List of maps --с.vii
Acknowledgments --c. viii

Introduction: Opening up a life story -- 1
1. The cradle -- 7
2. Smiles -- 18
3. First steps -- 30
4. Tears -- 42
5. Learning to write -- 53
6. It’s official -- 65
7. Moving on and out -- 80
8. Reflecting inwardly and reaching out -- 93
9. Disagreements and rivalries -- 107
10. Deepening thinking capacities -- 121
11. Growing, contracting, questioning -- 134
12. Divisions--с.147
13. Cintinuity and change -- 162
14. Desires for purity, orthodoxy and piety - 176
15. Enlightenment - 190
16. Revolution - 204
17. Challenge and crisis - 217
18. An age of turmoil - 234
19. Creeping into old age or advancing into young adulthood? - 247
20. Towards the next chapter in life - 264
Copyright acknowledgments - 269
Further reading - 270
Index - 273

Christianity: The Biography charts the life story of Christianity from its birth and infancy among a handful of followers of Jesus Christ, through its years of development into a global religious movement. Christianity came to span continents and cultures, transcending educational and social backgrounds, and now, after twenty centuries, it has over two billion adherents.
Christians need to understand the history of the global family of which they are a part, and the historical journey in which they participate. Exploring the biography of Christianity is an exciting adventure of self-discovery.
Ian Shaw offers an introductory orientation to the richness of the Christian tradition and its heritage around the world. As well as covering the history of Christianity in the West, this fascinating book has a special concern for the story from the
non-Western world.
Christianity: The Biography avoids the tendency to draw a distinction between matters of faith or theology and history, and encourages reflection on the lessons to be learned from the past. Opening up Christianity’s rich history should deepen theological understanding, build faith and inspire a longing to meet the One behind the story.