Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World ChristianityLong the dominant religion of the West, Christianity is now rapidly becoming the principal faith in much of the postcolonial world--a development that marks a momentous shift in the religion's very center of gravity. In this eye-opening book, Lamin Sanneh examines the roots of this "post-Western awakening" and the unparalleled richness and diversity, as well as the tension and conflict, it has brought to World Christianity. Tracing Christianity's rise from its birth on the edge of the Roman empire--when it proclaimed itself to be a religion for the entire world, not just for one people, one time, and one place--to its key role in Europe's maritime and colonial expansion, Sanneh sheds new light on the ways in which post-Western societies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America were drawn into the Christian orbit. Ultimately, he shows, these societies outgrew Christianity's colonial forms and restructured it through their own languages and idioms--a process that often occurred outside, and sometimes against, the lines of denominational control. The effect of such changes, Sanneh contends, has been profound, transforming not only worship, prayer, and the interpretation of Scripture, but also art, aesthetics, and music associated with the church. In exploring this story of Christianity's global expansion and its current resurgence in the non-Western world, Sanneh pays close attention to such issues as the faith's encounters with Islam and indigenous religions, as well as with secular ideologies such as Marxism and nationalism. He also considers the challenges that conservative, non-Western forms of Christianity pose to Western liberal values and Enlightenment ideas. Here then is a groundbreaking study of Christianity's role in cultural innovation and historical change--and must reading for all who are concerned with the present and future of the faith. |
From inside the book
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Page xxi
... Roman Catholic Church the structural adjustment of Vatican II has allowed the new wind of change to sweep through the church (if at times it has been impeded), producing movements in several different directions and across the world ...
... Roman Catholic Church the structural adjustment of Vatican II has allowed the new wind of change to sweep through the church (if at times it has been impeded), producing movements in several different directions and across the world ...
Page 3
... Roman imperial repression in Palestine the fledgling Christian religion embarked on its world errand deeply conscious of its claim that it was a religion destined for all time and for the whole world, and not just for one time, place ...
... Roman imperial repression in Palestine the fledgling Christian religion embarked on its world errand deeply conscious of its claim that it was a religion destined for all time and for the whole world, and not just for one time, place ...
Page 4
... Roman Empire, the Christian movement spread beyond Jerusalem and Palestine and penetrated predominantly Greek-speaking areas. Personal conversion to God as redeemer and judge, rather than kinship or cultural qualification, became the ...
... Roman Empire, the Christian movement spread beyond Jerusalem and Palestine and penetrated predominantly Greek-speaking areas. Personal conversion to God as redeemer and judge, rather than kinship or cultural qualification, became the ...
Page 9
... Roman East Mediterranean world. As a consequence, Hellenistic social and family life bore the imprint of the Christian impact. Christian Greeks had now to renegotiate with their own culture, not with someone else's, and what emerged ...
... Roman East Mediterranean world. As a consequence, Hellenistic social and family life bore the imprint of the Christian impact. Christian Greeks had now to renegotiate with their own culture, not with someone else's, and what emerged ...
Page 10
... Roman law, Eastern mysticism and spirituality, and astral science gave rise to questions that believers had before never encountered. That intellectual setting fostered the development of a distinctly Christian religious thought that ...
... Roman law, Eastern mysticism and spirituality, and astral science gave rise to questions that believers had before never encountered. That intellectual setting fostered the development of a distinctly Christian religious thought that ...
Contents
13 | |
2 The Christian Movement in Islamic Perspective | 57 |
3 Old World Precedents and New World Directions | 89 |
4 The Yogi and the Commissar | 131 |
5 Pillar of Charismatic Renewal | 163 |
6 Resurgence and the New Order in West Africa | 185 |
7 Civilization and the Limits of Mission | 217 |
8 Christian Awakening and the New China | 243 |
9 Conclusion | 271 |
Notes | 289 |
Select Bibliography | 321 |
Index | 349 |
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Common terms and phrases
African apostles appeal Arab Arab Christians Averroës awakening baptized became Bible bishop caliph called century challenge charismatic China Chinese Chris Christ Christendom Christian movement Christianity in Africa Christianity in China Christianity’s civilization claim colonial converts Cuffee cultural divine Donovan Edwin empire established Ethiopia Europe Europe’s European evangelical example fact faith force foreign Freetown frontier Gentile global God’s gospel Greek Harris Harrist human Ibid idea imperial indigenous Islam Ivory Coast Jesus Jewish John King language leaders London Maasai million mission missionary moral Muslim native Nigeria official Oxford pagan Paul Paul’s Pentecostal people’s political Pope Portuguese post-Western Christianity prayer preaching priests prophets Protestant Qur’an religion religious resurgence revolution Roland Allen role Roman salvation saying Scripture secular sense Sierra Leone sionary slave trade slavery social society spirit teaching Tertullian theological tianity took tradition translation University Press vernacular West Africa West’s Western World Christianity worship York