Educational Books

A History of Christianity in Asia : Beginnings to 1500 (2nd Edition)(Vol 1)
by Samuel Hugh Moffett
Posted: Friday, June 23, 2000 07:05 pm CST

Synopsis
In this volume, the author examines early Asian Christianity to 1500. "Moffett weighs the evidence for the apostolicity of the Thomas Christians of Indians; discusses evidences for early Christian settlements in Korea; traces out the . . . theology existing in Syriac; and . . . examines the relationshipof Christianity to Islam." (Commonweal) Bibliography. Index.

From The Publisher
The first of a two-volume history documenting the spread of Christianity to southern Asia, India, and China.

Reviews
From C.L. Hanson - Choice
Acknowledging that he is no expert in all that he covers, nevertheless Moffett makes judicious use of other researchers' investigations and presents a convincing and well-balanced picture of Christianity's origins and developmentin Asia to 1500. . . . Moffett is also to be commended for the bibliographic guidance which is provided for each chapter. This is a book that all can consult with profit. No academic library should be without it.

From Edwin M. Yamauchi - The American Historical Review In most respects this is an excellent text with a highly readable narrative. The author's coverage is both comprehensive and balanced, and his scholarship is impressive. . . . Some readers may disagree about the depth of coverage on subjects that may be dear to their hearts. Armenia, a buffer state, which became one of the first kingdoms to embrace Christianity, is given rather short shrift as an area that eventually came under Byzantine orbit. But certainly in the late Roman empire Armenia was very much under Persian (Parthian) influence. The author does not do justice to Christianity among the Arabs beforeMuhammad, nor does he refer to Irfan Shahid's important monographs on the subject. Moffett's treatment of the rival Manichaean movement is rather unsatisfactory.

From Lawrence S. Cunningham - Commonwealth Of necessity, this volume, which brings the story down to 1500, is a welter of names, places, cultural crosscurrents, and varying religious traditions,both within and apart from Christianity. The very detail of this history makes for tough going but the rewards are enormous. . . . Specific vignettes add spice to the story. . . . One thing is quite certain: anyone who has the patience to read through this long work will look at the history of Christianity ina quite different light. It should give pause to those who natter on about the church as the realm of Dead White European Males. Moffett brings us a panorama of Semitic, Indian, Asian, Mongol, Persian, and African peoples of both sexes and of many gifts.

From Choan-Seng Song - The Journal of Religion How can a full story be told of Christianity in Asia? . . . 'Full' of course is a relative term, but in this first volume, . . . Moffett tells it fuller than any historian before him has done. And he has done it brilliantly, amassing an incredible amount of source materials, crisscrossing them and weavingthem into a vivid story that is at once complex and coherent, informative andinsightful, never compromising the historian's astuteness not to confuse fantasies with facts, not to fill historical lacunae with pure speculation. Throughout Moffett demonstrates his superb skill of storytelling, making learning of church history a delightful, provocative, and exciting enterprise.

Please help support our website by purchasing this book using either one of the links below. Thank you!

A History of Christianity in Asia : Beginnings to 1500 (2nd Edition)(Vol 1) - Barnes & Noble's online bookstore.
A History of Christianity in Asia : Beginnings to 1500 (2nd Edition)(Vol 1) - Amazon's online bookstore.

Related Information...

Education Conference
Educational Books Archives