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Encyclopedia of Christianity
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You Are Here: Books About Antiques > Collector Encyclopedias > Item 186 of 556
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$130.00 |
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$93.60
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Available from Amazon
Price Last Updated : 7-30-2008
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Features
Hardcover: 1406 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA June 25, 2005
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195223934
ISBN-13: 978-0195223934
Product Dimensions:
9.7 x 7.6 x 2.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
The more than 300 stylish and informative articles collected in this encyclopedia make a fascinating introduction to Christianity through the ages and around the world. The distinguished contributors include Oxford University professor John Barton, Georgetown University ethicist Cynthia B. Cohen and University of Chicago emeritus Martin Marty. If some of the essays-such as those on "persecution" and "saint"-are a tad predictable, others are delightfully counterintuitive. Elizabeth J. Harris's contribution on "Buddhism and Christianity" shows that church fathers were aware of Buddhism by the second century and suggests Buddhist monasticism may have shaped Christian monasticism. Carolyn J.B. Hammond moves from Christian understandings of God's activity in human history to the question of human suffering in an entry on historiography. A delightfully quirky essay on "Community Arts," by Rod Pattenden, shows the mission of the local church is reshaped when churches sponsor artists-in-residence. Twenty-one stunning color plates help inflate the price-tag, but they are well worth it. (There are also 96 black and white illustrations.) Call-out boxes explain Latin and Greek theological term, catalogue papal encyclicals and list famous Marian apparitions. Caveat lector: those readers who come to reference books expecting ideological neutrality won't find it here. The essay on "Women in Christianity," for example, was written by Rosemary Radford Ruether and suggests that many Catholics find the Church's teaching on gender "unacceptable and even incomprehensible." Overall, this encyclopedia is a must-have for any Christian reference shelf.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Christianity cant be crammed into a box–but much of it fits into this Bible-size book. General readers will find most of the articles accessible, well written, and substantial, but not overwhelming. Major topics (e.g., Arts, Communication, Death, Diversity, Ethics, Mission, Prayer, Story, Symbols) appear in 33 Gateway articles. Appealing features include 166 boxes with statistics, lists, and fascinating byways, and a Whos Who of 400-plus figures (deficient in females) in addition to the full articles afforded major players. Other articles cover wide-ranging topics (e.g., Ecotheology, Environmental ethics, Love, the Roman empire, Mysticism, Science, Pilgrimage, Satan, Poverty, Sin, Wars of religion, Sexuality, Homosexuality, and Gay and lesbian theology). Like Martin Martys masterly summation of Christianity in North America, articles on regional Christian churches and on relations between Christianity and other major world religions are extended and thoughtful. Bibliographies follow each article. The marginal symbols for cross-referencing are not improvements on the usual bold or italic type. Small errors and omissions are unavoidable (two errors in index entries for Taizé; there is no mention of Santeria, though other Afro-Caribbean syncretizing sects are discussed), but they do not detract from the undeniable achievement of this remarkable resource.–Patricia D. Lothrop, St. Georges School, Newport, RI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Reader Reviews
Editor John Bowden has set up this encyclopedia for the new millenium - it is a collaborative effort between more than 200 scholars from around the world, and utilises icons for further reading, websites, cross-references (rather like websites), and topically pull-boxes (166 of them) that treat particular topics that come up within other articles in greater depth and clarity. There is a very thorough and comprehensive index at the back of the book which references both major and minor instances of key words, people, and places. There are also Gateway articles, major articles that introduce pivotal and foundational issues and topics. These taken by themselves could serve as a good introduction to Christianity - these Gateway articles avoid technical and obscure language, and strive to connect the broader text of the encyclopedia to more general frameworks of Christian thought and history. The editors also provide an alphabetical listing, a sort of 'Who's Who' of Christianity just before the index. This has more than 400 entries giving one or two paragraph biographical details - very few figures get articles of their own in the major portion of the encyclopedia (I might quibble with the selection for this a bit; Calvin and Luther get major entries, but Augustine and Aquinas do not). There are entries that deal with Christianity from the standpoint of different creeds and doctrines, different denominational and ecclesiatical structures, different geographic regions, different historical periods, and different philosophical/theological paradigms. The text also brings in ideas of the relationship of Christianity to other faiths, and the relationship of Christianity to the modern world in its different facets. There is the intention to make this an 'ecumenical' text, not just in terms of being broad across denominational lines, but also in the sense that it has appeal both to those within a Christian community and those from outside the Christian culture. As the public side of Christianity continues to wane, but the historic impact of Christianity cannot be denied, it is important for those both with a general familiarity of some part of Christianity as well as those with little or no familiarity to be able to get information quickly and accessibly. This text succeeds admirable on that score, and makes a great reference.
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Encyclopedia of Christianity
by John Bowden
List Price: $130.00
Available from Amazon
Price: $93.60
on 7-30-2008
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