David Chidester

The history of the Christian church, particularly as it is taught in the United States, tends to have a somewhat narrowed focus on the material. In general, such history traces the beginnings of Christianity in the Holy Land, the expansion throughout the Roman Empire, the development of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Reformation and its consequences. While this includes a great deal of important material, it also excludes a detailed study of Orthodoxy or the history of Christianity in parts of the world outside of Western Europe and North America, especially in East Asia and in Africa.

David Chidester attempts to offer a more balanced narrative in "Christianity: A Global History," to reasonable success. As the title suggests, Chidester broadens the storyline of Christian history, marveling at its divergent development across the globe from the very beginning. At its best, it offers a corrective to American myopia, showing that the legacy of the Puritans and the United States is not as unique as might be imagined; Chidester tells several foundational stories for Christianity in all parts of the world in the last 400 years.

In some ways, the book seems intended to be a college textbook, though it was published for a broader audience by a popular press. Divided into three main parts, the book focuses on three epochs in Christian history: ancient Christianity from Jesus through Augustine, roughly A.D. 30 to 400; middle Christianity from the 500s through the Reformation in 1500s; and modern Christianity from the 1600s to today, a time span comparable to the history of the United States. The first section, though well-written as is the entire book, is comparable to most books on the history of Christianity. The second section is the best integrated of the three from a global perspective, though it is imperfect. The third section, however, demonstrates the current limitations of thinking about worldwide Christianity: in it, Chidester offers a region by region overview, with various chapters on Russia, the United States, Africa, and Asia.

Without question, a cohesive perspective on global Christianity will take time to develop, and it probably will require several attempts. In the previous generation, church historians have worked to integrate the history of the Orthodox Church into their narratives. The first such attempts merely included a chapter or two devoted specifically to Orthodoxy, placed alongside the rest of the story. Recently, that has been better integrated into the narrative, as it is in Chidester's book. This will need to occur on a larger scale to adequately, and in a balanced way, incorporate the global history of Christianity into a single narrative.

This qualification aside, there is much to commend in Chidester's account of the worldwide history of Christianity. For the subject matter, Chidester keeps the book to a manageable length, only about 550 pages, without sacrificing detail or depth. He liberally sprinkles fun stories throughout the text, which humanize the characters and respect their particular contexts. Chidester simultaneously presents the stories of the great thinkers and leaders alongside the experiences of everyday Christians.

In all, it is an impressive effort. While not perfect, it is a valuable resource, especially for people who would like to gain a better understanding of how Christianity emerged and developed around the world.… (meer)

Christianity. A Global History is a misleading title for this book because it gives the impression that it might be the work of a historian in the vein of Roland Bainton's, Christianity, or Kenneth S. Latourette's, A History of Christianity. This is more of “A Global Story”, meaning, this is a spectator's view of Christianity (as a human phenomenon, i.e., a world religion like other religions) written from the standpoint of neutral unbelief. It isn't a scholarly work on church history; by which I don't mean to degrade the author but simply mean to say that his views on history aren't original, instead he simply refers to historians' conclusions on various points. For example after giving a brief description of the life of Jesus he says, “Such is the bare outline of the life of Jesus...as it might be reconstructed by a modern historian” (pg.12). His purpose and role is not to dig for history but to be a “novelist”, he himself says: “I have assumed the responsibility of telling stories...about religious diversity”.

That aspect of the book is to be expected, as this is the work of a professor of comparative religion who relies on reconstructionist historians for what he presents as history (as far as any history can be presented, from this stand point, since for these men Christianity is the invention of Paul [pg.30] and of the authors of the gospels who were concerned with spreading their movement and not the “historical Jesus”) and not primary sources like a historian would.

For someone seeking a secular perspective on Christianity from a professor merely interested in all the global varieties of it and not interested in directly judging its strengths and weaknesses this a good book. Especially as it shows how various cultures have affected and been affected by what they know as Christianity. Part 3 of the book has sections on Christianity in Africa, India, Asia, and Russia. If, however, you're looking for a good history of the church look elsewhere.… (meer)