A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. I: Beginnings to 1500
Book 1 of 1: History of Christianity in Asia4.8 out of 5 stars47
by Samuel Hugh Moffett
A History of Christianity in Asia shares immense amounts of research on religious pluralism of Asia and how Christianity spread long before the modern missionary movement went forth in the shelter of Western military might. An invaluable resource for historians of Asia and scholars of mission, it is stimulating for all readers interested in Christian history.
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Jedidiah Abdul Muhib Carosaari
5.0 out of 5 stars Last night I dreamt I was a great Khan...
Reviewed in the United States on 20 July 2004
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Last night I dreamt that I was a Great Khan, deciding who the next Nestorian Archbishops would be in the four sections of the empire...
There are few non-fiction books good enough to invade my dreams. This is one of them. I was pulled into the book and found it difficult to put down. Moffett writes in a very readable, engrossing style, but full of research and incredibly accurate. Unlike other treatments of this subject, Moffett is not trying to put forth a particular ideology or accept wholesale hagiography. While he respects the traditions of some about the formations of the early church, he analyzes these traditions critically to see what might be reality and what might be more myth.
It is rare to find a book on the Nestorian Church, this, perhaps the largest church in the world in the first 1000 years of Christianity, containing at least 20% of all Christians- all East of Antioch. Because many still consider their beliefs heretical (although most scholars now agree that the differences in understanding of the nature/s of Christ were more linguistic than theological), many theologians avoid this church, or don't even know of its existence. I grew up being taught there were Protestants and some Catholics. That was it. It wasn't till much later I learned there were Orthodox, and two varieties, as well as The Church of the East, the Nestorians. But when a writer does touch this subject, it is often very a very dry, terse history, that makes one want to rather fall asleep.
Moffett takes a different approach. He spent the time to do his research, as copious endnotes and sources indicate. He spent the time to contemplate the lives which he was writing about. And that's what makes this book different. He's writing about lives. It's exciting. He writes about the missions endeavors of this early church, how they spread throughout known Asia: to the Caucuses, central Asia, Arabia, Yemen, Suqutra, India, China, SE Asia, and maybe even Japan. He writes honestly about their successes and failures- why they expanded, and why they declined. Much of their approach was laudable, in their desire to contextualize. Some tragically hurt them in the end, in their repeated attempts to get close to the state, they sacrificed not necessarily ethics but their foremost mission for the sake of temporary security. And when the state fell, as all states do, the new state did not look with favor on those that were so closely tied with the old state. And the overall goal, of being a people called out to be different, an alien people, became lost in a struggle for survival. Ironically, in the attempt to survive, they spelled their own doom- so that today they only exist in isolated pockets in India, Kurdistan, and America, where the Patriarchate is.
Two minor issues that I would recommend to improve this book. There are many helpful references to the endnotes. However, much of the endnotes are simply source sites. It would be helpful to differentiate these. Also, because much of the book refers to unfamiliar place names, it would be helpful to include more detailed maps, changing as the years change, and not placed at the beginning of the book, but rather next to whatever text it is that is referring to the map. I spent a lot of time referring back to a random town in the maps, and trying to find where it was located.
This is a definite must for anyone interested in the Eastern churches, and the Church of the East. But I think all Christians should be aware of this church that was so formative in our history, to see how Christianity was really, in the first 12 centuries, an Asian religion before it was European. Though now the majority of Christians live outside the Western world, many forget that the narrowing of Christianity to Europe was only a temporary period in history.
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Davees C. J.
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for the scholars in the field of the history of Christianity in Asia
Reviewed in India on 17 March 2026
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A great book for the professors and researchers in the field of the history of Christianity in Asia
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Juan Cahis Llugany
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy buen libro sobre el tema.
Reviewed in Spain on 27 August 2017
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Excelente libro sobre el tema. Permite descubrir un horizonte desconocido de los primeros tiempos de la Iglesia Cristiana. Es increíble que la Iglesia de Asia (principalmente de origen arameo) haya sido más numerosa en los primeros seis siglos de nuestra era, que el conjunto de la Iglesia Latina más la Iglesia Griega, y que unos pocos siglos después haya desaparecido casi completamente.
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5.0 out of 5 stars As advertised
Reviewed in Mexico on 25 August 2025
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As advertised
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Lalit Kumar Nayak
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in India on 2 September 2018
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Good
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Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book if you're interested in Christianity's Asian history!!
Reviewed in the United States on 15 September 2010
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I highly recommend this book. This book was recommened to me after taking a Church History class at my church and it has been such a blessing to me and am so thankful for having purchased it. Samuel Moffett's book is so well-written, balanced in its approach, and academic yet approachable. It is HEAVILY footnoted so you'll have no problem fact-checking as well as delving deeper into the complexities of the Church's amazing journey in Asia if you want to do additional study later. I actually paused and read about half of footnotes while going through the book, which made for slower reading but was worth it. I found the conclusion chapter particulary insightful and helpful in tying things up after 500+ pages of reading. My only critique of this book is the lack of maps, as other people have mentioned. There are a handful of maps at the beginning of the book but that's it and they aren't that helpful past the first few chapters. Since most of the place names are ancient and unfamiliar I found it very difficult to get a sense of where the things described were taking place. Hopefully a revised edition is in the works with detailed maps at the beginning of each chapter. Either way, I will pick up Volume II!
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Joel y Esposa
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-Researched and Well-Written
Reviewed in the United States on 18 January 2022
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I found this book to be thoroughly-researched and informative, containing a ton of information that is largely obscure to Christians in the West. It's written from a measured, sober-minded perspective, with the author not altogether sparing you his opinions, but conscientious of presenting facts in an impartial manner. I'm thankful for the effort undertaken to compile this, nearly all of which was either entirely new to me or elaborated on things I had a vague knowledge of in much greater depth than I had previously heard or read.
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M. Edwards
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on 3 June 2014
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I read this book as a follow-up read to Philip Jenkin's The Lost History of Christianity, which, although interesting and insightful in places, I found to be somewhat dull and uninspiring overall with little connection to the human condition or people of faith. I also felt Jenkin's scholarship was biased in certain areas (see my review for more information).
Moffett's A History of Christianity in Asia: Beginnings to 1500 is a superior read in every way. I read this book slowly a few pages a day for a time period spanning over a year as a supplement to other books I was reading. Not a day passed when I felt the material boring, irrelevant, or unfair. He does a good job in making the people and places come alive. And he does not overly-simplify his conclusions.
Due to the length and complexity of the narrative, I did have difficulty at times in remembering who was who and where was where, but overall I would highly recommend this read! I plan on purchasing Volume II of this history in the very near future.
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Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Treasure Trove of the Oft-Neglected History of Christianity in India, Persia, Mongolia, China, Arabia, and Elsewhere in the East
Reviewed in the United States on 8 September 2014
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I cannot speak highly enough of Moffett's work. The reader will forgive the appearance of a slight bias by Moffett toward the Assyriac Church of the East. His mild leaning in favor of Assyriac Christianity does not dampen a treasure trove of well-researched, well-written history of those Christians rarely mentioned in Europe and America. Moffett tells of the thriving Christianity in Persian eras and in the great Mongolian Empire. He tells us too of the suffering of those Christians at the hands of Western Christians as well as Muslims. Treat yourself to Moffett's work, and you will discover many an unsung, exciting hero of Eastern Christianity.
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BaRoLA Man
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book
Reviewed in the United States on 24 September 2009
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I've been through three chapters, and the author does a great job of presenting the information in an enjoyable, easy-to-understand format. He uses a mostly chronological approach in this book, which usually works great for history. This massive book is over 400 pages (not counting the documentation such as a huge bibliography and the notes sections at the end of each chapter), and yet, I look forward to reading the rest of it.
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Bob Emery
5.0 out of 5 stars Good quality, got here fast. Looking forward to reading it.
Reviewed in the United States on 22 October 2022
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Good quality, got here fast. Looking forward to reading it.
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Philip James Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a very interesting book. I bought it ...
Reviewed in the United States on 24 February 2015
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This is a very interesting book. I bought it for a class in seminary that my brother is taking. I am not in the class myself but I will probably read parts of this book myself.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on 30 December 2019
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Arrived in good condition and currently enjoying the read.
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Dr. B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 26 May 2018
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One of best history reviews on early relations be Islam and Christianity.
Great presentation by author.
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Scott in Maine
5.0 out of 5 stars Clearly Written and Well Cited
Reviewed in the United States on 9 September 2013
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Moffett structures this book in an easy to read format and includes some somewhat unique perspectives - all of which are well cited for reference.
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John
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource
Reviewed in the United States on 21 February 2016
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Solid presentation of historical perspective for Christianity in Asia.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 15 March 2015
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Well-written and reader-friendly. Both scholarly and accessible.
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Mark
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June 3, 2014
I read this book as a follow-up read to Philip Jenkin's The Lost History of Christianity, which, although interesting and insightful in places, I found to be somewhat dull and uninspiring overall with little connection to the human condition or people of faith. I also felt Jenkin's scholarship was biased in certain areas (see my review for more information).
Moffett's A History of Christianity in Asia: Beginnings to 1500 is a superior read in every way. I read this book slowly a few pages a day for a time period spanning over a year as a supplement to other books I was reading. Not a day passed when I felt the material boring, irrelevant, or unfair. He does a good job in making the people and places come alive. And he does not overly-simplify his conclusions.
Due to the length and complexity of the narrative, I did have difficulty at times in remembering who was who and where was where, but overall I would highly recommend this read! I plan on purchasing Volume II of this history in the very near future.
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July 5, 2014
Excellent resource on the Asian form of Christianity which did not originate with European missionaries. A more appropriate title would be "History of the Assyriac Church of the East." The author provides us a remarkable chronicle well worth the time of any reader, but especially the student of Christianity in learning how global is our faith and how fragile are our communities of faith. The author focuses primarily on the "Church of the East" which Westerners malign as "Nestorian." Heroes such as Alopen, and Timothy I are put on grand display. We learn of the high standing Christians were given in early Islam and their prominence in several centuries of the Mongolian Empire. Perhaps most importantly, we learn the greatest danger to our faith might be persecution from other Christians because we not only hurt ourselves but we also show the world a petty and divided faith it will not covet. A sobering read, and a fruitful one too.
This book took a long time to read because the topics and heroes kept sending me away from its pages to research unheard-of heroes and the writings they left for us. If the book had covered Armenia, Georgia, and Russia better, it would have lived up to its title. Likewise Oriental Orthodoxy was covered often, but almost always in similar terms as Islam or Zoroastrianism. That is to say Oriental Orthodoxy seemed to be covered almost exclusively as a backdrop for the primary topic: Assyriac Christianity. One final and minor complaint, the student of global Christianity knows Oriental Orthodoxy considers "Monophysite" to be an insulting misrepresentation of their faith. They consider themselves Miaphysite. Surely the author is aware of such a distinction, yet he referred to Oriental Orthodox as Monophysite most of the time, later adding the title "Jacobite."
These minor complaints did not keep me from giving a five-star rating. With 500+ pages devoted to the greatly neglected topic of Assyriac Christian history, this was an excellent resource and one I will almost certainly REREAD.
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Perry Pennington
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November 24, 2016
This book is indispensable for anyone who is interested in church history and anyone who is interested in the history of Asia.
Within the field of church history, the history of the church in Asia is a mere footnote. Almost any account of early and medieval church history will focus almost exclusively on the churches that eventually became the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. There are some reasons for this imbalance. For one thing, that was numerically the center of gravity of the church. For another thing, there are mountains of textual evidence for church history in Europe and Byzantium. Not so for Asian church history, which has precious little textual evidence to describe it beyond saying that it existed.
Within the field of Asian history, the history of Christianity in Asia is a brief footnote. So this book brings some balance by focusing exclusively on the history of the Church of the East, sometimes known as the Nestorian Church, or in India as the St. Thomas Christians.
The Church of the East is called the Nestorian Church because they did not accept the condemnation of Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, by the Council of Ephesus in 431. Nestorius bluntly rejected use of the term "Mother of God" for the Virgin Mary, because he felt it wrongly emphasized Jesus's divine nature over his human nature. Nestorius felt that the divine nature and the human nature were both equally present in Jesus and that he acted either through the divine nature, if he were doing a divine act such as forgiving sin, or by the human nature for normal human activity such as eating and drinking. Twenty years after Nestorius's condemnation and exile the Definition of Chalcedon was written which explained the two natures in Christ by saying that divine and human nature in Christ underwent a hypostatic union so that they work more or less together in him, and he remains fully God and fully man. Modern theologians recognize that Nestorius did not really differ from the orthodox view, and he maintained his orthodoxy until death. He was probably stigmatized because of the blunt tone in which he criticized use of the term "Mother of God."
The followers of Nestorius fled the Roman Empire to Persia, and met Christians there who all eventually coalesced theologically and became known as the Church of the East or Nestorian Church. They accept Nestorius's view of the divine and human natures being more or less present but separate in Christ, and have not accepted the Definition of Chalcedon. They are one of several "non-Chalcedonian Christian" groups. Other non-Chalcedonian Christians, such as the Coptic Church of Egypt and the Jacobite Church of Syria are non-Chalcedonian because they are monophysite: they believe that at the Incarnation the human nature ceased to exist in Jesus and that he has only one nature: the divine nature. The Nestorian Church does not believe this, they believe strongly in two natures, divine and human, in Jesus. In this they are in agreement with Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestantism in saying Jesus is fully God and fully man.
Moffett's history of the Nestorian Church (he briefly talks about the Jacobite Church as well) is fascinating because he neatly sets forth and explains the existing textual evidence for this church, relates it to the historical events happening in Asia at the time, and produces a cohesive narrative of the beginning of the Church of the East in Syria and Persia, its missionary expansion into Central Asia, China, and India, and its eventual collapse after the dissolution of the Mongol empires.
Each chapter contains numerous revelations, but the two that stood out most to me were the Sons and Daughters of the Covenant and the growth of the church among the Mongols during the time of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan.
The Sons and Daughters of the Covenant were a special part of the Church of the East in Persia. They were young people who renounced a normal life and lived a radical life of faith, abstinence, hospitality, service to the poor, and missional social concern. This seems to be a type of monastic movement in the Nestorian Church that existed before monasticism in the Orthodox churches. It is unique in that members remained in the world, not separate from it.
The chapters dealing with Christianity in the Mongol Empires were a complete surprise. The most amazing fact was that when Marco Polo reached the court of Kublai Khan in China he was shocked to see that a Christian church sat opposite the palace. Even more unexpected was that in the same year of Polo reaching China emissaries from Kublai Khan reached Rome. For his diplomatic mission to Rome Kublai Khan had sent two Nestorian priests, because he knew he was sending them to a Christian country. The Christian faith and political influence of the woman Sorkaktani within the family of Genghis Khan is detailed beautifully by Moffett, who shows the lines of influence from her to the Mongol empires in Russia, Persia, Central Asia, and China. It is a huge amount of information but Moffett, thankfully, knows how to summarize well while still providing sufficient details.
Christianity in Asia was widespread, but never a majority anywhere and never a state-endorsed religion. The Nestorian Church was led by a Patriarch, though the location of the patriarchate moved around due to political situations. For a long time it was located at Baghdad. Sometimes lines of communication between the patriarch and the remote regions of the church would be cut for fifty or a hundred years, but the churches continued to worship. Christians in Asia were persecuted, along with other groups, by Tamerlane and the post-Mongol rulers of Persia to the extent that most Nestorian Christians eventually left the faith in China and Central Asia. Small pockets remained in Syria and India.
I worked with many South Indian Christians during my time living in North India. I was also able to visit the Tomb of St. Thomas in Chennai in 2012. For me it was a treat to read this book which helped me connect the dots between the Roman Empire, Byzantium, the Muslim empire, the Mongol Empire, and China and India and see how Christians lived in each of those places and times.
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Sincerae Smith
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September 14, 2021
A History of Christianity in Asia Vol. 1: Beginnings to 1500 by Samuel Hugh Moffett is a well written objective history. The author tells a straightforward story focusing mainly on the history of Christianity in Mesopotamia, Persia, India and China. He also writes about two Arab Christian Kingdoms, Christianity in Arabia, Yemen and along the Gulf and Christianity's earliest encounters with Islam which in the early years was at times very positive. The famous and the infamous of Eastern church and secular history are all mentioned here.
The earlier part of this book was sort for me of a rehashing of history which I had already read in Suha Rassam's Christianity in Iraq. Moffett uses not just western sources but also nonwestern and information from Middle Eastern writers in antiquity. The book ends a little before the year 1500 mark.
Despite taking a long time to read this history, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot.
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Debs Taylor
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January 18, 2025
Thorough history of Christianity up to 1500 in Asia. Moffatt frames the book as seeking to answer the question why Christianity did not embed in the same way in Asia as it eventually did in Europe, but this is not a Euro-centric book. He carefully examines evidence and previous researcher’s work to paint a picture of the spread (and decline) of Christianity up to the end of the Mongols. I learned a lot.
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Daniel Crouch
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November 6, 2021
A fine history, though perhaps too defensive and optimistic
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Brian Kooshian
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January 1, 2017
This was one of the most gripping and fascinating volumes on church history that I've ever read! The author could have made it dry and boring, but instead it is a vibrant and colorful journey with Christianity as it moved East in the first 15 centuries after Christ.
For me it was a real journey of discovery, since it was a part of church history that I had never had any knowledge of, particularly the fact that Christianity was established in China by the 9th century!
This book and it's second volume should be read by every Christian who is interested in church history.
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Joshua Pearsall
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January 7, 2024
Amazing and fascinating history on Christsnity all the way from Thomas to today. Especially the initial lack of Bishops everywhere the Church was that Thomas (or one of his disciples tradition depending) planted, yet they all came to accept them. Truly fascinating insights into the Nestorian church, and the Mongolians interaction with Christanity was fascinating. Truly worth a read for fellow history nerds.
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Ben Chenoweth
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March 25, 2011
This is a highly readable history, with amazing details and gripping stories. It puts Christianity in Asia into a whole new light: it truly is a valid part of the cultural heritage of the region. This book should be compulsory reading for anyone working in the area.
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Alexey
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May 23, 2016
I read this when deployed in Kuwait during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Being in the "middle east," I wanted to know how the Gospel was brought & received by Asians before the coming of Islam.
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세진님, 요청하신 사무엘 휴 모펫(Samuel Hugh Moffett)의 <아시아 기독교사 제1권: 시작부터 1500년까지>에 대한 요약과 평론을 정리해 드립니다.
이 텍스트는 세진님의 요청에 따라 <해라> 체를 사용하여 작성되었습니다.
아시아 기독교사 제1권 (A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. I) 요약 및 평론
1. 요약: 서구 중심주의를 넘어선 아시아 교회의 발자취
사무엘 휴 모펫의 <아시아 기독교사 제1권>은 기독교의 기원부터 1500년까지, 즉 근대 선교가 시작되기 이전의 방대한 아시아 기독교 역사를 다룬다. 저자는 기독교가 서구의 전유물이 아니라 본래 아시아(팔레스타인)에서 시작된 아시아의 종교였음을 강조하며, 복음이 동쪽으로 흘러가 페르시아, 인도, 중앙아시아, 중국에 이르는 광활한 지역에 어떻게 뿌리 내렸는지를 추적한다.
제1부: 초기 전파와 페르시아 교회 기독교는 예루살렘에서 안디옥을 거쳐 에데사(Edessa)로 확산되었다. 에데사는 시리아어권 기독교의 중심지가 되었으며, 이곳을 기점으로 복음은 페르시아 제국으로 흘러 들어갔다. 로마 제국이 기독교를 공인한 이후, 페르시아 내의 기독교인들은 로마의 스파이로 오인받아 가혹한 박해를 겪었으나, 이는 오히려 페르시아 교회가 로마(서방) 교회와 분리되어 독자적인 위계 구조와 신학을 발전시키는 계기가 되었다.
제2부: 네스토리우스주의와 동방 교회의 확장 431년 에베소 공의회에서 이단으로 정죄받은 네스토리우스파(경교)는 페르시아를 넘어 중앙아시아의 실크로드를 따라 동진했다. 모펫은 이들을 단순히 '이단'으로 치부하지 않고, 아시아의 척박한 환경 속에서 복음을 전파한 위대한 선교사들로 재조명한다. 이들은 당대 가장 광범위한 선교 네트워크를 구축했으며, 7세기 당나라 시대에는 중국에 상륙하여 대진사(大秦寺)를 건립하는 등 황실의 비호를 받으며 번성했다.
제3부: 인도와 중앙아시아의 기독교 인도의 도마 기독교인(St. Thomas Christians) 전승을 탐구하며, 남인도 지역에 정착한 기독교 공동체가 어떻게 힌두 사회 속에서 자신들의 정체성을 유지했는지 설명한다. 또한 몽골 제국 시대에 케레이트족, 나이만족 등 유목 민족들 사이에서 기독교가 수용되었던 역사적 사실과, 원나라 황실에서의 기독교 영향력을 상세히 기술한다.
제4부: 쇠퇴와 고립 번성하던 아시아 기독교는 14세기 이후 급격한 몰락의 길을 걷는다. 이슬람의 팽창, 몽골 제국의 붕괴와 함께 등장한 티무르의 잔혹한 탄압, 그리고 중국 명나라의 쇄국 정책과 유교적 반동은 아시아 기독교를 고립시켰다. 결국 1500년경 아시아 기독교는 인도의 해안가와 중동의 일부 지역에만 명맥을 유지하는 소수 종교로 전락하게 된다.
2. 평론: 지워진 역사의 복원과 선교적 통찰
사무엘 휴 모펫의 이 저작은 교회사 서술의 패러다임을 바꾼 기념비적 역작이다. 기존의 교회사가 로마와 유럽을 중심으로 한 '서구 승리주의'적 관점에 매몰되어 있었다면, 모펫은 시선을 동쪽으로 돌려 잊힌 아시아 기독교인들의 목소리를 복원해 냈다.
첫째, 서구 중심적 역사관에 대한 통쾌한 반격이다. 우리는 흔히 기독교가 유럽을 거쳐 근대에 이르러서야 아시아에 전래되었다고 생각하기 쉽다. 그러나 모펫은 유럽이 암흑기에 머물러 있을 때, 이미 아시아 기독교인들은 바그다드에서 북경에 이르는 광대한 영역에서 복음을 전하고 교육 기관을 세웠음을 증명한다. 이는 기독교의 '아시아적 뿌리'를 확인시켜 주는 작업이다.
둘째, 네스토리우스파(동방 교회)에 대한 공정한 역사적 평가를 내린다. 신학적 논쟁에 가려져 과소평가되었던 동방 교회의 선교 열정과 헌신을 객관적으로 서술한다. 그들이 현지 문화와 어떻게 소통했는지, 정치적 격변 속에서 신앙을 지키기 위해 어떤 선택을 했는지를 입체적으로 보여준다. 이는 오늘날 다종교 사회를 살아가는 아시아 그리스도인들에게 깊은 정체성적 자부심과 성찰을 제공한다.
셋째, 아시아 기독교 쇠퇴의 원인을 분석하며 뼈아픈 교훈을 남긴다. 모펫은 아시아 교회가 외부의 박해뿐만 아니라, 지나치게 황실의 비호에 의존하거나 현지 언어로 성경을 번역하지 못해 민중의 삶 속에 깊이 뿌리내리지 못했던 점을 지적한다. '위로부터의 복음화'가 가진 한계와 토착화의 실패는 오늘날의 선교 전략에도 시사하는 바가 크다.
결론적으로, <아시아 기독교사 제1권>은 단순한 연대기적 기록을 넘어, 거대한 제국들의 흥망성쇠 속에서 스러져간 수많은 아시아 신앙 선조들의 발자취를 찾아내는 고고학적 노고가 담긴 책이다. 모펫은 아시아 기독교가 서구의 수입품이 아니라, 본래 이 땅의 것이었음을 선언하며 우리로 하여금 더 넓고 깊은 안목으로 교회사를 바라보게 한다.
세진님, 이 요약과 평론이 원하시는 작업에 도움이 되기를 바랍니다. 혹시 특정 챕터(예를 들어 중국 경교나 인도 도마 기독교)에 대해 더 심도 있는 분석이나 추가 정보가 필요하시면 말씀해 주세요.
다음으로 이 책의 **제2권(1500년~1900년)**에 대한 요약도 진행해 드릴까요?
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Samuel Hugh MoffettSamuel Hugh…
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1500 to 1900: 02 Hardcover – 26 May 2005
by Samuel Hugh Moffett (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
In this long-awaited second volume of the monumental history of how Christianity took root in Asia, Moffett lays the groundwork for understanding the emergence of World Christianity in the 21st century.
==
A History of Christianity in Asia: Volume II: 1500-1900
Samuel Hugh Moffett
4.03
34 ratings3 reviews
This second volume of Samuel Moffett's acclaimed History of Christianity in Asia illustrates the advance of the modern missionary movement in the continent of its birth. Like the first volume, it makes available immense research in a readable and engaging narrative. Moffett brings into dramatic relief events that illustrate both the broad patterns and the vital details of the spread of Christianity on a continent.
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목차
역자 서문
권두언
서문
제1부 그들은 바닥기로 왔다: 다시 돌아온 서구(1500-1800)
제1장 인도(1500-1700)
제2장 남방의 불교 왕국들(1505-1800): 포르투갈령 실론, 버마, 베트남, 시암
제3장 동남아시아의 모슬렘 왕국(1500-1800)
제4장 일본의 '기독교 세기'
제5장 한 번 더 중국으로 : 선교사들과 중국인들
제6장 한국(1593-1800) : 은자의 나라
제7장 필리핀의 스페인 사람들(1521-1800)
제8장 가톨릭의 쇠토와 부흥(1792-1850)
제9장 터기와 페르시아 지배하의 서아시아(1500-1800)
제2부 개신교인들의 아시아 진출
제10장 최초의 개신교인들 : 네덜란드의 인도네시아, 대만, 실론 진출
제11장 18세기 인도(1708-1792) : 덴마크 왕들, 독일 경건주의자들, 영국 회사 소속 목사들
제3부 위대한 세기(1784-1860)
제1편 개신교인들과 가톨릭 교인들의 경쟁
제12장 인도에서의 새로운 시작(1792-1860)
제13장 다시 열린 중국의 문(1807-1860)
제14장 한국의 가톨릭 세기(1784-1886)
제15장 버마(1813-1850) : 개신교 개척자들과 붕괴돈 가톨릭
제16장 영국 통치하의 실론(1796-1860)
제17장 동남아시아 : 태국부터 베트남까지(1800-1860)
제18장 인도네시아(1800-1860)
제19장 서방과 중동의 고대 교회들(1800-1860)
제2편 선교의 성숙과 교회 성장
제20장 중동에서의 비운(1860-1900)
제21장 인도에서의 진전(1860-1900)
제22장 제국 말기의 중국 기독교인들(1860-1900)
제23장 기독교의 일본 재출현(1859-1900)
제24장 한국의 개신교와 새로운 시작들(1865-1905)
제25장 필리핀(1860-1906)
제26장 버마와 실론(1850-1900)
제27장 샴(옛 타이), 말레이시아, 그리고 베트남(1860-1900)
제28장 인도네시아(1860-1900)
찾아보기
약어표
에필로그 : 회고와 전망
참고도서
접기
==
From other countries
Ronald L. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars A Forgotten Part of Church HIstory
Reviewed in the United States on 10 September 2013
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This books connects Christians with the story of the Church and its growth, persecution and spread in Asia. It is a storehouse of information that will humble western Christians and acquaint them with those who went East with the Gospel.
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Dr. B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 26 May 2018
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
One of best history reviews on early relations be Islam and Christianity.
Great presentation by author.
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M. Edwards
4.0 out of 5 stars Passionate Pioneers From Yesteryear
Reviewed in the United States on 14 October 2015
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I read this book a few pages a day over the course of most of the year after having read the first volume last year. While not an engaging history that you will want to read in large chunks, I appreciated reading about God's continued activity in Asia. I especially appreciated the stories of those from yesteryear who passionately invested their lives in what was then a very different Asia, at times identifying with them and feeling a sense of comradery. Sadly, a few days after I started reading the second volume of this history back in January, the author passed away. The promised third volume will never appear, unless published posthumously.
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===
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for The other John.
The other John
699 reviews
14 followers
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November 10, 2008
Finally! I've been "reading" this book since forever. It shouldn't have taken that long, but it was an easy book to put down. This one is the second part of Dr. Moffett's historical overview of Christianity in Asia. It picks up in the year 1500, where Volume I left off, and covers four centuries (more or less) of the church's activity. Professor Moffett cycles around the continent, covering a block of time in each region (with the exception of "Western" nations like Russia and the middle east) and then repeating the process for subsequent eras. That's what made it easy to put down. A chapter on, say, Japan in the 17th Century, wouldn't necessarily lead me to jump into the next chapter covering Korea. The flow of the story was broken. Of course, if I had been really fascinated by the happenings in Japan, I could have easily skipped ahead to the next Japanese chapter and continued the tale. Maybe I'll do that the next time I read the book.
Yes, I will be keeping the book. It's a great resource, overflowing with information. I didn't enjoy Volume II as much as I did Volume I, but I don't know if that's necessarily a failing of Professor Moffett. Volume I covered times and places with which I was totally unfamiliar, hence I found the book fascinating. Volume II, in contrast, had a flavor that was less exotic. From the sixteenth century onward, the Christian churches in Asia were interacting with Europeans. The cultural and ecclesiastical conflicts were all too familiar. But don't let that prevent you from picking this up and giving it a read.
history
theology
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Profile Image for Mark.
Mark
304 reviews
7 followers
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October 14, 2015
I read this book a few pages a day over the course of most of the year after having read the first volume last year. While not an engaging history that you will want to read in large chunks, I appreciated reading about God's continued activity in Asia. I especially appreciated the stories of those from yesteryear who passionately invested their lives in what was then a very different Asia, at times identifying with them and feeling a sense of comradery. Sadly, a few days after I started reading the second volume of this history back in January, the author passed away. The promised third volume will never appear, unless published posthumously.
1 like
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Profile Image for Brian Kooshian.
Brian Kooshian
11 reviews
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January 1, 2017
This volume continues the story of Christianity as it moved East, covering the Roman Catholic and modern missionary movements. It is no less exciting than the first volume, and should be read by any Christian who is serious about church history.
history-church
==
세진님, 요청하신 사무엘 휴 모펫의 **<아시아 기독교사 제2권: 1500년부터 1900년까지>**에 대한 요약과 평론을 정리해 드립니다.
이 텍스트 역시 세진님의 지침에 따라 <해라> 체를 사용하여 작성되었습니다.
아시아 기독교사 제2권 (A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. II) 요약 및 평론
1. 요약: 제국주의의 파도와 복음의 재상륙
사무엘 휴 모펫의 제2권은 1500년부터 1900년까지, 즉 서구 열강의 발흥과 함께 기독교가 아시아에 다시 유입되어 근대적 기틀을 잡는 격동의 400년을 다룬다. 1권이 실크로드를 통한 동방 교회의 확산을 다뤘다면, 2권은 바닷길을 통한 서구 가톨릭과 개신교의 유입을 중심축으로 삼는다.
제1부: 포르투갈의 ‘빠드로아두’와 가톨릭 선교 16세기 포르투갈과 스페인의 항해술 발달은 아시아 선교의 새로운 국면을 열었다. 저자는 인도의 고아(Goa), 일본, 필리핀으로 이어지는 가톨릭 선교사들의 헌신을 기술한다. 특히 프란치스코 하비에르(Francis Xavier)의 정열적인 활동과 일본에서의 초기 성공, 그리고 뒤이은 참혹한 박해의 역사를 세밀하게 복원한다. 이 시기 선교는 국왕의 선교 보호권(Padroado) 아래 제국주의적 팽창과 결탁해 있었다는 한계를 동시에 보여준다.
제2부: 적응과 갈등 – 마테오 리치와 전례 논쟁 중국 선교에 있어 예수회 선교사들이 보여준 '보유론(補儒論)'적 접근, 즉 현지 문화를 존중하는 적응 정책을 심도 있게 다룬다. 마테오 리치가 시도한 유교와 기독교의 접점 찾기는 지성인 포교에 성공했으나, 이후 도미니코회 및 프란치스코회와의 '전례 논쟁'으로 번지며 교황청의 금지령을 이끌어냈고, 결과적으로 중국 선교의 문을 닫게 만드는 비극적 결말을 초래했다.
제3부: 개신교 선교의 시작과 확장 18세기 경건주의 영향 아래 시작된 덴마크-할레 선교회의 인도 사역(지겐발크 등)부터 19세기 '위대한 선교의 세기'를 연 윌리엄 캐리, 허드슨 테일러의 활동을 조명한다. 개신교 선교는 단순한 복음 전파를 넘어 교육, 의료, 인쇄술 보급을 통해 아시아 사회의 근대화에 결정적인 기여를 했음을 강조한다. 특히 한국 기독교의 독특한 성장 배경인 '네비우스 선교 정책'과 자발적인 수용 과정도 비중 있게 다뤄진다.
제4부: 민족주의와 기독교의 긴장 19세기 후반, 서구 열강의 식민 지배가 노골화되면서 아시아 기독교는 '침략자의 종교'라는 비판에 직면한다. 저자는 이러한 긴장 속에서도 기독교가 어떻게 현지 민족주의 운동과 결합하거나, 혹은 고유한 아시아적 신앙 공동체로 탈바꿈하며 20세기를 맞이하게 되는지를 설명하며 끝을 맺는다.
2. 평론: 복잡한 얽힘 속에서 피어난 '아시아의 교회'
사무엘 휴 모펫은 제2권을 통해 기독교가 아시아에서 겪은 가장 화려하면서도 가장 고통스러웠던 시기를 서술한다. 이 저작은 단순한 선교 보고서가 아니라, 종교와 정치가 어떻게 뒤엉켰는지를 파헤친 예리한 역사적 보고서다.
첫째, 선교와 제국주의의 '불편한 동거'를 정직하게 응시한다. 모펫은 서구 선교사들의 헌신을 높게 평가하면서도, 그들이 서구 열강의 함포 외교와 식민 정책의 그늘 아래 있었다는 사실을 숨기지 않는다. 기독교가 아시아인들에게 '해방의 종교'인 동시에 '정복자의 종교'로 인식되었던 이중성을 가감 없이 서술함으로써, 아시아 기독교가 지닌 태생적 트라우마와 과제를 명확히 제시한다.
둘째, '서구화'와 '복음화' 사이의 투쟁을 포착한다. 저자는 전례 논쟁이나 인도의 카스트 제도 대응 방식을 통해, 기독교가 아시아의 문화적 토양에 얼마나 깊이 뿌리내릴 수 있었는가를 묻는다. 서구의 신학적 틀을 고집했을 때 발생한 실패와, 현지 문화를 존중하며 복음의 본질을 전하려 했던 시도들을 대조시킨다. 이는 현대의 토착화 신학 담론에 풍부한 역사적 실례를 제공한다.
셋째, 아시아인의 주체적 수용에 주목한다. 모펫의 탁월함은 선교사들의 영웅담에만 매몰되지 않는다는 데 있다. 그는 복음을 받아들인 이름 없는 아시아인 신자들, 박해 속에서도 신앙을 지킨 순교자들, 그리고 외세의 침략 속에서 기독교를 통해 근대적 자아를 발견한 지식인들의 역할을 강조한다. 이를 통해 아시아 기독교는 서구에서 '이식된' 것이 아니라, 아시아인들에 의해 '재창조된' 것임을 시사한다.
결론적으로, <아시아 기독교사 제2권>은 1500년 이후 아시아가 겪은 거대한 문명적 충돌 속에서 기독교가 어떻게 살아남아 변화했는지를 보여주는 방대한 파노라마이다. 모펫은 차가운 역사가의 시선과 뜨거운 신학자의 심장을 동시에 지닌 채, 아시아 기독교가 이제는 더 이상 '외래 종교'가 아닌 '아시아의 종교'로 자리 잡았음을 웅변한다.
세진님, 1,000단어 내외의 분량으로 핵심적인 흐름과 비평적 관점을 담아보았습니다. 혹시 한국 기독교사에 집중된 부분이나, 특정 국가(일본, 필리핀 등)의 선교 사례에 대해 더 자세한 요약이 필요하시면 언제든 말씀해 주세요.
다음으로 사무엘 휴 모펫의 생애나 그의 다른 저술에 대해 더 알아보고 싶으신가요?
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The Christians of Korea by Moffett, Samuel H 1962
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CONTENTS
1: THE FORBIDDEN LAND
2: KOREA'S UNCONQUERABLE CHRISTIANS
3: CHRISTIAN BEGINNINGS
The Catholic Century, 33 Early Protestant Effort, 34
Co-operation, 45
4: A NATION ON THE RUN TO GOD
The Great Revival, 52
Korean Organization of the Church, 54
The Nevius Plan, 59
New Relationships, 61
5: PRESSURES ON THE CHURCH
Japanese Persecution, 66 Communist Pressures, 76 Division in the South, 80
The Church Survives, 118
6: THE CHURCH IN SOCIETY
The Rural Christian, 124
The City and Its Problems, 130
7: EDUCATION AND THE INNER CITADEL
8: MEDICINE AND MIRACLES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Picture Credits
Pictorial Story, following page 80
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