Theology for beginners (4)
For Lisa and others: two more recommendations. Both of these give an introduction and overview; they come from different viewpoints which would offer a helpful insight into the fact that theology is complicated and doesn't readily offer up "right answers". The problem with writing primers and introductions is how to give the reader enough information to get them on the road without confusing the issues, while at the same time not giving the impression that that is "the answer". A good introductory book will get you started but also leave all the windows open and give you lots of threads to follow. Alister McGrath is a prolific writer, clear and thorough, and Christian Theology – an Introduction is a useful addition to a bookshelf. David Ford, in Theology, A Very Short Introduction not only comes at the subject from a different theological angle, he also excels at asking as many questions as he answers. In an amazingly short book he manages to map out the ground of theological study – less concerned with giving tons of information, but more opening up what theology is all about, and how to actually start doing it.
Read them both! Next time I post on this I'm going to offer some books that will give you threads to follow.
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
In an increasingly secularised society few people have a good working knowledge of the Bible. Yet a great deal of our culture is built on stories or ideas that come from the Bible. Literature, art, music, language and even the fabric of our society - such as our justice system - are built on Christian concepts and biblical references. The Writing on the Wall provides a fascinating introduction to the Bible's best-known, and most influential, stories. Each chapter gives some background to the text of the Bible, and shows how the stories have become enmeshed in Western culture. Adam and Eve, the ten plagues of Egypt, The Prodigal Son and Mary Magdalene all feature - along with how the Bible has influenced everyone from Shakespeare to Monty Python, and Caravaggio to Banksy. 
Giving It Up explores the Lenten idea of 'giving up', taking it beyond the traditional idea of simply abstaining from something, and suggesting instead that what we need to give up is our existing ideas about God. With a daily readings for each day of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, it follows the heroes of the Bible who had to give up their own too-small ideas about God.
This is Maggi’s bestselling book of daily readings for each day of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Advent is the beginning of the Church year, and marks the anticipation of the coming Messiah. These readings explore how beginnings and endings in our own lives are illuminated by the different Gospel narratives of Christ's coming.
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