Two Kingdoms: The Church and Culture Through the Ages

For better or worse, church and society have influenced each other greatly over the centuries. Two Kingdoms is a unique inquiry into the impact of the church on culture, and culture on the church from the apostolic age to the end of the twentieth century. Top church historians Robert Clouse, Richard Pierard, and Edwin Yamauchi explore this interaction in every age since New Testament times. In the process they answer the most-asked questions about church history. For instance: What other religions in the Roman Empire competed with early Christianity? Why were the early Christians persecuted by the Roman state? How did the church spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond? How did key orthodox doctrines triumph over early heresies? In what ways did Constantine's conversion to Christianity gradually change the church? What role did European monarchs play in the development of the Roman papacy? What cultural forces led to the decline of the papacy and the acceptance of the Reformation? What did the nations of northern Europe do to ensure the success of the Reformation? What steps-some good, some bad-did the European monarchs take to make peace between the warring religious factions? What role did both Protestantism and Catholicism play in European exploration and colonialism? What impact did the rise of European monarchial absolutism have on the church? What was the religious, cultural, and political impact of English Puritanism and German Pietism? What was the relationship between colonial expansion and Christian missions? What role did the church play in the founding of America and the creation of the French republic? In what ways did the intellectual climate of nineteenth-century Europe negatively impact the church? How has the church responded to the challenges of industrialization and secularization? How successful has the church been in dealing with the ideological developments of the twentieth century? How well is the Western church adjusting to the shifting of dominance to the Third World?This book is not about the history of theology. Although theological concerns are addressed, the primary focus is the interactive dynamic of church and culture through the centuries. It recognizes that the church has not existed in a vacuum but has played a vital role in two thousand years of world history.