Part 1: Introduction to Christianity 1. Basic Questions 2. Christianity and the Divine Part 2: Historical Overview of Christianity 3. The Historical and Intellectual Context of Christianity 4. The Founder and Foundational Documents 5. Defining Christianity 6. Conflict and Persecution 7. The Triumph of Christianity 8. Power Shift 9. Christendom at its Height 10. Winds of Change 11. Upheaval in the Church 12. Orthodoxy 13. Old World and New World 14. Diversification and Expansion 15. The Church and the Modern World Part 3: The Varieties of Christianity 16. A Denominational/Traditional Perspective 17. A Geographical Perspective 18. A Doctrinal Perspective 19. A Liturgical Perspective Part 4: Christianity’s Interaction with the World 20. Christianity and Science 21. Christianity and the Arts 22. Christian Ethics and Politics 23. Christianity and Other Religions 24. Conclusion. Abbreviations. Glossary. Bibliography
Biography
James R. Adair is Assistant Professor at Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio, Texas. He was the editor of the Society of Biblical Literature Text-Critical monograph series from 1997-2004 and is the general editor of TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism.
For those seeking a phenomenological and historical approach to the study of Christianity, Adair’s text provides a helpful introduction. The book not only surveys the history of Christianity from the origins to the present but also provides students with an extended examination of contemporary varieties of Christianity and of Christianity’s interactions with the world. Adair’s evenhanded exploration of diversified Christian responses to such hotly debated issues as creation and evolution, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and relations with other religions serves as a useful reminder that there is no monolithic Christian approach to any social or ethical issue.
Mary Kathleen Cunningham, North Carolina State University, Editor of God and Evolution: A Reader
