This book offers an introduction to some of the fundamental themes of theology. From the very beginning, however, it insists on the contribution to be found in the different Christian traditions. The reader is enabled to view these traditions as part of a common heritage. Drawing on the wealth of these understandings of what it is to be Christian can be an inspiration for those from very different church structures, and even for people who seek to understand their own spiritual journey and search for God, without identifying themselves or their journey with any particular church. A number of important theological questions are covered in the book. It starts with a look at theological method before examining the idea of divine revelation. This is followed by investigating the nature of authority and authorities in different churches and where these coincide and come into conflict. The historical and cultural contexts of theology and its roots in religious experience are also examined. Each theme has a biblical and patristic part, as well as a genuinely reciprocal discussion involving contemporary Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant theologians. ""Here is theology as it should be today: ecumenical yet appreciative of particular traditions; critical yet rooted in professed belief; of the Church, but with eye and ear to the spiritual questions of a pluralistic world. Comprehensive in scope, the book also attends to nuances of well-selected sources spanning two millennia. Professor Noble, like Matthew's scribe, brings out 'what is new and what is old.' Both theological students and seasoned scholars will find this a treasure."" --William H. Petersen Emeritus Dean & Professor of Bexley Hall Seminary ""Noble's publication is timely. Written with empathy, insight, and clarity, it presents a remarkable introduction to Christian theology. With its synthesis of a wide range of theological, philosophical, and spiritual orientations, it ought to become required reading for theology students of all Christian traditions. In itself it is a significant contribution to doing theology in an ecumenical fashion."" --Gesa Thiessen Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Dublin ""Ivana Noble's new book is outstanding, unique, and fascinating: Outstanding with regard to its scholarly profoundness and to its originality of both, the presentation of the subjects and the deepness of its theological thinking. Unique, because there is no other one in the field of Christian theology which reflects thoroughgoing Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions together with modern philosophical problems. Fascinating, by bringing together theological theory and the experience of the people of today."" --Johannes Brosseder University of Cologne ""This book presents an inspiring new approach to ecumenical theology for a contemporary Western mindset of skepsis towards institutional religion with a simultaneous search for spirituality. She develops theology as science, based on experience, which is expressed differently in different contexts. Instead of bringing different positions closer together, the plurality of Christian traditions is taken as a given fact and seen as a whole, from which answers to some fundamental theological questions are sought."" --Dagmar Heller Ecumenical Institute Bossey in Switzerland Ivana Noble is an associate professor of Ecumenical Theology at the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University, Prague and is Senior Research Fellow at the International Baptist Seminary in Prague. She is the author of Accounts of Hope (2001) and Theological Interpretation of Culture in a Post-Communist Context (2010).
