Living in Light of the Global Body of Christ Books on global Christianity have been growing substantially in the last ten years. The importance of studying Christianity beyond White Western history and theology has taken on a special relevance in an increasingly globalized world. The study of Global Christianity is about recognizing the diversity of Christians around the world in terms of their cultures, languages, ethnicities, worldviews, and approaches to the faith. World Christianity is about making global-local connections and providing Christians the opportunity to learn from one another to enhance their faith and broaden their perspectives. Most World Christianity books are written for scholarly audiences only. However, Portraits of Global Christianity moves beyond that sphere and into the lives of Christians who have learned about and continue to experience the global church in their everyday lives. No other global Christianity book on the market provides this kind of self-understanding on the relationship between World Christianity and individual experience. In doing, it aims to make a unique contribution to the field. This book is geared toward a general Christian audience and is written in an accessible style with attractive full-color charts, maps, and graphs to make quantitative data on Christianity and other religions come alive. The reflections and essays in this book in honor of Todd M. Johnson provide readers with concrete examples of how knowledge and experience of Christianity worldwide has fundamentally changed their worldviews, perspectives of the faith, and vocational callings. It encourages readers to reflect on their attitudes toward people who do not look like them or live out the faith like them, to more seriously consider the growth of Christianity in the global South and its impact on their own lives, and seek opportunities to reach across ethnic, class, and gender boundaries for the sake of Christian hospitality, discipleship, and friendship.

The expanded, updated edition of a classic reference source--the comprehensive survey of the status of thje world's largest religion in 238 countries. Many tables, charts, diagrams, maps, photographs, and a rich text present a unmatched look at 33,800 Christian denominations, 12,000 dioceses, 5,000 missions, and other groups--all -set against a detailed historical, political, social, cultural, demographic, background.

Examining how God and eventually Christ are portrayed in early Christian art, Jensen explores questions of the relationship between art and theology, conflicts over idolatry and iconography, and how the Christological controversies affected the portrayals of Christ. Since much of this art comes from ancient Rome, she places her analysis in the context of the history of Roman portraiture. One hundred photographs enhance the discussion.

Maps and essays explore the status of Christianity today, looking at major traditions, Christianity in different continents and regions, Christianity by peoples and language groups, missionary work, and evangelism.

Tracing the rise of Christianity to its key role in Europe's maritime and colonial expansion, this text sheds light on the ways in which societies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have been drawn into the Christian orbit.

In this new and substantially expanded Third Edition, Philip Jenkins continues to illuminate the remarkable expansion of Christianity in the global South--in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Drawing upon the extensive new scholarship that has appeared on this topic in recent years, he asks how the new Christianity is likely to affect the poor, among whom it finds its most devoted adherents. How should we interpret the enormous success of prosperity churches across the Global South? Politically, what will be the impact of new Christian movements? Will Christianity contribute to liberating the poor, to give voices to the previously silent, or does it threaten only to bring new kinds of division and conflict? Does Christianity liberate women, or introduce new scriptural bases for subjection? Acclaim for previous editions of The Next Christendom: Named one of the Top Religion Books of 2002 by USA Today Named One of the Top Ten Religion Books of the Year by Booklist (2002) Winner of the Christianity Today Book Award in the category of "Christianity and Culture" (2002) "Jenkins is to be commended for reminding us, throughout the often gripping pages of this lively work...that the history of Christianity is the history of innovative--and unpredictable--adaptations." --The New York Times Book Review "This is a landmark book. Jenkin's thesis is comprehensively researched; his analysis is full of insight; and his projection of the future may indeed prove to be prophetic." --Baptist Times "A valuable and provocative look at the phenomenon widely ignored in the affluent North but likely to be of enormous importance in the century ahead.... The Next Christendom is chillingly realistic about the relationship between Christianity and Islam." --Russell Shaw, Crisis "If the times demand nothing less than a major rethinking of contemporary global history from a Christian perspective, The Next Christendom will be one of the significant landmarks pointing the way." --Mark Noll, Books & Culture