| Description |
1 online resource |
| Contents |
Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Contents; Foreword; Abbreviations; Introduction; Part One: How We Understand the Tradition; 1. What Is the Tradition?; What Are History and Christian History?; "Tradition," "tradition," "traditions" and "traditioning"; The Necessity and Dangers of Tradition; Tradition-Good or Bad?; 2. How Have We Understood Tradition Historically?; Early Church; Middle Ages; Reformation Period; Since the Reformation; Recent Interest in Christian Tradition Among Bible-focused Believers; 3. How Do We Understand the Tradition Today?; Faith Groups Affirming Apostolic Succession |
|
Faith Groups Not Affirming Apostolic SuccessionConclusion; Part Two: Expanding Circles of Inquiry; Introduction; 4. Who Am I? Christian History and Christian Identity; Identity Formation; Shared Identity; Identity Confirmation and Transformation; 5. A Great Cloud of Witnesses; Christian Community Across the Centuries; The Human Desire for Community; How Historic Christian Community Helps; 6. Accountability Partners; Sharing Accountability with Historic Christians; Accountability in Community; How Do We Practice Accountability Across Centuries?; Historic Examples; Circles of Authenticity |
|
7. Mentors and FriendsHistoric Christians Broaden Our Horizons and Fill Gaps in Our Understanding; New Horizons and Filling Gaps; Examples of Expanded Perspectives; Authenticity and Certainty; Part Three: Tradition Serving the Church; Introduction; 8. Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth; Christian Exegesis Across the Centuries ; Early Church; Middle Ages; Reformation Period; Since the Reformation; Recent Trends in Exegesis; How Christian History Helps Bible Study; Better Text and Translation; More Balanced Exegesis; Toward an Exegetical Model; 9. Tradition and Ministry; Preaching and Teaching |
|
Systematic TheologySpirituality; Worship; Expansion: Mission; Ethics; Compassion; Unity; Cultural Engagement; Making a Plan; Celebrate the Body of Christ; Recommended Resources for Ministry; Notes; Name and Subject Index; Scripture Index; Praise for Why Church History Matters; About the Author; More Titles from InterVarsity Press |
| Summary |
Does it matter how Christians in other times and places thought?If the Bible alone is God's revelation, why spend time studying church history?Aren't history and tradition more of a problem than a solution?For many Christians who believe the Bible is the ultimate authority for faith and life, questions about the role and value of the church's traditions can be difficult to tackle. But let's be honest: even those of us who admit that church history is important are often too intimidated or busy to delve into it deeply. And for students, it is sometimes difficult to see how chu |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Church history -- Miscellanea
|
|
RELIGION -- Christian Church -- History.
|
|
RELIGION -- Christianity -- History.
|
|
Church history
|
| Genre/Form |
Trivia and miscellanea
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9780830864829 |
|
0830864822 |
|
