The Genesis of Doctrine: A Study in the Foundation of Doctrinal Criticism [Paperback]

Alister E. McGrath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 1997

What is doctrine? How can a doctrinal statement made in the past have any authority in the present? How should doctrinal statements be evaluated and criticized? These questions are of central importance to Christian theology and have important consequences for the church. / In the course of its extensive historical and theological analysis, this groundbreaking study presents a detailed investigation of the development of Christian doctrine and the nature of doctrine itself. / Based on the prestigious 1990 Bampton Lectures at Oxford University, The Genesis of Doctrine explores a range of fundamental issues relating to doctrine, including the social functions of Christian doctrine, the relation between doctrine and Scripture, the external referents of doctrine, and the impact of historicism and the sociology of knowledge on an understanding of doctrine.

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About the Author

Alister E. McGrath is professor of historical theology at Oxford University and director of the Oxford Centre for Evanglism and Apologetics, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. The director of the John Templeton Oxford Seminars on Science and Christianity, he holds doctorates from Oxford in molecular biophysics and historical and systematic theology. He is the author of more than forty books, including The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World, and In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (June 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802843166
• ISBN-13: 978-0802843166
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,231,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alister E. McGrath is a historian, biochemist, and Christian theologian born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A longtime professor at Oxford University, he now holds the chair in theology, ministry, and education at the University of London. He is the author of several books on theology and history, including Christianity's Dangerous Idea, In the Beginning, and The Twilight of Atheism. He lives in Oxford, England, and lectures regularly in the United States.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the Origins of our Beliefs, September 21, 2011

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Quentin D. Stewart - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Genesis of Doctrine: A Study in the Foundation of Doctrinal Criticism (Paperback)

The point of the work is to introduce the reader to the science of doctrinal criticism. Put another way, one has to understand doctrines by way of their genesis and historical development to appreciate fully their import and to offer an accurate analysis of any given doctrine. So, for instance, one should understand the cultural dynamics of the Swiss cantons during the late Middle Ages and Reformation era to appreciate fully how the Swiss Reformation differed not only in doctrinal emphases, but also in its approach to church life, from the Lutherans of northern Germany of the same time. McGrath offers interesting insights into the nature of the Protestant Reformation by pointing out that the Protestant Reformation could be considered the triumph of the Anti-Pelagian Augustine, whereas Roman Catholicism's rejection of the Protestant reading of the epistles of Paul in the name of tradition and unity was the triumph of the Anti-Donatist Augustine.

It's a matter of personal taste, but this is one of McGrath's more interesting books, though I would also recommend his exposition of Luther's theology of the cross and his work on Justification, "Iustitia Dei." "The Genesis of Doctrine" is informative, insightful and much of what McGrath recycles in later works is already found here.