What Is Christianity?
Douglas Jacobsen
This edition first published 2022
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jacobsen, Douglas G. (Douglas Gordon), 1951- author. Title: What is Christianity? : a short introduction to Christianity and its major sub-traditions / Douglas Jacobsen. Description: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021024449 (print) | LCCN 2021024450 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119746690 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119746706 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119746713 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Christian sects. | Christianity. | Church history. Classification: LCC BR157 .J33 2022 (print) | LCC BR157 (ebook) | DDC 280–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021024449LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021024450
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Contents
1 Cover
7 Introduction: What Is Christianity?
8 1 Christian BeginningsThe Jewish Roots of ChristianityJesus and the GospelChristianity’s Original DiversityEmergence of the Great ChurchThe Roman Imperial ChurchChristian Diversity and Unity in the Year 500The Great DivisionThe “Traditioning” of Christianity
9 2 Orthodoxy: Preserving Ancient WaysOrthodox SpiritualityThe Orthodox Understanding of SalvationOrthodox HistoryInstitutional and Social Structure of Orthodoxy
10 3 Catholicism: The ChurchCatholic SpiritualityThe Catholic Understanding of SalvationCatholic HistoryInstitutional and Social Structure of Catholicism
11 4 Protestantism: The Bible and the IndividualProtestant SpiritualityThe Protestant Understanding of SalvationProtestant HistoryInstitutional and Social Structure of Protestantism
12 5 Pentecostalism: The Power of the SpiritPentecostal SpiritualityThe Pentecostal Understanding of SalvationPentecostal HistoryInstitutional and Social Structure of Pentecostalism
13 6 Becoming GlobalCatholic GlobalizationProtestant GlobalizationThe Bigger Picture: From Eurocentrism to World Christianity
14 7 The Contemporary Geography of ChristianityMapping Christianity’s Regional DifferencesThe Middle East and North AfricaEastern EuropeWestern EuropeIndia and Central AsiaSub-Saharan AfricaEast AsiaLatin AmericaNorth AmericaOceaniaChristian Interactions Today
15 8 Common Threads and Shared ChallengesCommon Threads in the Early Christian MovementThe Modern Search for Christian UnityChristian Commonalities TodayContemporary Challenges
16