World Christianity: Its Implications for History, Religious Studies, and Theology

Horizons ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Phan
Keyword(s):  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Church History ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
World Religion ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
World Christianity ◽  
Popular Religiosity

ABSTRACTThe paper traces the emergence of the concept of “World Christianity” to designate a new academic discipline beyond ecumenical and missiological discussions. It then elaborates the implications of “World Christianity” for the History of Christianity in contrast to Church History and for the study of Christianity as a “world religion.” The paper argues for an expansion of the “cartography” and “topography” of Church History to take into account the contributions of ecclesiastically marginalized groups and neglected charismatic/pentecostal activities. Furthermore, it is urged that in the study of Christianity as a world religion greater attention be given to how local communities have received and transformed the imported Christianities, the role of popular religiosity, and the presence of Evangelical/Pentecostal Churches. Finally, it is suggested that “World Christianity” requires the expansion of theological method and reformulation of some key Christian doctrines.

scholarly journals Teaching Missiology in and for World Christianity: Content and Method

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-369
Author(s):  
Peter C. Phan
Keyword(s):  
Church Planting ◽  
Church History ◽  
Christian Missions ◽  
The West ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Narrow Focus ◽  
History Of ◽  
World Christianity ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

The article begins with a brief definition of “World Christianity” and elaborates three theses for conceiving the relationship between missiology and theology, the understanding and practice of Christian missions, and the teaching of missiology. I argue that outside missiology there is no theology. I also reject the separation between church history and missiology, the division between the historic churches of the West and the “mission lands” of the rest, and a narrow focus of the goal of Christian missions on conversion and church-planting. Finally, I recommend a shift from “church history” to “history of Christianity.”

scholarly journals Nauczanie misjologii w świecie chrześcijańskim i dla niego. Treść i metoda

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 85-99
Author(s):  
Peter C. Phan ◽  
Klaudyna Longinus
Keyword(s):  
Church Planting ◽  
Church History ◽  
Christian Missions ◽  
The West ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Narrow Focus ◽  
History Of ◽  
World Christianity ◽  
The Relationship

The article begins with a brief defi nition of „World Christianity” and elaborates three theses for conceiving the relationship between missiology and theology, the understanding and practice of Christian missions, and the teaching of missiology. I argue that outside missiology there is no theology. I also reject the separation between church history and missiology, the division between the historic churches of the West and the „mission lands” of the rest, and a narrow focus of the goal of Christian missions on conversion and church-planting. Finally, I recommend a shift from „church history” to „history of Christianity.”

scholarly journals Kristendomshistorie - hvad skal det forestille?

1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Balling
Keyword(s):  
Church History ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Main Emphasis ◽  
History Of ◽  
Distinct Period

In this paper the author presents and discusses some of the leading ideas in and behind his book “Kristendommen” (Copenhagen 1986). The concept of ‘history of Christianity’ is defined and compared with that of ‘church history’; but the main emphasis is on a discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of the system of periodization – governed by the principle of relatedness to a ‘civilization’ – which is used in the book. In this connection the notion of ‘Old Europe’ (AD 750/1100-1800) as a coherent and distinct period is particularly emphasized; this entails a discussion of three fundamental and interdependent concepts, valid for the period as a whole: that of ‘internal mission’, that of ‘reform’ and that of ‘clericalism’.

The Idea of the Church in Christian History

1952 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilhelm Pauck
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Church History ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
Christian History

It is customary to describe and interpret the history of Christianity as church history. To be sure, most church historians do not emphasize the special importance of the “church” in the Christian life they study and analyse; indeed, they deal with the idea of the church, with ecclesiological doctrines and with ecclesiastical practices as if they represented special phases of the Christian life. But, nevertheless, the fact that all aspects of Christian history are subsumed under the name and title of the “church” indicates that the character of Christianity is held to be inseparable from that of the “church”; the very custom of regarding Christian history as church history indicates that the Christian mind is marked by a special kind of self-consciousness induced by the awareness that the Christian faith is not fully actualized unless it is expressed in the special social context suggested by the term “church.”

A Profile of Thirteenth-Century Sainthood

1976 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Goodich
Keyword(s):  
Church History ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
Family Connections ◽  
The Many

Thus far, two quantitative studies of Catholic sainthood have been attempted. Altruistic Love by Pitirim Sorokin,1 which deals with the entire history of Christianity, established the patterns of saintly behavior over a two-thousand-year period. Although many of Sorokin's analytical categories are useful, his conclusions are rather broad and do not take sufficiently into account changing conditions in church history. His geographical subdivisions, for example, which are based upon the twentieth-century nation-state, are anachronistic when applied to a medieval context. No distinctions are made between the various genres of freeman, e.g., the old feudal aristocracy and the urban-dwelling nobility, although their interests were often in conflict. Nor does Sorokin consider the role of the papacy and the political crosscurrents-Guelph vs. Ghibelline, Englishman vs. Frenchman, heresy vs. orthodoxy-which determined the function of a saint's cult and the likelihood of his being venerated in any particular epoch. Frequently these saints became the objects of cults not so much because of their personal piety but rather as a result of their political activities, family connections, or membership in an aggressive religious order. Nor does Sorokin consider the many local saints, whose worship was restricted to one or several dioceses and who failed to gain international recognition. Such relatively obscure individuals, the sources of much local pride, were often the objects of more active and long-lasting cults than their well-known confreres.

Introduction

2011 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 352-353
Author(s):  
Martha L. Finch
Keyword(s):  
American Academy ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
Panel Discussion ◽  
Church History ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Look Back ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Society ◽  
Over Time

It has been more than one hundred years since the American Society of Church History (ASCH) began publishing its Papers in 1889, followed in 1932 by the journal Church History. To commemorate these one hundred–plus years of publication, the History of Christianity Section of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) invited four current and past editors of Church History and, for an “outsider's” perspective, one historian who has not served as editor to participate in a panel discussion at the AAR's 2009 annual meeting in Montreal. We asked the panelists to look back on changes to Church History over time and how those changes have both mirrored and stimulated changes in the broader field of history of Christianity. We also wanted them to reflect on where they see scholarship in the field headed in the next five years or so.

The Inescapability of “Church” in the History of Christianity

2014 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 997-1002
Author(s):  
Brad S. Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Church History ◽  
Small Contribution ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
Forward Looking

Laurie Maffly-Kipp's insightful address about the perils and promise of church history concludes with an invitation “to begin a conversation” about how “the ‘church history’ of this new century can be both creatively forward-looking and respectful of the lineages that have brought us here.” I offer here some brief remarks on her address as a small contribution to that conversation.

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