Christian Theology (6^th Ed.)
An Introduction

“The genius of Alister E. McGrath is his remarkable ability to write in a clear, concise, and lucid manner that draws both teachers and students to participate with the great thinkers of the Christian tradition, past and present. Education and illumination are the abundant fruits of this massive, well-organized text, which is sure to appeal to a wide range of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox audiences. For this we are indebted to the author.”
Dennis Ngien,Professor of Systematic Theology, Tyndale University College and Seminary, Toronto, Canada

“For sheer comprehensiveness, clarity, and coherence, Alister McGrath has produced the definitive textbook. Always accurate and engaging, students are gently introduced to the gift of Theology in a memorable way.”
Ian S. Markham,Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary

Praise for the fifth edition

“Alister McGrath has proven himself a master at engagingly and simply introducing Christian theology in all of its contested complexity. All who work at the critical appropriation of the theological tradition stand in debt to McGrath.”
M. Douglas Meeks,Cal Turner Chancellor Professor of Theology and Wesleyan Studies, Vanderbilt University Divinity School

Now celebrating its 25th year of publication, Christian Theology is one of the most internationally acclaimed textbooks in this area today. Completely rewritten for the sixth edition, it remains the ideal introduction to the beliefs and interpretation of Christianity. It is specifically designed for students with no prior knowledge, presenting the primary themes and debates of Christian theology with clarity and historical context.

This new edition retains all the elements that have made it so successful while also including significant additions and developments. There is an increased discussion of contemporary theology to complement the excellent coverage of historical material. Important new information has also been added, in areas such as the Holy Spirit, contemporary non-Western theologies, and feminist voices in Christian theology. The text is rich in pedagogy to encourage student learning, featuring a two colour design, glossary, end-of-chapter discussion questions, and much more. Written by renowned theologian Alister E. McGrath, this classic text is a clear, lively and concise introduction that provides instructors with the tools they need to engage with their students on Christian theology.

List of Illustrations xxi

Preface xxiii

To the Student: How to Use This Book xxvii

To the Teacher: How to Use This Book xxix

The Structure of the Book: The Fifth and Sixth Editions Compared xxxiii

Video and Audio Resources xxxv

Part I Landmarks: Periods, Themes, and Personalities of Christian Theology 1

Introduction 3

1 The Patristic Period, c.100–c.700 5

The Early Centers of Theological Activity 5

An Overview of the Patristic Period 7

A clarification of terms 8

The theological agenda of the period 8

Key Theologians 10

Justin Martyr (c.100–c.165) 10

Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130–c.202) 10

Tertullian (c.160–c.220) 10

Origen (c.185–c.254) 10

Cyprian of Carthage (died 258) 11

Athanasius (c.293–373) 11

The Cappadocian fathers 11

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) 11

Key Theological Debates and Developments 12

The extent of the New Testament canon 12

The role of tradition: the Gnostic controversies 13

The fixing of the ecumenical creeds 14

The two natures of Jesus Christ: the Arian controversy 15

The doctrine of the Trinity 17

The doctrine of the church: the Donatist controversy 18

The doctrine of grace: the Pelagian controversy 18

Key Names, Words, and Phrases 19

Questions for Chapter 1 19

2 The Middle Ages and the Renaissance, c.700–c.1500 21

On Defining the “Middle Ages” 22

Theological Landmarks in Western Europe 24

The rise of medieval schools of theology 24

The founding of the universities 25

A theological textbook: the Four Books of the Sentences 26

“Cathedrals of the Mind”: scholasticism 26

The Italian Renaissance and the rise of humanism 26

Byzantine Theology: Major Themes 27

Key Theologians 29

John of Damascus (c.676–749) 29

Simeon the New Theologian (949–1022) 30

Anselm of Canterbury (c.1033–1109) 30

Thomas Aquinas (c.1225–74) 31

Duns Scotus (c.1266–1308) 32

William of Ockham (c.1285–1347) 32

Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466–1536) 33

Key Theological Debates and Developments 34

The consolidation of the patristic heritage 34

The exploration of the role of reason in theology 34

Scholasticism: the development of theological systems 35

The development of sacramental theology 35

The development of the theology of grace 35

The role of Mary in the scheme of salvation 36

The Renaissance: returning to the original sources of theology 36

Key Names, Words, and Phrases 37

Questions for Chapter 2 37

3 The Age of Reformation, c.1500–c.1750 38

The Main Movements of the Age of Reformation 38

The German Reformation: Lutheranism 39

The Swiss Reformation: the Reformed church 40

The radical Reformation: Anabaptism 41

The English Reformation: Anglicanism 42

The Catholic Reformation 42

The Second Reformation: confessionalization 43

Post-Reformation Movements 43

The consolidation of Catholicism 44

Puritanism 44

Pietism 45

The Copernican and Galilean Controversies 46

Key Theologians 47

Martin Luther (1483–1546) 47

Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) 48

John Calvin (1509–64) 48

Teresa of Avilà (1515–82) 48

Theodore Beza (1519–1605) 49

Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) 49

Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) 49

Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) 49

Key Theological Debates and Developments 49

The sources of theology 50

The doctrine of grace 50

The doctrine of the sacraments 51

The doctrine of the church 51

Developments in Theological Literature 51

Catechisms 52

Confessions of faith 52

Works of systematic theology 53

Key Names, Words, and Phrases 55

Questions for Chapter 3 56

4 The Modern Period, c.1750 to the Present 57

Theology and Cultural Developments in the West 57

The wars of religion and disinterest in religion 58

The rise of the Enlightenment 58

The Enlightenment critique of Christian theology: some case studies 59

Marxism: an intellectual rival to Christianity 61

Darwinism: a new theory of human origins 62

The First World War: a theology of crisis 62

Postmodernism: beyond the modern theological agenda 63

Globalization: world Christianity and world religions 65

Key Theologians 67

F. D. E. Schleiermacher (1768–1834) 67

John Henry Newman (1801–90) 67

Karl Barth (1886–1968) 68

Paul Tillich (1886–1965) 68

Karl Rahner (1904–84) 68

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–88) 69

Jürgen Moltmann (born 1926) 69

Wolfhart Pannenberg (1928–2014) 69

Major Modern Theological Movements 70

Liberal Protestantism 70

Modernism 71

Neo-orthodoxy 72

Liberation theologies 74

Feminism 75

Black and “womanist” theology 77

Postliberalism 78

Radical orthodoxy 79

Key Names, Words, and Phrases 80

Questions for Chapter 4 80

Part II Sources and Methods 81

5 Getting Started: Preliminaries 83

What is Faith? 83

Defining Theology 85

A working definition of theology 85

The historical development of the idea of theology 86

The development of theology as an academic discipline 87

The Architecture of Theology 89

Biblical studies 89

Systematic theology 89

Philosophical theology 90

Historical theology 91

Practical, or pastoral, theology 92

Spirituality, or mystical theology 93

Apologetics 94

The Question of Prolegomena 94

Commitment and Neutrality in Theology 95

Orthodoxy and Heresy 97

Historical aspects 97

Theological aspects 98

The Theology of the Relationship Between Christianity and Secular Culture 99

Justin Martyr (c.100–c.165) 99

Tertullian (c.160–c.220) 100

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) 100

The twentieth century: H. Richard Niebuhr (1894–1962) 102

Questions for Chapter 5 103

6 The Sources of Theology 104

Scripture 104

The Old Testament 105

The New Testament 105

Other works: deutero-canonical and apocryphal writings 107

The relationship between the Old and New Testaments 109

The canon of Scripture: historical and theological issues 111

The Word of God 112

Narrative theology 113

Methods of interpretation of Scripture 115

Theories of the inspiration of Scripture 120

Tradition 122

A single-source theory of tradition 125

A dual-source theory of tradition 125

The total rejection of tradition 126

Theology and worship: the importance of liturgical tradition 126

Reason 127

Reason and revelation: three models 127

Enlightenment rationalism 129

Criticisms of Enlightenment rationalism 130

Religious Experience 130

Experience as the basis of Christian theology 131

Theology connects with human experience 132

Theology as the interpreter of human experience 132

God as a misinterpretation of human experience 133

Questions for Chapter 6 134

7 Knowledge of God: Natural and Revealed 135

The Idea of Revelation 136

Models of Revelation 137

Revelation as doctrine 137

Revelation as presence 138

Revelation as experience 139

Revelation as history 140

Natural Theology: Its Scope and Limits 141

Thomas Aquinas (c.1225–74) on natural theology 142

John Calvin (1509–64) on natural theology 143

The Renaissance: God’s two books 144

Eastern Orthodoxy on natural theology 145

The Barth–Brunner debate (1934) 146

Approaches to Discerning God in Nature 147

Human reason 147

The ordering of the world 147

The beauty of the world 148

The Natural Sciences and Christian Theology: Models of Interaction 148

Warfare: the “conflict” thesis 149

Isolation: the “non-overlapping” thesis 150

Enrichment: the complementarity thesis 150

Questions for Chapter 7 151

8 Philosophy and Theology: Dialogue and Debate 152

Philosophy and Theology: The Notion of the “Handmaid” 153

Can God’s Existence Be Proved? Four Approaches 155

The ontological argument of Anselm of Canterbury (c.1033–1109) 156

The “Five Ways” of Thomas Aquinas (c.1225–74) 158

The kalam argument 160

A classic argument from design: William Paley (1743–1805) 161

The Nature of Theological Language 163

Does theological language refer to anything? 164

Apophatic and kataphatic approaches 164

Questions for Chapter 8 171

Part III Christian Theology 173

9 The Doctrine of God 175

Is God Male? 175

A Personal God 177

Defining “person” 178

Dialogical personalism: Martin Buber (1878–1965) 179

Can God Suffer? 181

The classical view: the impassibility of God 182

The twentieth century: a paradigm shift? 183

A suffering God: Jürgen Moltmann (born 1926) 184

The death of God? 185

The Omnipotence of God 187

Defining omnipotence 187

The two powers of God 188

The notion of divine self-limitation 189

God’s Action in the World 190

“Special” and “general” divine action 190

Deism: God acts through the laws of nature 191

Thomism: God acts through secondary causes 192

Process theology: God acts through persuasion 193

God as Creator 194

Development of the doctrine of creation 194

Creation and the rejection of dualism 196

The doctrine of creation of Augustine of Hippo (354–430) 197

The doctrine of creation ex nihilo 198

Implications of the doctrine of creation 199

Models of God as creator 200

Creation and Christian approaches to ecology 201

Theodicies: The Problem of Evil 202

Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130–c.202) 203

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) 203

Karl Barth (1886–1968) 204

Alvin Plantinga (born 1932) 205

Other recent contributions 205

Questions for Chapter 9 206

10 The Person of Jesus Christ 207

The Place of Jesus Christ in Christian Theology 208

Jesus Christ is the historical point of departure for Christianity 208

Jesus Christ reveals God 208

Jesus Christ is the bearer of salvation 209

Jesus Christ defines the shape of the redeemed life 209

New Testament Christological Titles 209

Messiah 209

Son of God 210

Son of Man 211

Lord 211

Savior 212

God 213

The Patristic Debate Over the Person of Christ 214

Early explorations: Ebionitism and Docetism 214

Justin Martyr (c.100–c.165): the Logos Christology 216

Arius (c.260–336): Jesus Christ as “supreme among the creatures” 217

Athanasius (c.293–373): Jesus Christ as God incarnate 218

The Alexandrian school: Apollinarianism and its critics 220

The Antiochene school: Theodore of Mopsuestia (c.350–428) 221

The “communication of attributes” 223

The Council of Chalcedon (451) 224

Medieval Christology: The Relationship Between the Incarnation and the Fall 224

The Relationship Between the Person and Work of Christ 225

Christological Models: Classical and Contemporary 227

The substantial presence of God in Christ 227

Christ as mediator between God and humanity 229

The revelational presence of God in Christ 230

Christ as a symbolic presence of God 231

Christ as the bearer of the Holy Spirit 232

Christ as the example of a godly life 233

Christ as a hero 234

Kenotic approaches to Christology 235

The Quest for the Historical Jesus 236

The original quest for the historical Jesus 237

The quest for the religious personality of Jesus 237

The critique of the quest, 1890–1910 238

The quest suspended: Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976) 239

The new quest for the historical Jesus 240

The third quest for the historical Jesus 241

The Resurrection of Christ: History and Interpretation 242

The Enlightenment: resurrection as nonevent 242

David Friedrich Strauss (1808–74): resurrection as myth 242

Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976): resurrection as an event in the experience of the disciples 243

Karl Barth (1886–1968): resurrection as an historical event beyond critical inquiry 243

Wolfhart Pannenberg (1928–2014): resurrection as an historical event open to critical inquiry 244

Questions for Chapter 10 245

11 The Nature and Basis of Salvation 246

Christian Approaches to Salvation 248

Salvation is linked with Jesus Christ 248

Salvation is shaped by Jesus Christ 249

The eschatological dimension of salvation 250

The Foundations of Salvation: The Cross of Christ 251

The cross as a sacrifice 251

The cross as a victory 255

The cross and forgiveness 259

The cross as a demonstration of God’s love 264

Violence and the cross: the theory of René Girard (1923–2015) 268

“Can a Male Savior Save Women?” Feminists on Atonement 269

Models of Salvation in Christ: Classical and Contemporary 270

Some Pauline images of salvation 270

Deification: being made divine 271

Righteousness in the sight of God 272

Personal holiness 273

Authentic human existence 273

Political liberation 274

Spiritual freedom 274

The Appropriation of Salvation in Christ 275

The church as the means of salvation 275

Christ as a representative 276

Participation in Christ 276

Christ as a substitute 277

The Scope of Salvation in Christ 277

Universalism: all will be saved 277

Only believers will be saved 278

Particular redemption: only the elect will be saved 278

Questions for Chapter 11 279

12 The Holy Spirit 280

The Biblical Witness 280

The Patristic Period 281

Early patristic reflections: Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130–c.202) 282

Athanasius (c.293–373): the debate over the divinity of the Holy Spirit 282

The Council of Constantinople (381) 284

Augustine of Hippo (354–430): the spirit as a bond of unity 285

Symbols of the Spirit: a dove, fire, and oil 285

The Filioque Controversy 287

The Holy Spirit: Recent Discussions 290

The Great Awakening: Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) 290

The Second Vatican Council on the Holy Spirit 291

Liberation theology: the Spirit and empowerment 292

Feminism: the Spirit and relationality 293

The Functions of the Spirit 294

God’s active presence in the world 295

The illumination of revelation 295

The appropriation of salvation 296

The renewal of the Christian life 297

Questions for Chapter 12 298

13 The Trinity 299

Approaching the Christian Doctrine of the Trinity 299

The apparent illogicality of the doctrine 299

The Trinity as a statement about Jesus Christ 301

The Trinity as a statement about the Christian God 301

Islamic critiques of the doctrine of the Trinity 301

The Biblical Foundations of the Doctrine of the Trinity 302

The Historical Development of the Doctrine 303

The emergence of the trinitarian vocabulary 304

The emergence of trinitarian concepts 304

Rationalist critiques of trinitarianism: the eclipse of the Trinity, 1700–1900 306

The problem of visualization: analogies of the Trinity 307

“Economic” and “essential” approaches to the Trinity 308

Two Trinitarian Heresies 308

Modalism: chronological and functional 308

Tritheism 310

The Trinity: Six Classic and Contemporary Approaches 311

The Cappadocian fathers 311

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) 312

Karl Barth (1886–1968) 313

Karl Rahner (1904–84) 315

John Macquarrie (1919–2007) 316

Robert Jenson (born 1930) 317

Some Discussions of the Trinity in Recent Theology 318

F. D. E. Schleiermacher (1768–1834) on the dogmatic location of the Trinity 318

Jürgen Moltmann (born 1926) on the social Trinity 319

Eberhard Jüngel (born 1934) on the Trinity and metaphysics 320

Catherine Mowry LaCugna (1952–97) on the Trinity and salvation 321

Sarah Coakley (born 1951) on feminism and the Trinity 321

The Trinitarian Renaissance: Some Examples 323

A trinitarian theology of mission 323

A trinitarian theology of worship 324

A trinitarian theology of atonement 324

A trinitarian ecclesiology 325

Questions for Chapter 13 326

14 Human Nature, Sin, and Grace 327

The Place of Humanity Within Creation: Early Reflections 327

The image of God 327

The concept of sin 329

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) and the Pelagian Controversy 330

The “freedom of the will” 330

The nature of sin 331

The nature of grace 332

The basis of salvation 333

The Medieval Synthesis of the Doctrine of Grace 334

The Augustinian legacy 334

The medieval distinction between actual and habitual grace 335

The late medieval critique of habitual grace 336

The medieval debate over the nature and grounds of merit 336

The Reformation Debates over the Doctrine of Grace 337

From “salvation by grace” to “justification by faith” 337

The theological breakthrough of Martin Luther (1483–1546) 338

Luther on justifying faith 339

The concept of forensic justification 339

John Calvin (1509–64) on justification 341

The Council of Trent on justification 341

The Doctrine of Predestination 344

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) 344

Catholic debates: Thomism, Molinism, and Jansenism 345

Protestant debates: Calvinism and Arminianism 346

Karl Barth (1886–1968) 348

Predestination and economics: the Weber thesis 349

The Darwinian Controversy and the Nature of Humanity 350

Young-earth creationism 351

Old-earth creationism 351

Intelligent design 351

Evolutionary theism 352

Questions for Chapter 14 353

15 The Church 354

Biblical Models of the Church 354

The Old Testament 354

The New Testament 355

The Early Development of Ecclesiology 356

The Donatist Controversy 358

Early Protestant Doctrines of the Church 360

Martin Luther (1483–1546) 360

John Calvin (1509–64) 361

The radical Reformation 363

Christ and the Church: Some Twentieth-Century Themes 364

Christ is present sacramentally 364

Christ is present through the word 366

Christ is present through the Spirit 367

The Second Vatican Council on the Church 367

The church as communion 368

The church as the people of God 369

The church as a charismatic community 369

The “Notes” of the Church 370

One 370

Holy 373

Catholic 374

Apostolic 377

Priesthood and Ministry: Some Major Themes 378

Questions for Chapter 15 380

16 The Sacraments 381

The Early Development of Sacramental Theology 382

The Definition of a Sacrament 383

The Donatist Controversy: Sacramental Efficacy 386

The Multiple Functions of the Sacraments 388

Sacraments convey grace 388

Sacraments strengthen faith 389

Sacraments enhance unity and commitment within the church 390

Sacraments reassure us of God’s promises toward us 391

A case study in complexity: the functions of the Eucharist 392

The Eucharist: The Question of the Real Presence 395

The ninth-century debates over the real presence 395

Medieval views on the relationship between “sign” and “sacrament” 396

Transubstantiation 397

Transignification and transfinalization 399

Consubstantiation 400

A real absence: memorialism 400

The Debate Concerning Infant Baptism 401

Infant baptism remits the guilt of original sin 402

Infant baptism is grounded in God’s covenant with the church 403

Infant baptism is unjustified 403

Questions for Chapter 16 404

17 Christianity and the World Religions 405

Western Pluralism and the Question of Other Religions 406

The detached approach 407

The committed approach 407

Approaches to Religions 407

The Enlightenment: religions as a corruption of the original religion of nature 408

Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–72): religion as an objectification of human feeling 409

Karl Marx: religion as the product of socioeconomic alienation 410

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939): religion as wish fulfillment 411

Emile Durkheim (1858–1917): religion and ritual 412

Mircea Eliade (1907–86): religion and the sacred 413

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) and C. S. Lewis (1898–1963): religion as myth 413

Karl Barth (1886–1968) and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–45): religion as a human invention 414

Trinitarian theologies of religion 416

Christian Approaches to Other Religions 416

Exclusivism 417

Inclusivism 419

Pluralism 422

Questions for Chapter 17 425

18 Last Things: The Christian Hope 426

Developments in the Doctrine of the Last Things 427

The New Testament 427

Early Christianity and Roman beliefs about reunion after death 428

Augustine of Hippo (354–430): the two cities 429

Joachim of Fiore (c.1132–1202): the three ages 430

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321): the Divine Comedy 430

The Enlightenment: eschatology as superstition 432

The twentieth century: the rediscovery of eschatology 432

Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976): the demythologization of eschatology 433

Jürgen Moltmann (born 1926): the theology of hope 434

Helmut Thielicke (1908–86): ethics and eschatology 435

Dispensationalism: the structures of eschatology 436

Spe salvi: Benedict XVI (born 1927) on the Christian hope 437

N. T. Wright (born 1948) on (not) going to heaven 438

The Last Things 439

Hell 439

Purgatory 441

The millennium 442

Heaven 443

Questions for Chapter 18 446

Jargon-Busting: A Glossary of Theological Terms 449

Sources of Citations 456

Acknowledgments 465

Index 466

ALISTER E. McGRATH is currently Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford; he was previously Professor of Theology and Education at King’s College, London. He is regarded as one of the world’s leading Protestant theologians and is the author of some of the world’s most widely used theological textbooks, including the bestselling The Christian Theology Reader (5th edition, Wiley Blackwell, 2016), Christianity (Wiley Blackwell, 2015), and Science and Religion (Wiley Blackwell, 2010). He is in constant demand as a speaker at conferences throughout the world.