The Encyclopedia Of Christianity, Vol 4 [Hardcover]

Edwin Fahlbusch (Editor), Jan Milic Lochman (Editor), John Mbiti (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0802824161 | ISBN-13: 978-0802824165 | Publication Date: November 2005

The Encyclopedia of Christianity is a monumental reference work that addresses the broad interest in Christianity and religion around the world today. Comprehensive, up to date, reflecting the highest standards in scholarship yet intended for a wide range of readers, the EC describes the Christian faith and community in their myriad forms today and throughout the 2,000 years of Christian history. The EC also looks outward beyond Christianity, considering other world religions and philosophies as it paints the overall religious and sociocultural picture in which the Christian church now finds itself in the new millennium. Written by leading scholars from many countries and cultural backgrounds, the more than 1,700 articles in the complete EC depict Christianity in its global context. Separate articles for every continent and for over 170 countries examine both the history and the current situation of the Christian faith worldwide. The EC also portrays Christianity in its widest ecumenical context. Major articles detail Christianitys rich spiritual and theological diversity in order to inform readers about religious traditions and perspectives beyond their own ecclesiastical frameworks. In its portrayal of Christianity, the EC also takes into account the current sociocultural context, including other world religions, secular philosophies, cultural trends, and modern political and economic forces. Covering such current topics as abortion, atheism, Islam, modernity, and psychoanalysis, these articles describe the multifarious settings in which the Christian church today must maintain a credible witness to the ancient gospel. Finally, the EC presents Christianity in its rich historical context, starting with the biblical tradition and showing how the apostolic tradition developed and how the church has sought throughout history to keep faith with its traditions while engaging the world around it. Volume 4 of the EC contains 299 articles constituting the alphabetical entries P-Sh - articles on significant topics ranging from Paul, process theology, and the Quran to religious liberty, salvation history, and Scholasticism. Like each volume in the complete EC, this book incorporates many enhancements of and additions to the third revised edition of the German Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon: Internationale theologische Enzyklopadie, on which the EC is based. Among the features of this English work are the following: --articles on all but the smallest cou

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This third volume of the Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Christianity series continues to provide extensive, detailed entries on the major movements, documents, denominations and people within the Western Christian tradition. From "Jacob" to "Oxford Movement," the entries are presented alphabetically. Some entries are not surprising--both Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr., are here, as well as Soren Kierkegaard, Reinhold Niebuhr and Origen, as well as several biblical books. Others are more surprising: there are entries on the Kimbanguist Church (a fast-growing prophetic Christian movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and "laicization" (a kind of official defrocking of a Roman Catholic priest). Of special interest are the entries on the various nations where Christianity has established a foothold. The basic emphasis throughout the encyclopedia is on Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, with about 15 pages devoted to Orthodoxy.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

'..".a standard reference work in this area...'
Kenneth C.G. Newport, "Theological Book Review, 2002. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 952 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (November 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802824161
• ISBN-13: 978-0802824165
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.7 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,126,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for academics, December 29, 2000

By 

jjfisch1965 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Encyclopedia of Christianity (Brill)) (Hardcover)

I'm a parish pastor, and spending over a hundred dollars for one reference book better be worth it. It is. Volume One contains 465 articles (alphabetically from A-D). Topics of current interest include "Abortion" and "Abortion Counseling" and "Black Churches." Information on most of the world's countries and the latest statistics are at my fingertips. Although the encyclopedia is based upon a massive German publication, this edition is written in American English. In my opinion, many of the articles would be useful for high school students and Sunday School teachers. I'm going to put Vol. 2 on my next Christmas "wish" list.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Eerdmans, December 21, 2005

By 

S. McDonald "Library World" (Independence, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Encyclopedia Of Christianity, Vol 4 (Hardcover)

This encyclopedia is a monumental reference work that addresses the broad interest in Christianity and religion around the world today. Comprehensive, up to date, reflecting the highest standards in scholarship yet intended for a wide range of readers, it describes the Christian faith and community in their myriad forms today and throughout the 2,000 years of Christian history. It also looks outward beyond Christianity, considering other world religions and philosophies as it paints the overall religious and socio-cultural picture in which the Christian church now finds itself in the new millennium. Written by leading scholars from many countries and cultural backgrounds, the more than 1,700 articles depict Christianity in its global context. Separate articles for every continent and for over 170 countries examine both the history and the current situation of the Christian faith worldwide. The book portrays Christianity in its widest ecumenical context. Major articles detail Christianity's rich spiritual and theological diversity in order to inform readers about religious traditions and perspectives beyond their own ecclesiastical frameworks. In its portrayal of Christianity, this encyclopedia also takes into account the current socio-cultural context, including other world religions, secular philosophies, cultural trends, and modern political and economic forces. Covering such current topics as abortion, atheism, Islam, modernity, and psychoanalysis, these articles describe the multifarious settings in which the Christian church today must maintain a credible witness to the ancient gospel. Finally, the encyclopedia presents Christianity in its rich historical context, starting with the biblical tradition and showing how the apostolic tradition developed and how the church has sought throughout history to keep faith with its traditions while engaging the world around it. Volume 4 contains 299 articles constituting the alphabetical entries P-Sh-articles on significant topics ranging from Paul, process theology, and the Qur'an to religious liberty, salvation history, and scholasticism. Like each volume in the complete encyclopedia, this book incorporates many enhancements of and additions to the third revised edition of the German Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon: Internationale theologische Enzyklopädie, on which this encyclopedia is based. Among the features of this English work are the following:
· articles on all but the smallest countries of the world, including former communist states that have gained their independence since 1989;
· the latest, best statistical information, compiled by David B. Barrett, on the religious affiliation and ecclesiastical breakdown of each country and continent;
· the addition of over seventy biographical articles on prominent figures throughout church history; and
· many expanded or entirely new articles that address topics of particular interest to English-speaking readers. Unparalleled in scholarship and breadth of content, the Encyclopedia of Christianity will long serve as the standard reference work for the study of Christianity in the past and the present-and its trajectory into the twenty-first century.