Reviews
"Some Christian readers will find this book challenging and disturbing, but if they value their faith, they should persevere. Kennedy has a genuine passion to discover a Christianity which can proclaim truth, and he is unflinching in his surgery of obstacles to that proclamation. Anyone seeking an adult faith will benefit from reading what he has written. A Modern Introduction to Theology can also serve as principal textbook for introductory student courses in theology and doctrine, the history of Christianity, church history and philosophy of religion."--Diarmaid N.J. MacCulloch, University of Oxford "It is one of the unfortunate facts of our time that few books about theology manage to communicate beyond the circle of professional theologians. Even fewer are those that convey a sense of academic theology itself as an important, exciting, and challenging venture of human thought. Kennedy's book does just this. As he depicts it, theology is not just the defence or reinterpretation of ancient dogmas but a totally engaging effort to face the implications of the gospel for contemporary living. As such, theology will lead us to radical and critical positions vis- -vis the institutional Church and Kennedy does not shrink from being crystal-clear about just where the fault-lines are to be found. Vigorous, punchy, and fast-moving, this book will excite, instruct, disturb and provoke. Accessible to students from sixth-form level upwards, it also contains much that calls for a response from academic colleagues and, no less importantly, the Churches themselves."--George Pattison, University of Oxford "Philip Kennedy's book will make a fine introductory text in a variety of undergraduate classes. It contains excellent chapters on such standard topics as the challenges posed by the Enlightenment and the rise of biblical criticism, but it also offers the beginning student useful roadmaps to such subjects as globalism and economic justice, feminism, and recent developments in physical cosmology. Perhaps most striking are the interspersed text-boxes in which the author explains, in ordinary language, terms and concepts that the undergraduate student is likely to be encountering for the first time--a fine addition to a book that is sure to be widely used."--Terry F. Godlove, Hofstra University, ""Some Christian readers will find this book challenging and disturbing, but if they value their faith, they should persevere. Kennedy has a genuine passion to discover a Christianity which can proclaim truth, and he is unflinching in his surgery of obstacles to that proclamation. Anyone seeking an adult faith will benefit from reading what he has written. A Modern Introduction to Theology can also serve as principal textbook for introductory student courses in theology and doctrine, the history of Christianity, church history and philosophy of religion.""--Diarmaid N.J. MacCulloch, University of Oxford ""It is one of the unfortunate facts of our time that few books about theology manage to communicate beyond the circle of professional theologians. Even fewer are those that convey a sense of academic theology itself as an important, exciting, and challenging venture of human thought. Kennedy's book does just this. As he depicts it, theology is not just the defence or reinterpretation of ancient dogmas but a totally engaging effort to face the implications of the gospel for contemporary living. As such, theology will lead us to radical and critical positions vis-à-vis the institutional Church and Kennedy does not shrink from being crystal-clear about just where the fault-lines are to be found. Vigorous, punchy, and fast-moving, this book will excite, instruct, disturb and provoke. Accessible to students from sixth-form level upwards, it also contains much that calls for a response from academic colleagues and, no less importantly, the Churches themselves.""--George Pattison, University of Oxford ""Philip Kennedy's book will make a fine introductory text in a variety of undergraduate classes. It contains excellent chapters on such standard topics as the challenges posed by the Enlightenment and the rise of biblical criticism, but it also offers the beginning student useful roadmaps to such subjects as globalism and economic justice, feminism, and recent developments in physical cosmology. Perhaps most striking are the interspersed text-boxes in which the author explains, in ordinary language, terms and concepts that the undergraduate student is likely to be encountering for the first time--a fine addition to a book that is sure to be widely used.""--Terry F. Godlove, Hofstra University, "Some Christian readers will find this book challenging and disturbing, but if they value their faith, they should persevere. Kennedy has a genuine passion to discover a Christianity which can proclaim truth, and he is unflinching in his surgery of obstacles to that proclamation. Anyone seeking an adult faith will benefit from reading what he has written. A Modern Introduction to Theology can also serve as principal textbook for introductory student courses in theology and doctrine, the history of Christianity, church history and philosophy of religion."--Diarmaid N.J. MacCulloch, University of Oxford "It is one of the unfortunate facts of our time that few books about theology manage to communicate beyond the circle of professional theologians. Even fewer are those that convey a sense of academic theology itself as an important, exciting, and challenging venture of human thought. Kennedy's book does just this. As he depicts it, theology is not just the defence or reinterpretation of ancient dogmas but a totally engaging effort to face the implications of the gospel for contemporary living. As such, theology will lead us to radical and critical positions vis-à-vis the institutional Church and Kennedy does not shrink from being crystal-clear about just where the fault-lines are to be found. Vigorous, punchy, and fast-moving, this book will excite, instruct, disturb and provoke. Accessible to students from sixth-form level upwards, it also contains much that calls for a response from academic colleagues and, no less importantly, the Churches themselves."--George Pattison, University of Oxford "Philip Kennedy's book will make a fine introductory text in a variety of undergraduate classes. It contains excellent chapters on such standard topics as the challenges posed by the Enlightenment and the rise of biblical criticism, but it also offers the beginning student useful roadmaps to such subjects as globalism and economic justice, feminism, and recent developments in physical cosmology. Perhaps most striking are the interspersed text-boxes in which the author explains, in ordinary language, terms and concepts that the undergraduate student is likely to be encountering for the first time--a fine addition to a book that is sure to be widely used."--Terry F. Godlove, Hofstra University, "Some Christian readers will find this book challenging and disturbing, but if they value their faith, they should persevere. Kennedy has a genuine passion to discover a Christianity which can proclaim truth, and he is unflinching in his surgery of obstacles to that proclamation. Anyone seeking an adult faith will benefit from reading what he has written. A Modern Introduction to Theology can also serve as principal textbook for introductory student courses in theology and doctrine, the history of Christianity, church history and philosophy of religion."--Diarmaid N.J. MacCulloch, University of Oxford "It is one of the unfortunate facts of our time that few books about theology manage to communicate beyond the circle of professional theologians. Even fewer are those that convey a sense of academic theology itself as an important, exciting, and challenging venture of human thought. Kennedy's book does just this. As he depicts it, theology is not just the defence or reinterpretation of ancient dogmas but a totally engaging effort to face the implications of the gospel for contemporary living. As such, theology will lead us to radical and critical positions vis-à-vis the institutional Church and Kennedy does not shrink from being crystal-clear about just where the fault-lines are to be found. Vigorous, punchy, and fast-moving, this book will excite, instruct, disturb and provoke. Accessible to students from sixth-form level upwards, it also contains much that calls for a response from academic colleagues and, no less importantly, the Churches themselves."--George Pattison, University of Oxford "Philip Kennedy's book will make a fine introductory text in a variety of undergraduate classes. It contains excellent chapters on such standard topics as the challenges posed by the Enlightenment and the rise of biblical criticism, but it also offers the beginning student useful roadmaps to such subjects as globalism and economic justice, feminism, and recent developments in physical cosmology. Perhaps most striking are the interspersed text-boxes in which the author explains, in ordinary language, terms and concepts that the undergraduate student is likely to be encountering for the first time--a fine addition to a book that is sure to be widely used."--Terry F. Godlove, Hofstra University