A History of Christian Thought Volume III: From the Protestant Reformation to the Twentieth Century

by Justo L. González

Book Overview

A treatment of the evolution of Christian thought from the birth of Christ, to the Apostles, to the early church, to the great flowering of Christianity across the world. The final volume begins with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0687171849
• ISBN13: 9780687171842
• Release Date: July 1987
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Length: 498 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Survey Christian Thought post Reformation

I have not read the first two volumes. I did not find this a disadvantage in my understanding or enjoyment of this book. This book covers a wide scope of theology starting with the Reformation and Martin Luther. The reformation influenced all Christian thought but the author takes great pains to make sure it is not the thesis of the book or to compare all thoughts to Luther or the Roman Catholic Church. Ulrich Zwingli is discussed before Calvinism is brought up. Anabaptism and the Radical Reformation are even discussed before Calvin. The forty pages in the work devoted to Calvin and his contribution to Christian Theology is very well written; But so the chapter on The British Reformation, the chapter in the Catholic reformation, theology of Lutheran Orthodoxy (post Martin Luther) Reform Theology after Calvin. I enjoyed reading the authors thoughts on Locke, Hume and Kant. The author discussed the development of Liberal theology. This is all well and good except for the point that the author did not see fit to have any thoughts on those who oppose liberal theology. Which do seem to have major followers to this day? I would think are major contributors to Christian thought. I still highly recommend this book.

What is "Christian Thought"?

I would disagree with the previous reviewer that this book does wrong when it devotes one chapter (entitled The Changing Philosophical Setting) to the philosophy that shaped 18th century theology. The fact is that Kant's philosophy very profoundly affected Christian THOUGHT both in his own time and to this very day.The book is not entitled "A History of Christianity" but rather "A History of Christian Thought" I dare say that Kant's philosophy had a much greater influence on Christian thought than the Great Awakening did. Certainly the Great Awakening was very important to American Christianity and produced some very great preachers, but its impact on Christian thought was not so great, which is why I believe Gonzalez did not spend as much time on it.Indeed, it is impossible to understand the liberal theology that came after Kant without an understanding of Kant himself, just like it is impossible to understand great literature without the historical setting. I would say that in a book of this size, 7 pages devoted to such an important philosopher/theologian as Kant is not at all overdone.Overall, I find Gonzalez' account generally accurate and well-written. If you are looking for a good overview of how Christian thought changed from the Reformation to modern times, this is it. If you are looking for a general history of Christianity from the Reformation to modern times, look elsewhere (and for much larger book(s)).