Living Religions by Mary Pat Fisher as a Christianity Guide - Book Report/Review Example

Christianity Guide One of the most celebrated works on world religions, Living Religions by Mary Pat Fisher deals with the historical development andteachings of different religions of the world and illustrates how these religions developed the present-day beliefs and practices. Thus, in the work, there is a special section on each of the traditional faiths, indigenous religions, and new religious movements of the world. The section on Christianity comes in the Chapter 10 of the book, with the title “Christianity” and the subtitle “Jesus Christ is Lord”. The opening lines of the chapter offer a concise but accurate description about the religion: “Christianity is a faith based on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus… The religion centered around him has more followers than any other.” (Fisher, 265) The most fundamental purpose of the chapter is to introduce Christianity as a religion rooted in the teachings of Jesus on the basis of the accounts in the Bible and the interpretations of the historians as well as biblical scholars. In examining Christianity, the author first makes a profound analysis of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, based on the accounts in the Bible and the historians’ knowledge of the period. In the later sections of the chapter, Fisher makes a reflective exploration of the evolution of Christianity “as it spread to all continents and became theologically and liturgically more complex. This process continues in the present, in which there are not one but many different versions of Christianity.” (Fisher, 265) The fist subsection of the chapter, “The Christian Bible”, introduces two parts of the Christian Bible, i.e. the Hebrew Bible (or the “Old Testament”) and the twenty-seven books of the “New Testament”, and discusses more with the various elements of the New Testament. The Christian approach to the gospels and other books of the New Testament is examined in this section. Thus, the gospels are introduced as the Word of God, which is divinely inspired, and as the symbol of Divine Wisdom and an image of Christ Himself. (Fisher, 265) The next important section in the chapter, “The life and teachings of Jesus”, deals with the birth, preparation, and ministry of Jesus Christ and it analyzes the teaching of story by Jesus through the example of ‘The Good Samaritan’. According to the author, it is not possible to reconstruct the chronology of Jesus’ life from the four gospels, and it is acknowledged by scholars, on grounds of linguistics and regional history, that “many of the sayings attributed to Jesus by the gospels may be authentic.” (Fisher, 267) The author maintains that the mission of the ministry of Jesus Christ was to gather together all those who could be saved. “The life and teachings of Jesus” also deals with the challenges raised by Jesus to the authorities, the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, etc. Following a thorough description of the various events related with Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, the author suggests that the Resurrection was the most important events in the life of Jesus as it turned defeat to victory for Him. “It was the resurrection that presumably turned defeat into victory for Jesus, and discouragement into powerful action for his followers. As the impact of all they had sees set in, the followers came to believe that Jesus had been God in human form, walking among them.” (Fisher, 280) In the next section of the chapter, titled “The Early Church”, the author explores the history of the Christian Church in the early years of its history, and it comprises of the history from persecution to empire, evolving organization and theology, and early monasticism. Thus, Fisher suggests that persecution became the lot of the early Christians or the early Church, although Christianity became the official religion of the vast Roman Empire, within the first three hundred years of its history. “As it became the establishment, rather than a tiny, disorganized handful of heretics within Judaism, Christianity continued to define and organize itself from the first century onwards.” (Fisher, 280) The next section of the chapter, “The Eastern Orthodox Church”, makes an exploration of the history of the Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, and it also deals with the Orthodox world today as well as the distinctive features of Orthodox spirituality. “Christianity’s history has been marked by internal feuds and divisions. One of the deepest schisms occurred in 1054, when the Western Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church split apart.” (Fisher, 286) Thus, the author makes an exploration on the history of the Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, and analyzes the various underlying features of the Orthodox world today and the characteristic features of Orthodox spirituality. Following this, Fisher also introduces Russian Orthodox Kenoticism as a great mystical spiritual tradition emerged in Russia during this period. In the section titled “Medieval Roman Catholicism”, Fisher introduces Papal power, intellectual revival and monasticism, and medieval mysticism. According to the author, the Church’s centralized organization and the periodic refreshing of its spiritual wellsprings through monasticism and mysticism were the main forces that sustained Christianity through the chaotic centuries of the medieval period. In the next sections of the chapter, the author introduces the various important movements and events in the history of Christianity: “The Protestant Reformation”, “The Roman Catholic Reformation”, “The Impact of the Enlightenment”, and “Vatican Councils I and II”. Another major section of the chapter, “Central Beliefs in Contemporary Christianity”, analyzes the most fundamental beliefs and philosophies of Christianity. “Although Christians worship Jesus as Savior, as the incarnation of a merciful God, they also see him as a human being showing fellow human beings the way of God. His own life is seen as the perfect model for human behavior… This is the central mystery of Christianity: that God became human in order to lead people back to God.” (Fisher, 308) In the penultimate section of the chapter, “Sacred Practices”, the author introduces various important practices of the religion such as worship services and sacraments. It also introduces the concepts such as the liturgical year, contemplative prayer, devotion to Mary, veneration of saints and angels. In the final section of the chapter, “Contemporary Trends”, Mary Pat Fisher deals with Evangelism, Charismatics, cultural broadening, liberation theology, creation-centered Christianity, conscience and the fall of communism, and ecumenical movement. Work Cited Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions: an encyclopedia of the world’s faiths . I.B.Tauris. 1997. P 265. Read More