Wipf and Stock Finding Pieces of the Puzzle: A Fresh Look at the Christian Story

Climate change. Radical politics. National debt. Globalization. What do Christians have to say to the big questions we all face? Whatever they try to say, they will be seriously handicapped if they do not know their own story. Finding Pieces of the Puzzle will fill the knowledge gap. It breaks away from the usual manner in which history is written. Here is a sweeping overview of the story of Christianity that takes the reader to parts of the world seldom visited, that watches as the message of Christ encounters cultures as different as ninth century Persia and sixteenth century Kongo. The story is carried from the first to the twenty-first century by a series of mini-biographies--a young woman facing martyrdom, a boy from a little French town who becomes Pope and launches an army, an African-American who uses a successful international trade network to combat slavery. The glory, the confusion, the shame, the holiness of Christianity are all here. As the pieces are slipped into place, the puzzle begins to make sense. Watching Christians of the past face their challenges helps us understand who modern Christians really are. Endorsements: ""Ronald Kydd's book reminds us that the present can only be understood based on knowledge of the past. Highlighting Christianity's early incredible achievements in Northern Africa and Asia, Kidd reveals how it successfully reached peoples of very different cultures more than 1,500 years ago. Christianity is not a European but rather a global undertaking. Kydd's book encourages Christians worldwide to be proud about their identity and history, while acknowledging historical mistakes and to further carry the Christian flame."" -Christoph Baumer President Society for the Exploration of EurAsia. ""In this wonderfully engaging retelling of the Christian story, Kydd takes a fresh approach by exploring parts of the story less familiar. He fills an important gap by including stories from non-Western parts of the world, bringing a much-needed global perspective to understanding the history of the Christian Church. By sharing faith-inspiring stories of fascinating individuals, Kydd makes history interesting, relevant, and come alive. In the process, Kydd helps us find many missing pieces of the puzzle."" -Rebecca G. S. Idestrom Associate Professor of Old Testament Tyndale Seminary, Toronto, Ontario ""Ron Kydd's book--the fruit of a rich career of teaching--widens the scope of standard accounts of Church history without losing attention to the great doctrinal questions of the faith. His book would work equally well for an introduction to church history or world missions. He weaves dramatic case studies and vignettes into a larger thematic narrative and throughout shows how personal witness, (martyria) to the freeing power of Christ, across surprising borders and at great cost, binds that history together. I recommend it enthusiastically."" -George Sumner Principal and Helliwell Professor of World Mission Wycliffe College, University of Toronto About the Contributor(s): Ronald Kydd is Research Professor of Church History at Tyndale Seminary, Toronto. He is the author of Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church and Healing through the Centuries: Models for Understanding.