Christianity: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

For those who want a very short introduction to Christianity that is historical and objective rather than proselytizing, i.e. written by a biased Christian, than this short book could fit the bill.Since it is written by a woman there is even a chapter written about women in Christianity that was quite insightful and a unique contribution to the understanding of the Christian phenomenon.A word to readers in the United States. All the Very Short Introduction Series of books are written by those educated in the United Kingdom so the emphasis of study is often based on the experiences of the United Kingdom and Europe. Very little mention is made of the phenomena in the United States. If there is mention, then it is made in passing, for instance, the United States is lumped in with North America in references. There is no mention of the Scopes Trial which ocurred in Tennessee, or Mormonism and Jehovah's witnesses which are particularly American.However, Christianity is sufficiently global now that this book gives a good feel for it none the less.

There is no better introduction to Christianity imaginable. The author demonstrates an authoritative view on the phenomenon of Christianity as a whole, including both spiritual as societal and political developments. This book is a crucial tool to understand the basic tensions behind contemporary western culture. It liberates the reader from the narrow views on the christian religion that dominate most of the contemporary debates about ethics and spirituality. Also the view on Christianity as a global phenomenon is of special value in our post-colonial world.

This is one of the stranger books about the Christian phenomenon I've read due to some of the characterizations that Woodhead makes. Some of the categories sound reasonable: "Church" Christianity, "Biblical" Christianity, "Monastic" Christianity and "Mystical" Christianity. As a Catholic, all these "forms" are nothing more than aspects of the one Faith.Overall, there's a lot of good information about manifestations of Christian belief and practice over two millennium that can be helpful to the uninitiated. Here is an example of an odd statement in my view: "The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the World, a free floating power which 'blows where it wills' and can overwhelm and possess human beings ( as can evil spirits). This makes the Spirit a potentially dangerous and uncontrollable element for Church authorities." Read a little further and you get the point but I've never heard the Holy Spirit characterized in this way! There are a lot of statements like this that are not necessary wrong, just odd to this reviewer.

This book provides an excellent overview of the Christian religion. There is little doubt that Christianity is an incredibly diverse religion, yet this book is able to adequately account for these wide differences. If you would like to get introduced to this religion, its basic beliefs and rituals, and its history, this is a great starting point. And, I am actually a moderate anti-theist and an atheist.

I thought the book did a great job explaining the origins of Christianity, the religious foundations of the faith, and history of the branches of the religion from its inception to the present day.

Coming from an agnostic background and having to write a comparitive essay about Christianity and Buddhism, I jumped at the chance for a detailed unbias collection that could provide enough general info for a decent knowledge of my subjects. I was quite happy with the Buddhist Introduction [Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introduction)] and expected a general range of common information, as in the other one. This book, however, simply explains the historical background of Christianity and interprations of Jesus Christ, and does not give any other info other than that. While history is important to how it came to be and all, it DOESN'T explain major figures of Christianity, prominent texts, give common information on subcategories in Christianity or the reason for which they separated, what is believed in heaven or hell, or even a list of their morals (i.e. the 10 commandments). Such info I was looking for. It does give you a very detailed background of the religion and remains unbias in it's views, and I am in no way condemning the book because it was inadequately written but because it was inadequately broad. For a general 'introduction to Christianity' book, I was highly dissapointed, but the book is a wonderful reference to how Christianity came to be and it's various interprations in the past. It just wasn't for me.

ordered for college class.

Recommended! The typology of Church/Biblical/Mystical Christianity is deceptively simple, evocatively complex, and worthwhile to consider. An original point of view.

I've always enjoyed reading Linda Woodhead's work and this book confirms her stature as a writer. She provides a very clear and well structured introduction to the Christian faith, highlighting its key doctrines, practices, diverse forms of expression and some of the challenges that face it in the future within an increasingly secular society. The author is clearly an expert in her field and writes in a highly accessible way for a broad audience. It was an excellent book and I would recommend it very strongly to anyone wanting to know more about the Christian religion.

Not quite what I expected when I downloaded this book, having less theology and more concern for what believers actually do (or say they do) than I had expected, but nevertheless this short volume does set out some critically useful way markers for understanding Christianity in all its many guises.

This is a concise and neat introduction for those looking at Christianity from an academic level for the first time. If you're looking for more than that then you will need to go elsewhere.

This book is an excellent overview of the history of Christianity, very interesting, particularly in relation to women's relationship with a male dominated religion. I wanted to know a little more about the history of this and other religions and so I looked for a course with the Open University. The Open University very helpfully listed the books used in its course A217, "Introducing Religions". I shall now read the others

In an important sense writing a very short introduction to Christianity is virtually impossible. The books on Christianity in a University library run into thousands (with many on the New Testament, Contemporary Theology, the Crusades, Reformation, ethics, the Inquisition, patristics, martyrology, ecclesiology and so on); condensing this kind of information into a meaningful little book is an immense task as it involves a high degree of selection and omission; also, what is included is unlikely to receive much treatment; the Reformation, for example, has three and a half pages. Linda Woodhead manages to strike a good balance though whilst also raising relevant questions.In discussing the significance of Jesus, she touches upon the synoptic problem and introduces the idea of there being many other 'gospels' of a more 'gnostic' or even feminist, nature. She also has very good discussions on the way that divine power is transmitted from God, through a male priesthood in the traditional types of Christianity (the theme of gender runs all through the book). Her main thesis is that Christianity can be braodly analysed into a typology of three types: Church Christianity, Biblical Christianity, and Mystical Christianty. This typology is helpful I think as it is hard to think of many traditions that fall entirely outside of it, though some will contain elements of all three.Her section on gender is the most engaging I think as she discusses ways in which a traditionally male dominated religion might be attractive to women; all quite provocative.Woodhead seems to have a very broad view of mysticism that even included Pentecostalism. I felt that this was quite far from the mark. Also, when discussing the Holy Spirit, she lapses into referring to the Spirit as 'it'. The concern is not whether or not the Spirit exists or whether she believes, it is simply not the way the Spirit is conceived to be within the tradition. She also says that for charismatics and pentecostals, salvation is sealed by the baptism of the Spirit and the reception of spiritual gifts; this is simply wrong; they accept all the fundamentals of an evangelical Church. But I want to praise the book, not bury it. It is an excellent introduction and really quite an achievement.