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This is not intended to be a volume of winners and losers, but an exploration of the rich diversity of Christianity in the modern era. It attempts to uncover some of the hidden dynamics of faith within the institutions of christianity and to help show each of us the many ways in which other Christians have tried to live out of the gospel in an uncertain world. This is a story of conflict, controversy, and even violence that at times seems quite divorced from the peaceful teachings of Jesus; however, this book tries to make a sense of the conflicts in their own settings. Certainly in these conflicts, we see power struggles, greed, hatred, and even cruelty manifesting itself. It is important that Christians not be naive about their own history, particularly in the light of the Holocaust. However, in most of the conflicts in this book we also see Christians striving to put the gospel into action. It is not a black and white story of saints being persecuted by sinners, but a complex story of real humans trying to be faithful amidst the confusion and ambiguity of human life.
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