Expansion Of Christianity Research Articles

From curiosity to stereotype: the evolution of the chinese image in western missionary ethnographies (13th-20th centuries)

This article utilizes a documentary methodology to investigate the changing representations of China in Western missionary ethnographies from the late medieval period to the modern era. The analysis reveals that narratives from the late medieval period displayed a significant degree of openness and interactivity, providing a nuanced depiction of both the societal advantages of China and the challenges it posed for the dissemination of Christianity. However, a significant paradigmatic shift occurred during the pre-modern period. The writings of Mendoza serve as a pertinent example of this transformation, as they romanticized and sanctified the image of China while intentionally omitting references to its societal declines and obstacles to Christian expansion. Furthermore, the subsequent nineteenth and twentieth centuries were marked by an Orientalist discourse that characterized China as a backward and ignorant "Other". In conclusion, this paper clarifies the evolution from a more open and interactive viewpoint to a unidirectional and objectifying perspective in Western missionary literature spanning the 13th to the 20th centuries.

Differences in perspectives on the Christian revolution of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in China

In terms of civilian casualties directly and indirectly caused by the war, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was the largest war in world history in the second half of the nineteenth century and had a strong East Asian Christian background. This article adopts the ‘historical contextualism’ approach of the Cambridge School in the history of political thought, and through a comparison of the relevant views of Karl Marx, Max Weber and Kang Youwei, it reveals that this intentional omission comes from a specific combination of modernisation routes and modernisation political construction choices. In contemporary China, the study of Christian theory and the practice of church organisation still need to answer the question of the general public as to whether Christianity can bring about a better life, both materially and spiritually.Contribution: This article pointed out that three contemporaries, Marx, Weber and Kang, all evaluated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement as a revolution of Christianity in China from the standpoint of ‘China’s need for modernisation’, but differed in their evaluation of the position and role of the religious reform factor in the process of modernisation in China. However, they differed in their assessment of the position and role of the Reformation factor in the process of modernisation in China. The article reveals that for Protestant Christianity in contemporary China, it is still necessary to carefully handle its relationship with the government and to satisfy the people’s real needs for a modernised material and spiritual life. Meanwhile, it sheds light on the issue of ‘heterocultural adaptability’ brought about by the expansion and spread of Protestant Christianity in East Asia, as well as on the question of whether Protestantism and Confucianism in the process of modern conversion can achieve peaceful coexistence.

Prayer 24/7: The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Prayer City and Urban Invigoration in Nigeria

ABSTRACT The idea of a modern city is hardly construed from the prism of religion, even though the Tower of Babel has been discursively engaged as an agenda of building a megacity with an interplanetary goal. During the development and expansion of Christianity, cathedrals, with their elaborate architectural aesthetics and frequently as the only spectacular buildings in the provinces, became sites of ecclesiastical and political power. In Nigeria, although the mainline churches followed the cathedralization pattern of Western Christianity, the Pentecostal churches preferred the establishment or construction of prayer camps as the earliest mode of development and sacralization of space. However, there is a transition from prayer camps to prayer cities, with the latter conceived as a deliberate urbanization policy that embraces modern facilities. Using ethnographic and analytical methods, I study the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries’ Prayer City near Lagos, Nigeria, a “city” built on and sustained by prayer culture, and a “city” that invigorates urban life.

La conquista cristiana de al-Andalus, los ulemas y el destino de la población musulmana en las fuentes árabes (siglos XI–XIII)

ABSTRACT Population movements were a regular feature in Iberia across the medieval period, especially due to the conflicts for land control between the northern Christian states and Islamic powers in the south. Movements of Muslim populations caused by the Christian expansion rose sharply from the eleventh century and peaked over the following two centuries. Drawing on the Arabic sources, this article explores how, when, and where the Muslims had to leave their homelands following the arrival of Christian conquerors. While documentary information is scarce and lacking in detail, these sources are key to understanding the real demographic impact caused by the expansion of Christian kingdoms into Islamic territory in Iberia across the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.

Notes on the display of the Hall of the Expansion of Christianity in the Museu Biblíc Tarraconense: between copies, reconstructions and didactics

This article presents historical and critical reflections on the display of the Hall of the Expansion of Christianity in the Museu Biblíc Tarraconense. In the first part it recalls the history of the museum and its cultural background; then it describes the hall and its composition. It ends with comparisons with other cases of similar museum displays between the 1850s and the 1950s, and a reflection on copies and authenticity in museum. The aim is to focus on this example of museum recreation of early-Christian burial and cult settlements, to contribute to the study of casts and reproductions and their role in European historical museum displays for Christian archaeology.

Book review: Alice T. Ott, Turning Points in the Expansion of Christianity: From Pentecost to Present

Book review: Alice T. Ott, <i>Turning Points in the Expansion of Christianity: From Pentecost to Present</i>

The Appearance and Spread of Christianity in Antioch

This study explores the origins and expansion of Christianity in Antioch, a major metropolis of the Roman Empire known for its cultural and religious diversity. The paper examines the initial introduction of Christianity by Judeo-Christians during the diaspora, highlighting the significant role of key figures such as the Holy Apostles Peter, Paul, and Barnabas. It delves into the establishment of the first Christian community in Antioch, the successful integration of Gentile converts, and the city's role as a pivotal center for the spread of Christianity to the Gentile world. The study also discusses the Council of Jerusalem's decisions on the inclusion of Gentiles and their implications for the Christian mission. Antioch is portrayed as a melting pot where new religious ideas, including Christianity, thrived, contributing to the city's transformation into a hub for the dissemination of the Christian faith.

“Under the Law and Customs of War”: Treaties and Prisoners of War

The law of war in the Middle Ages extended beyond the considerations of when to initiate a war (the concept of ius belli), the treatment of prisoners, and the permissibility of plunder and destruction. These dimensions were shaped by the contributions of medieval jurists and, significantly, by the influence of Christianity. Despite the concerted efforts to regulate warfare, certain practices persisted, such as the capture of peasants, women, and children – the non-combatants. The expansion of Christianity to the East, particularly to the Baltic Sea region, saw these principles advancing hand in hand, especially through the Teutonic Order and Western nobility. This article endeavors to analyze, primarily drawing from normative sources, the criteria for becoming a prisoner of war during the conflicts involving the Teutonic Order, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It explores the process of prisoner distribution and examines the prevailing customs and rules outlined in treaties. Notably, the peace treaties of Salynas (1398), Thorn (1411), Melno (1422), and Brest (1435) highlight evolving formulations in the quest to define who qualified as a “prisoner of war,” the conditions for regaining freedom, and the challenges surrounding the effectiveness of international treaties on the matter of captives.

Medieval Sonic Violence on the Baltic Frontier

This article explores the sounds of cultural encounter and colonial violence dramatically rendered in the 13th-century Chronicle of Henry of Livonia during the Baltic Crusades. In his chronicle, Henry claims to provide an eyewitness account of the sonic weapons the Germans deployed in their colonial project to dominate the Baltic landscape and its inhabitants: priests proselytized and preached sermons, dramatic performances instructed new converts in Christian stories, and soldiers and clerics played musical instruments and rang bells to Christianize soundscapes and terrify the pagans. Here, these episodes are recognized as a previously overlooked aspect of medieval Christian expansion and warfare: sonic violence. In part, this article intervenes against the persistent assumption that sonic violence is a distinctly modern phenomenon, aided by modern technologies and ideologies. Henry’s chronicle reveals a medieval man’s belief that sound could tangibly dominate others and his comfort in wielding that power against the Indigenous pagans. To show this, the examples of instrumental music in the chronicle are read alongside violent speech, drama, and silence. In his representation of these elements, Henry understands sound to be capable of enacting behavioral change and cultural domination over his enemies and of constructing a self-image of Christian authority. Ultimately, this article argues that Henry crafts an acoustic environment in which the German crusaders intentionally deployed unfamiliar musical instruments and aggressively dramatic missionary tactics against Indigenous peoples whose exotic, pagan sounds they countered with violent projections of their own sonic otherness.

Race, Caste and Christian Ethics: A Decolonial Proposal

Christian ethical imagination was always tempered by various social prejudices prevalent in local contexts. Particularly during modernity and subsequently through colonial expansion, the role of race and caste became central to the expansion of Christianity through missionary activity. A closer scrutiny of colonial missionary Christianity clearly suggests the significance of racialised worldview shaping theological and ethical paradigms. In particular contexts, such racialised imagination underpinned and gave credence to other forms of social prejudices, such as caste in South Asia. Through a post-colonial lens, I examine the role of race and caste in shaping Christian ethical frameworks and articulate the rationale for ‘decolonising’ the modern foundations of Christian ethics in pursuit of racial justice in our contemporary society.

The Introduction and Expansion of Christianity and Monasticism in Ethiopia and Northern Part of Ethiopia

The Introduction and Expansion of Christianity and Monasticism in Ethiopia and Northern Part of Ethiopia

A Critical Response to ‘Race, Caste and Christian Ethics: A Decolonial Proposal’

The colonial period of Christian expansion was plagued by practices and systems that exploited non-European indigenous populations for the endgame interests of enriching the treasuries of European imperial powers and promoting Eurocentrism. Anderson Jeremiah has written an important paper that explains how the concepts of race and the caste system in South Asia functioned in the context of colonial Christian expansion, and argues that postcolonial Christian actors should prioritise intentionally replacing dehumanising forms of missional activity with the four ethically decolonising paradigms of radical resistance, solidarity, hospitality, and joy in service of promoting racial justice in future global society. My response focuses on Jeremiah's ethical paradigm of hospitality, and engages with the challenge of applying this paradigm. In order for this hospitality paradigm to be applied in ways that lead to optimal missional outcomes, it must answer several questions, especially those linked to the existence of contesting hospitality-focussed frameworks and sociocultural attitudes endorsed by contemporary Christian agents and communities whose norms of hospitality appear radically different.

Music on mission: Integrated perspectives on the shared song

African Christian music is a culturally distinct and recognizable element of faith in Africa. This article argues that such music embodies interrelated movements, conceptual and physical. These movements are central to Christian mission that is responsible for Christian expansion in Africa. Little scholarly reflection on the relationship between music in mission in this era might suggest that music is peripheral to mission. Yet, music is an essential element in the practice of mission within and beyond regular worship encounters on the continent. This article contributes to discourse about Christian mission and its relevance in the unprecedented growth of Christianity in Africa in the late 20th century. A World Christianity approach here will apply the framework of translation to assess the missiological implications of movement in music. Case studies of popular Christian music from various parts of the continent will supply the data for this analysis. Drawing on the author’s experiences with music and mission on the continent the article provides insights on revitalization, conversion, and globality in African Christianity. In the analysis, music will be evaluated in its own merit as a critical component of the ongoing undertaking of mission. The article will demonstrate how music provides the context for multiple transformations through performance and belief. These insights contribute to the growing body of knowledge regarding mission in Africa.

Protestant Missions in the Igbo Heartland: Strategies and Impacts of Anglicanism and Adventism in Owerri Province, 1905-1950

The history of Christianity in Owerri area especially since 1902 after the historic Arochukwu expedition has been an impressive one. It is to be noted that this much celebrated spread of Christianity in the Igbo heartland was the hand work of mainly the Protestant missions. Yet the history of Protestant missions in the area has not received commensurable scholarly attention. This study is a systematic intent to re-examine and reconstruct the history of Protestant Christianity in Owerri area from 1902 to 1950. The study focuses on the strategies and approaches used by Anglicans and Adventists in the region to promote their particular brands of Christianity and leave their impacts amongst the indigenes. Qualitative research approach was adopted for data collection through primary and secondary sources. Data collected were analyzed using phenomenological approach. The study reveals that the Protestant missionaries had a significant impact on the daily life of the people, influencing the region’s education system, economic development, health care system, human capital development through the engagement of indigenous agents, and even some of its traditional customs, and provided a platform for the expansion of Christianity in the Igbo interiors.

Contesting the Shifting Center of World Christianity to Africa: Methodological Reconsiderations

Abstract This essay contests the regnant narratives that the center of gravity of Christianity is shifting to Africa. First, it is not always clear what theorists mean as to what constitutes the centering of Christianity and what ‘shifting centers’ mean beyond the claims of the demographic, social and cultural history of Christian expansion. Furthermore, the field of world Christianity and the methods for studying it continue to evolve, pointing more to a divergence than a convergence in both method and subject matter. Through critical study of old and emerging methodologies, the essay proposes that the claims about world Christianity and its variants and features in Africa must be rethought in ways that give value to the actual faith and context of Africans. The essay proposes four possible approaches for developing an account of Christianity in Africa and the world, focusing on theological, missional, and biblical prescriptive perspectives, that complement the predominant descriptive, sociological, and historical accounts of Christian expansion in Africa in current scholarship.

Global and Local Pentecostal Histories: Reframing Pentecostal Historiography in Africa

Arguably, Pentecostalism’s multifaceted and global nature continues to be marred by historiographical contentions and contestations. Diverse historiographical perspectives continue to shape the understanding of contemporary Pentecostal Christianity globally. Undoubtedly, the chaotic context of the socio-economic crisis in Africa has offered Pentecostal Christianity an opportunity to become a public force worthy of critical studies. Recent historical studies indicate enormous Pentecostal success, especially among the disadvantaged in African societies. Even as a prominent feature on the world’s religious stage, Pentecostal history is unsettled, especially in Africa. Histories of Pentecostalism continue to receive a barrage of blame and accusation for historiographical biases. Scholars from the West are to blame for neglecting or completely ignoring the vital and often more significant work from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latino regarding the history, growth, and expansion of Pentecostal Christianity. This article raises the question of whether African Pentecostalism and its global significance locate within the accounts of global Pentecostal historiographies. It broadly explores issues in the international Pentecostal historiography, arguing that African Pentecostalism is a complex phenomenon originating from indigenous prophetic figures and their antecedents. Therefore, it challenges the North American Azusa Street revival trajectory; Pentecostalism in Africa sprung up in response to contextual challenges faced by the Africans, which mission Christianity could not adequately address. The historiography of African Pentecostalism is steeped in polygenesis, yet within the global context of Pentecostal history.

Multi-Isotopic Investigation of Population Dynamics and Mobility among Rural Medieval Christian Communities at Ghazali, Northern Sudan

Abstract The archaeological site of Ghazali (northern Sudan) provides a rare opportunity to investigate the dynamics of mixed economies and mobility on the fringes on the Nile valley at the time of Christian expansion in Nubia. Thanks to its particular hydrological conditions, Sudan has a long history of diverse groups pursuing different economic activities, with agricultural communities settled along the fertile Nile valley and various mobile pastoralists groups occupying vast areas of the adjacent deserts. Ghazali represents an early medieval Nubian rural site with an extensive funerary zone. Somewhat removed from the Nile valley, Ghazali extends along the western bank of a large wadi, Wadi Abu Dom, running across the Bayuda desert, dated ca. 7th–13th century CE. Multi-isotopic analysis of human tooth enamel from Cemeteries 1, 3, and 4 was used to explore patterns of mobility among these communities. Ten enamel samples were subjected to 87Sr/86Sr analysis, while 24 individuals were studied for their δ18O values. 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O values were very heterogeneous, suggesting that the Ghazali community, as a whole, benefited from a variety of water sources, perhaps including significant contributions from groundwater wells. We suggest that this adds further support for the reconstruction of a mixed practice of agriculture and animal herding in the neighbouring Bayuda desert. These data add to growing evidence for diverse and flexible mixed economies in eastern Africa that provided food security even under the most challenging of conditions.

The Gospel beyond the West: The Sanneh–Walls Legacy and Emerging Conversation Partners in World Christianity Studies

The core disciplines within World Christianity studies derived from the legacy of Lamin Sanneh and Andrew Walls. Their extensive research and dedicated teaching from their historical and missiological roots provided a body of work upon which past and present World Christianity scholars continue to build. In their work, Walls and Sanneh modelled an openness to other perspectives which would provide insights into Christianity in the non-Western world. Though they operated from within their disciplines, the paradigm of translation that Walls and Sanneh championed consistently harboured the prospect of other disciplinary conversation partners. These aspects of the Walls and Sanneh legacy invite us to consider broader research frameworks to help make sense of Christian expansion in the non-Western world today. Though theology, missiology and history are vital disciplines, these in themselves are insufficient to investigate the wider spectrum of issues required to grasp current developments. This essay examines the research issues that World Christianity raises. Through the case study of African Pentecostalism, the essay demonstrates how multidisciplinary approaches might be used to address the questions. In this way, World Christianity studies can reliably draw from, and contribute to, other fields during its investigation of Christian faith as a global religion. This multidisciplinary approach to World Christianity studies also enables researchers to dignify the experience of those, previously marginal, expressions they study. In this way, researchers will carry forward the legacy received from the pioneers.

Book Review: Turning Points in the Expansion of Christianity: From Pentecost to the Present

Book Review: Turning Points in the Expansion of Christianity: From Pentecost to the Present

The Healing Christ in Pandemics: Then and Now

The context of illness, plagues, and healing in early Christianity and late antiquity was a factor in the growth and expansion of early Christianity. The most prominent early images from early Christian art depict Christ healing. This essay will examine the historical context of plagues and the Christian response to show how the healing Christ affected the security of Christian ascendency. From this study, the essay offers insight into our present pandemic context of COVID-19 and evaluates the religious response.