Summary
This engaging new text covers the sweep of Christian history from its background in Greece and Rome to the challenges of the new century. The authors provide essential coverage of the historical and cultural settings in which major developments occurred, biographical material on important figures in Christian history, and assistance to students in identifying major themes and ideas. The perfect length for a one-term course in the history of Christianity, the text is also substantial enough for a two-term course, especially when supplemented with primary source readings.
Author Biography
Bradley Paul Nystrom (Sacramento, CA) is a professor at California State University.
David Paul Nystrom (Chicago, IL) is a professor at North Park University.
Table of Contents
Preface1. Backgrounds to ChristianityOverviewJudaism and the Context of Christian OriginsThe History and Thought of Ancient JudaismThe GreeksGreek HistoryThe Legacy of AlexanderGreek ThoughtRome and Roman ExpansionThe Beliefs and Practices of First-Century JewsJudaism in the Greco-Roman WorldJudaism in PalestineJewish Political PartiesApocalyptic and Jewish Messianic ExpectationSummary2. The Birth of ChristianityOverviewJohn the Baptist and Christian OriginsThe Life and Teachings of JesusThe SourcesChildhood, Baptism, and TemptationsMiraclesTeaching: The Kingdom of God and the Son of ManJesus the RadicalThe PassionThe Resurrection and the Early ChurchPaulPaul's TheologyChristologyJudaismSalvationAn Apocalyptic PreacherTransformation, Freedom, and ResponsibilityChristian CommunityThe Gospel of JohnThe Context of the GospelJohn's TheologySummary3. Christianity in the Roman WorldOverviewZenith and Decline of the EmpireThe First CenturyThe "Five Good Emperors"The Crisis of the Third CenturyDiocletian and ConstantineThe End of the EmpireThe Growth of the ChurchConverts and ConversionPersecutionMartyrs and MartyrdomThe Question of the Lapsed: Cyprian, Novatian, and DonatusEarly Christian WritersJustin MartyrClement of AlexandriaOrigenTertullianThe Beginnings of MonasticismEgypt: Anthony and PachomiusSyria, Palestine, and Asia MinorThe West: Benedict and the Benedictine RuleSummary4. Councils and Creeds: Defining Orthodoxy in Late AntiquityOverviewEstablishing Ecclesiastical AuthorityChallenges: Gnosticism, Marcionism, and MontanismBishops and Apostolic SuccessionThe Creation of the CanonRules of Faith and the Apostle's CreedControversies, Councils, and CreedsMonarchianismThe Arian Controversy and the Council of Nicea (325)The Cappadocian Fathers and the Doctrine of the TrinityThe Christological Controversy and the Council of Chalcedon(451)Theologians of the Fourth and Fifth CenturiesThe Cappadocian FathersJohn ChrysostomJeromeAmbroseAugustineThe Practice of ChristianityHoly DaysBaptism and the EucharistWorshipThe Cult of SaintsSummary5. The Rise of the Church in the Early Middle AgesOverviewThe Western Church, the Franks, and FeudalismThe Merovingians and the ChurchCharlemagneThe Carolingian RenaissanceThe Conversion of Spain, England, and IrelandThe Rise of FeudalismThe Church in the Feudal WorldThe Eastern Church and the Byzantine EmpireJustinianByzantium after JustinianThe Church in the Byzantine WorldThe Conversion of the Goths and SlavsThe Islamic ChallengeMuhammad and IslamThe Growth of Islamic CivilizationDevelopments in the Eastern ChurchThe Seven Ecumenical CouncilsThe Iconoclastic ControversyJohn of DamascusMonasticism and MysticismDevelopments in the Western ChurchEarly Theories of Papal AuthorityGregory the GreatJohn Scotus EriugenaPredestinationThe SacramentsThe Saints and the Virgin MaryThe FilioqueSummary6. The Church and Christian Culture in the High Middle AgesOverviewThe West in the High Middle AgesEconomic, Social, and Political ChangeThe Holy Roman EmpireReform and Revival in the ChurchMonastic ReformPapal Reform under Leo IX and Nicholas IIThe Reform Ideology of Gregory VIIGregory VII, Henry IV, and the Investiture ControversyThe Papal MonarchyAlexander IIIInnocent IIIThe Papacy in the Thirteenth CenturyThe CrusadesBackgroundThe Course of the CrusadesConsequences of the CrusadesScholasticismThe Rise of the UniversitiesAristotleAnselm of CanterburyPeter AbelardHugh of St. Victor and Peter LombardThomas AquinasWomen and the Virgin MaryCathedrals: Praise in Stone and GlassRomanesque StyleGothic StyleSummary7. Dissent, Division, and Reform in the Late Middle AgesOverviewThe West in the Late Middle AgesDecline of the Holy Roman EmpirePolitical Developments in France, England, and SpainSocial UnrestThe Black DeathDecline in the Western ChurchThe Babylonian CaptivityThe Great Schism and the Conciliar MovementDecline in Monasticism and among the Secular ClergyPilgrimage, the Cult of Saints, and IndulgencesHeretics and ReformersThe Cathari and WaldensesThe Dominicans and the InquisitionThe FranciscansJohn Wycliffe and Jan HusMystics and MysticismTheology in the WestJohn Duns ScotusWilliam of OckhamTheology and Political TheoryThe Church and the RenaissanceThe Renaissance in ItalyHumanism in Northern EuropeThe Renaissance PopesThe Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Break with RomeThe Fall of ByzantiumThe Orthodox Church and the Ottoman StateThe Russian Orthodox ChurchThe Smaller Churches of Africa and AsiaThe Coptic and Ethiopian ChurchesMonophysitism in Syria and ArmeniaNestorian ChristianitySummary8. The Protestant ReformationOverviewEurope on the Eve of ReformationMartin LutherThe Complexity of Martin LutherThe Young LutherProfessor and ReformerLuther's TheologyScriptureKnowledge of GodThe Human Condition and SalvationThe ChurchWhy the Reformation SucceededThe Early Progress of the Lutheran MovementThe Urban ReformationThe Late Medieval CityNurembergStrasbourgErfurtThe Peasant Revolts of 1525Zwingli and the Swiss ReformationThe Radical ReformationThe AnabaptistsThe Spiritualists and the Evangelical HumanistsSummary9. Protestant Expansion and Catholic ResponseOverviewThe European SceneRoyal AbsolutismCalvinCalvin's TheologyThe Spread of ProtestantismThe Reformation in England and ScotlandThe Reformation in EnglandThe Reformation in ScotlandThe PuritansCongregationalistsBaptistsCromwell and Puritan Political PowerThe Glorious RevolutionThe Catholic ReformationReforming VoicesIndividual Calls for ReformReforming GroupsMysticsReforming PopesThe Council of TrentEastern OrthodoxySummary10. The Church in an Age of Division and ExpansionOverviewThe Scene in Europe: Politics, Religion, and StrifeGermany, Sweden, and the Thirty-Year's WarFrance and the Huguenot StruggleThe NetherlandsPrussia, Russia, and the EmpireCatholic OrthodoxyPopes and KingsDivergence within CatholicismLutheran Orthodoxy and Protestant ScholasticismCurrents in Intellectual Life: The Enlightenment, Rationalism and the Scientific RevolutionThe Scientific RevolutionRationalism in Philosophy and ReligionDescartes and Continental RationalismEmpiricismThe Kantian Synthesis
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