Wiley-Blackwell Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion: 25 (Wiley Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion)

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 Review "Despite these concerns, Christian Mission is a valuable addition to the growing literature on world Christianity . . . our overall understanding of Christianity as a world religion is significantly increased by Robert's work." (Christian Century, 8 March 2011) "Robert's book, by drawing on more recent scholarship incorporates a global view and puts world Christianity at the center of the narrative, where it belongs, This re-writing" of the history of Christian missions has just begun and likely will occupy scholars for years to come." (Church History, June 2010)"This work is a valuable contribution to the subject." (CHOICE, December 2009)"Roberts helpfully reminds the readers that this...must be understood by accounting for the various players and settings in which it unfolds: "It is important to study the spiders, but it is equally important to notice the web" (177).Christian Mission, appropriate as a college or graduate level text, is a commendable introduction to those seeking to make sense of this tangled web." (Missology, 2010)"[This book] does a lot of things (including a chronological and thematic study of 2000 years of Christian mission!). Along the way, Robert points out that Christian missionaries have done much good for the societies they have entered." (The Gospel Coalition, January 2010)"A masterful survey of mission in Christian history from the very origins of the religion to the present. … It should be required reading for any undergraduate course on Christianity or world religions." (International Bulletin of Missionary Research, October 2009)"Robert unerringly focuses on the most important issues. She is especially good on the persistence of gender issues in mission history." (Christian Century, October 2009) Review " Dana Robert distils a quarter of a century of her research into an erudite and accessible single-volume account of how Christianity became the largest religious tradition in the world. There is no better place for any reader to start becoming informed about this important subject." –David Hempton, Harvard University"Remarkable for the range and depth of the material Robert is able to pack into so short a book. Reliable and readable, it is especially valuable for its treatment of the relation between western and non-western missionary activity." –David A. Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley"Dana Robert's richly textured book shows us that the history of Christian missions is far from being merely a European colonial story, and will be immensely valuable to students and general readers who are concerned to uncover the historical roots of Christianity's current status as a truly global faith." –Brian Stanley, University of Edinburgh From the Inside Flap The Gospels record that Christ commanded his disciples to “go forth and teach all nations.” Thus began the history of Christian mission, a phenomenon which brought about massive shifts in the nature and practice of Christianity, and one that many say reflects the single most important movement of intercultural encounter over a sustained period of human history. To understand Christianity as a global movement, there