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The question facing the CFH rests on what "Christian history" means. Does it mean only history written by Christians on Christian themes? Or does it include any history written by a Christian? What about history written by a non-Christian dealing with a Christian topic? And if all of these qualify, which should be preeminent? Good questions, to be sure, and ones that will continue to be bandied about on e-mail and in history departments nationwide. But if these folks are anywhere close to an answer by their 2002 meeting, I'll be shocked.

Elesha Coffman is associate editor of Christian History.

Visit the Conference on Faith and History homepage.

Read the Conference on Faith and History journal, Fides et Historia.

Visit the American Historical Association, a group for professional historians.

The AHA will next meet for its annual convention January 4-7 in Boston.

Christian History Corner appears every Friday at ChristianityToday.com. Previous Christian History Corners include:

Case of the Missing Relic | A piece of Jesus' cross is stolen from a Toronto cathedral—or is it? (Oct. 20, 2000)

The Politicians' Patron | Is Thomas More a saintly model? (Oct. 13, 2000)

General Revelations | Reconsidering Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. (Oct. 6, 2000)

Olympia Revisited | Christianity and the Olympic Games were once competitors, but at other times have been on the same team. (Sept. 29, 2000)

Weighty Matters | Gwen Shamblin's teachings sound an awful lot like some in the early church—and not in a good way. (Sept. 22, 2000)

In Errancy | Want to know what's wrong with the Western church? Start with a list. (Sept. 15, 2000)

"Kill Them All" | The medieval church was deadly serious about eliminating 'heretical' Cathars. (Sept. 11, 2000)

All Together Now | What qualifies as an ecumenical council anyway? (Sept. 1, 2000)

Soviets, Schism, and Sabotage | How the government manipulated division in the Russian Orthodox Church. (Aug. 18, 2000)

Sacrifice at Sea | The story that wasn't in James Cameron's Titanic. (Aug. 11, 2000)

Colonial Soul | The Cross and The Tomahawk series examines our nation's past from many perspectives. (Aug. 4, 2000)

The Fifth Evangelist | Johann Sebastian Bach was a musician "who lived the Bible." (July 28, 2000)

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October (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44