The Word Made Flesh

This outstanding textbook offers an original history of Christian thought, asking what it has meant over the centuries to participate in the religion of the Word made flesh.

• 
  
• Traces Christian ideas, conversations, experiences and practices from the first century through to the dawn of modernity at the end of the eighteenth century.
  
• Presents an inclusive history, considering the critical roles of women and religious ‘others’– dissenting Christians, Jews and Muslims – in shaping Christian thought.
  
• Sets Christian ideas in the context of conversations, controversies and concrete circumstances.
  
• Demonstrates the importance of liturgical and devotional exercises to the practice of Christianity.
  
• Treats words, images, music and architecture all as primary evidence of Christian traditions.
  
• Is accompanied by a CD Rom containing hundreds of visuals to support the theories and examples discussed throughout the volume.

List of Illustrations vi

List of Maps xii

Acknowledgments xiii

Preface xiv

Prelude: Flesh and Word 1

1 The Christian Movement in the Second and Third Centuries 10

2 Inclusions and Exclusions: The Fourth Century 65

3 Fleshing Out the Word: Medieval Christianity East and West 115

4 The Voice of the Pages: Incarnation and Hierarchy in the Medieval West 147
Interlude 184

5 Death and the Body in the Fourteenth-century West 186

6 The Suffering Body of Christ: The Fifteenth Century 224

7 Reforming the Body of Christ: The Sixteenth Century, Part I 247

8 Reforming the Body of Christ: The Sixteenth Century, Part II 291

9 Rationalism and Religious Passion: The Seventeenth Century 325

10 Keeping Body and Soul Together: Eighteenth-century Christianity 359
Postlude: The Word Made Flesh 390

Bibliography 392

Index 414

"Margaret Miles', The Word Made Flesh, is a monumental work, the fruit of decades of her teaching and scholarship. The particular contributions of this volume are recognition of the importance of art, architecture and music and the integration of new scholarship on women in Christian intellectual history. This work will become indispensable for introductory courses on western Christian thought from Justin Martyr to Kant."
Rosemary Radford Ruether, Graduate Theological Union

"To the student of Christianity, Miles offers something truly rare - a history text that is hard to put down."
Kathleen Sands, University of Massachusetts

"Margaret Miles gives us a picture of the whole thinking, breathing, gendered ecclesial body. The history of Christian thought and the social and cultural history of Christians cannot, after Miles, be readily chronicled apart from one another. Attempts to do so will likely be found wanting in comparison with this monumental work."
William McDonald, Tennessee Wesleyan College

“Miles’ insistence on exploring the history of Christian thought beyond texts and quotations makes the book invaluable; she may well have established the new paradigm for teaching, requiring one to not only read through Christian thought, but to listen and to see the development of Christian thought as well.”
Reviews in Religion and Theology

"Miles succeeds on every level and the books should be used widely in introductory courses."
Reviews in Religion and Theology

Margaret R. Miles is Emeritus Professor of Historical Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. As Bussey Professor of Theology, she taught the history of Christian thought for 20 years at Harvard University Divinity School. Her previous books include Plotinus on Body and Beauty (Blackwell, 1999), Reading for Life (1996), Seeing and Believing (1996), Desire and Delight (1993), Practicing Christianity (1988), and Carnal Knowing (1988). This outstanding textbook offers an original history of Christian thought, asking what it has meant over the centuries to participate in the religion of the “Word made flesh.”

The volume:

• 
  
• traces Christian ideas, conversations, experiences and practices from the first century through to the dawn of modernity at the end of the eighteenth century
  
• presents an inclusive history, considering the critical roles of women and religious “others”– dissenting Christians, Jews, and Muslims – in shaping Christian thought
  
• demonstrates the importance of liturgical and devotional exercises to developing Christian practice
  
• treats words, images, music and architecture all as primary evidence in reconstructing past experiences of Christianity.

The accompanying CD Rom contains over one hundred and fifty visuals to support the theories and examples discussed throughout the volume and detailed information concerning the musical selections is given at the appropriate locations to facilitate their classroom use. This superb resource will be essential for all those wanting an inclusive, accessible, and stimulating introduction to the history of Christianity.