The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform

Having studied in Bible college, and now teaching in one, it is the experience of many students and I, that theology makes better sense when set in a historical context, and told in a narrative form. Olson ought to be congratulated and highly commended for doing just that in this book. It is no mean feat to tell the story of twenty centuries of theology in an interesting, insightful, and informative manner: capturing sufficient details of key Christian doctrines, yet without being tedious; presenting and discussing major disagreements, yet without being sectarian. Olson's genius is shown in both the breadth and depth of the topics covered. All the major theological doctrines and issues through the twenty centuries are covered - from Christology to Trinitarian theology, Socinianism to Calvinism, Liberal to Fundamental. All the major figures were as well: from Athanasius to Luther to Zinzendorf. I enjoyed most his treatment of the rise and decline of liberal theology, where he demonstrated his depth of understanding through linking its pedigree back to Schleiermacher, Kant, and Spinoza. In his effort to be even and fair, there sure will be some readers who would quibble with perceived lack of clarity in some cherished doctrine or tradition, or particular Christian era. Some may even protest the focus on human action, at the expense it seems of God's. Would these excise the book of Esther from the Bible for its lack of the word "God"? I commend this book to lecturers and students of theology and church history. I believe this book will greatly open Christian theology to a wider audience, further enquiry, and greater appreciation for Christ.

I had the opportunity not only to read this book, but to also take a class with Dr. Olson. So naturally, this review will have a slant. I thought the book was great and unique for its kind. There are not that many books which tie history and theology together. The big theme of his book is that each movement in theology was an attempt to reform Christianity which is why it tends to be more favorable to heresies than what most people are used to reading. In class, he encouraged us to have the freedom to disagree with him and his book. In no way does he believe that he has all the truth. I would not completely dismiss Dr. Olson just because of what others have said. I would rocommend you to read him and then make a decision for yourself.

In this 656 page book, Olson has definitely written a story that is accessible to everyone. He writes the history of theology as a story - the story of religious ancestors who have, whether we realize it or not, impacted modern day Christians greatly. Olson covers the story of theology from the early apostolic fathers to modern neo-orthodoxy in 9 sections. He does not go into great detail concerning every point of church history, but limits himself to those aspects of the history of the church that have influenced Christian theology. He usually withholds his own critique of certain theologies, but when he does not, they are well placed and considerate. At the end of the book are both a name and subject index along with footnotes witnessing to the fact that the book is well documented. Theological jargon is not used except when it has been previously explained. My only critique is that Olson tends to avoid admitting the extent to which theology has been influenced by philosophy, but I would heartily recommend this book to anyone.

Olson's book is easily the most thoughtful and insightful overview to the history of Christian theology that I've read. Compared to the other similar books in my library, it's much more approachable, but even so, it provided a number of insights into the reasons behind the debates that I had never considered before.I've been reading more history lately, and if they weren't so annoying, I would've laughed at some of the books and what they try to do. I recently finished _A Brief History of Ireland_, and found myself extremely frustrated at the author: he would refer to various events that I'd never heard of with a phrase like, "As everyone knows," or "The well known story of 'x'", or sometimes just with a wave of his literary hand -- and then would never bother to explain precisely what it is that everyone supposedly knows. He apparently forgot that the reason someone would be reading a brief history of Ireland -- as opposed to academic journals about Irish history -- is because they don't know anything about it! Good books on history -- at least, good books for the general reader -- just tell the story. Thomas Cahill is the perfect example: he doesn't always get every last detail right, and he sometimes skips over huge opposing viewpoints with barely an acknowledgement of their existence, but he has one gift, and a solid one: he can tell a story.That's one of the primary reasons why I appreciated Olson's book so much: he just tells the story. He explains the theology, but also explains why it was important. I had a year of church history in seminary, but I guess I never quite grasped how external forces -- i.e., responding to critics like Celsus -- played their role in the development of trinitarian and christological dogma. Or why Aquinas' solution to the problem of religious language was such a profound one. Or why Arminius deserves to be taken seriously as a theologian in his own right. Or how profoundly Karl Barth has affected 20th century theology. I've been this inspired by only a few previous works on theology (Richard Muller's _The Study of Theology_, and Richard Hays' _The Moral Vision of the New Testament_ come to mind).

For the serious student of theology this book is a must. It begins with the early fathers and their theological views and works onward toward the twentieth century. It traces the development of theological thought from one generation to another with the highlights of that class of theology having the greatest impact per period. The story goes from the apostolic fathers and the church council, to the conflict between the Antiochians and the Alexandrians, to the monogerism of Augustine contrasted with the synergism before and after him, to the scholasticism of Aquinas, to the Reformers who attempted to get back to the purity of Scripture and the early church, to the Arminians, Pietists, Puritans, to the liberal theology of the 19th century followed by the modern fundamentalism and Neo-Orthodoxy. The reader is given an in-depth panorama of the significant history of theology.The one drawback of the book is that an unabridged dictionary is a useful tool to navigate some of the terms particularly the "isms" that reflect the different theological thought. I particularly like the section Olson has on Neo-Orthodoxy and Fundamentalism as it relates to modern thought. A greater understanding of the history of theology, particularly to what we see today will clearly enable one to identify the origin of and respect current viewpoints with their strengths and weaknesses.