Adrian Hastings is Professor of Theology and Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds. Dr. Hastings also edited Modern Catholicism: Vatican II and After (OUP, 1990).
`This first comprehensive history of the church in Africa ... is a
magnificent contribution to the Oxford History of the Christian
Church and will be welcomed by Africanists as well as by church and
mission historians.'
Expository Times
`splendid volume...frequently challenging...genuinely illuminates
the issues with which he deals'
Journal of Religion in Africa
`Adrian Hastings has established a challenging framework with
exceptional clarity. His overall strategy is masterly, often
strikingly original; and the framework is indubitably African ...
he should succeed in stimulating a fresh generation of research,
especially by Ethiopian scholars.'
Times Literary Supplement
`Splendid history of African Christianity. Very few people are
better qualified to compile it...He writes with great fluency and
authority,...This is, in the proper sense of an overused word, a
magisterial book, and despite the wealth of its detail it does not
drag.'
The Tablet
`This is a magisterial work ... extraordinarily wide-ranging, racy
and idiosyncratic, swinging from detailed analysis to synthetic
reflection with hardly a pause ... I cannot recommend this book too
highly for those who want either to begin reading about African
Christianity, or to widen their knowledge. There can be few who
will not here find something new.'
Church of England Newspaper
`Hastings starts with the mountain-shielded Christianity of
Abyssinia ... and with a pleasing fluency he continues to give us
Abyssinian chapters down to recent times.'
London Review of Books
`authoritative over-view ... The work is impressive, reliable,
detailed, and written with a deceptive simplicity which allows
subtle points to be conveyed unobtrusively. It is a study which
will prove an indispensable resource for many years ... the book
gets the balance between respect for the integrity of inherent
customs and the values of imported Christian morality just about
right. This impressive book is a sound entry for those who would
know about
its roots.'
Revd Dr E.R. Norman, Church Times
`An account of the trajectory from Ntsikana to Tutu is only one of
the many riches of Adrian Hastings's splendid history of African
Christianity. Very few people are better qualified to compile it.
He writes with great fluency and authority ... a magisterial book,
and despite the wealth of its detail it does not drag.'
J.D.Y. Peel, The Tablet
`Well-written and well-researched.'
Times Higher Education Supplement
`A classic and masterful work ... he focuses sensitively on the
role of conversion, the development of church life and its
relationship to traditional African religious values ... a balanced
account of the positive and negative roles of Christian missionary
activity and their political and economic linkages to colonial
political power ... Highly recommended for scholars and advanced
graduate students. A major library resource on Africa and the
history of
Christianity.'
Choice
`Hastings has the ability to identify and chart significant streams
within the flow of...church history. His short portraits of certain
significant figures have the power to move his readers deeply.'
Epworth Review
`...a magnificent contribution to the Oxford History of the
Christian Church abd will be welcomed by Africanists as well as by
church and mission historians...this is a history of the church in
Africa, not just of missions...we not only have a splendidly
empathetic chapter on the Victorian missionary; but also a
characterisation of the African societies in which they worked, and
an exploration of emerging Christian life.'
The Expository Times
`A scholarly history of the development of African-led churches
over 500 years.'
Missiology: An International Review
`an ambitious work ... Hastings has produced a work worthy of a
place on the shelf of every Africanist or religious scholar working
in or teaching the history of the period. This is a fine reference
work and a valuable addition to any undergraduate library. The
narrative masterfully interweaves the religious developments with
the major social, political, economic, and cultural factors
affecting the progress as well as the set-backs in European efforts
to
Christianize Africans over the course of five centuries ... a
valuable contribution to the field. The formidable bibliography
alone is an asset to future scholarship.'
Peter Buhler, Boise State University, The Historian
`splendid volume ... To describe it as filling a gap, as it self
evidently does, would be to give little indication of the extent of
Hastings's achievement. This is not only the first major study of
the church in Africa from early times to the mid 20th century. It
is a work of pioneering scholarship ... It is conspicuously
readable and frequently challenging, a book to be enjoyed for the
questions it raises as much as for the information it imparts.
Hastings's greatest strength is his ability to make comparisons
across regions and centuries that genuinely illuminate the issues
with which he deals. No one seriously interested in the history of
Africa or of
Christianity as a world religion should fail to gain access to
it.'
John McCracken, University of Stirling, Journal of Religion in
Africa, XXVI, 2, 1996
`Adrian Hastings ... has returned to a subject he has treated
before and one that is being increasingly written about. He has
expounded on it with fresh eyes in a lively style. By placing his
own personal stamp on the subject, he gives the book its
distinctive flavor. Hastings' book is a confident, self-assured
presentation of the subject and of the enormous literature that has
grown especially since about 1960. Anyone who seeks guidance on the
broad,
general course of Christianity in modern Africa cannot go far wrong
in looking to the book.'
Lamin Sanneh, Missiology, Oct '96
`Hastings has produced a volume which is about the African Church
rather than about Western Missions but has managed to remain
essentially balanced ... the book is clear and readable ... He has
a first-hand and sympathetic knowledge of modern Africa ... he
seems to have read almost everything and he has broken new ground
... a history of African Christianity which non-African readers
will understand and enjoy.'
Peter Hinchcliff, Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. 47, No. 1,
Apr '96
`This volume represents a monumental achievement, the magnum opus
of a leading scholar in the field of African church history ... a
study that combines the sensitivities and insights of a longtime
participant in African church development with the expertise of a
scholar who has a formidable grasp of the primary and secondary
literature ... this is a book that will be a standard text for some
time to come. Historians of Africa, missiologists, and leaders
of
the church in Africa will find it most useful.'
Jack E. Nelson, Pacific University, Journal of Ecumenical Studies,
Vol. 33, No. 3 (Summer, 1996)
`Adrian Hastings has written a monumental study which will remain a
standard in the history of the church for the whole of Africa. It
is without peer in its chronological scope, depth of coverage, and
analytical commentary. ... the ambitious task of covering the
history of Christianity in Africa is undertaken with a lively
narrative style ... The author strikes a comfortable balance
between generalization, detail, and thematic development. ... It is
this
scope and perspective in one volume which makes Hastings's study
the most comprehensive and understandable history of the African
church to date and an absolutely essential starting point for
comprehending
the topic in terms of details, themes and concepts.'
Church History, December 1996
`a fine blend of report and evaluation ... fascinating ... It is
without a shadow of doubt destined to become a standard text for
the foreseeable future and will remain influential for longer than
that ... a massive and complex topic, and its compression into the
pages of a single volume, sustained by balanced treatment and a
lucid wordcraft, is brilliantly done ... Hastings deftly handles
his selected material to create a convincing tapestry, covering
topic after topic with masterly conciseness and precision. Hastings
has given us an inclusive survey without a current rival. The
breadth of coverage is staggering, especially in combination with
the depth of
treatment, and both are a direct result of Hastings's skill with
words ... provides a balanced, informed discussion, replete with
insight, evaluating the general in the light of specifics ... a
superb job.'
R.I. Sim, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,
Vol.60, No. 3, 1997
`this is a remarkable book ... Hastings operates at many different
levels ... its enormous bibliography, the offer of illuminating
detail and sweeping summaries, the combination of insight laced
with provocation, make it a real pleasure to read and, with its
welcome appearance in paperback, will ensure its place as a source
of reference and inspiration for many years'
Andrew Porter, King's College, London, African History, Vol 38 -
1997
`a comprehensive and illuminating account of the complex and
dynamic history of the Church in Africa ... Theology and
spirituality, gospel and culture, religion and politics,
nationalism and particularism and slavery, are important themes in
a book which provides a vivid and frank account of Catholic and
Protestant missions and missionaries ... this work is a necessary
and valuable contribution by an author who makes a very difficult
task appear less
difficult than it is, and one to whom students of African history
and missiology owe a considerable debt, not least for the excellent
annotated bibliography.'
Emmanuel M. Jacob, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
`Rather high standard for others to emulate ... carefully
researched and provides abundant resources for further study ...
Hastings ... presents the reader with the result of a mature
scholar. It is obvious that this publication is the result of many
earlier studies and long reflection. The author's ability to
connect developments in many areas while keeping the flow of his
narrative moving is the result of deep familiarity with the
material and profound
understanding of its meaning ... Hastings understands the
importance of presenting work in a manner that draws the reader
into the reading enterprise ... a significant advance in the field
of African
religious studies and offer themes for further rewarding
research.'
African Studies Review
`A consummate historian, theologian, social activist and critic,
Hastings begins this enterprise by briskly clearing the
historiographical underbrush before building a monumental structure
which will serve as a signpost for decades ... This book is made
very readable and interesting by the depth of analyses and a
tradition of recovering empowering memories. Maps and a good
bibliography are provided as further aids.'
Cristianesimo Nella Storia
`'...extraordinarily wide-ranging volume...Hastings's monograph,
backed by deep scholarly experiences and the tradition of the
Oxford University Press, is a major volume of great importance in
which there is something new for a readyer of advanced
standard.''
Getnet Tamene, Asian and African Studies, Vol.7/1998, no.1
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