The Global Church—The First Eight Centuries
From Pentecost through the Rise of Islam
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Zondervan Academic (Zondervan)
- Published: 2021
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Publisher's Description
Discover the Variety and Unity of the Early Church The Christian church of the early centuries spread throughout much of Asia, Africa, and Europe, spoke many languages, was situated within diverse cultural settings, and had varied worship practices; yet it maintained a vital unity on core teachings at the heart of the Christian faith. In The Global Church--The First Eight Centuries: From Pentecost through the Rise of Islam, author Donald Fairbairn helps readers understand both the variety and unity of the church in this pivotal era by: Re-centering the story of the church in its early centuries, paying greater attention to Africa, Turkey, and Syria, where most of the church's intellectual energy was nurtured Highlighting Christian communities outside the Roman Empire, as far afield as Persia and India, alongside those within it Identifying key events by their global, not merely Western, significance and taking into account early Christian interactions with other religions, particularly Islam The Global Church--The First Eight Centuries is an ideal introduction to the patristic era that broadens the narrative often recounted and places it more firmly in its varied cultural contexts. Students of the early church, formal and informal alike, will appreciate the fresh approach and depth of insight this book provides.
Endorsements (3)
“Donald Fairbairn’s history of the early church is for the unconvinced and the wary, for those more at home in the revivals of the eighteenth century than the rough and tumble church politics and doctrinal debates of the fourth and fifth centuries. Fairbairn aims to convince the reader that this early history, warts and all, is a history worth remembering. This is history with a purpose, with an eye always toward the Reformation and the modern concerns of the church. There is much to celebrate and to lament in Fairbairn’s account. Along the way, the reader learns how Christians succeeded and failed during times of persecution, how they remained faithful to Scripture and departed from it in worship and doctrine, and how they spread the gospel, planting churches and monasteries from Ireland to China and all parts in between, sometimes appropriately and sometimes with too much accommodation to the culture. Although readers may arrive at different assessments of the church’s early history, they will be grateful for Fairbairn’s sincerity and effort.”
“Taking his cue from the prophet Isaiah (24:14–16), Fairbairn offers an inviting and timely portrayal of how early Christianity spread from Israel to the islands of Greece, from East to West, from Ephesus to Africa. It made its way, he shows, as a global movement in relationships with diverse societies, cultures, political situations, and competing religions. Written for evangelical Protestant students and other pilgrims who want a careful reading of antiquity’s primary sources and skillful engagement with an array of scholarly opinions, The Global Church delivers. As an experienced tour guide, Fairbairn finds a seat for each of us in the bus and takes us on a road trip from Western Europe into the whole wide world of the early church, right up to the rise of Islam, with plenty of maps and charts to keep us oriented. Along the way, with charity, he points out early Christianity’s unity and schisms, its story and stories, its progress and episodes of regress, its clear gospel message, and its detours into distortion. In helping us to see these earlier times, Fairbairn helps us to read our own times, which may not be so different, and to more accurately chart, in ways that glorify the Lord, our own course and courses.”
“myth of Christianity as a Western religion. Given the global nature of Christianity today, this retelling is both life-giving and strategic.”
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