Creeds, Councils and Christ

by Gerald L. Bray

Book by Bray Gerald

Genres: Church History, History, Theology, Christianity

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Gerald L. Bray (Ph.D., University of Paris--Sorbonne) is director of research for the Latimer Trust, based in London, and a research professor at Samford University, teaching in the Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. A priest of the Church of England, Bray has also edited the post-Reformation Anglican canons. He has edited several volumes of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and Ancient Christian Texts, as well as volume one of the Ancient Christian Doctrine series, all for IVP Academic. General EditorTimothy George (Th.D., Harvard University) is a renowned Reformation historian and author of Theology of the Reformers, as well as many other theological and historical works. He is founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and an executive editor of Christianity Today.

Reviews

[Solomon Trimble]

This was terrific. Bray is a reformed evangelical Anglican; in this short book he provides a detailed theological analysis of early church doctrine, progressing from the scriptures, through the early creeds and councils, culminating in an exposition of the little known and little used fifth century Athanasian Creed. This is the first Reformed account of Church history which has captured my imagination. It does not feel artificial or retconned in any way. The Arian crisis is dealt with very well as is the Chalcedonian settlement. Bray's suggestion that Chalcedon must be understood in light of the later clarifications provided by Leontinus is very helpful. If I were to recommend a single account of doctrinal history for a reformed evangelical reader, this would have to be it. He has some odd takes thrown in along the way. I could hardly stand by everything he says. But as a work of historical theology which engages with all the relevant questions, this is superb.

[Matthew Prydden]

Gerald Bray starts off by exploring the currently held views regarding Christian orthodoxy, highlighting the scepticism and contempt often found within the liberal theology sector towards it. Bray then seeks to argue the case for the importance of Christian orthodoxy and the respect that it deserves, as he charts its development over the first few hundred years of the Christian church. It probably helps if you already have some basic understanding, at least, of early church history, but this was very helpful in understanding the theological developments, seeing them develop as Bray seeks to highlight the importance and relevance of the Christian church's heritage.

[Lily]

Very disappointing, very dry, and written from a conservative evangelical, though Anglican, perspective.

[Trudy Pomerantz]

I found this a somewhat dry review of the subject. It was definitely worth reading since understanding the historical theological background to the creeds is important, and I definitely need to read more on the subject since, even after reading this, I was still somewhat confused as to some of the particulars of the controversies.