Christianity at the Crossroads
How The Second Century Shaped The Future Of The Church
Michael J Kruger, Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2017
Description
It is the second century. Everyone who knew Jesus is now dead. Christianity has begun to spread, but there are serious threats to its survival. Christianity at the Crossroads examines the crucial issues that faced the second-century Church – a period often neglected or overlooked in other studies. It was during this period that the fledgling Church struggled to work out its identity and stay true to the vision of Christ and the apostles. Threatened by divisive controversies from within and fierce persecution from without, the Church’s response to these and other issues not only determined its survival; it was to shape the beliefs, values and lives of millions of Christians throughout the world over the next two millennia.
(Text from the publisher)
Table of contents
Preface
List of abbreviations
Introduction – What is so important about the second century?
1 – A peculiar identity: The sociological make-up of second-century Christianity
2 – A strange superstition: The political and intellectual acceptability of second-century Christianity
3 – Worshipping Jesus: The ecclesiological structure of second-century Christianity
4 – Alternative pathways: Diversity in second-century Christianity
5 – The Great Church: Unity in second-century Christianity
6 – A textual culture: The literature of second-century Christianity
7 – A new Scripture: The new Testament canon in second-century Christianity
Conclusion
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