The History of Christian Thought: The Fascinating Story of the Great Christian Thinkers and How They Helped Shape the World As We Know It Today

by HILL JONATHAN

• ISBN13: 9780830827763
• ISBN10: 0830827765
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-02-01
• Publisher: Intervarsity Pr

Summary

Why read about the history of Christian thought?Because, if you are Christian yourself, it helps you to understand the faith--addressing everything from where Christians got their ideas of the Trinity and how Christ can be both human and divine to what they think about issues like feminism, globalization and social justice.And because, even if you are not, all Western society has been shaped by the influence of thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas and Luther. You can't understand the world as it is without knowing something about Christian thought.Jonathan Hill has the uncanny ability to sketch portraits of his subjects--whether early church apologists, medieval doctors of the church, Reformation giants, nineteenth-century philosophical behemoths or contemporary feminist scholars--that are simultaneously lively, brief and revealing. Similarly, he ably penetrates to the nub of their thought, combining apt description with pithy quotations from their work.Significant events, councils, movements and terms are introduced and explained, which put the cast of characters in context and illumine their place within the development of Christian thought. Not content to merely describe, Hill offers pertinent assessments that highlight the strengths and weaknesses of his subjects' contributions to Christian thinking and spurs you to reflect on significant issues for yourself.A society with no grasp of its history is like a person without a memory. So Hill, in this lively and accessible introduction, offers you a wealth of insight on the history of Christian thought and the colorful personalities of those who gave it shape and form.

Table of Contents

Introduction	9	(4)
1 THE CHURCH FATHERS	13	(87)
GREEK PHILOSOPHY	13	(3)
JUSTIN MARTYR	16	(7)
Rome	18	(5)
IRENAEUS OF LYONS	23	(9)
Gnosticism	24	(8)
TERTULLIAN	32	(7)
ORIGEN	39	(21)
Alexandria	40	(10)
Neoplatonism	50	(10)
The Conversion of Constantine	60	(1)
ARIANISM	60	(4)
The First Council of Nicaea	62	(2)
ATHANASIUS	64	(5)
Constantinople	66	(3)
THE CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS	69	(8)
The First Council of Constantinople	70	(7)
THE DESERT FATHERS	77	(1)
PELAGIANISM	78	(1)
AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO	79	(13)
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA	92	(8)
The Council of Ephesus	92	(2)
The Council of Chalcedon	94	(6)
2 THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE	100	(24)
BYZANTIUM	100	(1)
PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS	101	(5)
The Second Council of Constantinople	102	(4)
The Third Council of Constantinople	106	(1)
MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR	106	(3)
SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN	109	(5)
The Second Council of Nicaea 11O
The Rise of Islam	112	(2)
THE GREAT SCHISM	114	(1)
GREGORY PALAMAS	115	(7)
Mount Athos	118	(4)
THE THIRD ROME	122	(2)
3 THE MIDDLE AGES	124	(54)
THE DARK AGES	124	(1)
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE	125	(3)
Augustine of Canterbury	126	(2)
ERIGENA	128	(3)
The Monasteries	128	(3)
ANSELM	131	(10)
Feudalism	132	(4)
Chivalry	136	(5)
PETER ABELARD	141	(6)
Paris	142	(5)
THE MENDICANT ORDERS	147	(2)
THOMAS AQUINAS	149	(12)
The Rediscovery of Aristotle	150	(11)
BONAVENTURE	161	(2)
JOHN DUNS SCOTUS	163	(4)
Oxford	164	(3)
MEDIEVAL MYSTICISM	167	(2)
The Inquisition	168	(1)
JOHN WYCLIF	169	(2)
JAN HUS	171	(7)
4 THE REFORMATION	178	(39)
THE RENAISSANCE	178	(3)
MARTIN LUTHER	181	(13)
The Conquistadors	182	(12)
JOHN CALVIN	194	(11)
Geneva	196	(9)
THE LATER REFORMATION	205	(4)
The Council of Trent	206	(3)
PURITANISM	209	(2)
PIETISM	211	(1)
JOHN WESLEY	212	(5)
5 THE MODERN ERA	217	(46)
THE ENLIGHTENMENT	217	(3)
GOTTHOLD LESSING	220	(1)
IMMANUEL KANT	221	(4)
Romanticism	222	(3)
FRIEDRICH SCHLEIERMACHER	225	(15)
Tübingen	226	(14)
SØREN KIERKEGAARD	240	(3)
GEOLOGY AND BIOLOGY	243	(3)
EVANGELICALISM	246	(4)
ALBRECHT RITSCHL	250	(1)
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN	251	(7)
The Oxford Movement	252	(4)
The First Vatican Council	256	(2)
ALBERT SCHWEITZER	258	(5)
6 THE 20TH CENTURY	263	(66)
KARL BARTH	263	(11)
RUDOLF BULTMANN	274	(9)
Existentialism	276	(7)
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER	283	(7)
REINHOLD NIEBUHR	290	(6)
PAUL TILLICH	296	(6)
KARL RAHNER	302	(7)
The Second Vatican Council	304	(5)
PROCESS THEOLOGY	309	(1)
LIBERATION THEOLOGY	310	(2)
Pentecostalism	312	(1)
JÜRGEN MOLTMANN	312	(5)
FEMINIST THEOLOGY	317	(3)
Postmodernism	318	(2)
WOLFHART PANNENBERG	320	(4)
AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY	324	(2)
ASIAN CHRISTIANITY	326	(3)
Epilogue	329	(3)
Glossary	332	(9)
Further Reading	341	(8)
Index	349