The third edition of Christianity Through the Centuries brings the reader up-to-date by discussing events and developments in the church into the 1990s.... This edition has been redesigned with new typography and greatly improved graphics to increase clarity, accessibility, and usefulness. - New chapters examine recent trends and developments (expanding the last section from 2 chapters to 5) - New photos. Over 100 photos in all -- more than twice the number in the previous edition - Single-column format for greater readability and a contemporary look - Improved maps (21) and charts (39) Building on the features that have made Christianity Through the Centuries an indispensable text, the author not only explains the development of doctrines, movements, and institutions, but also gives attention to 'the impact of Christianity on its times and to the mark of the times on Christianity.'

The debate over the place of religion in secular, democratic societies dominates philosophical and intellectual discourse. These arguments often... polarize around simplistic reductions, making efforts at reconciliation impossible. Yet more rational stances do exist, positions that broker a peace between relativism and religion in people's public, private, and ethical lives. Christianity, Truth, and Weakening Faith advances just such a dialogue, featuring the collaboration of two major philosophers known for their progressive approach to this issue. Seeking unity over difference, Gianni Vattimo and René Girard turn to Max Weber, Eric Auerbach, and Marcel Gauchet, among others, in their exploration of truth and liberty, relativism and faith, and the tensions of a world filled with new forms of religiously inspired violence. Vattimo and Girard ultimately conclude that secularism and the involvement (or lack thereof) of religion in governance are, in essence, produced by Christianity. In other words, Christianity is "the religion of the exit from religion," and democracy, civil rights, the free market, and individual freedoms are all facilitated by Christian culture. Through an exchange that is both intimate and enlightening, Vattimo and Girard share their unparalleled insight into the relationships among religion, modernity, and the role of Christianity, especially as it exists in our multicultural world.

Most literature and many aid efforts concerned with poverty relief and development function on mathematical assumptions. Those who have more should... share with those who have less, thus creating equality. Some would add a moral component saying that those having more are morally wrong and must have gained their surplus from outright theft or unfair trade. But on the side of the needy, religious and secular efforts see only a material problem. Both neglect the devastating power of bad ideas based in religion and social customs. Yet what anyone believes about the building blocks of life will have results; their ideas are like eye glasses that either distort or bring into focus an objective reality. Development work must focus on developing people's ideas. Cultural change must precede material changes.

The history of relations between Jews and Christians has been a long, complex and often unsettled one; yet histories of medieval Christendom have... traditionally paid only passing attention to the role played by Jews in a predominantly Christian society.  This book provides an original survey of medieval Christian-Jewish relations encompassing England, Spain, France and Germany, and sheds light in the process on the major developments in medieval history between 1000 and 1300. Anna Sapir Abulafia’s balanced yet humane account offers a new perspective on Christian-Jewish relations by analysing the theological, socio-economic and political services Jews were required to render to medieval Christendom. The nature of Jewish service varied greatly as Christian rulers struggled to reconcile the desire to profit from the presence of Jewish men and women in their lands with conflicting theological notions about Judaism. Jews meanwhile had to deal with the many competing authorities and interests in the localities in which they lived; their continued presence hinged on a fine balance between theology and pragmatism. The book examines the impact of the Crusades on Christian-Jewish relations and analyses how anti-Jewish libels were used to define relations. Making adept use of both Latin and Hebrew sources, Abulafia draws on liturgical and exegetical material, and narrative, polemical and legal sources, to give a vivid and accurate sense of how Christians interacted with Jews and Jews with Christians.   Anna Sapir Abulafia is a Fellow and College Lecturer in History at Lucy Cavendish College at the University of Cambridge. She is an international authority on the Christian-Jewish debate and her books on the subject include Christians and Jews in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance (1995) and Christians and Jews in Dispute (1998).     

Bernard Brady has given us a rare, delightful, and thought-provoking book -- a volume that belongs on the desk or the bed-stand of anyone in search of... the rich and varied dimensions of Christian love. Christians are taught that God is love and are commanded to love, their neighbors and their enemies. These truths are not controversial. What is controversial and, indeed, has been controversial throughout the history of Christianity is the meaning of this love. This book explores the tradition of Christian reflection on the meaning, and experience of love, loving, and being loved. Many books have been written about Christian love, but no book has gathered together this kind of primary source material and covered such a wide range of perspectives, allowing the reader to engage directly with the thought and experience of some of the greatest Christian minds on the topic of love. Bernard Brady covers with remarkable clarity the breadth and depth of discussions on Christian love from the Bible to contemporary experience to create this-a survey of how Christians through the ages have understood love.Beginning of course with the Bible, Brady examines the key writings and thinkers on the nature of Christian love: St. Augustine; mystics such as Bernard of Clairvaux, Hadewich, and Julian of Norwich; the great tradition and literature of courtly love, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Sören Kierkegaard, and others. In addition, Brady devotes chapters to several 20th century figures whose lives seemingly embodied Christian love: Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Pope John Paul II. Finally, Christian Love addresses contemporary deliberations over the meaning of love with an analysis of the modern writings of Martin D'Arcy, Reinhold Niebuhr, Jules Toner, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Gene Outka, Margaret Farley, Edward Vacek, and Don Browning. In a synthesizing concluding chapter, Brady offers his own insightful and introspective understanding of the substance of Christian love, suggesting that it is an affective affirmation of another, that it is both responsive and unitive, and that it is steadfast and enduring.As a beautiful contemplative companion to one's own spiritual understanding, or as a thoughtful and meaningful gift, Christian Love is in every sense a treasure to behold, read, and share with those you love.

Couples who marry today enter into a relationship that is in many ways more challenging than it was a generation or two ago. The social institution... of marriage has experienced almost cataclysmic change. The very foundations of marriage are often questioned. Yet Christian marriage, David Thomas insists, retains a power to transform and sanctify lives. Thomas presents in this second edition of Christian Marriage the same view as he did in his first book: a positive view of Christian marriage grounded in sacramental living. Yet this edition is entirely new as Thomas reflects on how current theological, cultural, and economic perspectives influence and inform Christian marriage. Thus A Journey Together (the subtitle of the earlier edition) becomes The New Challenge. And readers enter with Thomas into a discussion of contemporary concerns such as intimacy and sexuality, gender equality and relational spirituality, and parenting with hope in a world of unknowns. Facing these challenges of marriage, Christian couples will discover ways to meet the "one great challenge: to love each other as Christ Jesus has and continues to love us."

Enter a Monastery Without Walls Christian Meditation introduces an ancient practice to a contemporary audience. James Finley, a former monk and student... of Thomas Merton, presents the fundamentals of both understanding and practicing Christian meditation. He provides simple, helpful instructions, as well as explaining the deeper connection with the divine that meditation can bring. Above all, he makes clear that the aim of meditation is to allow us to experience divine contemplation -- the presence of God.

Exploring how Christianity became a world religion, this brief history examines Christian missions and their relationship to the current globalization... of Christianity.A short and enlightening history of Christian missions: a phenomenon that many say reflects the single most important intercultural movement over a sustained period of human historyOffers a thematic overview that takes into account the political, cultural, social, and theological issuesDiscusses the significance of missions to the globalization of Christianity, and broadens our understanding of Christianity as a multicultural world religionHelps Western audiences understand the meaning of mission as a historical processContains several new maps that illustrate demographic shifts in world Christianity

Across much of the postcolonial world, Christianity has often become inseparable from ideas and practices linking the concept of modernity to that of... human emancipation. To explore these links, Webb Keane undertakes a rich ethnographic study of the century-long encounter, from the colonial Dutch East Indies to post-independence Indonesia, among Calvinist missionaries, their converts, and those who resist conversion. Keane's analysis of their struggles over such things as prayers, offerings, and the value of money challenges familiar notions about agency. Through its exploration of language, materiality, and morality, this book illuminates a wide range of debates in social and cultural theory. It demonstrates the crucial place of Christianity in semiotic ideologies of modernity and sheds new light on the importance of religion in colonial and postcolonial histories.

Tim Dowley's popular history of Christian music is the first to encompass all eras, regions, and varieties of this rich and vast treasure. From its... Jewish origins, through medieval chant and hymns, to gospel and rock, Christian music around the world is harmonized beautifully in this colorfully illustrated survey. Dowley travels beneath the plurality of forms and styles to pose questions about the meaning of diverse traditions. His skillful narrative and fascinating insights from specialists combine for a truly global history of Christianity's musical culture.