Essentials of Christian Theology

Essentials of Christian Theology Edited by William Placher, 2003.I will not bother reciting an outline of the book's contents, as Mr. ErFurt Messick has already done an admirable job for us. I will add to the five star reviews the opinion that this is a superior source for learning about Christian Theology. I also agree with Mr. Messick that several of the contributors to this book, especially Stanley Grenz (recently departed), Robert Jenson, Sallie McFague, Ted Peters, and Noel Leo Erskine are major names in American writing on Theology. My apologies to the others if I am less familiar with their work.I was especially pleased to see the chapter entitled 'What About Them?' which took a far lively look at the nature of relations between Christian faiths and the other faiths of the world. That a book limited to nine theological topics should include that one is a very nice recommendation for the book. My only problem with the subject in general within Christianity is that it strikes me as being like a conference between Alexander the Great, Caesar Augustus, Hannibal, Gengis Khan, and Cyrus the Great came to a conference in Athens, hosted by Alexander, who seated everyone at a rectangular table with him at the head (maybe King David at the other head), opened the windows so that the sun shined in everyone's eyes but his, and gave himself a highest chair. It seems that, from a scholarly point of view, it is better a topic for Philosophy of Religion than for Theology. After ruminating on that thought for a bit, I still think the Philosophy faculty is better equipped to handle it, but I agree with Placher that it is an issue in which Christians need to place themselves with a reasonable amount of honesty.This one issue is a case study in how I feel about the treatment of Theology in general, in higher education. Another trouble spot is in the area of what one may call 'contextual' theologies, where black African-American women (womanists) have a different theology than South American (liberationist) resistance clerics. I am all in favor of contextual hermeneutics, but those things which go on on either side of hermeneutics, exegesis and theology, seem to be aiming at a single consensus understanding of Christianity and its sources.So there are two topics which fall outside the lines of the way Martin Luther or John Calvin may have imagined theology. And that brings up another point. I find it odd that general introductions to Christian theology are very light on Catholic theology (Carl Rahner does get mentioned now and again) and silent on Eastern Orthodox Christianity (although books on Theosis and Kenosis do seem to be more common lately).Bottom line is that by bringing in 18 different voices on 9 different subjects, Christian Theology is presented in a somewhat more 'crazy quilt' fashion than usual. Placher goes to great lengths to integrate the material. Each pair of essays on each subject has a Placher introduction, but there is little cohesion between the related subjects of Trinity, Christology, and Atonement. I also sometimes find the essays just too short to do their subjects justice. Most of the time, they seem like journal survey articles giving a summary of opinions on the topic.This is more like a 'reader' on theology topics than a coherent text, and for a reader, I prefer the original voices such as Augustine, Basil, Abelard, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Schleiermacher, and Barth. A 'good' book, but not great.

Essentials of Christian Theology was a well written and very well organized book. It provided a good sampling of historical and contemporary theological questions, perspectives and interesting writing styles. Placher kept his views in the mix as well. Systematic Theology is not an easy subject but the diversity of perspectives and tones was helpful. The book provided a good introduction to the subject capable of holding the interest of newbies to the field. I liked the structural arrangement very much which allowed for focus on some primary theological questions and the presentation of the material in a fairly uncomplicated but not overly simplistic manner.The type was easy to see and the layout of the book was also easy on the eye with enough white space to give the mind and the eye adequate rest. The Glossary and Index were indispensible! This book is an important contribution to help students achieve scholastic appreciation of a subject historically made over bearing and unecessarily dense.

This book has a useful dialogical format where two different thinkers with opposing views write essays on difficult topics in Christian theology. Placher summarizes the views fairly in the introduction to a topic, but then lets the authors speak for themselves on these very interesting modern challenges to Christianity.

I am a theology student and love this book. I use on weekly basis

The book arrived faster than I thought it would considering the distance. It arrived in perfect shape at a fair price. I will buy from them again.

Used for my Seminary studies. Great resource.

EXCELLENT ITEM AND TRANSACTION

This book was required reading for a Masters of Theology course. I found the book to be an overall hard read from a comprehension stand point. Placher I can relate to and enjoyed his sweeping introduction for the book as well as his intros and summations for each chapter. However, I seemed to struggle with a number of the invited authors who provided the structure beyond the foundation assembled by Placher. I credit this to their varied beliefs on the particular topics they wrote about and how their beliefs stood apart from either my belief or what I knew to be a common core of the subject matter from recent times and that at the time I undertook this book and course it was very early in my masters program.The nine topics that Placher offers in this book are obviously well thought out subjects that follow deep rooted theological beliefs. I believe that each of the invited participants are standouts in their particular fields and specialties. The format that Placher follows with such a large number of invited guests in this book creates an interwoven tapestry as they are paired together, where you might otherwise expect them to be at direct opposite poles from one another with opposing beliefs and mindsets, they don't present themselves as such. The overall impact that Placher appears to be seeking is to get the reader to think and to realize this is merely a surfacing iceberg of a topic, what cannot yet be seen though is worthy of one's pursuit if you are seriously searching for answers concerning theology.The layout of the questions at the end of each chapter strongly suggests to the student there is more to each of these subjects than can be presented in a single volume such as this book. Following that train of thought, Placher is especially generous in how he provides additional reference points with each chapter, again offering the suggestion that this book merely exposes the tip of the theological iceberg.I will admit the areas where my own beliefs do not match up with one or more of the authors has created reason for me to seek more information from those particular areas, so in a sense this is a good text to create that want or desire to build upon what you might already know or understand. It can even be that stepping stone towards more in-depth focusing towards an area or "sweet spot" that is calling to you, a niche to become a life-long study. As a standalone text this book would be a struggle I believe. But in a classroom environment with a professor portraying the right attitude toward learning this text could be a great jumping off platform that pushes you to explore more.

As advertised happy with my purchase