Description
This is the successor to A Handbook of Christian Theology, edited by Marvin Halverson and Arthur A. Cohen, and published in 1958. That book went through twenty printings, and served admirably to introduce students and interested laity to a basic understanding of theological terms, concepts and trends. However, more than three decades have passed since the initial publication of Halverson and Cohen’s Handbook, and the theological landscape is much changed. This new handbook provides an expanded and updated account, with 148 fresh articles on important themes and movements in modern Christian theology, and the editors have furthermore endeavoured to encompass a much wider spectrum of thought than the original volume.
Thematic entries vary from traditional concerns such as Faith, Missiology, Revelation, Sin, the Trinity and Death and Eternal Life, to more modern concerns such as Alienation, Autonomy, Pluralism, Secularism, and the role of Metaphor and Narrative. Also included are concise and balanced accounts of the teaching and development of many contemporary theological movements both radical and conservative, from Liberation Theology and Feminist and Postmodernist thought, to modern Fundamentalism and ‘Creation Science’.
About the Author
Donald W. Musser is Professor of Religion at Stetson University.
Joseph L. Price is associate Professor of Religion at Whittier College.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Routes for Reading
A to Z
Notes on the Contributors
Endorsements and Reviews
During the more than thirty years since the original Handbook was published, the theological scene has undergone considerable changes, with some new movements of thought emerging, some old problems taking new shape, and some different questions and issues becoming central. This much-needed handbook takes account of all this, thus bringing the reader into the 1990s. It will help many to find their way within the contemporary theological world.
John Hick, Claremont Graduate School of Religion
[A] testimony to the new pluralism and creativity of Christian theology in the past thirty years, as well as its continuity with basic Christian themes. It will be an indispensable resource for all students of theology from beginners to professors.
Rosemary R. Ruether, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
A New Handbook of Christian Theology will have both domestic and international appeal. … Established and emergent authors supply convincing detail on numerous topics while the reader is challenged and helped by the editors to spot the connections and discern the general shape of things. The book will constitute a historical record for use already in its own time.
Geoffrey Wainwright, Duke University
