If you find this book helpful, you might enjoy two other works I wrote, which are used to teach Christian theology throughout the world in colleges, seminaries, and universities. Both are based on lectures I gave at Oxford University in the 1980s and 1990s, and have been updated and expanded over the last thirty years.
Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 6th edn. (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016).
Alister E. McGrath, Theology: The Basics, 4th edn. (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016).
Both of these textbooks are very accessible. The first is long and comprehensive; the second is shorter and easier to read.
It really helps to engage original texts, so that you can read other theologians and get a sense of the approach they take and the ideas they develop. I have written two such collections of texts (or “readings”). Each introduces the text in question and guides you through them, telling you what to look for.
Alister E. McGrath, The Christian Theology Reader, 5th edn. (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017).
Alister E. McGrath, Theology: The Basic Readings, 3rd edn. (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2018).
Again, both of these textbooks are designed to be accessible. The first is very comprehensive; the second is shorter and easier to read.
Although you may find my own introductions to theology helpful, there are many other excellent guides to the field. I recommend the following, all of which are widely used in theological education at a variety of levels.
Gregg Allison, Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011).
David V. N. Bagchi and David C. Steinmetz (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
Ben Blackwell and Randy Hatchett, Engaging Theology: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Introduction (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2019).
Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Historical Theology: An Introduction (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007).
Ellen T. Charry, By the Renewing of Your Minds: The Pastoral Function of Christian Doctrine (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
Martin Davie, Tim Grass, Stephen R. Holmes, John McDowell, and Thomas A. Noble (eds.), New Dictionary of Theology: Historical and Systematic, 2nd edn (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016).
Gillian R. Evans, The First Christian Theologians: An Introduction to Theology in the Early Church (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004).
David Ford, Theology: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd edn. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013).
David F. Ford and Rachel Muers (eds.), The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology since 1918, 3rd edn (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005).
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 2nd edn. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994).
Ian Christopher Levy, Introducing Medieval Biblical Interpretation: The Senses of Scripture in Premodern Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018).
Carter Lindberg, The Reformation Theologians: An Introduction to Theology in the Early Modern Period (Oxford: Blackwell, 2002).
Christoph Markschies, Christian Theology and Its Institutions in the Early Roman Empire (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2015).
Alister E. McGrath, Reformation Thought: An Introduction, 5th edn. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2021).
Mark A. McIntosh, Divine Teaching: An Introduction to Christian Theology (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008).
Daniel L. Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, 2nd edn. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004).
Rik van Nieuwenhove, An Introduction to Medieval Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
Roger E. Olson, The Journey of Modern Theology: From Reconstruction to Deconstruction (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014).
Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, vol. 5 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971).
Miroslav Volf and Matthew Croasmun, For the Life of the World: Theology that Makes a Difference (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2019).
David M. Whitford, T & T Clark Companion to Reformation Theology (London: Bloomsbury, 2014).
