The Christian Theological Tradition

The fourth edition of The Christian Theological Tradition provides students with essential theological knowledge of key persons and events of the Bible and the Christian faith, and of Christianity's multifaceted encounter with Western culture.

Historically arranged, the textbook addresses major theological themes such as revelation, God, Jesus Christ, Creation, salvation, and the church. The textbook deals with the entire Christian tradition from an orientation that is both Catholic and ecumenical, with the fourth edition including expanded coverage of modern Protestant Christianity. The Christian Theological Tradition has been thoroughly revised and updated with nine new or rewritten chapters, including:

• A new section on the reception of the Second Vatican Council, including the pontificate of Pope Francis.
• A new treatment of contemporary developments in liberation and environmental theology.
• A new examination of the relationship between science and Christianity.
• An entirely rewritten treatment of Islam that focuses on the ways in which the Christian tradition has historically understood and responded to Islam.
• A new discussion of the "New Atheism," with theological responses to this influential movement.

• New textboxes on aspects of religious life, such as liturgy, prayer, art, moral teaching, and social institutions, appropriate to given chapters.

With the assistance of images and maps, key words, and recommended reading, this textbook outlines the methods for Christian theology and demonstrates the relevance of the Christian theological tradition for our contemporary world.

This is an ideal resource for students of theology, biblical studies, or religious studies, and anyone wanting an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the Christian theological tradition.

Mark McInroy received his doctorate from Harvard Divinity School, and after postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge he joined the Theology Department at the University of St. Thomas, USA, where he is Associate Professor of Theology. He is the author of Balthasar on the Spiritual Senses: Perceiving Splendour (2014) for which he received the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise in 2015. In addition to his work on Balthasar, he has published examinations of Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, John Henry Newman, Martin Luther, and Origen of Alexandria in journals such as the International Journal of Systematic Theology, the Scottish Journal of Theology, and Catholica, along with several edited volumes. His current projects include co-editing with Anthony Sciglitano and Cyril O’Regan The Oxford Handbook of Hans Urs von Balthasar (forthcoming), and with C.A. Strine and Alexis Torrance Image as Theology: The Power of Art in Shaping Christian Thought, Devotion, and Imagination (forthcoming). He is presently completing a monograph on the view of deification found in Martin Luther’s mature theology.

Michael J. Hollerich is Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas, USA. His teaching and academic interests include early Christian exegesis, religion and politics/political theology, modern German Catholic history, and Eastern Christianity. He has articles and chapters in books on all these subjects. His books include Eusebius of Caesarea’s Commentary on Isaiah: Christian Exegesis in the Age of Constantine (1999), partial contribution to Isaiah: Interpreted by Early Christian and Medieval Commentators, ed. Robert L. Wilken (2007), and an edition in English of Erik Peterson’s Theological Tractates (2011). He is currently finishing a book on the reception history of the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea.