Am I the only one who gets depressed reading church history sometimes? For supposed followers of Jesus, there sure seems to be a lot of killing and ugly attitudes among the faithful through the ages. I was pleased last year to read Saving Paradise [1] by Brock and Parker, and I’m equally thrilled to introduce you to Diana Butler Bass’s latest offering, which I think will transform how emerging and missional Christians see their heritage.
Subtitled A History of the Grassroots Movements in Christianity that Preserved Jesus' Message of Social Justice for 2,000 Years and Their Impact on the Church Today, Bass’s A People’s History of Christianity is written in the same spirit as Howard Zinn's radical and groundbreaking work A People's History of the United States. In this landmark volume, Bass reveals the under-reported movements, personalities, and spiritual practices that continue to inform and ignite contemporary Christian worship, activism, and social justice reforms in the name of Jesus. The book will offer up a much-needed “other side of the story” for missional and emerging Christians, drawing from examples of alternative practices in every period of Christian history, including:
Care for the environment and celebrating God in nature
Defining compassion, hospitality, and social justice as integral to the Gospel
Peace-making as the pervasive Christian response to war
Highlighting the female attributes of God, and the power of women in the Church
Celebrating human sexuality as a gift from God
This is the book that “the great emergence” has been waiting for - a deeply researched history of Christianity that sheds new light on the underreported personalities and movements of the faith.
Bass has garnered a groundswell of support for this innovative project, spanning the conventional left/right spiritual divide. Here’s a sampling:
“It would be difficult to imagine anyone reading this book without finding some new insight or inspiration, some new and unexpected testimony to the astonishing breadth of Christianity through the centuries.”
—Philip Jenkins, author of The Next Christendom
“A perfect armchair companion for contemporary Christians. Charmingly written and refreshing to read, yet rich in details and thorough in its mapping of the major themes and events that have shaped the evolution of the Western Church, A People’s History of Christianity is our story re-told with both clear-eyed affection and a scholar’s acumen.”
—Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence
“In this beautifully written history, Diana Butler Bass reveals the living, beating heart of love at the core of Christian faith.”
—Sara Miles, author of Take This Bread
"Intelligent and sassy, honest and redemptive. ...a warning that if we don't remember the blood-stained pages of the past, then we are doomed to repeat them., but also an invitation to participate in the next chapter of what it means to be the Church in this broken world."
—Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution
"An excellent introduction to grass-roots renewal movements as well as to the various shapes that Christian spirituality has taken through the ages. ...necessary reading for any who may have thought that history is irrelevant for present-day living."
—Justo L. Gonzalez, author of The Story of Christianity
"...this book is so much more than a wonderful overview of Christian history. It is also a joyful apologetic for a 'new kind of Christianity.' I already gave away my copy, because I knew it would help salvage the faltering faith of a disillusioned friend."
—Brian McLaren, author of Everything Must Change and A New Kind of Christian
"Interesting, insightful, illuminating, and remarkably relevant."
—Marcus Borg, author of The Heart of Christianity
"In a refreshing look at 2,000 years of Christian history from the bottom up, Butler Bass offers unique insights into the spirit has stirred the hearts and minds of faithful people over the centuries and brought renewal to Christianity during periods of upheaval and distress."
—Christian Science Monitor
"...immediately accessible, helped along by frequent and shrewd linkages to contemporary counterpoints. This presentation includes lots of folk along the way who never made the 'power lists.' Readers will resonate with this inclusiveness and be grateful to Bass for making them fellow travelers in the on-going story."
—Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
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This Title Has Been Closed for Review
:: Special Viral Blogger Section ::
Link-love for your review:
Diana's official website [2]
Invite your readers to browse inside [3] A People’s History of Christianity
Interview Availability:
Diana’s availability for blog and podcast interviews is unknown at press time. Let me know if you’re interested in an interview – I’ll keep you posted!
Your Commitment:
Remember, your commitment is to write a blog post (minimum 50 words) about A People’s History of Christianity within 30 days of getting it. Please cut & paste your post underneath this entry. Thank you!
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[1] http://savingparadise.net
[2] http://dianabutlerbass.com/
[3] http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061448706
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