Translation of : The Triumph of Christianity : How the Jesus Movement Became the World's Largest Religion.
Introduction -- The religious context -- Many Judaisms -- Jesus and the Jesus movement -- Missionizing the Jews and the Gentiles -- Christianity and privilege -- Misery and mercy -- Appeals to women -- Persecution and commitment -- Assessing Christian growth -- Constantine's very mixed blessings -- The demise of paganism -- Islam and the destruction of Eastern and North African Christianity -- Europe responds : the case for the Crusades -- The "Dark Ages" and other mythical eras -- The people's religion -- Faith and the scientific "Revolution" -- Two "churches" and the challenge of heresy -- Luther's reformation -- The shocking truth about the Spanish Inquisition -- Pluralism and American piety -- Secularization : facts and fantasies -- Globalization -- Conclusion.