Fortress Press

Students of the imbroglio known as the Arian controversy will be glad to have this lucid, comprehensive, and dispassionate survey of the diverse opinions that Christians of the fourth century held concerning the relation of God the Son to God the Father. The authors do not lose sight of the political and pragmatic factors which influenced theological formulations, and they offer shrewd reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of the party labels which have been devised to guide Christians through the intellectual hubbub of this era. The chapters on Gothic theology and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit ensure that this compact volume will serve the needs of both students and researchers more fully than any other history of the Council of Nicaea and its aftermath.

This book provides a good, concise summary of the heresies known as "Arianism." It offers a helpful overview of the lines of development of the other, "heretical" side and is particularly recommended for students to read. Fortunately, later debates about the Holy Spirit and corresponding Latin and Gothic sources are integrated in a fitting manner.

Armed with the gifts of scholarly precision and dispassion, the authors offer us the best single treatment of fourth-century Arian theology in its various forms. The reader meets formidable learning expertly distilled and delicately worn. Arianism Revisited is a model of lucid, even-keeled scholarship that deserves to be required reading for scholar and student alike.

This text is a very welcome addition to literature concerned with that pivotal period in the development of Christian thought--the fourth century. The authors provide a reliable, clear, and up-to-date introduction to the theologies of those who did not embrace the Nicene Creed and the interpretations of that text that formed the basis of later Christian orthodoxy. There is nothing currently in print that accomplishes this task so elegantly.