Customer Reviews

The Christian Theology Reader

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Alister McGrath's collections of readings are excellent reference works for anyone wishing a comprehensive, genuinely pluralistic study of the development of Christian theology. Particularly because many Christians have a limited scope, based entirely on one "school" or tradition, this book, and its highly readable companion volume, is enriching and enlightening. Since the books do not presume a knowledge of the various writers (as would many theology texts), but present a continuous historical perspective, either the student of religious studies, the historian, or one merely seeking to enrich his understanding of Christianity will find these texts "fill in the blanks" of the great richness in Christian thought throughout two millennia.

Wow is all I can say. I order books from amazon on a constant basis and none have come close to this one. I love how it is sectioned off into short chapters jammed pack with 1) info including an introduction and background for the writing, 2) the original excerpt from the writing, 3) comments that further explain or sum up the excerpt, 4) questions at the end so you can research some more on your own. I love it, especially the fact that each lesson (there's 362 lesson by the way) are ALL short, limited to 1-2 pages. This is perfect for those with wandering minds like myself to fit a solid lesson in a day with full concentration. I've even managed to keep a notebook in which I dedicate one page to each lesson, leaving room so I can come back and add things I learn later on. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE.

Even if you know nothing about Christianity, upon finishing this anthology you will know all of the major debates and ideas that have been the foundation of the religion. I would recommend this book to everyone, for all should be educated about the world's major religions, like Christianity and Islam, which have billions of followers worldwide. This book is very easy to read and the selections are short, yet very informative. Their are also study questions and summarizations for extra knowledge. McGrath has a talent for making Christianity understood.

The most impressive part of the context is the laying down a foundation for the readers and students to acquire the necessary backbround of the Christian theology in order for them to have comprehensive understanding of the main part, the Christian theology. By means of attrackting the readers with the Christian history which is related to the main core of this book, the writer of this book gets the reader to challenge to the rest of the parts, that is the goal of the reader to get to the deepest spot of the theology. Thank you.

This book has been very enjoyable to read as part of my Theology II class. I like reading the original church fathers directly, but also being able to digest it in small chunks.

Excellent service, I was a little hesitant in using a contracting book company,however I spoke with Amazon and they advised me in selecting a contractor. The price of new text books is expensive and most of the time the professor only uses certain chapters. So I decided to purchase a used book this semester. I was very impressed with how quick I received my book also, when I got the book, it was in excellent condition. It only had a few pages highlighted but was in great shape. I will use them again.

"The Christian Theology Reader" is a helpful collection of excerpts of theological writings from throughout the Christian era. Organized into ten topics, it enables the reader to seed differing perspectives ranging from the interplay between philosophy and theology through to the Last Things. Reading from cover to cover provides the reader with an overview of much of Theological thought.

I found this book to be interesting in that it brings to the page writings that I have heard spoken of but have rarely actually seen. On the question of the proof of the existence of God we are able to read the explanations of St. Anselm, and Guanilo' response thereto, along with later proofs such as those by St. Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes and Blaise Pascal. By reading the works of saints and scholars about whom I knew little more than their names I was able get some sense of why they were important and to what issues. The ability to compare and contrast conflicting opinions helps the reader to better understand each point of view.

The list of "Conciliar, Creedal and Confessional Material" and the "Glossary of Theological Terms" at the end help to put the selections into context. My one complaint about this book is that it rarely identifies the denominations of the authors, thereby making it more difficult to determine the authority to be attributed to each. Checking the "Details of Theologians" in the back would have eliminated much of the uncertainty. I recommend that the reader consult it as he goes along, rather than reading it in turn at the end, as I did. Having read it through I plan to keep it as a reference for when I want to revisit a particular question or the work of a particular scholar.

McGrath, having earned advanced degree's in both Science and Theology from Oxford Universtiy, provides a unique perspective on the subject of Theology and its development over the last 2000 years. He does the service of providing an extensive overview of each of the main topics in Theology by providing key writings throughout the history of the church which contributed to each topic. An invaluable book to have for those who wish to understand Christian thought and its evolution over time.

This book is a great resource for theology study and research. Alister Mcgrath has written a book that it a step above most theoloy texts.

McGrath has amassed the works of serveal theologians etc.,and provides thought provoking questions and comments after each entry.