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The Penguin History of the Church #6
A History of Christian Missions
Professor Neill's excellent and authoriatative survey examines centuries of missionary activity, beginning with Christ and working through the Crusades and the colonization of Asia and Africa up to the present day.
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 14, 2019
A very complete, succint global history of Christian missions up to the 1980s. Feels dated today, because of facts it could hardly deal with, each for a different reason:
* takes an œcumenical approach, for instance to Romanist and Greek/Russian iconodulic missions;
* takes seriously liberation theory;
* ignores Reformed missionary activity in the XVI century;
* ignores the liberal destruction of mainstream European Christianity;
* predates the conservative resurgence, the Calvinistic renaissance, the global South and the revelation of the then-hidden, astonishing advance of Protestantism in China.
We still lack a more decidedly Reformed, even Evangelical, and more recent approach to the subject.
* takes an œcumenical approach, for instance to Romanist and Greek/Russian iconodulic missions;
* takes seriously liberation theory;
* ignores Reformed missionary activity in the XVI century;
* ignores the liberal destruction of mainstream European Christianity;
* predates the conservative resurgence, the Calvinistic renaissance, the global South and the revelation of the then-hidden, astonishing advance of Protestantism in China.
We still lack a more decidedly Reformed, even Evangelical, and more recent approach to the subject.
August 26, 2016
A History of Christian Missions was written by Stephen Neill in 1964. It was revised by Owen Chadwick in 1986.
Roughly the first half of the book covers the expansion of the church from the New Testament era until 1800. The second half covers the expansion during the period from 1800 to 1914. The history following 1914 is less focused on missions and more focused on the development of churches in various countries.
The author begins with the caveat that the page limitation of the book requires omitting much that occurred and selecting specific people and places as the focus of the book.
The author(s) are very ecumenical in outlook and focus much attention on the Roman Catholic and Anglican contribution to missions. Protestants are given much less focus. The original author, Stephen Neill, served as a missionary in India and has much knowledge about the history of missions in that country. The book focuses most of its attention on Europe, Asia, and Africa. Little attention is given to North and South America.
By the second half of the book the reader may grow weary of the minutia. This reader did. Even still, there is much to glean about the history of missions and missions strategy in this book.
Perhaps the greatest lesson that is consistently presented in this book is that in the history of missions there has not been enough effort put into training nationals to lead in missions and church life.
If you undertake reading this one - enjoy!
Roughly the first half of the book covers the expansion of the church from the New Testament era until 1800. The second half covers the expansion during the period from 1800 to 1914. The history following 1914 is less focused on missions and more focused on the development of churches in various countries.
The author begins with the caveat that the page limitation of the book requires omitting much that occurred and selecting specific people and places as the focus of the book.
The author(s) are very ecumenical in outlook and focus much attention on the Roman Catholic and Anglican contribution to missions. Protestants are given much less focus. The original author, Stephen Neill, served as a missionary in India and has much knowledge about the history of missions in that country. The book focuses most of its attention on Europe, Asia, and Africa. Little attention is given to North and South America.
By the second half of the book the reader may grow weary of the minutia. This reader did. Even still, there is much to glean about the history of missions and missions strategy in this book.
Perhaps the greatest lesson that is consistently presented in this book is that in the history of missions there has not been enough effort put into training nationals to lead in missions and church life.
If you undertake reading this one - enjoy!
May 30, 2024
Third read, but over 50 years, and it’s still a great survey of Christian missions. My favorite part is the chapter on the colonial era, but throughout the progress of Christianity is amazing, however at great cost and sacrifice. Of course, much has occurred in the 60 years since publication of this book.
June 10, 2013
I got about half way into this book and never finished. I liked the book mainly for giving me a general picture of what the Church has been doing missionally the past two thousand years. I must be honest though, I rarely knew what geographic location was being referred to half the time. However, I valued it for the very broad outline it provided in my mental knowledge of Church history.
January 7, 2026
A bit dated in parts - the original was published several decades ago and only the last part covering more modern times has been updated. This book also attempts to cover the entirety of the past 20 centuries of Christian missions in one volume, and in many cases is more of a chronology rather than providing significant detail. This could be due to the vast number of names, movements, and developments within the Church, but it still makes it hard to follow in parts. The discussions of more modern missions movements from the 16th to the 19th centuries are in my opinion the best parts of this book, perhaps because this is also the period of Christian history with which I was most familiar. On a separate note, the discussions throughout on Christian missionary efforts in Asia were also helpful due to prior exposure to another book ("A History of Christianity in Asia: Volume I: Beginnings to 1500" by Samuel Hugh Moffett) that I recently read for a seminary-level church history course.
January 5, 2019
This is one of those reviews that is nearly impossible to do. Prof. Neill does a brilliant job in tackling such a vast subject and to cover it all in 500 odd pages is quite a task and there will always be something vital left out. That's expected. However one gets the feeling that this book was never to be more than a simple survey which is regrettable. Also the book is presented from purely a western perspective and has somewhat one sided view of missions. As an Indian much of the ground realities of India was never discussed and it almost nearly presented the missionary enterprise in positive light despite centuries of abuse particularly among the Roman Catholic missions. I imagine others would feel the same. Thus due to this I give this an average 3.
November 29, 2023
A dry, but thorough, overview of Christian missions. Neill highlights the expansionist mindset of the Church and the challenges and successes of the church as it expanded to become a "Global Religion." Some language, by this point, is dated. The points he raises on the tension between the church and the mission, the local and the global, and missionary and the church remain relevant.
August 24, 2024
A very complete history of the missional endeavors of the church up through the middle of the 20th century. It was a bit of a slog to get through at points, but I learned a lot about the church in other parts of the world and came away with a lot of books to read about concerning the church outside of the western world.
January 14, 2022
I find it fascinating at the beginning, but it took me a long time to finish it. There's just so much to cover in one book it became laboured reading as he bounced around all the regions of world and tried to give snippets of all that was happening.
August 6, 2018
A view of Church History from its expanding frontiers. Thorough indeed.
November 5, 2021
Though he occasionally falls into a triumphalistic tone, Neill presents a strong narrative for how Christianity has built itself into a truly universal religion
November 10, 2022
“What is clear is that every Christian was a witness. Where there were Christians, there there would be a living, burning faith, and before long an expanding Christian community.”
July 5, 2020
Still a valuable book on missions. My major complaint is that while it is supposed to be a history of Christian missions, the vast majority covered is Western and Protestant in scope. Because of this, only the first 50 pages covers the first 1500 years of missions history, with little coverage of missions by Eastern churches at any time. Despite this, what is emphasized is covered well.
November 21, 2016
From the apostles to the present day, the progress of the growth of the church has been nothing short of phenomenal. Stephen Neill, an Anglican with a wide and ecumenical view of the church, helpfully breaks down mission work into two broad categories -1.) early church to the French Revolution and 2.) The Enlightenment to present day.
Within these two broad historical movements, he begins by blocking out roughly 500 year periods and explains what makes this time unique and then gives a worldwide tour through this timeframe, giving snippets about each country or region. As the book nears the present day, the timeline splits into Protestant and Roman Catholic sections. Also, the time covered narrows and speeds up.
The final chapter is really the point of the book and the historical information is designed to make the arguments clearer. Neill points out several areas of concern that need constant attention as we go forward. I'll mention three. 1.) What elements of native culture can be retained and what must necessarily be destroyed? 2.) When is it appropriate and right to develop indigenous leadership within the church and the best method for doing so? 3.) What is the relationship between the mission (foreign missionaries bringing a new message) and the church (established gatherings of committed Christians who pursue faithful obedience and proclamation of the gospel).
I read the 1st edition (1966) and there is a revised edition from the mid '80's. The original was composed with the high hopes of ecumenical cooperation and formal unity, developed largely from a desire to undo the fracturing caused by the Reformation. There are hints in the book that this experiment won't end well, but Neill seems hopeful that it may be successful.
What he didn't know is that post-Modernism (or rather, consistent Liberalism) was on the way which would lead to the meaningless muddle and soupy puddle of the collapse of the mainline churches. The hints are there in the historical explanation and analysis but missed in his summary section.
I suspect that this book couldn't have been written by a baptist or Presbyterian or a Roman Catholic.
Within these two broad historical movements, he begins by blocking out roughly 500 year periods and explains what makes this time unique and then gives a worldwide tour through this timeframe, giving snippets about each country or region. As the book nears the present day, the timeline splits into Protestant and Roman Catholic sections. Also, the time covered narrows and speeds up.
The final chapter is really the point of the book and the historical information is designed to make the arguments clearer. Neill points out several areas of concern that need constant attention as we go forward. I'll mention three. 1.) What elements of native culture can be retained and what must necessarily be destroyed? 2.) When is it appropriate and right to develop indigenous leadership within the church and the best method for doing so? 3.) What is the relationship between the mission (foreign missionaries bringing a new message) and the church (established gatherings of committed Christians who pursue faithful obedience and proclamation of the gospel).
I read the 1st edition (1966) and there is a revised edition from the mid '80's. The original was composed with the high hopes of ecumenical cooperation and formal unity, developed largely from a desire to undo the fracturing caused by the Reformation. There are hints in the book that this experiment won't end well, but Neill seems hopeful that it may be successful.
What he didn't know is that post-Modernism (or rather, consistent Liberalism) was on the way which would lead to the meaningless muddle and soupy puddle of the collapse of the mainline churches. The hints are there in the historical explanation and analysis but missed in his summary section.
I suspect that this book couldn't have been written by a baptist or Presbyterian or a Roman Catholic.
August 2, 2013
As my September class seeks only to cover Church history to circa 1000, this nook will be ever so briefly set aside at this juncture–the year 1500.
I have found Niall's prose to be something akin to a transcript of a lecture performed by a knowledgeable, well-spoken, and at times opinioned professor. Which, I suppose, it is! Anyone who is interested in the spread of Christianity will certainly find what he wants within this text's covers. I actually look forward to revisiting Niall's list of nations (helpfully italicized) to write them down with a summary account. It will, I think, offer interesting material for my history course.
One minor–very minor–critique. This is one of four books in the Penguin History of the Church that I own. ( I will read The Middle Ages and In the Age of Revolution in the near future. ) I thoroughly enjoyed The Early Church; it is exceptionally well written. The series is written by fine, scholarly Anglicans, but Chadwick took no potshots as Niall does on occasion. For example, he mentions a man who professed in the 4th century to be Catholic–But certainly not a ROMAN Catholic, Niall assures us. I understand Anglican claims to being a third branch of the historical and Universal Church, but I think Niall's bias showed itself here nonetheless.
At any rate, a fine and helpful book. I look forward to picking it back up.
I have found Niall's prose to be something akin to a transcript of a lecture performed by a knowledgeable, well-spoken, and at times opinioned professor. Which, I suppose, it is! Anyone who is interested in the spread of Christianity will certainly find what he wants within this text's covers. I actually look forward to revisiting Niall's list of nations (helpfully italicized) to write them down with a summary account. It will, I think, offer interesting material for my history course.
One minor–very minor–critique. This is one of four books in the Penguin History of the Church that I own. ( I will read The Middle Ages and In the Age of Revolution in the near future. ) I thoroughly enjoyed The Early Church; it is exceptionally well written. The series is written by fine, scholarly Anglicans, but Chadwick took no potshots as Niall does on occasion. For example, he mentions a man who professed in the 4th century to be Catholic–But certainly not a ROMAN Catholic, Niall assures us. I understand Anglican claims to being a third branch of the historical and Universal Church, but I think Niall's bias showed itself here nonetheless.
At any rate, a fine and helpful book. I look forward to picking it back up.
Currently reading
February 4, 2008How did Christianity spread before Constantine? Did we stagnate, grow, hibernate, slip, or survive during the dark times between 500 and 1000? What did the discovery of the New World do the organizations, relationships and unities of the churches? Etc. Good read and very useful. Helps place the stories of individuals in a larger picture.
May 11, 2011
Very thorough and scholarly (yet readable!) overview of ecumenical Christian missions throughout history.
January 8, 2013
Full of content but not the easiest to read.
February 5, 2013
Excellent, but DENSE. If this is of interest to you, Neill served you well.
September 15, 2015
great concise and exhaustive, more than you though possible.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews