A history of Christian conversion
David W. Kling (Author)
"Conversion has played a central role in the history of Christianity. In this first in-depth and wide-ranging narrative history, David W. Kling examines the dynamic of individuals, families, and people groups who turn to the Christian faith. Global in reach, this book progresses from early Christian beginnings in the Roman world to Christianity's expansion into Europe, the Americas, China, India, and Africa. Although conversion is often associated with a particular strand of modern Christianity (evangelical) and a particular type of experience (sudden, overwhelming), it is, when examined over two millennia, a phenomenon far more complex than any one-dimensional profile would suggest. No single, unitary paradigm defines conversion, and no easily demonstrable process accounts for why people convert to Christianity. Rather, a multiplicity of factors-historical, personal, social, geographical, theological, psychological, and cultural-shape the converting process. A History of Christian Conversion not only narrates the conversions of select individuals and peoples. It also engages current theories and models to explain conversion and examines recurring themes in the converting process: gender, agency, motivation, testimony, coercion, self-identity, "true" conversion, music, communication, the body, and divine presence. Accessible to scholars, students, and those with a general interest in conversion, Kling's book is, to date, the most satisfying and comprehensive account of conversion in Christian history; this major work will become a standard must-read in conversion studies"-- Provided by publisher
Electronic books
1 online resource (xvi, 836 pages) : maps
9780190062620, 9780199910922, 9780199717590, 0190062622, 0199910928, 0199717591
1143823194
Introduction: An anatomy of conversion
I. The Roman world: The New Testament (50-100)
The early church through Constantine (100-337)
The Western imperial church and beyond (312-500)
II. Medieval Europe: Late antiquity and early medieval Europe (500-1000)
Rulers, missionaries, popes, and patriarchs (400-1200)
Conversion by coercion: Jews and pagans (400-1500)
Interior conversion: monks, mendicants, and mystics (1050-1500)
III. Early modern Europe: Protestants and Continental reformers (1517-1600)
European Catholicism
English Protestantism (1520-1700)
The rise of evangelicalism (1675-1750)
IV. The Americas: Catholics in colonial America (155-1700)
Puritans and the Great Awakening in America (1630-1790)
American evangelicalism in Black and White (1750-present)
Protestants and Pentecostals in Latin America (1900-present)
V. China: The church of the East and the first Catholic missions (635-1840)
Protestant entrance and Christian expansion (1840-1950)
Independent Protestant movements (1930-present)
VI. India: Upper-caste conversions (1500-1900)
Lower-caste conversions (1530-present)
VII. Africa: The age of the prophets (1900-1930)
The East African revival
Catholic East and Pentecostal West (1800-present )
Conclusion: Revisiting themes in the history of Christian conversion