Wiley-Blackwell Interpreting Christian History: The Challenge of the Churches' Past

This book explores the theological lessons to be learnt from 2000 years of Christian Church history. An exploration of the theological lessons to be learnt from the difficult history of the Christian churches over the past 2,000 years Opens with an introductory essay on the whole of Church history, making the book suitable for lay readers as well as students Combines historical, historiographical and theological analysis Reunites the disciplines of theology and Church history Concludes that we can only ever perceive a facet of Christianity given our historical and cultural conditioning Written by a distinguished Church historian. Review "This book is an excellent summary of Christian history from the apostolic period to the current day and is written in an engaging way. It will be profitably used by scholars and students in all Christian traditions and is a helpful text not only for introductory seminary church history or historical theology courses, but also for historiography in university graduate courses." History and Sociology of Religion "Expert historians are not always as good at self-reflecting on their craft at practicing that craft. Euan Cameron, however, is an exemption as shown by his careful assessment of what the historians of this and previous generations have both taken for granted and spelled out explicitly in writing the history of Christianity. As one might expect from a distinguished student of the sixteenth century, Interpreting Christian History is particularly good on what the rise of Protestantism meant for understanding the Christian past." Mark Noll, Wheaton College From the Inside Flap For 2,000 years the Christian churches have developed, disagreed with each other, and divided into separate and often hostile factions. This book, written by a distinguished Church historian, explores the theological lessons to be learnt from this difficult history. The author identifies a recurring historic tendency to identify the Christian life with one or another specific means to holiness, such as ascetic discipline, martyrdom, or the cult of the Eucharist. He examines how historians of Christianity gradually came to terms with the idea that the Church could change, and even lapse into serious error. He also shows how historical perspective has played a key role in many of the most important theologies of the past 100 years. The book concludes that a living Christianity is never absolutely timeless, and that we can only ever perceive a facet of its total revelation, conditioned as we are by our own historical and cultural context. From the Back Cover For 2,000 years the Christian churches have developed, disagreed with each other, and divided into separate and often hostile factions. This book, written by a distinguished Church historian, explores the theological lessons to be learnt from this difficult history. The author identifies a recurring historic tendency to identify the Christian life with one or another specific means to holiness, such as ascetic discipline, martyrdom, or the cult of the Eucharist. He examines how historians of Christianity gradually came to terms with the idea that the Church could change, and even lapse into serious error. He also shows how historical perspective has played a key role in many of the most important theologies of the past 100 years. The book concludes that a living Christianity is never absolutely timeless, and that we can only ever perceive a facet of its total revelation, conditioned as we are by our own historical and cultural context. About the Author Euan Cameron is Academic Dean and Henry Luce III Professor of Reformation Church History at Union Theological Seminary in New York; and Professor in the Department of Religion of Columbia University. He was previously Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. His recent publications include The European Reformation (1