Christian Theologies of Salvation

Essays exploring pivotal spiritual figures over two millennia and their doctrines of salvation.

Salvation has been a key focus of Christian theology since the first days of the church. Theologians from St. Augustine to Karl Barth have debated the finer points of salvation for nearly as long, offering a bewildering array of competing and often contradictory theories.

Christian Theologies of Salvation traces doctrines of salvation from the first century into the twenty-first century. Each chapter focuses on a different major theologian, first presenting the theologian’s doctrine of salvation, then highlighting how the doctrine makes a distinct contribution to the church’s overall dogma. The volume offers a comparative focus, including doctrines of salvation that reflect the historical development of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant views.

By illuminating the ways in which doctrines of salvation have evolved over the church’s history, Justin Holcomb takes us across the teachings of Origen and Augustine, John Calvin and Martin Luther, and eventually to the more modern theologies of Karl Barth and Gustavo Gutiérrez. A much-needed map to the options and implications of different theologies of salvation, this book is essential reading for students and scholars of Christian thought.

“Holcomb has assembled a fine group of scholars to look at four major periods, patristic, Middle Ages, Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation, and the 18th to 21st centuries . . . [A] solid study of important voices on Christian salvation.” ―Choice

“An important tool in helping theological students and pastors explore their own theological tradition while at the same time prompting deeper conversations with ecumenical partners.” —Paul Galbreath, Union Presbyterian Seminary