The Student's Companion to the Theologians
Nearly 80 entries, written by an international group of theologians and professors of theology, describe the life, works, theology, and significance of Christian theologians, ranging from Augustine of Hippo in the early centuries to Paul Tillich in the twentieth. Entries are grouped by chronological era and then arranged alphabetically. In addition to articles on specific individuals, a few entries describe some contemporary theological approaches (e.g., Black theology, Process theology), which include mention of the theologians who are exponents of that perspective. Care has been taken to ensure that theologians from all periods of Christian history have been included and that Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, liberal, and feminist perspectives are represented. That said, the emphasis is clearly on the Western churches.   One limitation, readily acknowledged by the editor, is the relatively small number of theologians included. Those selected here are theologians likely to be found in an introductory course on Christian theology. A worthy competitor, Greenwood’s Biographical Dictionary of Christian Theologians (2000), treats more than 450 and also includes an assessment of their work, theology, and significance, not limited to just biographical information as its title might imply. A criterion for inclusion in the Greenwood work, however, is that the theologian must have died before 1994. As a consequence, many of the contemporary theologians included in the Wiley-Blackwell set (e.g., James Cone, George Lindbeck, and Rosemary Radford Ruether) will not be found in the Greenwood volume. And the definition of theologian as understood by the Greenwood work precluded the inclusion of Martin Luther King Jr. and C. S. Lewis, both of whom are treated in the Wiley-Blackwell volumes.       The Blackwell Companion to the Theologians nicely complements existing reference works and is an appropriate addition to theological and research libraries as well as libraries with strong collections in Christianity. --Christopher McConnell--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.