Christian Theology: The Basics

Hardcover, x + 178 pages, NOT ex-library. Small format 8'' x 5.25''. Very good interior, clean and bright throughout with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Boards show short creases and scuff-marks to outer corners. Issued without a dust jacket. -- The book is a concise introduction to the nature, questions and central concerns of theology – the study of God within the Christian tradition. Providing a broad overview of the story that Christianity tells us about our human situation before God, this book will also seek to provide encouragement and a solid foundation for the reader's further explorations within the subject. With debates surrounding the relation between faith and reason in theology, the book opens with a consideration of the basis of theology and goes on to explore key topics including: - the identity of Jesus and debates in Christology; - the role of the Bible in shaping theological inquiry; - the centrality of the Trinity for all forms of Christian thinking; - the promise of salvation and how it is achieved. With suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, along with a glossary, Christian Theology: The Basics is the ideal starting point for those new to the study of theology. Murray Rae is Professor of Theology at the University of Otago, New Zealand. -- Contents: Preface; 1 Speaking of God [Theology as Witness; Theological Language; Witness of Scripture; Tradition; Reason; Experience; Further Reading]; 2 Creation and Covenant [What Kind of Literature Do We Find in Genesis?; Order of Creation; Creation Out of Nothing; 'Telos' of Creation; Triune Creator; Dominion; Divine Purpose; Humanity Made in God's Image; Covenant; Creation and Fall; Relational Being; True Humanity; Further Reading]; 3 Jesus and the Spirit [Who Is Jesus? (A Carpenter's Son from Nazareth; A Blasphemer?; Elijah, a Prophet, John the Baptist?; Who Do You Say That I Am?; The Messiah; A Diverse Witness); Jesus and History; Man with Us and God Amongst Us; Conceptual Dilemmas (Docetism; Ebionitism); Truly Human and Truly Divine; Arianism (Salvation; Revelation); Two-Nature Christology; Spirit Christology; Jesus Christ Today; For Further Reading]; 4 The Triune God [Biblical Roots of the Doctrine of the Trinity (Hebrew Scriptures; New Testament); Classical Trinitarian Theology (Irenaeus of Lyon; Tertullian; Council of Nicaea; Athanasius; Cappadocian Fathers; Augustine); The Immanent and the Economic Trinity; False Turns in Trinitarian Theology; Modern Trinitarian Theology (Karl Barth 1886–1968; Karl Rahner 1904–1984); Feminist Concerns About Trinitarian Language; For Further Reading]; 5 Salvation [A Story of Two Sons; Cross of Jesus Christ; Ransom for Sin; Sacrifice; Cross as Victory; A Penalty Paid for Sin?; A Moral Example; Travail of God; Resurrection; For Further Reading]; 6 Christian Hope [Kingdom of God; A New Heaven and a New Earth; Eternal Life; Heaven and Hell; Hope in the Face of Suffering and Evil; Last Judgement and Universal Salvation; Other Religions; Return of Christ; Glory of God; For Further Reading]; 7 A New Community [Ascension and Pentecost; Beginning of the Church; Gift of the Spirit; Preaching of the Good News; Baptism; Lord's Supper; Worship; A Common Life; Forms of Ministry; One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church; For Further Reading]; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.…