A Short History of Christian Doctrine

Bernhard Lohse

Fortress Press, 1966 - Religion - 304 pages

This book has earned wide acceptance as an outstanding single volume history of doctrine. It is ideally suited for classroom and seminar use as well as research and independent study.

With remarkable conciseness and clarity Lohse, shows how doctrinal development has occurred in the various periods of the Church's history from the first century to the present. He explores and discusses, one by one, the dogmas and doctrines that constitute the milestones in the story of the Church's effort to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ to each age.

This Revised American Edition includes a new preface by the author, an account of the significance of the Second Vatican Council and alterations in the "For Further Reading" section to bring it up to date.

Contents

• Canon and Creed: 23
• The Formation of the New Testament Canon: 26
• Scripture and Tradition: 30
• The Creed: 32
• The Doctrine of the Trinity: 37
• Early Traces of a Doctrine of the Trinity: 43
• Arius: 48
• The Council of Nicaea: 50
• More Than Five Decades of Controversy: 56
• The Divinity of the Holy Spirit: 61
• The Right Interpretation of the Doctrine of the Trinity: 66
• Christology: 71
• ApoUinaris of Laodicea: 80
• Antiochenes and Alexandrians: 84
• From Ephesus to Chalcedon: 90
• The Sequel: 94
• The Doctrine of Sin and Grace: 100
• Pelagius: 106
• Augustine: 110
• The Pelagian Controversy: 117
• The SemiPelagian Controversy: 122
• The Result: 127
• Word and Sacrament: 132
• Word and Sacrament in Augustine: 136
• Eucharistic Controversies during the Middle Ages: 141
• Further Development of the Doctrine of the Sacraments: 150
• Justification: 156
• Man before God: 159
• The Twofold Nature of Confession: 164
• Controversy concerning the Lords Supper: 169
• The Confessional Treatises of Lutheranism: 176
• Calvin and the Reformed Church: 185
• Romes Answer: 190
• Dogma within Recent Catholicism: 197
• The Immaculate Conception of Mary: 199
• The Infallibility of the Pope: 204
• The Bodily Assumption of Mary: 211
• Dogma within Protestantism: 215
• The Age of Orthodoxy: 217
• The Rise of Historical Thinking: 223
• The Barmen Declaration: 230
• The Unity of the Church: 237
• The Ecumenical Movement: 242
• The Second Vatican Council: 247
• Chronological Table: 251
• Glossary: 265
• For Further Reading: 267
• Index: 275

Popular passages

Page 34 - God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven...

About the author

Bernhard Lohse (1928-1997) was a preeminent church historian and Professor of Church History and Historical Theology at the University of Hamburg. He is author of A Short History of Christian Doctrine (1978) and Martin Luther (1986), both from Fortress Press.

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Short History of Christian Doctrine
• Author: Bernhard Lohse
• Edition: revised
• Publisher: Fortress Press, 1966
• ISBN: 1451404239, 9781451404234
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Christian Theology / General; Religion / General