Introduction to Christian Theology

Far from being solely an academic enterprise, the practice of theology can pique the interest of anyone who wonders about the meaning of life. This introduction to Christian theology – exploring its basic concepts, confessional content, and history – emphasizes the relevance of the key convictions of Christian faith to the challenges of today's world. Part I introduces the project of Christian theology and sketches the critical context that confronts Christian thought and practice today. Part II offers a survey of the key doctrinal themes of Christian theology, including revelation, the triune God, and the world as creation, identifying their biblical basis and the highlights of their historical development before giving a systematic evaluation of each theme. Part III provides an overview of Christian theology from the early church to the present. Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of An Introduction to Christian Theology includes a range of new visual and pedagogical features, including images, diagrams, tables, and more than eighty text boxes, which call attention to special emphases, observations, and applications to help deepen student engagement.

Richard J. Plantinga is Professor of Religion at Calvin University. He is editor of Christianity and Plurality: Classic and Contemporary Readings (1999) and co-editor of Christianity and Religious Plurality: Historical and Global Perspectives (2016). Thomas R. Thompson is Professor of Religion at Calvin University. He is editor of The One in the Many: Christian Identity in a Multicultural World (1998). Matthew D. Lundberg is Director of the de Vries Institute for Global Faculty Development and Professor of Religion at Calvin University. He is the co-editor of Thinking Theologically about Mass Incarceration (2017) and author of Christian Martyrdom and Christian Violence (2021).