Christian theology / Millard J. Erickson.

First edition originally published as three volumes.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Part 1. Studying God -- 1. What is theology? -- 2. The possibility of theology -- 3. The method of theology -- 4. Contextualizing theology -- 5. Two special issues: Biblical criticism and theological language.

Part 2. Knowing God -- 6. God's universal revelation -- 7. God's particular revelation -- 8. The preservation of the revelation: inspiration -- 9. The dependability of God's word: inerrancy -- 10. The power of God's word: authority.

Part 3. What God is like -- 11. The greatness of God -- 12. The goodness of God -- 13. God's nearness and distance: immanence and transcendence -- 14. God's three-in-oneness: the trinity.

Part 4. What God does -- 15. God's plan -- 16. God's originating work: creation -- 17. God's continuing work: providence -- 18. Evil and God's world: a special problem -- 19. God's special agents: angels.

Part 5. Humanity -- 20. Introduction to the Doctrine of humanity -- 21. The origin of humanity -- 22. The image of God in the human -- 23. The constitutional nature of the human -- 24. The universality of humanity.

Part 6. Sin -- 25. The nature of sin -- 26. The source of sin -- 27. The results of sin -- 28. The magnitude of sin -- 29. The social dimension of sin.

Part 7. The person of Christ -- 30. Contemporary issues in Christological method -- 31. The deity of Christ -- 32. The humanity of Christ -- 33. The unity of the person of Christ -- 34. The virgin birth.

Part 8. The work of Christ -- 35. Introduction to the work of Christ -- 36. Theories of the atonement -- 37. The central theme of the atonement -- 38. The extent of the atonement.

Part 9. The Holy Spirit -- 39. The person of the Holy Spirit -- 40. The work of the Holy Spirit -- 41. Recent issues regarding the Holy Spirit.

Part 10. Salvation -- 42. Conceptions of salvation -- 43. The antecedent to salvation: predestination -- 44. The beginning of salvation: subjective aspects -- 45. The beginning of salvation: objective aspects -- 46. The continuation of salvation -- 47. The completion of salvation -- 48. The means and extent of salvation.

Part 11. The Church -- 49. The nature of the Church -- 50. The role of the Church -- 51. The government and unity of the Church -- 52. The initiatory rite of the Church: baptism -- 53. The continuing rite of the Church: the Lord's Supper.

Part 12. The last things -- 54. Introduction to eschatology -- 55. Individual eschatology -- 56. The second coming and its consequents -- 57. Millennial and tribulational views -- 58. Final states --
Concluding thoughts.

This influential textbook, now substantially updated and revised throughout, offers a comprehensive introduction to theology that is biblical, contemporary, moderate, and fair to various positions. The third edition takes into account feedback from professors and students and reflects current theological conversations, with added material on the atonement, justification, and divine foreknowledge.--Back cover.