Early Christian Theology. A History– by J. Warren Smith

Early Christian Theology. A History– by J. Warren Smith 2026-08-25T10:55:19-04:00 Ben Witherington J. Warren Smith, Early Christian Theology. A History, (Eerdmans,2026) pp. 556ff. In an age of over-specialization, there are very few scholars today who could have written an instant classic like this book. But Warren Smith has not only done it, but done it in great detail, with all the detailed references and footnotes one could want, many more than in J.N.D Kelly’s earlier classic on Early Christian Doctrines (latest edition 1978). This book reflects the culmination of a lifetime of study, writing, and detailed reflection on the theology of the emerging Christian church between the second and eight centuries. The writing is clear, and needed to be because of the complexities of early Christian theology, including its dealings with Marcion, Gnosticism, and various other offshoots from the mainstream of both western and eastern Christianity which in due course became the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox forms of the faith. Major figures like Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen and Augustine received detailed treatments without neglecting some of the less well-known figures like for in...