Fundamental Theology - 2nd Edition by Matthew L Becker (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Introduces students to Christian theology as an academic discipline"--

Book Synopsis

Encyclopedic in scope, this book offers wide-ranging coverage of the foundational teachings and practices within the mainstream of the classical Christian tradition. It begins with their roots in the Scriptures, and also branches out into Eastern and Western Christianity, ancient, medieval, and modern, to the present-day.

Part I provides an overview of some of these routes, then presents an historical survey of Christianity's major traditions. Part II unpacks some of the character of that revelation, focusing particularly on epistemological and procedural questions. Finally, Part III looks at Christian theology in a university setting: the possibility and shape of theology as a university discipline, its major subfields, and its relations with humanities and the sciences respectively.

Fundamental Theology: A Protestant Perspective, 2nd edition, includes a wide range of pedagogical features:
- each chapter begins with an outline thesis statement, highlighted in bold
- charts and graphs
- relevant headings and subheadings employed throughout the book
- keywords
- provides a survey of pertinent reference literature
- questions for review and discussion
- annotated suggestions for further reading

Review Quotes

Matthew Becker offers college students a crucial book for their study of theology. Fundamental Theology not only provides much of the background material needed to orient students to the study of theology, introducing them to the diversity, practice, and history of Christian traditions, but also provides incisive accounts of basic questions in theology. Becker does this with care to the ecumenical, historical, and present day needs of theological work. Every student can find a place to start and continue the study of theology. In each chapter, Becker does more than summarize or arrange theological positions. He provides important insight while providing connections to the often forgotten theological past. This is the rare book that can play a role on the reference shelf when needed as well as the main text for discussion in an undergraduate theology classroom.
Gregory Walter, St. Olaf College, USA

This work represents the state of the art in systematic theology; it is a major intellectual achievement that responds to all the stronger and many of the weaker challenges with a persuasive and careful method of argumentation, including both exegesis, historical theology and contemporary philosophy of religion. In a mode of traditional and progressive systematics, and always attentive to contemporary debates, Becker moves outside the established lines of conflict on many of the issues by proposing cutting-edge new readings of, and often forgotten interpretive options, to long-standing theological problems. In ecumenical terms, this promising account of Christian thought outshines the simpler but apparently quite tempting and somewhat successful approach of polarization and radical exclusion (religious or otherwise).
Paul Silas Peterson, University of Tubingen, Germany

About the Author

Matthew L. Becker is Professor of Theology at Valparaiso University, USA.