Evangelization isn't about winning the argument, it's about winning hearts. Evangelization and conversion are pertinent topics, yet often many liturgical studies lack a good sense of the history of evangelization, and many historical studies lack a liturgical understanding of the methods of conversion. Many of these studies talk about early Christianity or the spread of Christianity to England or Germany or the mission to the New World or the Far East or Africa, yet without much insight as to what was operative in the methods of conversion and evangelization.
While there are many good studies in these areas, an overview with some profundity concerning the initial encounters of evangelization in the various centuries and cultures is yet to be done. We often underplay the importance of translations and how difficult it is to faithfully express texts. Likewise some understanding of the philosophical underpinnings present in the earlier work of evangelization-and with new underpinnings now needed to speak to our times-often is not recognized. Finally, in many recent ecclesial documents that deal with evangelization there is only a cursory presentation of history. This book is intended to bridge such gaps.