Abstract
This textbook engagingly presents the history of the church in the continents of Europe and Africa, which intertwines in many places. The book evolved out of author Steven Paas’s courses on church history for theology students in Malawi. With this publication, Paas aims to reach theological students within and outside of Africa, as well as any individual with an interest in the history of the church.
The introductory chapter argues that the center of world Christianity has shifted from the North to the South and that church history—being part of both secular history and theology—demonstrates the “deployment or progress of the Church as herald of the ever approaching Kingdom of God” (26). The basics of historiography are well covered, with a definition of church history and an outline of its sources and branches, as well as reasons for studying church history.
Part 1, “From Galilee to the Atlantic,” covers the European continent from antiquity to the modern age. Each of the four sections, dealing with antiquity, Middle Ages, Reformation era, and the modern age, concludes with a bibliography, including a few relevant websites. Paas concludes with a paragraph on revivalism and evangelism. He describes (Western) Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement, concluding that they “have not succeeded in bringing the masses of church leavers back to the Church” (284). He maintains that revived (orthodox) Reformed and evangelical churches can be effective in the secular West and that “[n]on-Western churches that are living from this spiritual reality, may help [them] to get ready for this missionary enterprise” (285). Paas does not explore whether these migrant churches being predominantly Pentecostal or charismatic might be problematic and, if so, how it could be overcome.
Part 2, “The Faith Moves South,” deals with the history of the church on the African continent; it is subdivided into “Africa in General” and “South-Central Africa.” Just as in part 1, each subsection is concluded with a bibliography. Unfortunately, there is no reference to https://missiology.org.uk/history.php, which contains a growing number of scanned books in the public domain.
The opening chapter describes the history of Christianity prior to the colonization of the continent. Subsequently the Portuguese, Dutch, and British Missions are covered, followed by a geographic tour d’horizon of Western, Southern and Eastern Africa. Dealing with the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the book focuses on the colonizers, the church and African independency, the different types of missions, and the modes of unity and cooperation.
The subsection on South-Central Africa deals with the church in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, focusing on Pentecostals, charismatics, the position of women, and conversion. In my view, these last two topics belong in part 1. The concluding chapter, “Europe and Africa in the Post-modern Age,” discusses the question of what the churches of each continent can mean for each other. The author agrees with Harvey Kwiyani that the African missiological impact is marginal, mainly because of reciprocal racist tendencies, but he also points to another explanation for the limited impact of the African missiological efforts—namely, that African Christians fail to grasp that the modern European culture is largely non-Christian and should be treated as such.
The author does not try to hide his orthodox Reformed position, especially when it comes to lessons for the future. This choice may please some and displease others, but the author’s wide knowledge of the subject is unquestionable and his accessible style makes the volume a good starting point for anyone who wants to study the history of the church on both continents. Profusely illustrated from the public domain, the book is attractive, engaging, and affordable. Is this book also of interest outside the African continent? I believe it is. It will be useful for pastors of migrant churches in Europe to survey the history of the church on the continent to which they’ve moved in recent years. And the overview of African church history may be valuable to situate the many African churches emerging throughout Europe.