Adaptation of Christianity

A second goal of the course is to show how Christianity distinctively is shaped by, and gives shape to, diverse political and cultural worlds. In the final lecture, we will see that the designation of Christianity as an “ever-adapting religion” is entirely appropriate. Christianity has been, from the start, astonishingly adaptive to its environment.

Over a period of two millennia, it has grown, spread, and constantly changed, now appearing in every land and every language. It is the largest and most universal of the world’s religions. Many Christians assume anachronistically that current forms of piety and worship and even the current shape of their Bible have been in place from the beginning, when in fact, they have gone through complex development over time.

The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation (2012)

Professor Luke Timothy Johnson

Candler School of Theology, Emory University