· Introduces readers to the biblical foundations and key methodological questions for theology: faith and reason, the nature of religious authority, the place of experience, revelation, Scripture and tradition, orthodoxy and heresy, and the importance of context (both historical and geographical)· Provides a comprehensive overview of all the major doctrinal topics (loci) of the Christian faith (the Trinity, Christology, pneumatology, soteriology, ecclesiology, eschatology, etc.), with emphasis on the history of doctrinal development· Highlights the most important issues currently being debated within each topic (including perspectives from black, feminist, post-colonial, queer and other theologies)· Profiles the major theologians who have contributed to each topic, offering a broader perspective on the angles taken by distinct figures in the history of theology· Explores contemporary questions, e.g. the local vs. the global, the theology of religions, gender and race, ecology· Adopts a balanced, ecumenical approach, looking at the contributions of all the major branches of the Church to the inheritance of theology today, and demonstrating the breadth and richness of Christian tradition