The Clapham Sect was a group of evangelical Christians, prominent in England from about 1790 to 1830, who campaigned for the abolition of slavery and promoted missionary work at home and abroad.The group centred on the church of John Venn, rector of Clapham in south London. Its members included William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton, James Stephen, Zachary Macaulay and others.Stephen Tomkins tells the fascinating story of the group as one of a web of family re...

David Livingstone has gone down in history as a fearless explorer and missionary, hacking his way through the forests of Africa to bring light to the people - and also to free them from slavery. But who was he, and what was he actually like?"He was an extraordinary character," according to biographer Stephen Tomkins, spectacularly bad at personal relationships, at least with white people, possessed of infinite self-belief, courage, and restlessness. He was an almos...

Have you ever wanted accessible introductions to the key figures of Christian history? In this book two expert authors draw on biblical scholarship to bring Jesus and Paul and their worlds vividly to life.Jesus and His WorldJesus Christ is probably the single most influential figure in world history, but who was this preacher from Nazareth? Can we be sure he existed? And if he did, what was the world like in which he lived?Placing Je...

Worshipped by 2 billion Christians (and revered by 1.3 billion Muslims), Jesus Christ is the most famous human being ever.Yet how did this man from an obscure backwater in the Roman Empire achieve such extraordinary acclaim? How did religion founded in his name grom to become the most powerful on earth? What has been its relationship through history with that other giant of religions, Islam?In this fast-paced and entertaining book, journalist and historian ...

A history of the Dark Ages "explain[s] very clearly why people in the early Christian era were so passionately concerned with issues of high theology.( The Economist ).Jesus Wars reveals how official, orthodox teaching about Jesus was the product of political maneuvers by a handful of key characters in the fifth century. Philip Jenkins argues that were it not for these controversies, the papacy as we know it woul...

Brush up on the people, places, and events every Christian should know about with this fascinating, accessible guide. Ideal for pastors and speakers.

For two thousand years, Christianity has had a varying but immense influence on world history. Accomplished historian Geoffrey Blainey leads us through the history of this world-changing religion.A Short History of Christianity vividly describes many of the significant players in the religion’s rise and fall through the ages, from Jesus himself to Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, Francis Xavier, John Wesley, and even the Beatles, who claimed to be “more popular than Jesus.” Blaine...

Examines the beginning of the Christian movement during the first centuries AD, and the explosive force of its expansion throughout the Roman world

An expert on early Christianity reveals how the early church invented stories of Christian martyrs—and how this persecution myth persists today.According to church tradition and popular belief, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. But as Candida Moss reveals in T...

The third edition of Christianity Through the Centuries brings the reader up-to-date by discussing events and developments in the church into the 1990s. This edition has been redesigned with new typography and greatly improved graphics to increase clarity, accessibility, and usefulness. - New chapters examine recent trends and developments (expanding the last section from 2 chapters to 5) - New photos. Over 100 photos in all -- more than twice the number in the previous edition - Single-co...

In this popular introduction to church history, now in its third edition, Mark Noll isolates key events that provide a framework for understanding the history of Christianity. The book presents Christianity as a worldwide phenomenon rather than just a Western experience.Now organized around fourteen key moments in church history, this well-received text provides contemporary Christians with a fuller understanding of God as he has revealed his purpose through the centuries. This new...

In The Story of Christianity, acclaimed theologian David Bentley Hart provides a sweeping and informative portrait of a faith that has shaped the western world and beyond for over 2,000 years.From the persecutions of the early church to the papal-imperial conflicts of the Middle Ages, from the religious wars of 16th- and 17th-century Europe to the challenges of science and secularism in the modern era, and from the ancient Christian communities of Africa and Asia to the 'house chur...