Richard Plantinga's "God So Loved the World"

Plantinga, Richard J. "God So Loved the World: Theological Reflections on Religious Plurality in the History of Christianity." In Biblical Faith and Other Religions: An Evangelical Assessment, ed. David W. Baker, 106-137. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregal, 2004.

Plantinga's article is interesting for its division of history of Christianity into pre-Christiandom, Christiandom, and post-Christiandom instead of the more traditional Patristics, Medieval, Renaissance/Reformation, and Modern/Postmodern eras. Part of the rationale for doing this is because there is a sense that there is more critical and sustained thought on Christianity's relation with other religions and philosophical systems simply because Christianity at these points of history is not the dominate religion. Hence this quote:

The most sustained and interesting Christian reflection on the status of non-Christian religious and philosophical traditions occurs in the two bookend periods -– pre- and post-Christiandom –– for in these periods Christianity was one religious tradition––and by no means the dominant one-- amongst many, and was in general rather concerned about religious plurality. In the meddle period, by contrast, Christianity was the chief religious tradition of the West, largely dominant, and not very cognizant of religious plurality. (108)