Divine Teaching: An Introduction to Christian Theology

iDivine Teaching: An Introduction to Christian Theology/i is an imaginative and lively analysis of the Christian way of thinking, offering vivid and informing insight into the history and practice of Christian theology.brulbrliAn innovative textbook offering a complete and dedicated guide to understanding Christian theology brliOffers a lively exploration of the fundamentals of Christian belief, but also shows how and why these beliefs arose, providing the reader with an understanding of theological reflection which enables them to think theologically themselves brliQuestions how the major thinkers in the Christian tradition and faith communities shaped theology through a wide variety of thoughts and experiences of the world brliDesigned to make the study of theology exciting and interactive; not necessarily requiring a faith commitment but allowing the reader a thinking involvement in the subject./li/ulPreface.pbPart I: Becoming a Theologian/b.p1. How God makes Theologians.pAstonishment and Theological Virtue.pResurrection to Pentecost: Where Christian Theology Begins.pBut Can You Study Theology without Having to Believe?.p2. Strange Calling: Theologians as Adventurers, Pirates, Mystics, and Sages.pAdventure: Continuing Conversion of the Theologian.pPiracy: Thinking Analogically.pMystical Life: Interpreting Reality in Terms of God.pWisdom: Thinking by Means of God's Thoughts.p3. Divine Teaching and Christian Beliefs.pTheology's Weakness and Wisdom's Parting Gift.pSacred Teaching: The Nature and Function of Christian Beliefs.pVisions of the Whole: Origen, Aquinas, and Barth.pHow Not to Believe: The Dangers of Fantasy and Fanaticism.pbPart II: Theology's Search for Understanding.p/b4. Salvation: The Foundation of Christian Theology.pORIENTATION.pWhy Start with Salvation?.pSalvation as the Basis for Christian Theology.pIdentifying Different Approaches to the Mystery o