The story of Christian theology : twenty centuries of tradition & reform
"In this panoramic work of historical theology, theologian Roger Olson vividly recounts the deeds and words of the cultists and Apostolic Fathers of the second century, the clash between the monumental theological schools of Alexandria and Antioch, the epochal division between East and West, the revolutionary advent of the Reformation, and much more - right on up to the sometimes dazzling, sometimes dismaying fallout that has continued to shake Christians through the twentieth century. Through it all Olson detects and traces a common thread: a concern for salvation, God's redemptive activity in forgiving and transforming sinful human beings."--Jacket
Print Book, English, ©1999
InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill., ©1999
Nonfiction
652 pages ; 23 cm
9780830815050, 9780851117737, 0830815058, 0851117732
40762786
pt. 1: The opening act: conflicting Christian visions in the second century
Critics & cultists cause confusion
The apostolic fathers explain the way
The apologists defend the faith
Irenaeus exposes heresies
pt. 2: The plot thickens: third-century tensions and transformations
North African thinkers examine philosophy
Origen of Alexandria leaves a troubling legacy
Cyprian of Carthage promotes unity
Christianity gets its act together
pt. 3: A great crisis rocks the church: the controversy about the Trinity
Alexandrians argue about the Son of God
The Church responds at the Council of Nicaea
Athanasius stubbornly keeps the faith
The Cappadocian fathers settle the issue. pt. 4: Another crisis shakes the church: the conflict over the person of Christ
The schools of Antioch & Alexandria clash over Christ
Nestorius & Cyril bring the controversy to a head
Chalcedon protects the mystery
Fallout from the conflict continues
pt. 5: A tale of two churches: the great tradition divides between east and west
Augustine confesses God's glory & human depravity
The western church becomes Roman Catholic
The eastern church becomes Eastern Orthodox
The Great Schism creates two traditions out on one
pt. 6: The saga and the queen of sciences: scholastics revive and enthrone theology
Anselm & Abelard speculate about God's way
Thomas Aquinas summarizes Christian truth
Nominalists, reformers & humanists challenge the scholastic synthesis. pt. 7: A new twist in the narrative: the western church reforms and divides
Luther rediscovers the gospel & divides the church
Zwingli & Calvin organize Protestant thought
Anabaptists go back to the roots of Christianity
Rome & Canterbury go separate but parallel ways
pt. 8: The center of the story falls apart: Protestants follow diverse paths
Arminians attempt to reform Reformed theology
Pietists seek to renew Lutheran theology
Puritans & Methodists struggle to revive English theology
Deists try to transform Protestant theology
pt. 9: The overall plot divides: liberals and conservatives respond to modernity
Liberal theology accommodates to modern culture
Conservative theology hardens traditional categories
Neo-orthodoxy transcends the divide
Contemporary theology struggles with diversity
Conclusion: The unfinished story and its future