This complete yet concise reference work provides scholars and students with accurate interpretations of the ways in which Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) used important theological terms. Aquinas became one of the most important theologians of the Middle Ages and his influence continues today. His thought is of major interest to both Roman Catholics and Protestants. - Back cover.

This volume presents an introduction to Aquinas and a guide to his thinking on almost all the major topics on which he wrote. The book begins with an account of Aquinas's life and the historical context of his thought. The subsequent sections address topics that Aquinas himself discussed. The final sections of the volume address the development of Aquinas's thought and its historical influence.

This volume in the Westminster Handbooks to Christian Theology series provides a compact and lucid treatment of the main elements of the theology of Martin Luther (1483-1546). Janz, a top Luther expert, discusses the theological understandings that made Luther a leading figure in the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation. This splendid guide will serve as a welcome reference for careful and accurate descriptions of the key components of Luther's theology. The Westminster Handbook to Christian Theology series provides a set of resources for the study of historic and contemporary theological movements and Christian theologians. These books are intended to help students and scholars find concise and accurate treatments of important theological terms./p>

The theologians and major thinkers of the medieval period developed their thought in complicated ways, giving rise to the term scholasticism, which was the method of learning associated with the great schools of the period. Theology was the center of thought, and finding one's way through the many and complex theological ideas introduced during this era can be very difficult. This accessible reference work clarifies these ideas and provides an extensive guide to the main theological features of medieval theology. Author James Ginther provides clear and compelling discussions of major Christian thinkers, sociocultural developments, and key terms and concepts related to the period. Both students and scholars will find this an eminently useful resource for the study of medieval theology.

Offering a fresh approach to one significant aspect of the soteriology of Thomas Aquinas, God's Grace and Human Action brings new scholarship and insights to the issue of merit in Aquinas's theology. Through a careful historical analysis, Joseph P. Wawrykow delineates the precise function of merit in Aquinas's account of salvation. Wawrykow accounts for the changes in Thomas's teaching on merit from the early Scriptum on the Sentences of Peter Lombard to the later Summa theologiae in two ways. First, he demonstrates how the teaching of the Summa theologiae discloses the impact of Thomas's profound encounter with the later writings of Augustine on predestination and grace. Second, Wawrykow notes the implications of Thomas's mature theological judgment that merit is best understood in the context of the plan of divine wisdom. The portrayal of merit in sapiential terms in the Summa permits Thomas to insist that the attainment of salvation through merit testifies not only to the dignity of the human person but even more to the goodness of God.

Renick's engaging narrative presents the key theological views of this important theologian to those with no previous Aquinas background. With cartoons by Hill, this book takes a sound but lighthearted approach.

This second edition of the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms provides a comprehensive guide to nearly 7,000 theological terms—1,000 more terms than the first edition. McKim’s succinct definitions cover a broad range of theological studies and related disciplines: contemporary theologies, biblical studies, church history, ethics, feminist theology, global theologies, hermeneutics, liberation theology, liturgy, ministry, philosophy, philosophy of religion, postcolonial theology, social sciences, spiritually, worship, and Protestant, Reformed, and Roman Catholic theologies. This new edition also includes cross-references that link readers to other related terms, commonly used scholarly abbreviations and abbreviations for canonical and deuterocanonical texts, an annotated bibliography, and a new introductory section that groups together terms and concepts, showing where they fit within particular theological categories. No other single volume provides the busy student, and the theologically experienced reader, with such easy access to so many theological definitions.