birthplace of Christianity. If Christianity is not usually seen as an Asian religion, that is because the history of Christianity in Asia has long been a difficult one. Whereas Christianity in the West received royal support, Asian Christianity has led a more nomadic and exilic existence. Today it is the least Christianized region of the world.Scott W. Sunquist is a recognized expert on the history of the Christian faith in Asia. Over the years he has published and spoken frequently on this theme. Explorations in Asian Christianity gathers his key writings on the topic and organizes them into four main categories: surveys that look at Asian Christianity in broad perspective, historical investigations that look at how Christianity shapes our understanding of history and historiography, missiological studies that look closely at issues of place, and finally essays on theological education.Topics explored in this volume includeEcumenism in AsiaThe cruciform nature of ChristianityA missiology of placeThe Christian view of timeGlobal migrationExplorations in Asian Christianity sheds light on one of the most important but least well-known areas in Christian history.Missiological Engagements charts interdisciplinary and innovative trajectories in the history, theology, and practice of Christian mission, featuring contributions by leading thinkers from both the Euro-American West and the majority world whose missiological scholarship bridges church, academy, and society.

This volume completes a landmark history of Christianity. Reviewed and shaped by an international team of 43 consulting scholars, this history assigns a rightful place to the peoples of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Near East in the unfolding of the Christian story, In the process a fuller and richer view emerges of Christianity as a religion constantly evolving in dialogue with new cultures, new questions, and new historical influences. Volume I traced the origins of Christianity up to the middle of the fifteenth century, Volume II continues the story up to the new millennium. Beginning with the early missionary expansion in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, the story goes on to trace the fracturing of Christianity among Catholic, Orthodox, and reformed expressions; the impact of modern colonialism and the emergence of a new global reality; the wars of religion, the impact of the Enlightenment, the rise of Christianity in North America, and the modern missionary movement. Throughout, the authors emphasize the expression of local forms of Christianity in diverse cultures, and the role of Christianity in helping to shape distinct national identities in an era of decolonization and globalization.

This first comprehensive account of Christianity as a world religion is a landmark, offering the work of five years of a team of 43 international scholars and consultants. For the first time, the peoples of Asia, Africa, and the Near East take their rightful place in the account of the unfolding of the Christian story from its beginnings to the 15th century.