Historical Theology

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Informative, readable and very useful - but the repetition...! - Rated
Alister McGrath's `Historical Theology...' is an easy to read, user-friendly guide to the development of Christian theology. Amazon's excellent `Search Inside' feature shows how McGrath structures this work: Four theological periods, from the church fathers (up to 451), to the modern period (after 1750).

Each part is subdivided into an initial overview section, followed by more detailed but very selective explanations. Thus he `begin[s] by painting a scene using some very broad brush strokes, and then filling in the fine detail in selected areas...'. This makes for a great aid to essay writing as you can quickly dip into the initial overview sections while more detailed discussions can be extracted from the later `case studies' sections too.

As the next reviewer notes below, one excellent aspect in `Historical Theology' is the frequent quoting of original authors in very digestible chunks and translations. For instance, pages 88 and 89 offer a couple of paragraphs each (not just a line or two) from the second century theologians Justin Martyr and Clement of Alexandria. We are also offered frequent reminders of who each theologian is in mini-biographies (e.g. `Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215). A leading Alexandrian writer, with a particular concern to explore the relation between Christian thought and Greek philosophy.') The use of different fonts, italics, indentations and shaded or bordered textboxes make this an easy title to navigate too.

Criticisms!

As also noted below, there is much repetition here. I found this quite irritating as many lines of text, frequently whole paragraphs - and at least one near complete page! - is lifted from one section and copied verbatim to another. Surely such a successful and popular author and publishing house can arrange for better editing!

And: `The book makes use of some material already presented in the best selling work `Christian Theology: An Introduction' (quoted from page xii).' Again, surely a best selling author can commit himself to writing an original work, not producing essentially the same book under two separate titles?

Theology is a vast and complicated subject but McGrath's presentation of it is both palatable and informative. I'm a big history fan anyway so the idea of dividing Christian theology chronologically naturally appeals and seems completely logical. Since there are only 345 pages before the indexes, we can assume that there are many important issues not tackled here - like eschatology (or the `End Times') for instance - but that would add pages and cost. (To investigate all the main Christian theological issues, see Millard Erickson's excellent and inexpensive `Christian Theology' - all 1300 pages of it!).

Criticisms aside, this is still a good and useful book: McGrath strikes a good balance between content and size and makes the whole very accessible. A star is deducted for annoying repetition (and taking advantage of customers?).

A good trip through the history of ideas... - Rated
There are many ways to study theology -- topically, by denominational structure, by particular theologians, etc. One of the more common approaches, and still a popular one, has been to study theology through the historical development of ideas, beliefs and doctrines. Alister McGrath's book, 'Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought' is one such text. Following a brief introduction, it is divided into four broad historical sections: The Patristic Period (100 - 451), the Middle Ages and Renaissance (500 - 1500), the Reformation and Post-Reformation (1500 - 1750), and finally, the Modern Period (1750 - the present).

In his introduction, McGrath traces the various sources and types of theology - biblical studies, philosophy, pastoral issues, and church history all provide insights into this. The development of historical theology as a discipline began in the Reformation era, when it became important to understand not only the doctrines and dogmatic principles of the church, but also how they came to be developed and instituted. Historical theology is an important pedagogic and critical tool, useful for creating a greater understanding of our present situations.

McGrath's chapters on the Patristic and Middle Ages periods look at the wider church ideas, developments of the creeds, canon of scripture, and early ecclesial structures along with the development of key ideas and key theologians. In addition to this, McGrath presents case studies, which include the various historical heresies (Donatism, Pelagianism, etc.) and various philosophical problems (arguments for the existence of God). Included here are discussions of the impact of Celtic Christianity and monastic institutions on the overall development of theology.

After these periods, into the Renaissance, Reformation, Post-Reformation and Modern periods, the book is predominantly Western in outlook. Beginning with Scholasticism and the philosophical Humanism of the Renaissance beginning to influence general intellectual life inside and outside of the church, McGrath continues with the various Reformations (not all were the same), including the Catholic Reformation (often termed the Counter-Reformation). The influence of the Enlightenment and theological movements since then include a long list of -isms, including Feminism, Marxism, Modernism and Postmodernism, Postliberalism, Romanticism, Liberal Protestantism, and Evangelicalism (among others!). Case studies in these include the key controversies of ideas in the Reformation, quests for the Historical Jesus, political influences in the theological debates, and the growing influence of the two-thirds world on the theological scene.

McGrath's final case study is on the issue of method in theology in the modern period -- the starting point as well as the purpose is continually questioned, and McGrath highlights issues drawing from Schleiermacher, Tillich, Rahner, Barth, Lindbeck and Guttierez. Immediately following this (indeed, this section could be the beginning of another book, a companion to this text), McGrath addresses the issue of 'Where next?' for the student and reader. McGrath includes an extensive list of suggested further readings, divided by period, topic, and other helpful groupings.

McGrath is a good writer and educator -- this book is accessible to most readers, not assuming a great background in history, philosophy or theology; however, the more background one has, the better the experience of reading this book. It is a survey, which means it does not go into great detail, but it does include a fairly thorough introduction to all of the major and many of the side issues of theology through the 2000 years of Christian history.

HIGHLY READABLE INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN THOUGHT - Rated
You've got a year of historical theology coming up, and you've already got a sinking feeling. All those "-ologies": Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology... All those "-isms": Arianism, Pelagianism, Apollinarianism, Docetism and so on... All the councils, creeds and synods (not to mention the infamous Diet of Worms)... That's before you even get to the Middle Ages and all those infamous philosophical arguments for the existence of God, or the Protestant Reformation.

If you're going to be working with McGrath, you can relax. The structure of the book is ideal. Each major period begins with a gently-paced and highly readable narrative which for many readers' purposes will be all that is required. But each such chapter is followed by one or more "case studies" in which the principles and arguments of each of the major theological issues of the period are analyzed in greater depth.

A key strength of the book is that the main characters (Jerome, Augustine, Luther and the like) are allowed to speak in their own words - just enough to introduce you to the real spirit of their thought but not enough to bog you down in archaic language. In fact most of them come across as far more lucid and down to earth than you might expect.

Another useful technique is the way tiny boxed biographies of the major players are repeated when their names come up. It saves the reader flicking back and forth to refresh his or her memory, and thus greatly speeds up the assimilation of knowledge.

The downside of this method is that you tend to get a feeling of "deja vu" from time to time, as the same explanation may turn up in longer or shorter forms two or three times, as you move from the general background to the specific case-study and onto the biography. However this is not a serious objection, and it is simply the inevitable by-product of a highly effective teaching technique.

A more serious issue is that the author has drawn large sections of this book from his larger overview of Christian Theology. This was evidently a deliberate policy, but if you have the original book you will not find sufficient new material to justify the purchase price.

Finally this is not a general church history - this is an important distinction - but in the area of Christian doctrine it ranks as an outstanding resource for the serious student or for the general reader.

HIGHLY READABLE INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN THOUGHT - Rated
You've got a year of historical theology coming up, and you've already got a sinking feeling. All those "-ologies": Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology... All those "-isms": Arianism, Pelagianism, Apollinarianism, Docetism and so on... All the councils, creeds and synods (not to mention the infamous Diet of Worms)... That's before you even get to the Middle Ages and all those infamous philosophical arguments for the existence of God, let alone the Protestant Reformation.

If you're going to be working with McGrath, you can relax. The structure of the book is ideal. Each major period begins with a gently-paced and highly readable narrative which for many readers' purposes will be all that is required. But each such chapter is followed by one or more "case studies" in which the principles and arguments of each of the major theological issues of the period are analyzed in greater depth.

A key strength of the book is that the main characters (Jerome, Augustine, Luther and the like) are allowed to speak in their own words - just enough to introduce you to the real spirit of their thought but not enough to bog you down in archaic language. In fact most of them come across as far more lucid and down to earth than you might expect.

Another useful technique is the way tiny boxed biographies of the major players are repeated when their names come up. It saves the reader flicking back and forth to refresh his or her memory, and thus greatly speeds up the assimilation of knowledge.

The downside of this method is that you tend to get a feeling of "deja vu" from time to time, as the same explanation may turn up in longer or shorter forms two or three times, as you move from the general background to the specific case-study and onto the biography. However this is not a serious objection, and it is simply the inevitable by-product of a highly effective teaching technique.

A more serious issue is that the author has drawn large sections of this book from his larger overview of Christian Theology. This was evidently a deliberate policy, but if you have the original book you will not find sufficient new material to justify the purchase price.

Finally this is not a general church history - this is an important distinction - but in the area of Christian doctrine it ranks as an outstanding resource for the serious student or for the general reader.