Table Of ContentThe Christian Tradition
A HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL INTRODUCTION
PETER FELDMEIER
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION
@
THE CHRISTIAN
TRADITION
A HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL
INTRODUCTION
Peter Feldmeier
UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO
NEW YORK OXFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Feldmeier, Peter.
Title: The Christian tradition : a historical and theological introduction /
Peter Feldmeier, University of Toledo.
Description: 1 [edition]. | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015041647 (print) | LCCN 2016013125 (ebook) | ISBN
9780199374380 | ISBN 9780199374397 ()
Subjects: LCSH: Christianity.
Classification: LCC BR121.3 .F45 2016 (print) | LCC BR121.3 (ebook) | DDC
230—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015041647
987654321
Printed by R.R. Donnelley, United States of America
LOAVES AND FISHES
© 2003 by John August Swanson
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Web site: www.JohnAugustSwanson.com
BRIEF CONTENTS
Maps Xvi
Timelines xvii
Preface xix
AChristian Timeline xxiii
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1
The Old Testament 10
CHAPTER 2
Jesus and the New Testament 34
CHAPTER 3
Christian Faith in the New Testament 50
CHAPTER 4
Christianity Becomes a Religion 65
CHAPTER 5
The Life of the Early Church 80
CHAPTER 6
The Imperial Church 92
CHAPTER 7
The Great Fathers and the Quest for Union
CHAPTER 8
with God 110
Christianity’s Spiritual Life 129
CHAPTER 9
Expansion and Change in the East and North 147
CHAPTER 10
The Church and the Western Empire 163
CHAPTER 11
Medieval Piety and the Rise of the Universities 186
CHAPTER 12
The Renaissance 205
CHAPTER 13
The Reformation 219
CHAPTER 14
The Catholic Reformation 2237
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The Enlightenment: From Conflict to Tolerance 251
CHAPTER 16
vi BRIEF CONTENTS
Colonization and Missions 266
CHAPTER 17
Christianity in the United States to the Civil War 284
CHAPTER 18
Modern Challenges to Christianity 301
CHAPTER 19
The Rise of Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity 319
CHAPTER 20
Modern Faith and Future Trends 332
CHAPTER 21
Glossary of Key Terms 349
Credits 361
Index 363
CONTENTS
Maps xvi
Timelines xvii
Preface xix
AChristian Timeline xxiii
CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1
Introducing Christianity 2
Christian Sources: The Wesleyan Quadrilateral 3
The Bible as Authority 4
Approaches to the Bible 5
Themes of the Bible 8
CHAPTER 2 The Old Testament 10
Introduction 11
The Bible and History 12
Genesis and the Creation of the World 14
Genesis 2:4b-11:9: Adam and Eve 14
Genesis 1:1-2:4a 14
Making Sense of the Two Stories 15
Genesis and the Patriarchs (Eighteenth Century BCE) 16
Making Sense of the Patriarchs 18
Exodus (Thirteenth Century BCE) 18
Making Sense of the Exodus 20
Judges (c. 1220-1020 BCE) 20
Making Sense of the Judges 22
Monarchy (c. 1020-586 BCE) and Other Dynasties 22
Making Sense of the Monarchy 25
vii
viii CONTENTS
Prophets 26
Main Theological Themes and Developments in Ancient Israel 29
Law 29
Priesthood and Sacrifice 29
Polytheism to Monotheism 30
Sheol, Heaven, and Hell 30
Satan 31
Israel’s Relationship with Others 31
Conclusions 31
CHAPTER 3 Jesus and the New Testament 34
The Setting 34
The New Testament and How It Was Formed 36
The Gospels of Jesus 38
The Ministry of Jesus 40
The Gospel of Mark 42
The Gospel of Matthew 44
The Gospel of Luke 45
The Gospel ofJohn 46
Thinking about the Portraits of Jesus 47
Conclusions 47
CHAPTER 4 Christian Faith in the New Testament 50
Introduction to the Rest of the New Testament 51
Acts of the Apostles 52
The Apostle Paul (c. 5-64 CE) 54
Paul, the Early Church, and the Judaizers 54
Paul's Letters 56
Paul's Theology 57
Paul's Soteriology: How Christians Are Saved 58
The Letter to the Galatians 60
The End of Paul’s Life 61
Conclusions 62
Christianity Becomes a Religion 65
CHAPTER 5
From Judaism to Christianity 66
What Is Christianity? 67
Gnosticism 67
Proto-Orthodox Christianity 70
The Threefold Ministry 71
The Catholic Church 72
CONTENTS
Persecutions 73
Apologists 75
Conclusions 77
The Life of the Early Church 380
CHAPTER 6
From Apocalyptic to Eschatological 80
Church as Center 82
Baptism 82
The Eucharist 84
Daily Gatherings 86
Moral Rigor 86
Asceticism 87
Consecrated Virginity 87
Veneration of Saints 88
Conclusions 89
The Imperial Church 92
CHAPTER 7
Constantine 93
Councils and Dogmas 95
Nicaea (325 CE) 96
Constantinople (381 CE) 97
Ephesus (431 CE) 98
Chalcedon (451 CE) 99
Christological and Trinitarian Dogmas in Brief 99
Jesus the Christ 100
The Trinity 101
Councils and the Breakup of the Patristic Church 102
Church and State 103
Patriarchal Sees 106
Conclusions 108
The Great Fathers and the Quest
CHAPTER 8
for Union with God 110
Background 110
Fathers of the East 112
Origen (185-254 CE) 112
Athanasius (c. 300-373 CE) 113
The Cappadocians 114
Basil of Caesarea (330-379 CE) 114
Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 325-390 CE) 115
Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-394 CE) 115
