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The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia---and How It Died Audiobook
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(3.06) - 359 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The Lost History of Christianity will change how we understand Christian and world history. Leading religion scholar Philip Jenkins reveals a vast Christian world to the east of the Roman Empire and how the earliest, most influential churches of the East—those that had the closest link to Jesus and the early church—died. In this paradigm-shifting book, Jenkins recovers a lost history, showing how the center of Christianity for centuries used to be the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, extending as far as China.
Without this lost history, we can't understand Islam or the Middle East, especially Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Complete with maps, statistics, and fascinating stories and characters that no one in the media or the general public has ever heard of, The Lost History of Christianity will immerse the listener in a lost world that was once the heart of Christianity.
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"Brilliant book about the "lost history" of Christianity; one of my year's top ten best. Once, Christians were the majority from North Africa all the way to India--and had sizable communities beyond, even to China. 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. Jenkins pieces together how many Islamic traditions were borrowed from Christianity and Judaism. As late as 1900, the Ottoman Empire, (ruled by a Muslim sultan from Constantinople) was only 50% Muslim and 46% Christian; in subsequent years a terrible ethnic cleansing of Christians created a Turkey that is over 97% Muslim. Certain groups of Christians disappeared, others lingered on as "lost groups." 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. This is an amazing book, and doesn't lament the fact that Christianity was supplanted by Islam but simply explains how it happened and why. It again proved to me how complex the first millenium was and how little it is understood in contemporary times. A very, very fine read. Interesting chapters on the Christian churches in Japan, Arabia and Egypt."
— David (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Philip Jenkins’s marvelous new book…tells the largely forgotten story of Nisibis, and thousands of sites like it, which stretch from Morocco to Kenya to India to China, and which were, deep into the second millennium, the heart of the church.”
— Weekly Standard -
“The book is marvelously accessible for the lay reader and replete with fascinating details to help personalize the ambitious sweep of global history Jenkins undertakes. This is an important counterweight to previous histories that have focused almost exclusively on Christianity in the West.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“In leaner, clearer prose than ever before, Jenkins outlines and analyzes this history, which few present-day Christians have even heard of. This may be the most eye-opening history book of the year.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Philip Jenkins’ book is a tour de force in historical retrieval and reconstruction, a work of scholarly restoration that strikes an overdue balance in the story of Christianity. It is studded with insight, with the story presented in a lively and lucid style.”
— Lamin Sanneh, professor of world christianity and professor of history, Yale University -
“Philip Jenkins always writes well on very interesting topics. This time his topic is more than interesting-it is essential reading for anyone with any interest in the history of Christianity.”
— Rodney Stark, author of The Rise of Christianity -
“An exceptionally fine study of a great swathe of Christian history, hugely important in the Christian story but very little known. This thoughtful, elegant and learned survey will remedy the neglect of a subject which students of religion absolutely need to know about.”
— Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the history of the church, University of Oxford -
“In this highly readable and sobering exploration of how religions—including our own—grow, falter and sometimes die, Jenkins adds a unique dimension to present day religious studies in a voice and style that non-specialists can also appreciate.”
— Harvey Cox, Hollis Professor of Divinity, Harvard University
The Lost History of Christianity Listener Reviews
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" Jenkins asks all the right questions, though his answers can be a bit off. "
— Christopher, 2/17/2014 -
" I'd love to give this book 3 1/2 stars. I debated for a while between three and for stars and ultimately went with three because I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I still found it a very valuable read, however. The information was interesting enough, though some of it was repetitive and some of it was a bit verbose. Overall I'm glad I took the time to read about an area of Christian history that I had not previously studied. "
— Amanda, 1/22/2014 -
" Why did no one tell me about this huge (albeit partly heretical) portion of the church? Talk about perspective. "
— Matthew, 1/13/2014 -
" Amazing how Christianity was so big in Asia. It was these Christians who kept up Aristotle and Greek learning and passed it on to the Muslims. Sadly, it's the Muslims who get the credit for their scholasticism. "
— Tom, 12/28/2013 -
" The initial sections of the book are much more interesting in terms of history. The later parts, the author starts to give suggestions as to how Christianity should grow strategically, even though in his last chapter he states that not every plan of growth made by humans will succeed. "
— Raffi, 11/27/2013 -
" Had potential, just too busy pushing his agenda that the Western church is corrupt, bad, and changed Christianity. "
— Andy, 11/11/2013 -
" Very interesting - never realized how much bigger Christianity was in Asia and Africa than Europe for a long time. Also appreciated the background on the interplay of Islam and other religious influences in the world. "
— S.A., 10/4/2013 -
" Decent telling of what happened to the church outside the Roman Empire "
— Brian, 5/22/2013 -
" This book introduced me to a forgotten two thousand year history of Christianity in the middle east. It was a good introduction. "
— Blake, 5/12/2013 -
" Presented historical evidence of the two other branches of Christianity. It is great to see a movement to shed light on the entire history of the religion, not just the European version. "
— Cephas, 3/24/2013 -
" A good introduction to the Christian church's original eastern expansion, one never routed through Western Europe or Rome. "
— Zigforas, 12/23/2012 -
" This book greatly expanded my understanding of Christian history and thus expands my understanding of Christianity today, especially in relation to Islam, other faiths and political realities. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Christian history. "
— Ferrell, 12/10/2012 -
" Overall, an interesting overview of the early history of Christianity. Much of the info was new to me. It was a good reminder that Christianity is global and is influenced by many cultures. "
— Thompson, 9/7/2012 -
" Complex subject matter, but very interesting history. "
— Anna, 10/22/2011 -
" Fascinating look at the rise and fall of Christian traditions. "
— Joe, 10/7/2011 -
" Escellent history of the Christian church. A must read for anyone delving into the history of religions. "
— Rick, 8/18/2011 -
" It was ok. Not as good as some of his other writings but worth the read. "
— Byron, 1/20/2011 -
" Really 3.5 stars, if such a thing were possible here. An interesting look at "eastern" Christianity and its life up until about 1300 CE, as well as some ponderings on why religions die and why they survive. "
— Cooper, 7/8/2010 -
" This book greatly expanded my understanding of Christian history and thus expands my understanding of Christianity today, especially in relation to Islam, other faiths and political realities. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Christian history. "
— Ferrell, 5/2/2010 -
" Had potential, just too busy pushing his agenda that the Western church is corrupt, bad, and changed Christianity. "
— Andy, 4/12/2010 -
" Philip Jenkins reads like a textbook, so I confess this took me weeks and weeks but he has changed the way I see my spiritual lineage forever. "
— LaLa, 1/24/2010 -
" A good introduction to the Christian church's original eastern expansion, one never routed through Western Europe or Rome. "
— Zigforas, 12/26/2009
About Philip Jenkins
Philip Jenkins, the author of The Lost History of Christianity, Jesus Wars, and The Next Christendom, is a Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion. He has published articles and op-ed pieces in the Wall Street Journal, the New Republic, the Atlantic Monthly, and the Washington Post and has been a guest on top national radio shows across the country.
About Dick Hill
Laural Merlington is an audiobook narrator with over two hundred titles to her credit and a winner of multiple Earphones Awards. An Audie Award nominee, she has also directed over one hundred audiobooks. She has performed and directed for thirty years in theaters throughout the country. In addition to her extensive theater and voice-over work, she teaches college in her home state of Michigan.