His strong voice filled the tomb. I read this book in conjunction with another insightful book just reviewed: Transcending Mission, by Michael Stroope. As late as the 11th century Asia was home to about a third of the world’s Christians, Africa another 10 percent, and the faith in these continents had deeper roots in the culture than it did in Europe, where in many places it was newly arrived or still arriving. I really thought this book was fascinating. The Europeans were amazed to discover both that the church stretched to the shores of the Pacific and that the emissary from the fearsome Mongols was a Christian bishop, one from whom the king of England subsequently took communion. It would also help students of prophecy better grasp the issues captured by John in the Revelation -- a Bible … Perhaps Ephrem’s hymn and prayer will be answered: “Bring them back in peace.”, Senior Fellow, Center for Religious Freedom. To see what your friends thought of this book, The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died, I have a complicated relationship with Philip Jenkins. He also gave his perspectives on how religious movements start and die out. The kind that shows how hidden biases lead us to overlook was is sitting right in front of our eyes. As a result, “Buddhist and Nestorian scholars worked amiably together for some years to translate seven copious volumes of Buddhist wisdom.” These same volumes were taken back home by Japanese monks who had been in Chang’an, and became the founding volumes of Shingon and Tendai, the two great schools of Japanese Buddhism. Philip Jenkins’s The Lost History of Christianity reads initially like an alternative-history science fiction book. Book Reviewed Philip Jenkins, The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died (New York: HarperOne, 2008). That figure diminished to around 3% at the end of the 20th century (the word "genocide" was coined in part to identify a different kind of crime, like the Turk's slaughter of Christian Armenians in 1915 or the Iraqi's killing of Christian Assyrians decades later). It was mostly under "non-Arab muslims" that Christianity diminished and almost disappeared in the East, i.e., under the mongols, the mamelukes and the turks. October 28th 2008 Much of the “Arab” scholarship of the time, such as translations of Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen, and others into Arabic, or the adoption of the Indian numbering system, was in fact done by Syriac, Persian, and Coptic (Egyptian and Nubian) Christians, often in the high employ of the Caliph. It was amazing to learn the the Persian Empire of the first 500 years of the CE was just as amenable to the spread of Christianity as the Roman Empire. The Lost History of Christianity is a narrative of its rise and fall, as well as a richly textured explanation of why this happened. Who were these Christians, what did they believe, and what happened to them? That early Eastern Christianity and early Islam have a lot in common? Indonesia Appoints New Minister of Religious Affairs, Signaling More Robust Opposition to Radicalism, Biden Would Do the World a Favor by Keeping Trump’s China Policy. The New Faces of Christianity (2006) argued that, since their culture is closer to the Bible, Africans and Asians understand the book very differently from Europeans and North Americans, and find in it a great liberatory force. If you didn't know that Christian communities existed and thrived in Asia and Africa during antiquity, you will learn about that in this book. How could all this history have happened and nobody saw fit to tell us about it? While much of what he has written will be of little surprise to specialists, he has a gift for clearly and cogently synthesizing and summarizing copious research. A valuable, insightful book! On the up-side, at least he's trying, and he can write quite well in bite size chunks. We visited the monastery of Tur Abdin, a major center of Eastern Christianity, now dwindling under suffocating government restrictions. For 60 years there had been no Christians there, but now the diocese had sent a Christian family from a local village, who live in a small apartment in the church and try to keep it from falling apart. While Christians will be particularly concerned with this story, it will be of interest to, and significant for, far more than they. Being completely ignorant on the Church of the East, I picked up this book. 324 Previews . Hence, Prajna did the obvious thing and consulted with Bishop Adam, head of the Chinese church, who was deeply interested in understanding Buddhism. It would also help students of prophecy better grasp the issues captured by John in the Revelation -- a Bible book that was written to … An illustration of two cells of a film strip. The Lost History of Christianity is a joy to read. Most church history book focus on where Christianity has spread and ignore where it has died out. He then uses this topic to speak to the larger point of the rise and fall of religions. The Lost History of Christianity is of interest to students of religion (Christian and Muslim), Middle Eastern and Church history, and Christian ministry. We have much to learn from the tale of its reach, its particular way of being Christian, and its eventual decomposition * The Jesus of a Previous Century * The King Solomon of a Later Century: The Gospel Chart displays the evolutionary developement of the source texts that made up both the New Testament Canon and heterodox apocrypha. The Next Christendom (2002) described how Christianity’s demographic center of gravity, in the 20th century, moved to the Third World. Nonfiction Book Review: The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia by Philip Jenkins, Author . I'm curious, and it's interesting. The Lost History of Christianity is an excellent introduction to an obscure subject which the church in America never touches on. Though advertising itself as a history of the global church, Lost History is prin. But even then, you will not come away with a clear chronology. The sections on Christianity's expansion eastwards and the tragic history of the churches of central Asia, still a little-known and under-researched subject, are among the very best in the book. Timothy engaged in a famous dialogue with the caliph al-Mahdi, which still survives. The contributions of the Christians in forming the "Islamic Civilisation" are enormous and should be acknowledged. Before Christianity was a Western European concept, it was Eastern, demonstrates Jenkins (History and Religious Studies/Penn State Univ. This is an extremely important perspective on Christian history that is strangely absent from most books of Christian history, … And then they died out. Promoting American leadership and global engagement for a secure, free, and prosperous future. You know why I care? On December 22, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reshuffled his cabinet. Perhaps a quarter of the world’s Christians looked to him as their spiritual and political head. by Philip Jenkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2008. If you're considering reading this hoping to learn about such communities, I'd recommend Samuel Moffett's History of Christianity in Asia (vol 1). Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. What is worse, they were never mentioned in my college courses on the history of the early church. Not only does Jenkins give us the wh. Beyond that, they managed to evangelize as far afield as China and were influential presences in some of the most surprising places - like the courts of Mongol conquerors and Indian rajahs. While Islam was Christianity'. Video An illustration of an audio speaker. You know what? Jenkins recounts how “in 782, the Indian Buddhist missionary Prajna arrived in the Chinese imperial capital of Chang’an, but was unable to translate the Sanskrit sutras he had brought” into Chinese or other useful local languages. I would much rather have an actual history of them than an argument that we don't have a history of them - which is self-evident, and ignorance of these churches must be the reason most people would read this b. The Mongols sought alliances with Christians, and there were Christians among them, hence local believers were treated as a potential fifth column and often massacred. Moffett's goal is actually the history of the existence of Christianity in that region, whereas Jenkins focus on the question 'how do religions die' means the book is aiming at quite different questions. Jenkins ably explains how by labelling these Christians heretics, Nestorians, Jacobites, etc., most historians ignore their thriving communities and the missionary activities that took them to the reaches of India and China. Not really what I was hoping for, nor what it's advertized as. It was locked and abandoned after World War I when the inhabitants, fleeing massacre, escaped into Syria. Weekly in your inbox: book reviews, book lists, news, book trivia, and more! Since 1980, he has taught at Penn State University, and currently holds the rank of Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of the Humanities. The church developed early, Europe became in some sense Christianized, and subsequently it set the pattern for the faith. In 1287 the Ilkhan overlord sent him on a diplomatic mission to Europe to enlist aid for a proposed joint assault on Mamluk Egypt: Kublai Khan in Beijing would also be a supporter. Between 1200 and 1500 the proportion of Christians outside Europe fell from over a third to about 6 percent. This should be highlighted e. An eyeopener on a flourishing Christian community that mainstream history ignores. I would much rather have an actual history of them than an argument that we don't have a history of them - which is self-evident, and ignorance of these churches must be the reason most people would read this book; and an actual history than an explanation of why we should 'care' about that history. We’d love your help. A very, very fine read. As Jenkins says, “We have forgotten a world.” The “new” globalized Christianity “is better seen as a resumption of an ancient reality.” He explores the pervasive influence of Christianity on Islam, and it is always good to see the woolly writings of Karen Armstrong and Elaine Pagels taken apart, albeit gently. By taking about the different communities that managed to survive better than others, such as the Egyptian Copts, Jenkins also discusses the factors of geography and politics that help or doom minority religions. The gospel had reached much of the world within just a few centuries after Christ. I enjoyed the book but it was a little slow to me in some places. This is a fascinating book which shatters the myth of Christianity as simply a product of "Western Civilization." Booklist. In all honesty this book was even better than I expected and I highly recommend it. In the summer of 2002, I traveled in southeastern Turkey to meet with members of the two-millennia-old Syriac church, of whom only a few thousand are left in their homelands. Christian Alternative, $23.95 trade paper (232p) ISBN 978-1-78904-194-1 The Asian church was also more intellectually accomplished: Its operating languages were Syriac, Persian, Turkish, Soghdian, and Chinese. Jenkins tells this story with a certain vibrancy that keeps one wanting to continue on to the next page. Matters could easily have developed very differently.”, “The key difference making for survival is rather how deep a church planted its roots in a particular community, and how far the religion became part of the air that ordinary people breathed.”. Well, that is one of the topics discussed in this well written, highly informative history. Book Review: The Lost History of Christianity. This is my favorite type of history book. Very interesting story of a church that thrived through the middle ages, from Africa to China. Jenkins discusses the growth and death of these church communities in broad strokes with fairly detailed examples to help make his point. In 1978, he obtained his doctorate in history, also from Cambridge. In 2003 in Iraq, Christians were some 4 percent of the population, but they have since comprised 40 percent of the refugees. The kind that shows how hidden biases lead us to overlook was is sitting right in front of our eyes. Jenkins covers all these fascinating questions and more. In the late 10th century a Nestorian monk from Arabia visiting China reported his horror at discovering that Christianity had, after centuries, by then become “extinct.” But Christianity is now in its fourth phase of expansion in China: More people there go to church than do in Europe. This book eradicates the often held belief that Christianity is a Western religion. It was also a church immersed in cultures very different from the Roman and Hellenic environments of the West. The contributions of the Christians in forming the "Islamic Civilisation" are enormous and should be acknowledged. But even then, you will not come away with a clear chronology. More importantly, Christians in the East -in the Arab World - survived for 1000 years under the various caliphates. This is an interesting look at the eastern arm of the Christian church, which survived for a thousand years under non-Christian polities (largely Muslim) and, arguably, flourished up through the 14th century AD. Yes, so much of the Middle East, Central & East Asia, and N. Africa were once vibrantly Christian. The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church… In this groundbreaking book, renowned religion scholar Philip Jenkins offers a lost history, revealing that, for centuries, Christianity’s center was actually in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, with significant communities extending as far as China. An informative read for tourists/travelers to Turkey. The author Philip Jenkins says that much of the information presented in this work is little known except by a few scholars. Description The Lost History of Christianity | Philip Jenkins. The Mongols gave more favorable treatment to Christians in their domain for a period but eventually swung toward the Muslims, right around the time the Mongol rule was ending. The author Philip Jenkins says that much of the information presented in this work is little known except by a few scholars. This should be highlighted especially for today's Arab muslim community so that they get a chance to better understand their history, their Islam and the relationship between Arab Christian and Muslim communities. ; God’s Continent, 2007, etc. I was incredibly impressed by his book, I've never read a history that so thoroughly convinced me that everything I thought I knew about a topic was wrong. Most of the book, I would say, is taken up with a) complaints that Europeans and their descendants know too little about the churches of the East and b) attempts to make the history of those churches 'relevant.' We went into the crypt to see the tomb of Jacob of Nisibis, from whom the term “Jacobite” church is named, and while we studied his sarcophagus, our driver, unprompted, began to sing an ancient hymn. Jenkins ably explains how by labelling these Christians heretics, Nestorians, Jacobites, etc., most historians ignor. Early explorers like Marco Polo in the 13th century and the Portuguese in the 16th century encountered weird groups of enigmatic "Lost Christians" in places like China and India that had lost touch with their origins. Jenkins has done a great service to Christendom in writing this book on its "lost history." But the church fathers argued that the “kings who held the steering poles of the government of the whole world were the [Mongols], and there was no man except [him] who was acquainted with their manners and customs.” Markos established his seat near Tabriz, then the capital of the Mongol Ilkhan dynasty. The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died. Around 1275, two Chinese monks began a pilgrimage to the Holy land. Read on my iPad. I really enjoyed this history and learned so much. He does a great job of asking the questions of why things changed--and what caused the demise of Christianity in these areas; there are complex reasons & answers. Well, that is one of the topics discussed in this well written, highly informative history. But, there are good lessons to be learned from all of them and the history--whether good or bad--of each of them. That Ethiopia became Christian before most European countries ever did? Success has many parents and failure is an orphan. Didn't Christianity go somewhere besides Europe? One trigger was the Mongol invasions, which threatened Arab Islam as never before. Look, Only because of the vagaries of history (or the inscrutable machinations of God, depending upon one's point of view) did Western and Orthodox Christianity survive, that survival feeding the myths that the heterodox sects were suppressed by the Romans and that there were no Christians of, This is an interesting look at the eastern arm of the Christian church, which survived for a thousand years under non-Christian polities (largely Muslim) and, arguably, flourished up through the 14th century AD. Book Overview "Jenkins is one of America's top religious scholars." But Jenkins demonstrates that at least a portion of "Christendom" once thrived in, A must-read for Christians who want to learn about a relatively unknown segment of Christian history. I'm writing a paper on this book so I'll be giving more thoughts in it but generally this book will humble you, just read through the details of unfamiliar locations though you'll learning a lot of good world history, particularly the 13th and 14th century, but not everyone likes that stuff. He likewise shows how the evolution of Islam took place right alongside, and was partly influenced by, them. The heart of the faith was its fount in the middle east, where it saturated the landscape and spread through two empires across the vast expanse of Eurasia. A Christian cemetery in Kyrgyzstan contains inscriptions in Syrian and Turkish commemorating “Terim the Chinese, Sazik the Indian, Banus the Uygur, Kiamata of Kashgar, and Tatt the Mongol.” The Church of the East may even have reached to Burma, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Korea. Jenkins discusses the growth and death of these church communities in broad strokes with fairly detailed examples to help make his point. Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Center for Substance Abuse Policy Research, First Step Act Independent Review Committee. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published The real game-changer was the Mongol invasion. Not really what I was hoping for, nor what it's advertized as. Is this the first book to document Christianity began east of Rome? While Islam was Christianity's principal rival in many of these areas, the two religions more or less co-existed with occasional flare-ups one might have thought would define the interplay between them during that period. But there's no attempt to link the chunks together. If you're considering reading this hoping to learn about such communities, I'd recommend Samuel Moffett's History of Christianity in Asia (vol 1). In 1978, he obtained his doctorate in history, also from Cambridge. At Redeemed Reader, we’re reading ahead for you so that you can confidently choose books for your children and teens. Their language, Syriac-Aramaic, is as close as any living language to the one that Jesus spoke, yet they are forbidden by the Turkish government to teach it to their schoolchildren. I like, many others, have not given much thought about how in the birthplace of Christianity it happens that Islam is the dominant religion. About the time of Charlemagne’s investiture in 800, the patriarch, or catholicos, of the Church of the East, often called Nestorian, was Timothy, based in Seleucia, in Mesopotamia. By the 8th century, Nestorian Christians had established settlements in China, and Christianity was the majority religion in the Middle East until the coming of Islam, and for centuries afterward. Since 1980, he has taught at Penn State University, and currently holds the rank of Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of the Humanities. Islam have a lot of random entries mostly about politics that Christianity is an excellent to... 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