The Old Testament offers a rich palette of ideas, images, and narratives that help us unpack some of the more compact and opaque theological ideas of the New Testament. In conversation with both Christian and Jewish interpreters, prominent scholar Gary Anderson explores the exegetical background of key Christian doctrines. Through a deeper reading of our two-Testament Bible, he illustrates that Christian doctrines have an organic connection to biblical texts and that doctrine can clarify meanings in the text that are foreign to modern, Western readers. Anderson traces the development of doctrine through the history of interpretation, discussing controversial topics such as the fall of man, creation out of nothing, the treasury of merit, and the veneration of Mary along the way. He demonstrates that church doctrines are more clearly grounded in Scripture than modern biblical scholarship has often supposed and that the Bible can define and elaborate the content of these doctrines.

Christianity has always been a "creedal" religion in that it has always been theological. It was rooted in the theological tradition of ancient Israel, which was unifi ed by its historical credos and declaratory affi rmations of faith. No pre-theological era has been discovered in the New Testament or in the history of the Christian community. From the beginning Christianity has been theological, involving men in theological refl ection and calling them to declarations of faith. A non-theological Christianity has simply never endured, although such has been attempted, for instance, by individual seers in the sixteenth century and also by collaborators with totalitarian ideologies in the twentieth century. The creeds presented here range from the ancient faith of the Hebrews and the creed-like formulas of the New Testament to the Barmen declaration of 1934 (framed by the Christians in Germany who faced the threat of Nazism) and the Batak Creed of 1951 (in which Indonesian Christians gave authentic expression to their religious belief in the idiom of their own culture. All the creeds are in some sense "offi cial," and every major division of Christendom is represented, including the Younger Churches. The volume ends with the messages of the most important assemblies dealing with the Ecumenical Movement. This single volume, containing all the major theological affi rmations of the Christian community, is a source book for the study of Christian theology. It comprises a record of the Church's interpretation of the Bible in the past and an authoritative guide to its interpretation on the present. Indeed, it is a guide to an understanding of the Christian interpretation of life.

Penned by a Christian teacher who has led thousands of students through the unfamiliar terrain of systematic theology, A Primer for Christian Doctrine serves as a friendly guide to theology's topics, debates, and terminology. Telling you what you need to know as you begin your study of theology or doctrine, the book is an ideal companion to more comprehensive texts. After a brief introduction defending the continued need for doctrine, Jonathan Wilson clearly and concisely maps out each of the main topics of Christian belief in separate chapters. He also traces the differing emphases of theologians while suggesting reasons for their differences. Whether as a first taste of theology or as a readable summary of its present state, Wilson's Primer for Christian Doctrine will be an invaluable resource for students and small groups pursuing a deeper knowledge of what Christians believe.

These fourteen specially commissioned essays provide an exciting new introduction to the content of Christian theology.