The History of Christian Theology

By: Phillip Cary, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Phillip Cary

Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

In this 36-lecture course, you'll find an engaging way to explore profound religious questions and the many responses believers, scholars, and theologians have developed over more than 2,000 years. Through this series, Professor Cary reveals the enduring power of the Christian tradition - as both an intellectual discipline and a spiritual path.

These lectures begin at the very dawn of Christianity, as you examine some of the earliest examples of scripture recorded by the first communities of the faithful. You'll see how, over the centuries, these teachings developed into the orthodox teachings of the mainstream church as well as the divergent doctrines taught by splinter groups branded as "heretics." You'll explore the causes and outcomes of the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church during the Middle Ages and examine the explosion of the many Protestant groups that resulted from the Reformation in the 16th century. And finally, you'll come to the modern era, with a survey of the evolution of Christian thought in today's society - the ongoing story of how faith persists in an increasingly secularized world.

Each lecture illuminates the conceptual structure of Christian theology as it connects to spiritual practices such as prayer, worship, the use of sacraments, and the contemplation of religious icons. Through lucid and engaging explanations, they provide intriguing analyses of theological ideas in their unique historical, social, and biographical contexts to help you understand the power of each tradition within its particular time and place. The result is a sweeping survey that probes some of the most common questions about Christian faith over the centuries.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great Courses

I wish I heard this in seminary!

Great theological insights! clear, concise but most of all very engaging! I wish I had this kind of introduction to theology in seminary! I highly recommend it to any theology student!

Phillip Cary

Phillip Cary is the best! My first book with him and will need more after going over this one multiple times - Fun to listen to and actually able to understand the reader (Phillip), as some narration (by others in other books) is so heavy in accent - it becomes HARD to understand. Phillip is the best that I have heard, and I've been in Audible for quite some time now. :) Love the Great Courses as well!

A MUST LISTEN

What made the experience of listening to The History of Christian Theology the most enjoyable?

Dr. Cary put my thoughts and questions into words. His narrative voice is easy and pleasant. I've listened to this course four times and counting!

Excellent Summary of the Trajectory of the Church

I just finished this excellent course. It took me a while to work my way through it, but it is one of the most enlightening things I have ever studied. It helped me to understand the trajectory of the church from Christ through post modernity in a way nothing else has. Especially if you approach it not to agree or disagree, but simply to learn, it will be an immense help in understanding why and where and how Christianity is today. Highly recommended!

Excellent Graduate Level Class

This is an excellent overview of Christian Theology from the origins of Christianity to the present day. It is taught at a very high, graduate student-type level. My only (slight) complaint is that I wish it has also covered Liberation Theology and the social implications (such as Prohibition) that flowed from the various theological views.

All you need to know.

Great lectures. Non biased and very informative. If you are interested in the topic, it's well worth the investment.

Exellent Course

Good course the follows the main thoughts of Christian thought. I very much appreciated the professor's handling of various ideas in an honest and even-handed manner. This is what one expects from The Great Courses, and it is delivered.

information overload

there's a ton of information take the time to listen to this series more than once.

Wide ranging, with some cringy pronunciations

The content is quite good and covers an enormous range of topics, different Christian traditions and historic mail periods. The professor is very knowledgeable and fun to listen to and provides a very good balance of objective facts with just a little commentary which adds a nice context to where he is coming from intellectually.

It is a bit tough at times to hear his pronunciations though. He insists on a very Greek pronunciation of some words like hypostasis which has a widely accepted anglosized pronunciation. This would be arguably fine as it is a Greek word, but he does in no way continue that trend across all words and proceeds to just mangle other words and names such as Zurich. He somehow manages to be both inconsistent and incorrect and that was a little frustrating.

With that said, and I mean it as a comparatively minor criticism of a very worthwhile history, I still thoroughly enjoyed this listen and would recommend to anyone interested in church history.

Excellent Overview of the Christian Theological Tradition

This course was an excellent presentation on the common sources the bind together the Christian theological tradition, as well as the contours of the disputes that divide Christian’s between and among themselves and the historical context for those disputes. Highly illuminating.