Christianity (eBook)

Alister E. McGrath is Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford. One of the world's leading theologians, he has written numerous critically acclaimed books, including Why God Won't Go Away: Engaging the New Atheism (2011), Darwinism and the Divine: Evolutionary Thought and Natural Theology (Wiley, 2011), and The Intellectual World of C. S. Lewis (Wiley, 2013). He is also the author of some of the most widely used theology textbooks, including the bestselling Christian Theology: An Introduction, now in its fifth edition (Wiley, 2010), Historical Theology: An Introduction (2nd edition; Wiley, 2012), and Theology: The Basics (3rd edition; Wiley, 2011).

Preface xii

List of Illustrations and Maps xiii

Introduction 1

1 Jesus of Nazareth and the Origins of Christianity 3

2 The Christian Bible 28

3 Christian Creeds and Beliefs 54

4 Christian History: An Overview 121

5 Denominations: Contemporary Forms of Christianity 199

6 The Life of Faith: Christianity as a Living Reality 220

7 Christianity and the Shaping of Culture 251

Conclusion: Where Next? 278

Further Reading 280

Sources of Quotations 284

Index 291

Praise for the Previous Edition

Meticulous and memorable, Christianity: An Introduction
(second edition) takes us on a breathtaking journey, and
readers of all kinds will enjoy the ride.Darren J. N. Middleton,
Texas Christian University

The finest text of its kind available. It is
encyclopaedic in scope, reliable and quite accessible to the
non-specialist. In this second edition, an already solid resource
is made even more valuable." David L. Johns, Earlham
School of Religion