This book offers a fresh and up-to-date introduction to modern Christian theology. The ‘long nineteenth century’ saw enormous transformations of theology, and of thought about religion, that shaped the way both Christianity and ‘religion’ are understood today. Muers and Higton provide a lucid guide to the development of theology since 1789, giving students a critical understanding of their own ‘modern’ assumptions, of the origins of the debates and the fields of study in which they are involved, and of major modern thinkers.
Modern Theology:
- introduces the context and work of a selection of major nineteenth-century thinkers who decisively affected the shape of modern theology
- presents key debates and issues that have their roots in the nineteenth century but are also central to the study of twentieth- and twenty-first-century theology
- includes exercises and study materials that explicitly focus on the development of core academic skills.
This valuable resource also contains a glossary, timeline, annotated bibliographies and illustrations.
1. Introduction – What is Modernity? 2. Historical Introduction – Approaching the Revolution Section A: Key Thinkers Section Introduction 3. Immanuel Kant 4. Friedrich Schleiermacher 5. G.W.F. Hegel 6. Søren Kierkegaard 7. Friedrich Nietzsche 8. Charles Hodge and Horace Bushnell 9. Nineteenth-Century Voices Section B: Key Themes Section Introduction 10. Reading the Bible 11. Religion and Science 12. Reclaiming Christian Tradition 13. Confronting Evil 14. Feminism and Theology 15. Liberating Theology 16. Christianity Among the Religions 17. Becoming Postmodern. Glossary. Timeline
Biography
Rachel Muers is Senior Lecturer in Christian Studies at the University of Leeds, UK. Her recent books include Theology on the Menu with David Grumett (Routledge, 2010).
Mike Higton is Academic Co-Director of the Cambridge Inter-faith Programme and Senior Lecturer in Theology at the University of Exeter, UK. His recent books include A Theology of Higher Education (OUP, 2012).
"Muers and Higton have managed to write a textbook that is both astoundingly comprehensive and thoroughly engaging. Often teachers of modern Christian thought feel the need to choose between historical context and theological content. With its artful juxtaposition of explanation, analysis, and reflection, Modern Theology manages to combine both without sacrificing the integrity of either. Not only will this book prove an invaluable asset in the classroom, but it is one of those all-too-rare texts that students will continue to consult long after the term has ended." - Ian A. McFarland, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, USA
"Lucid, readable and reliable-- students of modern theology will find this an enormously useful guide." - Karen Kilby, University of Nottingham, UK
