A short history of Christianity / Geoffrey Blainey.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 557-577) and index.

The boy from Galilee -- The death and rebirth of Jesus -- 'Who can be against us?' -- Bread, wine, and water -- In the Emperor's hands -- The gang of heretics -- Monks and hermits -- The rise of Islam -- The battle of the icons -- Behind French monastery walls -- Grenadiers of God -- The magic of glass and paint -- A star above Assisi -- The Crusaders -- Rome, Avignon, and the Golden Horn -- The pilgrims' paths -- The heralds of Christendom -- A Swiss sword-carrier -- A tempest across England -- John Calvin's realm -- Trent : the endless meeting -- To the ends of the Earth -- A Reformation untangled -- Pilgrim Bunyan and Quaker Fox -- Two open-air voices : Wesley and Whitefield -- Turmoil in Paris -- Christmas carol -- A taste for toleration -- The age of steam and haste -- Coming of the light and the darkness -- War and peace -- The moving eye of the needle -- 'More popular than Jesus'.

Christianity has played a central role in world history, for better or worse, but beyond the story of Jesus, many people know little of this story. Geoffrey Blainey takes readers on a journey from the very beginnings of Christianity through to the current day. Looking at the development of the religion itself, as well as the social and economic forces that have influenced it, the book focuses on the stories of the key players in Christianity's rise and fall through the ages, as well as how these players shaped the faith of believers. --Publisher information.