A Short World History of Christianity

From the introduction: Fire is a multivalent metaphor. It destroys and refines; its light illuminates while its smoke conceals. . . . In taking fire upon the earth as the guiding metaphor for the story of Christianity in world history, this book attempts to do justice to the images multifaceted implications. Friends, enemies, and neutral observers have judged the story of Christianity to be one of amazing creativity and terrible destruction, of fearless accomplishments and grim failures. . . . Whatever else there is to be said, Christianity has left its mark on the world as surely as any fire. And the story and the mark form the subject of this book. With highly readable narrative, Robert Bruce Mullin surveys the rise and spread of Christianity throughout the world. Global in focus and covering the expanse of Christian history, the book unveils the challenges that Christianity has faced throughout the centuries.