The History of Christian Thought , by Jonathan Hill (Lion Publishing, Oxford, UK). ISBN 0-7459 5093-0. P/b 352pp, £9.99.
Whatever the state of play in the secularisation versus desecularisation argument (and there is plenty of evidence for both trends these days), it cannot be denied that religion is a topic of increasing interest in the public arena. The climate of war and its uncomfortable links with ‘faith’ has made policy makers, pundits and ordinary people alike stop in their tracks.
Religion in its various forms has shaped the modern world. But how equipped are we, believers or not, to engage with it seriously? Jonathan Hill’s helpful little volume should certainly be a useful potted resource for students, church goers and others who need an understanding of the shape of Christianity – journalists, commentators, researchers and others.
To call a book The History of Christian Thought is a risk on a number of fronts. It is in danger of sounding dryly academic, for one thing. Which in this case it isn’t. That definite article is also a hostage to fortune, not least among reviewers who might be tempted to point out just how much the book doesn’t include as well as how much it does.
In fairness, Hill (a philosopher and theologian now working in publishing and broadcasting) makes no claim to being encyclopaedic. His aim is to give a broad, clear, fair and non-technical overview of Christian thinking throughout the ages; one intended for the general reader. In my opinion he has succeeded in this important but difficult task. For those who want much more depth, the late Adrian Hastings’ Oxford Companion is the one to turn to.
The book’s organisation is straightforward. There are six sections dealing with the Church Fathers (Jonathan Hill is a Patristics specialist), the Byzantine era, the Middle Ages, the Reformation era, the Modern era (from the Enlightenment to so-called Higher Criticism of the Bible) and the twentieth century. An epilogue hinting at the shape of debate to come is perhaps least satisfactory in its sketchiness, but the rest in generally very well crafted.
Hill tells us that he has tried to write in a way that assumes no prior theological learning but which does require general familiarity with the Bible as a whole and the New Testament in particular. His claim seems broadly true. The author describes the evolution of Christian thinking from the Early Church onwards in a way that combines thoughtfulness with a lively narrative and plenty of good (but not obtrusive) humour. In places it reads like a good detective novel. What will happen now? Where will the next twist in the plot surprise us? Where will it all end?
Some will feel that Pentecostalism, recent third world / global south thought, linguistic philosophy and post-modern theology (which is almost wholly absent) deserve greater coverage, but the overall selection is pretty good. And it can be dipped-into as well as read in linear fashion.
The other major omissions are entries on twentieth century missiology and the modern ecumenical movement. The Radical Reformation is also overlooked bar one passing reference. And Modern Roman Catholic thought is dealt with well, but perhaps too briefly. There are also some inevitable small mistakes – Jurgen Moltmann’s The Crucified God is wrongly described as his first work on page 342, though it is correctly located on page 308, for example. But in the broad sweep of this book these are not major objections. Hill is especially strong and clear on Patristic and Orthodox thought.
Read the full review here:
Discussion
Comments are disallowed for this post.
Comments are closed.