The Shape of Christian History: Continuity and Diversity in the Global Church

Sunquist (Why Church?), president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, offers a well-argued if dense critique of Christian historiography’s Western bias. The author suggests that Christian histories should acknowledge the distinctiveness and dynamism of non-Western Christian traditions, recognizing them as equal in legitimacy and importance to European Christianity. Noting that Chinese Christianity incorporates Confucian elements and African independent churches “are developing as African religions that happen to be Christian,” Sunquist urges Western Christian historians to examine what these movements reveal about the fundamentals of the faith. He sees the “global, even cosmic meaning” of the cross as one of the elements underlying all the disparate Christian traditions, representing suffering and its overcoming for humanity. While the author views Christianity as a positive movement, he is candid about its darker aspects throughout history: “Enslaving people and then telling them about the ‘love of God’ seems like a worst-case scenario.” Sunquist’s message is timely and his insights into various Christian traditions enlighten, but his dry prose and scholarly style make for slow going. This will be best appreciated by those with some theological training. (June)