Product Description

The end of Christendom, where the Christian story was known and the church was central, invites Christians in western culture to embrace marginality and discover fresh ways of being church and engaging in mission. Whilst the transition from modernity to postmodernity has received a huge amount of attention, the shift from Christendom to post-Christendom has not yet been fully explored.

This book is an introduction: a journey into the past, an interpretation of the present and an invitation to ask what following Jesus might mean in the strange new world of post-Christendom.

Drawing on insights from the early Christians, dissident movements and the world church, this book challenges conventional ways of thinking. For those who dare to imagine new ways of following Jesus on the margins, it invites a realistic and hopeful response to challenges and opportunities awaiting us in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #164260 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Customer Reviews

A Good Application of History to the Contemporary Church
The central idea of this book is that whether people lament or celebrate it the last vestiges of christendom are disappearing and Christians in the UK are going to have to get used to living `on the margins' of society.

Murray's book is split into two main sections. The first a broad survey of the history of the Christendom mindset and its implications on Church life and the second a tentative proposal of how the Church must change to adapt to this new situation.

Overall I found this book an excellent introduction to the whole subject of Christianity and Christendom and how antithetical it is to the Christian gospel. The book is wide ranging and as a result does lack somewhat for detail however this is unavoidable given its breadth. This is however counterbalanced by good referencing and a key bibliography that enables those wishing to pursue areas further to do so (I already have a couple of key books on order).

On the negative side I did find it a little strange given its concetration of British Post-Christendom that there was so little analysis of the rise of Christendom within England/Britain (the English reformation under Henry VIII, for example, is (externally) a prime example of a top-down conversion).

Overall though this is recommended.

The best in its genre
I loved this book. And I am genuinely thankful to Stuart for doing it. It is scholarly in the classically British way--understated, gentle, articulate, and thoroughly devasating to views that have held that Christendom was the acme of a so-called Christian civilization. If you are trying to get to grips with what the church must be and become, particularly from the missional perspective. Then this is a must read.

And all this coming from an Aussie. It must be good. :-)

Start of an important new series
Post-Christendom is the first in the After Christendom series, looking at the the inevitable collapse of Christendom (the link between church and state that has defined Western civilisation for most of the last 2000 years) and its implications for the church.

Writing out of the Anabaptist tradition, Murray views this as a wholly good thing. For him (as for many Christians), Constantine's endorsement of the church at the beginning of the 4th century was where it all went horribly wrong. Corruption was not necessarily inevitable, but compromise certainly was. It is on the margins (and often under persecution) that the church has historically modelled a more authentic witness.

In the first half of his book, Murray gives us an historical overview of the growing comprise leading from the early church leaders' decision. He then focuses on specific issues, including the way that the Bible was read (Old Testament rather than Gospels) and the pushing of Jesus from the centre to the margins (as the church made the opposite journey).

He ends with a look at how the church can function (is already beginning to function) as Christendom breaks down. After a strong start, the book begins to fray a little here, with some points being repeated several times. This is a minor quibble as the point of the series is that these themes will be developed in the following volumes. Post-Christendom is a strong start to an important new series. It is followed by: Church After Christendom, Faith and Politics After Christendom: The Church as a Movement for Anarchy (After Christendom) and Youth Work After Christendom (After Christendom)