Historical Dictionary of Radical Christianity

William H. Brackney is a Millard R. Cherry Distinguished Professor of Christian Thought and Ethics, Acadia University. He teaches in the fields of Protestant Christian Thought and Global Ethical Issues.

• Editor's Foreword (Jon Woronoff)AcknowledgmentsPrefaceList of Acronyms and AbbreviationsIntroductionThe DictionaryBibliographyAbout the Author

Brackney (Millard R. Cherry Distinguished Professor of Christian Thought and Ethics, Acadia Univ.) explores numerous attempts—some highly successful, some not—at changing the Christian faith over time. Introductory material presents the “evolving nature of radical Christianity” in a time line covering periods stretching from the first five centuries CE to today. Brackney distinguishes among five general types of radical Christians: theological, ethical, reconstructive, prophetic, and sacramental—a useful typology for understanding the remainder of the text, as each entry is coded with one of these types. The concise entries cover movements, people, new religions, sects, and other related subjects that figure into the overall history of radical Christianity and include bolded keywords, indicating cross-referenced topics throughout. The bibliography is subdivided chronologically, and each section highlights primary and secondary sources; this makes it useful for further study. Brackney also provides a short explanation of the types and nature of the literature available for each period of history discussed. VERDICT One of the stronger and most clearly organized entries in this series, this is a good resource for those interested in further exploration of the nature of religious radicalism and the reasoning behind various uprisings.