Persian Christians at the Chinese Court
Persian Christians at the Chinese Court

Author: R. Todd Godwin

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-01-30

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 1786723166

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The Xi'an Stele, erected in Tang China's capital in 781, describes in both Syriac and Chinese the existence of Christian communities in northern China. While scholars have so far considered the Stele exclusively in relation to the Chinese cultural and historical context, Todd Godwin here demonstrates that it can only be fully understood by reconstructing the complex connections that existed between the Church of the East, Sasanian aristocratic culture and the Tang Empire (617-907) between the fall of the Sasanian Persian Empire (225-651) and the birth of the Abbasid Caliphate (762-1258). Through close textual re-analysis of the Stele and by drawing on ancient sources in Syriac, Greek, Arabic and Chinese, Godwin demonstrates that Tang China (617-907) was a cosmopolitan milieu where multiple religious traditions, namely Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and Christianity, formed zones of elite culture. Syriac Christianity in fact remained powerful in Persia throughout the period, and Christianity - not Zoroastrianism - was officially regarded by the Tang government as 'The Persian Religion'.Persian Christians at the Chinese Court uncovers the role played by Syriac Christianity in the economic and cultural integration of late Sasanian Iran and China, and is important reading for all scholars of the Church of the East, China and the Middle East in the medieval period.

One Christ--Many Religions
One Christ--Many Religions

Author: S. J. Samartha

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2015-06-29

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1498232647

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Here is a wise, radical, and illuminating book on the obstacles that a rigid interpretation of orthodox christological doctrines presents to dialogue with persons of other faiths. One Christ--Many Religions examines religious pluralism today and, in the light of its implications for the global community, suggests the contours of a revised christology more credible to Christians and their neighbors of other faiths. Samartha argues that the problem with the christological dogmas of the first Ecumenical Councils is not their truth so much as their interpretation, and the un-Christian zealotry they seem to engender in Christians. Sensitive to charges of sentiments of racial and cultural superiority that stem from Christians believing themselves uniquely authorized agents of God, Samartha challenges us to admit the truth of these accusations, and to revise our understanding of Jesus. Without such christological revisions, Samartha fears, Christianity may cease to be Christian, may become enfeebled in the pursuit of justice for the oppressed, alienated from the deeper challenge of Jesus, sealed off from the truths of other religions, and, ultimately, may be barred from experiencing the rich and mysterious encounter of God.

The Case against Origen and Reincarnation
The Case against Origen and Reincarnation

Author: Eric Liberatos

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2015-12-18

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 1483441482

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The Case against Origen and Reincarnation surveys the writings of Origen, the most important Christian thinker between Paul and Augustine, whose life straddled the third and fourth centuries. By placing his work in the context of his theological predecessors, Eric Liberatos uses this analysis to trace the development of Origen's distinctive doctrines, such as reincarnation. His review of the history of the period concludes that Origen's condemnation by ecumenical councils arose from the virulent polemics and contentious politics of various ecclesiastical leaders of the period. The Case against Origen and Reincarnation will appeal to all who seek to understand the development of Christian thought and the influences of politics and personality on the church's theologies. Award-winning book that earned acclaim from the prestigious Next Generation Indie Book Awards! 2016 Winner in Religious Non-fiction 2016 Finalist in Historical Non-fiction.

The Hexagon of Heresy
The Hexagon of Heresy

Author: James D. Gifford

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2022-11-11

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1666754307

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Have you ever wondered how we got here? Have you ever wondered how Western civilization arrived at the brink of suicide? How did a thoroughly Christian culture give rise to the very ideas that seek to kill it? Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. Western civilization has never been conquered from without; it is being conquered from within. How do philosophies like deism, fatalism, Marxism, atheism, and secular humanism arise from within the confines of the Christian theological culture that is Western civilization? Also, why are there always exactly two sides to every fundamental disagreement? Why is it either liberal or conservative, sovereignty or freedom, rational or volitional, meticulous order or complete chaos, Catholic or Protestant, Lutheran or Reformed, God or humanity, the one or the many? Why is there never a third option, or even an option that can bypass the dichotomy? This book attempts to provide a framework that seeks to begin answering some of those questions. The answer may be something very ancient and almost forgotten in today’s world. Theological decisions were made long ago that planted the seeds for the destruction of both church and civilization. What are they? Read and find out.