Christianity at the Crossroads

How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church

Michael J. Kruger

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9780830852031
• eBook ISBN: 9780830887514
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History

The Gospel Coalition Book of the Year

Biblical Foundations Award Winner

Christianity in the twenty-first century is a global phenomenon. But in the second century, its future was not at all certain.

Initially Christianity possessed little social or cultural influence and found itself fighting for its life. While apostolic tradition was emerging as a "rule of faith," factions contested the nature of the gospel, and pagan philosophers found its claims scandalous. And while its pathway was tenuous, Christianity was forming structures of leadership and worship, and a core of apostolic texts was emerging as authoritative. But it was the challenges, obstacles, and transitions faced by Christians in the second century that, in many ways, would determine the future of the church for the next two millennia. It was a time when Christianity stood at a crossroads.

Michael Kruger's introductory survey examines how Christianity took root in the second century, how it battled to stay true to the vision of the apostles, and how it developed in ways that would shape both the church and Western culture over the next two thousand years. Christianity at the Crossroads provides an accessible and informative look at the complex and foundational issues faced by an infant church still trying to determine its identity. The church's response to the issues of heresy and orthodoxy, the development of the canon, and the transmission of the Christian Scriptures not only determined its survival, but determined the kind of church it would be for generations to come.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Preface
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction: What is so important about the second century?
• 1 A peculiar identity: The sociological make-up of second-century Christianity
• 2 A strange superstition: The political and intellectual acceptability of second-century Christianity
• 3 Worshipping Jesus: The ecclesiological structure of second-century Christianity
• 4 Alternative pathways: Diversity in second-century Christianity
• 5 The Great Church: Unity in second-century Christianity
• 6 A textual culture: The literature of second-century Christianity
• 7 A new Scripture: The New Testament canon in second-century Christianity
• Conclusion: Christianity at the crossroads
• Select bibliography
• Praise for Christianity at the Crossroads
• About the Author
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