Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion (Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion) (Paperback)

~ Dana L. Robert (Author)
Key Phrases: missionary women, mission history, South Africa, Jesus Christ, Latin America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Robert unerringly focuses on the most important issues. She is especially good on the persistence of gender issues in mission history. (Christian Century , October 2009)

"Attentive to theory, but not consumed by it, and sharply aware of the significance of gender in the dissemination of Christianity, Dana Robert distils a quarter of a century of her research into an erudite and accessible single volume account of the how Christianity became the largest religious tradition in the world. There is no better place for any reader to start becoming informed about this important subject." David Hempton, Harvard University

"This accessible overview of the entirety of Christian mission history is remarkable for the range and depth of the material Robert is able to pack into so short a book. It is a reliable and readable account, informed by the latest scholarship. It is especially valuable for its treatment of the relation between western and non-western missionary activity." David A. Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley

"Dana Robert's richly textured book shows us that the history of Christian missions is far from being merely a European colonial story, and will be immensely valuable to students and general readers who are concerned to uncover the historical roots of Christianity's current status as a truly global faith." Brian Stanley, University of Edinburgh.

Review

" Dana Robert distils a quarter of a century of her research into an erudite and accessible single-volume account of how Christianity became the largest religious tradition in the world. There is no better place for any reader to start becoming informed about this important subject."
–David Hempton, Harvard University

"Remarkable for the range and depth of the material Robert is able to pack into so short a book. Reliable and readable, it is especially valuable for its treatment of the relation between western and non-western missionary activity."
–David A. Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley

"Dana Robert's richly textured book shows us that the history of Christian missions is far from being merely a European colonial story, and will be immensely valuable to students and general readers who are concerned to uncover the historical roots of Christianity's current status as a truly global faith."
–Brian Stanley, University of Edinburgh --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (March 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631236201
• ISBN-13: 978-0631236207
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #170,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh perspective, June 19, 2009

By	Joshua D. Jones (Enniskillen, Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Christian Mission by Dana L. Robert was an insightful book and one that was enjoyable and interesting to read. She places a special emphasis in her study upon how the gospel incarnated itself in different ways as it passed from one culture to another. She begins by using a modern illustration of how youth in the Cold War era Soviet Union got a hold of a Jesus Christ Superstar sound tract and how that sound tract opened them up to the gospel. She then goes back to the first century church and traces how the gospel became the world religion.

She begins be describing how Christianity is really the only universal world religion with it existing in every nation. She then explains why she believes this is: the adaptability of the faith. She traces how the message has been able to be faithfully presented but still "incarnated" in different cultures. This is the lens she uses to study the history of mission.

As a youth minister, I appreciated the time she took out to study the connection between youth discipleship movements and the student missionary movement of the late 19th century. I also found interesting her comparison of St. Patrick here in Ireland (where I live) and the African apostle Bernard Mizeki. She also highlights the unique contributions women have made in the cause of world mission. In fact, she devotes a whole chapter to the subject and introduced me to Annalena Tonelli, an apparently well known and important woman missionary in Africa that I was previously unaware of.

It was a good book. I learned a good deal and recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The World of World Christianity, March 9, 2009

By	Charles E. Farhadian (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Christianity is the religion of the colonizers bent on destroying cultures and dominating people. Or so we learn from popular depictions of the history of Christianity. By analyzing the impact of such crucial forces as globalization, history, gender, conversion, and Bible translation on the worldwide expansion of Christianity, Dana Robert has provided a superb rejoinder to this stereotype. Robert's book should be compulsory reading for all who are interested in understanding the expansion of the world's largest religion.