Further Reading

Chapter 1 - The Pre-History of Christian Thought

Elias Bickerman, The Jews in the Greek Age (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990). 

A more scholarly but still vivid account of the Jewish people from the conquest of Palestine to the Maccabean Revolt.

Thomas Cahill, The Gifts of the Jews (New York: Anchor Books, 1998). 

A popular historian chronicles the story of the Jews from Abraham to the Babylonian captivity in an engaging style.

Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, Third Edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003).

A thematically structured comprehensive resource text of the world of the first Christians.

Robert M. Grant, Gods and the One God (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986). 

A look at the religious context of the rise of Christianity in Greco-Roman culture.

First and Second Maccabees.

Historical books in the apocrypha detailing the story of the Maccabean Revolt.

The Works of Philo (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993). 

A good edition of the writings of the important Jew from Alexandria.

Chapter 2 - Jesus of Nazareth

John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994). 

One of the superstars of the historical Jesus movement.  This is a popularized version of his more scholarly 1991 book, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant.

Craig A. Evans, Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992).

An annotated bibliography of more than 500 sources of historical Jesus research, produced by the Institute for Biblical Research Bibliographies.

Robert W. Funk, Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar (translators and editors), The Five Gospels (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993). 

The multi-colored Jesus Seminar translation of the four New Testament gospels and the Gospel of Thomas.

Luke Timothy Johnson, The Real Jesus (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996).

A Roman Catholic scholar takes the Jesus Seminar to task both in their conclusions as well as their methodology.

E.P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (New York:  Penguin, 1993). 

A very accessible yet substantial and fair-minded treatment by one of the leading scholars of Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman world.

N.T. Wright, The Challenge of the Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is (Downer’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1999). 

A thorough introduction to the critical issues in Jesus studies by one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars.

Chapter 3 - The Apostle Paul:  His Thought and Context

Paul Barnett, Paul: Missionary of Jesus (Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 2008). 

An accessible defense of Paul’s continuity with the message of Jesus.

Jouette M. Bassler, Navigating Paul: An Introduction to Key Theological Concepts (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007). 

Detailed description of some central theological words and phrases in Paul’s letters.

The Writings of St. Paul, Second Edition, edited by Wayne Meeks and John Fitzgerald (W.W. Norton & Company, 2006). 

Contains annotated text of all of Paul’s writings as well as a wealth of commentary from both ancient and modern writers.

E.P. Sanders, Paul (Oxford:  OUP, 1991). 

A brief introduction to the massive work that Sanders did on Paul and the development of the “new perspective”.

N. T. Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said,  (Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans(1997). 

An excellent short overview of the thought of Paul from the perspective of his historical Jewishness.

Chapter 4 - The Break from Judaism

F. F. Bruce, New Testament History (New York: Doubleday, 1971).

Gives a thorough and accessible account (with lots of references) of the Roman and Jewish context of the birth and first two generations of Christianity.

James Dunn, The Parting of the Ways between Christianity and Judaism and their Significance for the Character of Christianity (London: SCM Press, 1991).

An extended study of the central issue of this chapter.

Josephus, The Jewish War (many published editions). 

The standard first century account of the war with the Romans and the siege of Jerusalem by this Jewish historian.

Oskar Skarsaune, In the Shadow of the Temple:  Jewish Influences on Early Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2002). 

This Norwegian scholar challenges much of the conventional wisdom of the enmity between Jews and Christians.

All of the books of the New Testament are relevant for understanding the development of Christian thought during the first few generations.

Chapter 5 - Persecution of Christians

Brian Daley, The Hope of the Early Church:  A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology  (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003).

A catalog of the eschatological positions of all the major figures in the early Church.

Ivor J. Davidson, The Birth of the Church  (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004). 

The first volume of a new history of the Church covering the years 30-312.

Bart Ehrman, The Apostolic Fathers I & II (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003).

A dual-language edition of all the texts of the Apostolic Fathers.

W. H. C. Frend,  Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church (New York: New York University Press, 1967).

A comprehensive account of the major persecutions of Christians in Roman times.

Chapter 6 - Spirituality and Asceticism: The Desert Fathers and Mothers

Owen Chadwick, ed., Western Asceticism (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958).

Contains Sayings of the Fathers, Cassian’s Conferences and other original sources.

David G. R. Keller, Oasis of Wisdom (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2005). 

A recent treatment of the Desert Fathers and Mothers.

Robert T. Meyer, ed., Palladius: The Lausiac History (Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1965).

Another classic source for sayings from the Desert Fathers and Mothers.

Margaret Miles, Fullness of Life: Historical Foundations for a New Asceticism (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1981). 

An interpretation of the causes and meanings of asceticism in the ancient world.

Laura Swan, The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women (New York: Paulist Press, 2001). 

A treatment of many of the important women of the early centuries of Christianity who have been largely ignored by historians.

Chapter 7 - The Christian Apologists: Interacting with Gnostics and Other “Heretics”

L. W. Barnard, Justin Martyr: His Life and Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967).

A contemporary classic on Justin.

Bart D. Ehrman, Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).

An insightful and readable study on various “Christian” (heretical) groups and their texts in the second and third centuries.

Robert Grant, Greek Apologists of the Second Century (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1988).

A concise and informative treatment of the Christian apologists of the second century.

James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library, third revised edition (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1988).

A one-volume English edition of the complete collection of Gnostic works discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945.

Kurt Rudolph, Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism, Trans. R. McL. Wilson (San Francisco: Harper & Rowe, 1987).

An excellent and quite readable introduction to Gnosticism.

Chapter 8 - The Early Church Councils: Christological Controversy and Definition

Edward R. Hardy (editor), Christology of the Later Fathers (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1964).

Includes primary source material from Athanasius and important letters from Arius, Cyril, and the Tome of Leo.

J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1978).

A standard reference on the development of doctrine, with a substantial section on Christology.

Donald Macleod, The Person of Christ (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1998).

A contemporary treatment of Christology rooted in the historical debates.

Chapter 9 - Trinitarian Debate

Gregory of Nyssa, “On Not Three Gods”

J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1978).

A standard reference on the development of doctrine, with a substantial section on the Trinity.

Roger E. Olson and Christopher A. Hall, The Trinity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002).

An introductory survey to the historical development of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Tertullian, Against Praxeas

Tertullian’s seminal work combating the Monarchist view of Praxeas.  Available in many collections and online.

Thomas Torrance, The Trinitarian Faith:  The Evangelical Theology of the Ancient Catholic Church (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1988). 

A more rigorous treatment of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Chapter 10 - Formation of the New Testament Canon

F. F. Bruce. The Canon of Scripture  (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1988).

A prominent evangelical scholar describes the processes involved in the development of the Old and New Testaments.

Bart Ehrman. Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament ( Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). 

A very helpful collection of early writings which did not make it into the canon.

Burton L. Mack. Who Wrote the New Testament? The Making of the Christian Myth( San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995).

A controversial book which challenges traditional Christian understanding of the emergence of the New Testament and the Christian faith.

Lee Martin McDonald and James A. Sanders, eds. The Canon Debate(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002).

A collection of important essays dealing with historical and methodological issues regarding the canon.

Bruce M. Metzger. The Canon of the New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987).

A clear and authoritative description of the processes involved in the development of the New Testament canon.

Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman. The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration. Fourth Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005).

A contemporary classic of New Testament textual criticism.

Chapter 11 - Augustine: Philosopher, Theologian, and Church Father

Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000).

A magisterial biography; this is the re-released version with an update by way of an epilogue by Henry Chadwick.

Phillip Cary, Augustine’s Invention of the Inner Self: The Legacy of a Christian Platonist  (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).

Placing Augustine’s thought within the Platonist and Christian traditions, Cary argues that Augustine invented the concept of the self as a private inner space which one can enter to find God. 

Henry Chadwick, Augustine: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).

A helpful introductory guide to the life and thought of Augustine.

William R. Cook and Ronald B. Herzman, The Medieval World View, Second Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).

An accessible and engaging introduction to the ideas that shaped the medieval worldview.

Allan D. Fitzgerald, Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999).

Includes entries by leading experts on a variety of relevant subjects and a helpful bibliography.

Chapter 12 - Monasticism of the Early Middle Ages

Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict in English, Timothy Fry, ed. (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1982).

A readable translation of the famous rule which was so influential for medieval monasticism.

Gregory the Great, Dialogues

Fascinating insight into the spiritual world of the first monastic pope.  No editions currently in print, but libraries carry the Henry James Coleridge English edition (London:  Burns and Oates, 1874).

David Knowles, Christian Monasticism (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1969). 

A classic text surveying the history of Christian monasticism from its origins into the twentieth century.  There are numerous pictures of famous abbeys included.

C H Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism (London: Longman, 1984). 

A readable history of monasticism from the fourth century through the Middle Ages.

Thomas O’Loughlin, Celtic Theology: Humanity, World and God in Early Irish Writings (London: Continuum, 2000). 

A survey of the distinctive theological contributions to medieval Christianity by early Irish writers.

Chapter 13 - Eastern Christianity Splits from the West

John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes (New York: Fordham University Press, 1979). 

A standard work that includes good information on how the Eastern Church came to be shaped as it is today.

Jaroslav Pelikan, The Spirit of Eastern Christendom (600-1700) (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974). 

Volume 2 of the monumental series, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine,by one of most learned scholars of historical theology in the twentieth century.

The Philokalia (four volumes), compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St Makarios of Corinth, G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kalistos Ware, editors and translators (London: Faber and Faber, 1979-1995). 

A compilation of Eastern Orthodox writings from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries.

Timothy Ware (aka, Kalistos), The Orthodox Church (Baltimore: Penguin, 1964, Second Edition, 1993). 

A popular exposition of the history and contemporary practice of the Orthodox Church written by a scholar at Oxford who became a priest of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Chapter 14 - Anselm, Abelard, and Bernard

Eugene R. Fairweather (ed.), A Scholastic Miscellany: Anselm to Ockham (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1956).

A good collection of primary sources of the time period.

Etienne Gilson, Reason and Revelation in the Middle Ages (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1938).

A classic work on the relationship of faith and reason in the work of medieval theologians.

Alister E. McGrath, Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification, Third Edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005). 

A scholarly tome on the history of the concept of atonement by a leading theologian of our day.

Jaroslav Pelikan, The Growth of Medieval Theology (600-1300) (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978).

Volume three of Pelikan’s monumental history of the development of doctrine.

Chapter 15 - Islam and Judaism in the Middle Ages

John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991).

An excellent introduction to Islamic beliefs.

Seyyid Hossein Nasr., ed. Islamic Spirituality: Foundations (New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1987).

A helpful collection of essays about Islam by Islamic scholars.

Moses Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed. Second Edition (New York: Dover, 1956). 

The classic work of Medieval Jewish philosophy and theology.

Armand A. Maurer, Medieval Philosophy. Revised edition (Ontario, Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Philosophy, 1982).

A great introduction to the topic.

G. S. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York: Schocken Books, 1941). 

A classic work in the history of Jewish esoteric spirituality.

Eliezer Segal. Introducing Judaism (London: Routledge, 2008). 

A concise introduction to Jewish belief and practice focusing on Jewish history and geography.

Chapter 16 - Women and Theology in the Middle Ages

Julian of Norwich. Revelations of Divine Love. Translated by Elizabeth Spearing (New York: Penguin Books, 1998).

The classic work by Julian of Norwich in which she describes her revelations and then offers theological reflection on them.

Barbara Newman, Sister of Wisdom: St. Hildegard’s Theology of the Feminine (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1987).

A discussion by one of the leading Hildegard scholars of today.

Amy Oden, ed., In Her Words: Women’s Writings in the History of Christian Thought (Nashville: Abingdon, 1994).

A collection of primary sources and commentary on writings by the women highlighted in this chapter.

Elizabeth Alvilda Petroff, Body and Soul: Essays on Medieval Women and Mysticism  (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).

Examines the writings of medieval women mystics from England, Germany, France, and Italy, among other countries.

Teresa of Ávila, Interior Castle. Translated and edited by E. Allison Peers (New York: Image Books, Doubleday, 1989). 

St. Teresa’s classic and inspirational work on the soul’s journey to God.

Chapter 17 - Thomas Aquinas

G.K. Chesterton, Saint Thomas Aquinas (New York: Doubleday, 1956). 

A thin volume providing an overview of Aquinas’s life and thought that is unsurpassed in insight and style.

Brian Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992).

A treatment of Aquinas with more depth and sophistication, yet still readable for the non-specialist.

Anthony Kenny, The Five Ways: St. Thomas Aquinas’ Proofs of God’s Existence (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1980).

A thorough treatment of Aquinas’ famous proofs by one of today’s leading historians of philosophy.

Peter Kreeft, Summa of the Summa (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1990). 

An edited and annotated summary of Thomas’s Summa Theologica.

Chapter 18 - Preparation for Reform

Oliver Davies, Meister Eckhart: Mystical Theologian (London: SPCK, 1991).

An introduction to the life and thought of Eckhart which provides a sympathetic account of his orthodoxy.

Anthony Kenny, Wyclif (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985).

A short and accessible introduction to the central ideas of Wyclif that gave encouragement to the Protestant Reformers.

Steven Ozment, The Age of Reform 1250-1550: An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980). 

A good overview of the period, including all the figures treated in this chapter.

G.H.W. Parker, The Morning Star: Wycliffe and the Dawn of the Reformation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965).

Despite its title, also included are good discussions of Hus, Lollardy, the mystics, and the period up to Reformation.

Chapter 19 - Martin Luther

Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1978). 

The classic twentieth century biography of Luther’s life.

John Dillenberger, ed., Martin Luther: Selections from his Writings (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1961).

A standard collection of Luther’s writings, including the 95 Theses, The Freedom of a Christian, Two Kinds of Righteousness, The Bondage of the Will, and many others.

Bernhard Lohse, Martin Luther’s Theology: Its Historical and Systematic Development (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999).

A comprehensive exposition of Luther’s thought by one of the leading Luther scholars of the late twentieth century.

Carter Lindberg, The European Reformations (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996). 

A survey of the various reform movements of the sixteenth century.

Chapter 20 - The Reformed Tradition

Ulrich Zwingli, On Providence and Other Essays, Samuel Macauley Jackson and Clarence Nevin Heller, eds. (Durham, North Carolina: Labyrinth Press, 1983). 

Contains most of Zwingli’s important papers.

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Henry Beveridge, trans. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975). 

A large, two-volume work that set the tone for the Reformed tradition.

Carl Bangs, Arminius: A Study in the Dutch Reformation (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1971). 

The classic biography of the life of Jacob Arminius.

Roger Olson, The Story of Christian Theology (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1999). 

A very readable one-volume history of theology that gives a more balanced treatment of the Reformation period than most.

Chapter 21 - Protesting against the Protestants: Anabaptism and the Radical Reformation

Dyck, Cornelius J. An Introduction to Mennonite History, Third Edition (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1993). 

A recent and thorough account of Mennonite history.

Estep, William  R. The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to Sixteenth Century Anabaptism,Third Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996). 

A standard introduction to the Anabaptists.

Klassen, Walter, ed. Anabaptism in Outline (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1981). 

A selection of primary Anabaptist sources on a number of theological issues.

Williams, George Hunston, The Radical Reformation, Third Edition (Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 1992). 

An excellent and extensive history of the Anabaptists and other “Radical Reformers.”

Chapter 22 - Reformation Continues: the English and the Catholics

Book of Common Prayer (many editions).

A. G. Dickens, The English Reformation, Second Edition (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1991). 

A helpful overview of the English Reformation.

John H. Leith, ed. Creeds of the Churches, Third Edition (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1982). 

An excellent collection of important historical documents, including the Thirty Nine Articles and the Creed of the Council of Trent.

Michael Mullett, The Catholic Reformation (New York: Routledge, 1999). 

A comprehensive history of the Counter-Reformation.

Chapter 23 - The Challenge of Modernism

Michael Buckley, At the Origins of Modern Atheism (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987). 

An extensive study of the pivotal points in Christian thought which allowed atheism to become the default worldview of intellectuals in Europe.

Edwin A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science (Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1992). 

A classic description of the interplay between philosophy, religion, and science during the modern period.

James M. Byrne, Religion and the Enlightenment: From Descartes to Kant (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997).

Peter Gay, Deism: An Anthology (Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1968). 

A collection of many of the primary sources of the early deists.

René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (many editions). 

The most enduring work of the father of modern philosophy.

Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007). 

A sweeping chronicle of intellectual history which charts the transition from religious society to secular society.

Chapter 24 - Pietism and Revivalism

Kenneth J. Collins, The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007).

Helpfully organizes Wesley’s views on a number of important themes.

A. C. Coulter, John Wesley (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980).

An excellent representative selection of theological writings by Wesley.

Peter C. Erb, The Pietists: Selected Writings (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1983). 

A rich collection of Pietist writings.

Thomas S. Kidd, The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007). 

An impressive and clearly written work on the Great Awakening and its influence on American Evangelicalism.

George M. Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003). 

A magisterial biography.

Harold Simonson, ed. Selected Writings of Jonathan Edwards, Second Edition (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 2004). 

A compilation of important essays, sermons, and other writings of Jonathan Edwards.

Chapter 25 - Romanticism’s Response to Enlightenment Theology

Keith Clements, Friedrich Schleiermacher: Pioneer of Modern Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991). 

A helpful introduction to Schleiermacher, including substantial excerpts of his writings organized around themes.

B. A. Gerrish, A Prince of the Church: Schleiermacher and the Beginnings of Modern Theology (Wipf & Stock, 2001). 

A short book with a good overview of Schleiermacher’s thought.

G. E. Lessing, Lessing’s Theological Writings, H. Chadwick, translator (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1957). 

A small volume which captures the essence of Enlightenment religious sentiment.

Friedrich Schleiermacher, The Christian Faith, H. R. Mackintosh and J. S. Stewart, editors (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1999). 

This large book is difficult reading at times, but is the magnum opus of Schleiermacher and deserving of careful attention.

Allen Wood, Kant’s Moral Religion (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1970). 

An eminent Kant scholar shows how Kant’s views on religion are consistent with and an integral part of his overall philosophy.

Chapter 26 - Neo-orthodoxy: Karl Barth and others

Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics: A Selection (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994). 

Key selections from Barth’s magnum opus.

Geoffrey William Bromiley, An Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth (Grand Rapids, MI.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1979).

A helpful introduction to Barth by a major editor of his Dogmatics.

C. Stephen Evans, Kierkegaard: An Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009).

An accessible and authoritative introduction.

Douglas John Hall,  Remembered Voices: Reclaiming the Legacy of “Neo-Orthodoxy” (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998).

Argues for the continued relevance of some of the twentieth century’s leading neo-orthodox theologians.

Chapter 27 – Liberal Protestantism

Gary Dorrien, The Making of American Liberal Theology: Idealism, Realism, and Modernity, 1900–1950 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003). 

An extensive survey of the time period in which liberal theology transitioned to America.)

Walter Rauschenbusch, Christianity and the Social Crisis(London: MacMillan & Co., 1914).

His popular exposition of the social gospel.

Albrecht Ritschl, The Christian Doctrine of Justification and Reconciliation (Mackintosh and Macaulay, eds. and tr., Clifton, NJ: Reference Book Publishers, Inc., 1966).

A long but readable book that gives systematic treatment to Ritschl’s theology.

Friedrich Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers (Richard Crouter, trans., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). 

A short book arguing for the relevance of theology in his day and age.

Chapter 28 – Major Theological Traditions and Developments in the Twentieth Century

Walter M. Abbott, ed., The Documents of Vatican II (Piscataway, NJ: America Press, 1966).

All sixteen documents of Vatican II are translated and comments are offered by both Catholics and non-Catholics.

John B. Cobb and David Ray Griffin, Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976). 

A solid introduction to process theology by two leaders of the movement.

David F. Ford, ed., The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology since 1918, Third Edition (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005). 

A large reference book with articles covering significant people, movements, and topics in twentieth century Christian thought.

Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson, 20th Century Theology: God and the World in a Transitional Age (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1992). 

A critical assessment of the theologies and theologians of the twentieth century.

Harriet Harris, Fundamentalism and Evangelicals (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998). 

An insightful analysis of the historical relationship between American Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism.

Charles Hartshorne, Omnipotence and Other Theological Mistakes (Albany: State University of New York, 1984).

An accessible and important work challenging orthodox understandings of the attributes of God.

Mark Noll, American Evangelical Christianity: An Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 2000). 

An accessible overview of the Evangelical movement in America by a leading contemporary church historian.

Clark Pinnock, Richard Rice, John Sanders, William Hasker, and David Basinger, eds., The Openness of God (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1994).

Five well-respected philosophers and theologians present their case for open theism.

Timothy (Kalistos) Ware, The Orthodox Church (Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1963). A clear presentation of the history, beliefs and practices of the Eastern Orthodox by one of its leading members.

Chapter 29 – Recent and Emerging Themes

James H. Cone, Black Theology and Black Power (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1997; original edition published by Harper & Row, 1969).

The first systematic presentation of Black theology.

Gustavo Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1973).

The classic work of liberation theology.

Gavin Hyman, Predicament of Postmodern Theology (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001).

Compares leading approaches to postmodern theology.

Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).

A well-researched work on contemporary global Christianity and its possible transformations in the coming years.

Chad Meister and James Beilby, The Routledge Companion to Modern Christian Thought (London and New York: Routledge, 2013).

Includes 72 fresh essays by leading thinkers of modern Christian thought, from the enlightenment to the twentieth century and beyond.

Myron B. Penner, Christianity and the Postmodern Turn: Six Views (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2005).

An inviting introduction to postmodernism through the interaction of six Christian thinkers with each other’s positions.

Janet Soskice, The Kindness of God: Metaphor, Gender, and Religious Language (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007). 

A leading feminist scholar examines biblical imagery and the central teachings of Christian theology.

Keith Ward, Religion and Revelation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994); Religion and Creation (Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 1996); Religion and Human Nature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998); Religion and Community (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000); Religion and Human Fulfillment (Norwich, UK: SCM Press, 2008).

A brilliant example of comparative theology, in five volumes, from one of its founding visionaries.

Natalie K. Watson, Feminist Theology (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2003).

A concise, clear, and insightful introduction to feminist theology.

David Wilkinson, Alone in the Universe? The X Files, Aliens, and God (Crowborough, UK: Monarch Publications, 1997).

A theologian/astronomer affirms the compatibility of Christianity and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.