A Journey Through Christian Theology

A Journey Through Christian Theology
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A Journey Through Christian Theology: With Texts from the First to the Twenty-First Century

Description of A Journey Through Christian Theology:

The history of Christian theology can be a daunting field for undergraduate students, who see neither the need for--nor the relevance of--rummaging through Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, or Tillich's dry texts. Yet undergraduates pose lively religious questions, and most religious colleges require introductory courses on the Christian tradition. This people-friendly volume, a full-scale reader in theological history, offers a non-threatening, occasionally humorous entrance into central texts from the Apostolic Fathers to Mary Daly. Highly accessible introductions to six periods precede brief introductions to, and texts from, forty-four key thinkers. Each is followed by reflection questions for the student to undertake that relate to personal, religious, and social topics. Incarnation, soteriology, spirituality, challenges to the institutional church, and sacraments are the key themes that re-emerge in each period. Some fifty cartoons lighten the presentation and soften some of the seriousness of the texts. Texts from these theologians are highlighted: Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Origen of Alexandria, Arius, Athanasius, Ecumenical Councils and Creeds, Augustine of Hippo, Pseudo-Dionysius, John Scotus Erigena, Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Johannes Meister Eckhardt, Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, Thomas Kempis, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schleiermacher, David Friedrich Strauss, Soren Kierkegaard, Albrecht Ritschl, Adolf von Harnack, Rudolf Otto, Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Gustavo Gutirrez, Mary Daly, Letty Russell, Regina Coll, James Cone, and Cornel West.

About William P. Anderson:

William P. Anderson is Professor of Religious Thought and Graduate Professor of the History and Philosophy of the Early Church, Department of Religious Studies, University of Dayton, Ohio. Richard L. Diesslin is a cartoonist and multimedia illustrator based in Dayton, Ohio.

Description of William P. Anderson, author of A Journey Through Christian Theology:

Though written with novices in mind, A Journey Through Christian Theology will please theologians at all levels. Its chronological approach to theology will allow novice and expert alike to catch a glimpse of the overall trends in Christian theology, and will help develop a vision for theology in the future. With excerpts from key theologians in each era of the church's history, this book offers a wonderful look at the origins, development and direction of Christian theology from those who lived and shaped it.William P. Anderson, professor of the history of religious thought at the University of Dayton, Ohio, teams with cartoonist and illustrator Richard L. Diesslin (who holds a masters in theology) to produce a light-hearted yet substantive history of Christian theology. They use cartoons throughout the book to offer greater information and insight to a particular topic. They combine the cartoons with informative excerpts, and background information, the result being an understandable and practical look at the development of Christian thought and doctrine.Covering two-thousand years of Christian history, A Journey Through Christian Theology starts with the early church (Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origin, Tertullian, Arius, Athanasius, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, John Scotus Erigena) moves to the Middle Ages (Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Johannes Meister Eckhardt, Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, Thomas à Kempis) and then on to the Reformation (Martin Luther, John Calvin). From there it looks at the modern period (Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Davis S. Strauss, Søren Kierkegaard, Albrecht Ritschl, Adolf von Harnack, Karl Barth, Rudolf Otto, Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tilich, Reinhold Niebuhr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer), and the contemporary period (Gustavo Gutíerrez, Mary Daly, Letty Russell, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Martin Luther King Jr., James Cone). While some of the authors excerpted are a bit more controversial (Arius, Origen, Mary Daly, etc.) they provide a nice juxtaposition with the "orthodox" teachings of the others. And in the case of Arius, the church's response to his teachings resulted in the formation of the doctrine of the trinity.A great overview of the history of Christian theology. Though not as advanced as some other surveys of Christian theology, A Journey Through Christian Theology is substantive, and very practical. Its a helpful theological introduction, with valuable tidbits to please even the serious student.