Written by a team of top experts on the history of Christianity, this lucid and often witty book celebrates the highlights of two millennia of religious thought and practice. Each author describes Christianity's most fascinating contributions to the history of western civilization. The resulting book is one of different approaches to the different periods, from the early Church right up to the twentieth century. The authors chose their highlights with care. The selection provides a framework of development giving new insights into what it means to be a twenty-first century Christian. Readers can enjoy any of these essays in its own right; individually each chapter shows the changes of development in the history of ideas: the very changes of atmosphere. This book gains its full effect, therefore, by being read in the round. As a finale, the Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, concludes with a thought for the future: How should Christianity proceed into the new millennium?