The Great Theologians: A Brief Guide

by Gerald R. McDermott

Who are the church's great theologians? What was special about their teaching? What can we learn from them today? Gerald McDermott has written this book for those who want a solid introduction that is challenging, but not overwhelming. Provocative but satisfying. And not too long. McDermott not only informs us about eleven pivotal theologians from Origen to von Balthasar, but helps us sort out what is of continuing value today. With study questions at the end of each chapter, this book is perfect for small groups to go through together. As you do, you'll explore your shared theological history and uncover more about what and why you believe. Here's your chance to think with "the greats" about God.

Genres: Theology, Church History, Christian, History, Religion, Biography, Nonfiction

214 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

Gerald R. McDermott (PhD, University of Iowa) is Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, and Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion. He is the author or editor of ten books, including God's Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions? and Claiming Christ: A Mormon-Evangelical Debate.

Reviews

[Tirzah Eleora · Rating 4 out of 5]

And I FINALLY finished it. I've been super short on reading time, and seeing this lying around has been driving me crazy.

It was quite illuminating. The author unpacks some of the most famous theologians in short, accessible chapters. I don't know a whole lot about any one of them (clearly, since I'm reading this book) but the summaries seemed well done.

I admired his ability to showcase the strong points of each man with very little bias involved. As aforementioned in an update, the notable exception was his heralding of that blighter Luther, but I can overlook that seeing as it's probably due to his Lutheranism that he is able to give both Catholics and Protestants a fair shot.

Feeling inspired to go read some theologians now. (Don't hold your breath. I'm horridly lazy.)

[Daniel Bastian · Rating 1 out of 5]

It has often been said that the surest path to atheism is through reading the Bible. Mark Twain remarked as much, and Isaac Asimov delivered the same sentiment a century later. I would want to add the following: if the Bible alone doesn't do it, supplement with the supposed "great thinkers" of Christian history. Perhaps other religions have cut a more meritorious trajectory, but a more aggrandizing paean to nonsense has not been seen than the theological rabbiting found within Christendom. The old gibe about godly men lucubrating over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin hits too close too home for many of these figureheads of the faith. Surely a more grotesque misappropriation of the skeptical faculties has not been witnessed.

McDermott takes us on a tendentious tour (we'll get to the tendentious part in a minute) of eleven theologians who most shaped Christian throught across the ages. His curated selection engages matters both specific to Christianity (e.g., the relation between Jesus and God, how does salvation work) and to humanity at large (e.g., Whence evil?, Why do the righteous suffer?). Regardless of how important these questions may be viewed, the answers the theologian provides are hardly redeemable beyond the historical sense. In the theologian's world, the more inclined one is to split unidentifiable hairs and blend trite superlatives into rhetorical mush the better.

At least Augustine, for example, attempted to answer the problem of evil by proposing a model of original sin. This model is all but defunct now, but from its initial assumptions it is at least a coherent model. The later theologians engage in hollow wordplay, offering only confusion and distraction. Here's the 20th c. Swiss theologian Karl Barth as quoted on p. 179: "Sometimes I don't like the word Christology very much. It's not a matter of christology, nor even of christocentricity and a christological orientation, but of Christ himself." If you can discern the supposed distinctions therein, you are surely a better hair-splitter than I.

Furthermore, the endless niggling over whether Jesus was 'fully human' or 'fully divine' or 'both fully human and fully divine' or 'a preexistent being' or 'part of the triune God which is actually just one God in three': "At several key points in the long debate, Arians and semi-Arians tried to get Athanasius and others to find middle ground between homoousios (Jesus is of the same nature and being as the Father) and homoiousios (Jesus is of a similar nature to the Father's)." (p. 45)

Not to mention the absurdly offensive carping over whether the elect are consigned to heaven before birth (single predestination) or whether the damned are also consigned to hell before birth (double predestination), the balance of which has likely knocked some brain cells loose and I don't think I am the better for listening in on these esoteric, and ultimately irresolvable, internecine disputes.

One thing I have learned is that when the theologian finds himself at a loss for how to communicate some idea about the divine, they simply sprinkle in the word 'infinite' or any variant thereof in attempt to pass off said idea as something worthy of reflection. In fact, on p. 123 of the book, I counted no less than 16 instances of the word, on a single page. Were I not so OCD about finishing what I start, this would have probably been the red flag I needed. If faith is gullibility with a halo, this book is its traveling companion.

The Demarcation Problem

It will be noted that my poor impression of this book has nothing at all to do with the vapidity of the theologian's musings, but with the author's bizarre intrusiveness. It's difficult to determine where the late theologian ends and McDermott begins, a problem that runs throughout the book. Instead of allowing the subject to speak for themselves, McDermott interpolates with abandon, too often casting the subject's views in a shade consonant or dissonant with his own.

The barefaced bias isn't even what troubled me, primarily. If he had partitioned his modern evangelical take so as to separate it from the subject's ideas, perhaps in different sections, the bias could be pardoned. But the author's unbridled desire to play gatekeeper and damage control to prevent "unorthodox" ideas from taking hold in the reader's mind is a plague not cured by the format of the book. In the end, I wasn't quite sure whether I was rolling my eyes at Aquinas, Luther and Calvin, or at McDermott.

History's Unremorseful Gaze

A closer look into the Church fathers will surface more than just dry doctrine. Like all of us, they were a microcosm of the historical period in which they lived and moved, and thus held a cacophony of beliefs that look rough-hewn by today's lights. Unlike many other Christian authors I've read, McDermott doesn't punt here; he relays their historical flaws and discusses the problem of distinguishing the diamonds from the dross.

First, the diamonds. McDermott appears to take a Whiggish approach to Christian doctrine, repeatedly suggesting that these winded debates have gradually revealed orthodoxy (which seems to me to have quite a circular ring to it), even commenting at one point that "Athanasius saved the faith of the church" (p. 45). Putting aside the fact that there are tens of thousands of interpretations extant of this so-called "orthodoxy", assigning truth to whichever ideas happened to survive into modernity while ignoring all of the historical undulations that led to these outcomes seems simplistic in gross. After all, Christians around the world today subscribe to Arius' Christology and Schleiermacher's Christology. It's not as if their ideas died with them, and to simply label one or the other a 'heretic' is to not answer the question. If council leadership had been on the side of Arius, or Servetus several centuries later, perhaps the views of Athanasius would be contra-orthodoxy today.

A yet deeper problem arises when it comes to explaining the dross. Many of the people who most shaped Christian thought simultaneously stood for disreputable causes and held ignoble beliefs.

- In City of God, Augustine offers that rape is God's way of addressing the sin of pride in women.

- In his Summa Theologica , Thomas Aquinas demands that unbelievers and heretics alike "deserve not only to be separated from the church, but also to be severed from the world by death", pointing to Arius as an example of someone who should have been killed for his attempt to "corrupt the faith". Aquinas was also a proponent of demonic artificial insemination. In On the Trinity, Aquinas tells us that “...demons can transfer the semen which they have collected and inject it into the bodies of others.”

- Not only did Martin Luther claim to communicate with the devil regularly, he was among the most vile antisemitics who ever lived. His On the Jews and Their Lies, published in 1543, equates Jews with the devil, revives the medieval myth that Jews killed Christian babies, and advocates for their murder. Largely ignored during the 18th and 19th centuries, his tractate resurfaced during the run-up to World War II and was displayed at the Nazi rallies in Nuremberg. [1][2][3]

- The 19th c. theologian Jonathan Edwards defended slavery on the grounds that the New Testament doesn't condemn it, and appealed to the Bible in defending other pastors who came under fire for owning African slaves. He and his wife owned at least one slave throughout their entire adult life.

- John Calvin, while perhaps most remembered for his theology of predestination, is also well-known for his role in the execution of the polymath Michael Servetus, who had the audacity of pointing out that the Trinity was nowhere present in the Bible. Because of his nontraditional views on Christology and baptism, Servetus was burned at the stake. On Calvin's view, death was a just response to Servetus' "blasphemies".

The underlying question is should we hold these Christian gurus to a higher standard? Depending on one's understanding of their role in the Christian tradition, I would argue we should. If we wish to believe that God guided their thoughts to communicating timeless truths, it seems absurd to default to the notion that whatever holds up under modern scrutiny (or whatever doctrine one agrees with) was deity-inspired and whatever doesn't wasn't. That the viciousness of these old heroes of the faith was "normal" for their time and place seems to falsify the notion of a wondrous god-spirit who "fills" believers. Is God also a "man of his time"?

Moreover, why these truths and not others? Surely there were more paradigm-shattering revelations to be imparted by an omniscient, supreme being of the universe than whether salvation is achieved by our own free will or by divine grace? How about an ethic that pushed against discrimination against all peoples, agnostic of race, skin color, gender, religion or sexual orientation, or an ethic that forbids the ownership of another human being tout court, or a revelation calling out sorcery and witchcraft as imaginary "crimes" for which no punishment is necessary? Surely these ideas and precepts would have had a more lasting, and moral, influence on history than the arcanity of theological dogma. And were we to discern such forward-looking values in their writings, surely this would in turn lend further credence to the arcane.

Worse still, were we to scrub away the works of these theologians from the annals of history, how would we be disadvantaged? If anything, it seems the Western world might be further along in terms of equality and human decency given how volubly the ancients stood against these ideals, their rhetoric still prominently figured in the public discourse of today.

Errors of the Miscellaneous Kind

Before closing, there are a few random gaffes I should mention interspersed throughout the book:

1. On p. 154, McDermott has this to say: "Another way of saying this is that all reasoning is based on faith. Even that of the atheist—he cannot prove his first principle, that there is no God. So his thinking is based on faith."

How many times have we heard this one? Most atheists do not associate their atheism with a positive claim, and the ones who do argue the point using evidence and argument, neither of which is faith. Elementary logic tells us that not believing in something is not the same as believing in something by faith. Moreover, it is not the prerogative of the atheist or agnostic to prove a negative (as of course no such thing can be done) but of the believer to proffer evidence for the positive claim. We have good reasons justifying the nonbelief in unicorns and fairies, and who would call this faith, even in the trivial or solipsistic sense?

2. On p. 166, we read the following: "The worldwide body of Christians does indeed agree on doctrines such as Trinity and original sin."

Patently false. While a minority, several Christian groups today identify with nontrinitarian views, including Unitarian Universalist Christians, Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dawn Bible Students, Friends General Conference, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witnesses, Living Church of God, Oneness Pentecostals, Members Church of God International, The Way International, The Church of God International and the United Church of God.

Moreover, original sin is rejected in a number of Christian theologies, not only for its conflict with established science, but on theological and ethical grounds as well. There is an ongoing process within both Catholic and Protestant streams of rethinking the Augustinian doctrines of a historical Fall and original sin. For an articulate synthesis of these views, see John Schneider's 2010 paper "Recent Genetic Science and Christian Theology on Human Origins: An “Aesthetic Supralapsarianism” and his 2012 follow-up paper “The Fall of ‘Augustinian Adam’: Original Fragility and Supralapsarian Purpose”.

3. On p. 199, we come across this statement: "It is historically plausible, for example, that what popular Hinduism and Buddhism know of grace was taken indirectly from Christian missionaries centuries ago."

Given that both religions predate Christianity by more than a thousand years, this is an interesting one. The concept of divine grace in Hinduism is known as Kripa (कृपा) and was extant in some Hindu traditions long before Christian missionaries showed up on their doorstep. And since personal gods are largely absent from Buddhist traditions, I'm not sure what it would even mean to say that Buddhism borrowed a concept traditionally applied to personal deities. Finally, even if there was some cross-pollination among various religions from their interactions over the millennia, the concept did not originate with the faith in which McDermott happens to subscribe. The idea of divine grace is found in many religions and mystical traditions operating at different frequencies and in different contexts. The deep influence of the Hellenistic world on Christian thought raises the probability that early Christians cadged the idea from earlier traditions and not the other way around.

Closing Thoughts

The Great Theologians: A Brief Guide is an example of bias run amok. McDermott's evangelical fingerprints are scattered all over the scene, obscuring the image preserved in the words of the past. Nowhere is this more evident than in the chapter on Schleiermacher, in which McDermott can't help but call out the unorthodoxy of it all before it gains secure footing in impressionable readers. If the late greats didn't hold McDermott's hierarchical view of the Bible, they can only serve as examples of how not to do theology. Because of this heavily adulterated mixture, I'm not sure who, if anyone, would benefit from this book. Those unfamiliar with the theologians listed on the cover won't due to the difficulty of parsing the author's views from that of the subject's, and anyone familiar with the major thinkers will learn nothing of interest apart from the author's overtly biblicistic subtext. Both groups would be better off finding translations and free reprints of their original works online.

Then again, I'm not convinced the theologians chronicled here even contributed anything of value to the human struggle in the first place. It is only historical interest that occasions my engagement with theology—a redheaded stepchild of philosophy if there ever was one. I value theology in much the same way I value philosophy: it offers a way to map some of the contours of the major developments in human thought. While many are quick to oppugn the field's relevance in the modern world, would those same people deny the value of the past to the present and future? Theology is deeply interwoven with history and philosophy; to disregard such studies is to do away with a conversation that has been going on for thousands of years. The fact that theology traffics in unprovable assertions does not render it irrelevant unless we're willing to expel the rest of humanities from the classroom as well. If I deem much of past and present theology a waste of intellectual prowess, it is only because I find more fulfillment and meaning outside of it. There is more humble curiosity, fierce intellect and imaginative energy in the words of Sagan and Dawkins and Oliver Sacks and deGrasse Tyson than I ever found in Christianity.

[Samcwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great summary of 11 of the most influential Christian theologians and their ideas. Great for anyone looking for an introduction into the development of Christian doctrine.

[Samuel Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic primer about the great theologians of church history, written with just enough technicality to not overwhelm a lay-person like me.

McDermott kept the greatness and sovereignty of God at the core of his discussions. He included enough biography and historical context to appropriately frame the conclusions of the theologians.

Most of all, McDermott pointed to God’s continual revelation to us through his word.

[Almir · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I really have a desire to spend more time reading theologians from the 100AD to 1400AD. I know about several of them because in the Reformation they are cited all over by Calvin, Luther, Knox, Watson, Owen, etc. But I have read all the early church fathers largely through second hand writings about their writings.

This book introduced a lot of the people I was wanting to read at the first part of the book. Origen, Athanasius, Augustine, and Aquinas. Later on it covered the reformation and their secondary generations Luther, Calvin, Edwards, and then finally went into modern era with Schleiermacher, Newman, Barth, and Von Balthasar.

Each chapter gave a brief overview of their life and went into some of things that they are well known for publishing or doing. Then there would be a section the author really dug into a particular doctrine he thinks they made an impact to Christianity with. That impact might be good or bad, but still a significant impact.

Then a devotional of what we can learn from them. The author is Anglican, conservative, and very catholic. Not in the sense of Roman Catholic, but in the sense viewing the whole of the Christian faith as one body. Personally, I probably need to grow in that, but it is hard when I see false teaching as so detrimental to someone's faith and comfort.

The first part of the book was my favorite. If it would have stopped with Edwards I would have given the book a 5 star. I did not care for the last part of the book with Schleiermacher, Newman, Barth, and Von Balthasar. I could not get past their bad theological stances on significant issues, maybe I'm immature, but I am not interested in trying to separate poison from the water I drink. I would rather just not drink poison water. That being said we all have our flaws and we all have errors in our theology. We are not perfect and that is kind of the point of the need for Jesus!

Overall, I really liked this book. There were several passages that the editor seemed to miss, like paragraphs that just did not make sense. I had other people read them, just to make sure I was not crazy. But there was only like 3-4 like that, the rest of the book was very easy to read and helpful to learning about men who have made significant impact in church history.

I would only recommend this book for people who are mature in their faith. I know I made a reference to my immaturity, but I have worked out my theology over the last 35 years and stand firmly with the Westiminster Confession of Faith. This book did not sway me on that, nor do I think that was the authors intent. But I could see how people who were not firmly planted in their theology could get "tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine". I do look forward to reading more from Origen, Athanasius, and Augustine soon. The author did a good job of provoking those interests in me.

[Chandler Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good and very easy to read work on 11 key theologians throughout church history. McDermott follows a very similar structure in each chapter: biography, key ideas from the theologian, controversial ideas or actions from the theologian, a section on key takeaways from the theologians’s life and thought, an excerpt from the theologian, reflection questions, and a list of key primary and secondary sources on the theologian. McDermott’s reason for choosing an odd number of theologians is to show the ongoing and continually developmental nature of theology. His chapters on John Henry Newman and Hans Urs von Balthasar were particular standouts to me as I knew very little about these theologians beforehand, and I appreciate that his first chapter is on Origen and an apologetic for Origin’s place in Christian/church history. You can tell that McDermott’s speciality is in Jonathan Edwards as his excitement and study of the theologian was very evident. One thing that stood out to me as I read this book was the prominence of universalist or inclusivist beliefs among the great theologians of church history. These notions have been condemned by certain councils throughout church history but this hasn’t stopped key thinkers from the patristic to the modern period, across eastern and western boundaries from teaching these ideas. Just an interesting thought. I also appreciate McDermott’s ecumenical vision here as he includes both Protestant and Catholic theologians from the modern period. One major frustration that stood out to me was that for some theologians, McDermott would cite quotes included in secondary sources for theologians when discussing their ideas. This bothered me as it is more appropriate to quote primary sources from a thinker when doing research. Just a minor annoyance. Also, McDermott errs on the side of accessibility a little too much at times to risk becoming simplistic in describing certain theological ideas. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to begin studying church history/historical theology.

[Ryan Lytton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without question the most accessible introduction to some of the greatest thinkers in Christian history. While I might have chosen different theologians (only four patristic authors?), I can't say that McDermott chose poorly. With two-thousand years of Christian history to deal with, you have to make some tough calls.

What I most appreciate about this book is the layout. Each chapter starts with a brief bio of the theologian in question. Then there's an exploration of their theological works and significant contributions. The chapter concludes with a summation of what we can learn from the theologian, and a brief excerpt of one of their major works. After that come some questions for discussion (which are usually quite good, but there are a few exceptions), and a short bibliography for further reading.

If you're looking for material for a book club or small group, this is set up perfectly for that. But if you're just looking to get a basic intro to ten of the most influential thinkers of Christian history, this is the book for you.

[Bruce Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, Gerald McDermott, presents twelve chapters each covering a famous Christian theologian. He briefly provides biographical information and then delves into the theologian's greatest contribution to the church. Those who love history, especially Christian history, and/or the study of the development of Christian theology will enjoy as well as learn from this work.

Personally, I found the first two-thirds of the book quite good. His chapters on Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and Edwards were all well done. The last four chapters which cover more recent theologians left much to be desired. I detected a bias of the author towards these men. Furthermore, in my humble opinion, their contributions to Christianity are far overshadowed by some of their contemporaries. The book would have been more meaningful if it included such theologians as Kuyper, Hodge, Bavinck, and even Wayne Grudem.

Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to others.

[Josiah Muhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to some of the most influential thinkers in Church history. There are times where I feel the author's own personal bias gets in the way a little bit(I would rather McDermott simply explain what these theologians taught and let them speak for themselves), but I found the read engaging none the less.

[Joshua Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview and insight into history’s greatest theologians.

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this one down. I feel like I owe so much to Mr. McDermott.

This will always be remembered one of the lakes that fed the rivers that fed the greater lakes and oceans of my study.

[Brian Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very useful book. If the reader doesn't pay close attention to the title, he or she may be disappointed. The title is The Great Theologians. It's not a list of the greatest theologians, necessarily. McDermott has chosen eleven significant and influential theologians, some of whom would easily make anyone's list of top Christian theologians. One may wish that McDermott had chosen more theologians or different ones, but that was not his aim. Also, the subtitle is "A Brief Guide." One may wish he had gone into greater depth with each theologian, but that also was not his aim. McDermott obviously wanted this book to be used in small groups or Sunday school classes, and each chapter closes with a set of discussion questions. He tries to make the work of these theologians very relevant to contemporary church life and theology, and for the most part he succeeds. Reading this book will encourage the reader to pursue more information about these theologians (Origen, Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Barth, et al.).

[Chris McLain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am preparing to enter seminary in a few months, and I have been reading a number of books to help me get into that mindset. I must say that this is one of the most helpful. It provides a brief sketch (roughly 15-20 pages in length) of eleven of the greatest Christian theologians, including Protestant and Catholic theologians, and even Schleiermacher, the father of Liberal Theology. McDermott puts them all in the context of their world views, societies, and personal lives. I had not heard several of these names before picking up the book, but I believe I have come away from The Great Theologians with a layman's understanding of each theologian's contributions to theology and Christian thought. I recommend this book to students and laypersons who desire a nuts-and-bolts understanding of orthodox theological tradition, and I even recommend it to pastors and ministers who could benefit from a refresher on these great and influential men.

[Rod Horncastle · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an introduction to the bigwigs of historical theology its pretty interesting. Makes me want to read even more.

Although I do think its just enough information to be dangerous and confusing. The author doesn't hold back from giving his opinion. This does make the book personal and not just a text book. But the author has some biases that might affect how he understands the theologians and their values and intelligence. Personally for me - the authors understandings of slavery, either biblically or historically, has caused him to discredit some theologians beliefs.

This book wasn't as deep as I wanted - but its a good place to start.

[Thomas Kidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good summary of great theologians beginning with Origen and ending with Von Balthasar. McDermott is a synthesizer who loves the Great Tradition of Orthodox theology and the men who have been part of it. He does not accept all contributions as beneficial (i.e. Schliermacher and the incipient universalism of Barth and Von Balthasar) but is also aware that the times in which each man lived affected their views. His suggestion, read old theology and, just as C.S. Lewis recommended, beware of chronological snobbery.

[Jordan Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the work that was done by McDermott. He did a wonderful job of summarizing the life and main impacts of these twelve Theologians. Of course not being able to include every detail, I think this book is a perfect primer for someone who is interested in learning more about the History of Theology.

[Dwight Penas · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a nice intro to these guys (yeah, all guys), but this guy has a Lutheran ax to grind and he grinds it: Barth is wrong on this and wrong-headed on that; von Balthasar got this wrong and was too unorthodox on that. Luther was/is perfect, of course. I don't recommend it.

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introductory work on some of the major theologians through the centuries. There were obviously many left out, but the reader can come away with at least enough information to participate in a discussion.

[Chuck Bonadies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good survey of eleven of the most important theologians in church history (including pre-Reformation, Protestant, and Catholic). McDermott is not afraid to challenge some of the popular thinking on some of these figures. I recommend this book to all who love church history.

CB

[Andrew Canavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to historical theology and the Great Tradition.

[Zac George · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a helpful starter book on the topic. Really accessible to the theologian newb. Now to read the theologians' actual works...

[sch]

Only read the first three chapters (Origen, Athanasius, Augustine).

[Br. Thanasi (Thomas) Stama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating introduction to 11 Theologians from 2nd thru 20th century. Gives you a good sampling!

Also if you read nothing else, read Chapter 13 which is a summation. Good food for thought!

[Bart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book with a good overview of some of the great theologians. I would recommend this book to most people looking to study theology for the first time.

[Caleb Lankford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for an introductory understanding of some of the church’s most influential theologians