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Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction. By Chad Meister and J. B. Stump. New York: Routledge, 2010, 552 pp., $39.99.
Chad Meister and J. B. Stump's Christian Thought is a relatively brief but nonetheless impressively rich overview of its expansive subject. The authors, both professors of philosophy at Bethel College in Indiana, o1er a comprehensive survey of ambitious scope, beginning with elements of Jewish, Greek, and Roman culture that Christianity inherited and concluding with speculation about the future of the faith. Focusing on both key individuals as well as broader movements, the authors demonstrate a skill for portraying the nuances of Christian thought, its context, and a spectrum of scholarly opinions on various topics in an accessible fashion. The result is a highly useful resource for students and scholars alike.
Christian Thought is divided into 2ve chronologically ordered sections, with chapters in each section covering a certain theme or person in the period. The first section begins with a chapter on Jewish, Greek, and Roman history that establishes the social and political context within which the early church arose. Highlighting the intellectual elements each culture imparted to Christianity, the authors discuss such topics as the Jewish idea of election, Greek rationalism, and Roman law. The authors follow with individual chapters on Jesus and Paul, emphasizing the continuity the respective teachings of these individuals had with segments of Jewish...