A Concise History of Christian Thought offers a succinct, readable survey of key Christian thinkers and significant theological developments from the church's inception to the present. Tony Lane surveys over one hundred important Christian thinkers ranging from Origen and Justin Martyr, to Anselm and Aquinas, to Luther and Menno Simons, to John Hicks and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). With the modern period especially, Lane has also introduced an element of evaluation as a guide to the reader, though the primary aim is to allow the thinkers to speak for themselves.
The book is divided into five parts:
- The Church Fathers to AD 500
- The Eastern Tradition
- The Medieval West
- Reformation and Reaction
- Christian Thought in the Modern World
In each section, the reader will encounter surveys of key Christian thinkers, major creeds, councils, and documents. Representative extracts allow the reader to hear from each of the key thinkers covered in his or her own words. After having sold more than 50,000 copies in its earlier editions, the current edition has been refined and updated throughout and includes new material on key contemporary thinkers.
