Key Thinkers in Christianity

Who were the key Christian thinkers of the last 2,000 years? What impact have they had and do they continue to have on the thoughts and musings of modern-day Christian thinkers and philosophers? Key Thinkers in Christianity introduces some of the most brilliant minds we have known and shows the capacity of their ideas to endure the test of time and shape the way philosophy and Christianity have developed throughout history.

The twenty-three chapters that make up this collection have been written by distinguished theologians and church historians from both sides of the Atlantic, themselves all Christian thinkers. All twenty-three thinkers in this volume, despite living in different times and within different traditions, shared a common desire to find a truth to the meaning of man's existence. From Origen (2nd century AD) to Hans Urs von Balthasar (20th century) this book takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the minds of some of the world's greatest Christian theologians.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192802798
• ISBN13: 9780192802798
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Informative

This book was very helpful to someone like me who has not done much study in Church history or in philosophy. The authors do a good job of summarizing the lives and thoughts of some of the most influential men in Western Civilization. They have not only had an influence on Christians, but also on the culture at large. Even someone who is not a Christian would benefit from reading this little book in order to better understand where Western culture comes from and why it is the way it is. I especially enjoyed getting to know men like Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, and Agustine. After reading this book, I went on to read a bit of what they wrote, since all of their works can be found online. Agustine was possibly the greatest, IMO. He was the one who stood firm against Pelagianism, influencing many centuries later men like Luther and Calvin. In that way, he was one of the inspirations for the Protestant Reformation. I purchased the Confessions of Agustine in audiobook form. He was an incredible man. I enjoyed learning about many other men and their theology and philosophy, too. Not all of them who came after Kant had a positive influence on the church, but it is good to know who these men and their ideas were. They were all very controversial, and continue to be. I think that Francis Schaeffer and Van Til should have been included.

Very informative, but somewhat chilly

This compact and useful book is a very good introduction to some of the seminal Christian theologians and philosophers. I have no particular quarrel with the "key thinkers" selected, or those left out. But I found some of the articles to be quite dry and unengaging. One of the most important tasks of an introductory text is to inspire some enthusiasm for the subject, and this book succeeds in this only part of the time. For example, the piece on Augustine inspired me to read more by and about him, but the article on Aquinas did not have that effect. Recommended to those who already have an interest in the topic; others may find it somewhat stiff.

Helpful guide to some Christian thinkers

I am enjoying reading this book, and have learnt quite a lot about some of the important Christian teachers and writers of the past 20 centuries.The book deals fairly with each person covered, and majors on the positive contributions of each, while still mentioning negative aspects.The major disappointment for this evangelical[hence the 4 stars] is that from the Nineteenth Century on, the people treated do not, in the main, come from the mainstream of Christian life. It is interesting to read about Kant and Schleiermacher, about Hegel, Kierkegaard, Bultmann and Tillich, but are there no interesting Christian leaders in the past 200 years with orthodox Christian views?Well worth reading, but for a more balanced view of the past 200 years, you will need to supplement the book with a less scholarly book like Geoffrey Hanks' 70 Great Christians.