aims to introduce you to historical theology as an important andinteresting subject. It is also a very large topic; to do justice to it, at leastfive substantial volumes would be required. This book is an introduction toits aims and themes, which aims to pack as much useful information into asingle volume as is realistically possible, using approaches which have beentried and tested in classrooms in Europe, North America, and Australasia.The book makes use of some material already presented in the best-sellingwork Christian Theology: An Introduction, which has been reconfigured forthe specific purpose of introducing students to the discipline of historicaltheology. Although much new material has been added and some existingmaterial rewritten, the basic approach and some contents of this earlierwork have been retained.The guiding principle which lies behind this volume is selective attention.It is like a map, giving you a good idea of the landscape, filling in enoughdetail to help you make sense of things, and making it easier to move on toa more detailed engagement with any of its features. It is assumed that youdo not have the time to become familiar with every aspect of the history ofChristian thought, but want a general familiarity with its most importantaspects. The approach adopted is to begin by painting a scene using somevery broad-brush strokes, and then filling in the fine detail in selected areasof importance. This will allow you to come away from reading this bookwith a good general understanding of the development of Christiantheology. Despite its brevity, however, the work includes a lot of material –considerably more than is included in most introductions of this kind.The book opens with an Introduction which tries to explain whathistorical theology is, how it fits into the study of theology as a whole, andwhy it is a subject worth studying. You are strongly recommended to readthis Introduction before proceeding further, as it will help you get a sense oforientation as you approach the subject.