Church History: An Introduction to Research Methods and Resources, 2nd ed.
Overview
In their acclaimed, much-used Church History, James Bradley and Richard Muller lay out guidelines, methods, and basic reference tools for research and writing in the fields of church history and historical theology. Over the years, this book has helped countless students define their topics, locate relevant source materials, and write quality papers.
This revised, expanded, and updated second edition includes discussion of Internet-based research, digitized texts, and the electronic forms of research tools. The greatly enlarged bibliography of study aids now includes many significant new resources that have become available since the first edition's publication in 1995. Accessible and clear, this introduction will continue to benefit both students and experienced scholars in the field.
Key Features
- Updates the popular Church History for a modern audience
- Discusses Internet and electronic-based research tools
- Features a very extensive bibliography and list of online resources for further study
Contents
- Introduction to Church History and Related Disciplines
- Perspective and Meaning in History
- The Initial Stages of Research and the Use of Bibliographic and Reference Sources
- Research in Primary Sources and the Use of Text Databases and Materials in Microform
- The Practice of Research and the Craft of Writing
- Preparing Lectures and Writing Monographs and Articles
- Selected Aids to the Study of Church History and Historical Theology: A Bibliography
- Appendix: Online Resources and Sources in Microform
Top Highlights
“Although it is the broadest field of the three, history of Christian thought functions as the basic discipline of historical theology, without which neither history of doctrine nor history of dogma can really function.” (Page 7)
“ it imposes a modern, systematic grid on the subject matter.” (Page 27)
“All three followed a method which has come to be known as the general/special method because it divides into two distinct discussions, one offering a general outline of thought, the other a discussion of particular issues.” (Page 25)
“Woe to the unsuspecting writer who trusts the secondary source for citations of primary sources!” (Page 42)
“‘Church history’ is the broadest of all the traditional disciplines dealing with the church’s past” (Page 5)
Praise for the Print Edition
While Bradley and Muller show how hard it is to learn the craft, they help the apprentice considerably.
—Christian Century
A reliable roadmap for all who would enter the scholarly labyrinth known as ‘church history.’ . . . All new practitioners of the discipline, not to mention old ones, could benefit from this book.
—Religious Studies Review
- Title: Church History: An Introduction to Research Methods and Resources (Second Edition)
- Authors: James Bradley, Richard Muller
- Edition: Second Edition
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2016
- Logos Release Date: 2019
- Pages: 314
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Church history › Study and teaching; Church history › Research--Methodology; Church history › Historiography; Church history › Bibliography; Church history › Reference books
- ISBNs: 9780802874054, 0802874053
- Resource ID: LLS:CHHISTINTRO2ED
- Resource Type: text.monograph.church-history
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:36:32Z
About the Authors
James E. Bradley is Geoffrey W. Bromiley Professor of Church History at Fuller Theological Seminary. He received his BA from Pasadena College, a BD from Fuller, and a PhD from the University of Southern California. He is the author of Religion, Revolution, and English Radicalism.
Richard A. Muller is the P.J. Zondervan Professor for Doctoral Studies in Historical Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary. He acquired an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary and a PhD from Duke University. His many books include A Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms and Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics.
