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Issues in Contemporary Christian Thought

Reviewed by Julian Reindorp.

This Fortress Introduction is a clearly written and stimulating account of how Christian thinkers have responded to the challenges of the past and what we face today.

Part 1 has two chapters surveying Christian thought since the Enlightenment, and how this has affected biblical scholarship and theological reinterpretation. The next three chapters bring together classical Christian thought and contemporary transformations – God and Cosmology, Christ and History, Heaven, Hell and Anthropology. The final four chapters tackle today's issues- Christianity and other Religions, Christianity and Feminism, Christianity and Homosexuality, Christianity and the Environment.

Olson surveys the variety of responses to each topic with fairness, covering equally well conservative and radical views, though he is careful not to use such terms. His comparison of Barth with Tillich is a model of clarity, as is so much of this book. Each chapter has additional information in specially printed blocks, e.g. the proofs for the existence of God, and the criticisms they face today.

This book is not just an introduction to the topics he covers so widely, but also  a refresher course and an update on these matters. As well as a full index, there are notes, a very informative 12 page glossary, and discussion questions and further reading for each chapter. The author is American but the key British authors are noted.

Anyone reading the 2011 version of Alistair McGraths Christian Theology: An Introduction, and Olson's Introduction to Contemporary Issues would be very well equipped. This started out as an 'Introduction to Christianity' course of lectures, but it would update and equip any preacher and be accessible to interested members of a congregation – highly recommended.