A New handbook of Christian theology

Because we perceived the current theological scene not to be dominated by any one powerful movement or dominant voice, we ranged across the theological spectrum and the globe to pinpoint writers appropriate for our topics. In some cases we chose established experts with a magisterial command of a topic; in others we tapped younger scholars whose work is known so far only in the proceedings of the theological professional societies and articles tucked away in journals, but whom we judged to have promising futures. Only four of the authors of articles in the earlier Handbook, all of whom were just starting their careers at the time, have been retained to write for A New Handbook of Christian Theology. Fresh voices, including those of women and minorities, are heard in these pages. The authors represent diverse geographical regions and assorted confessional traditions; in fact, some stand outside any explicit version of the Christian tradition. Our aim is to present a set of perspectives that adequately and comprehensively records the situation in theology at the end of the twentieth century. - Preface.