Encountering theology for the first time is exciting, but it can also be daunting. Some struggle to connect with doctrinal discussion they perceive to be abstract or abstruse. Others may find the scope of theology, and the connections between different theological issues, dizzying. In order to address these difficulties and keep the initial excitement alive, A New Introduction to Theology offers a range of accessible, practical, experiential and interactive encounters with the major elements of academic Christian theology. The guiding motif of this book is the claim that theology is full-bodied thought. The phrase 'full-bodied' shows both the richness of the experience of theology and its nature as a thoroughly embodied encounter with ways of knowing God and God's ways with the world. This motif allows the authors to bring together topics ranging from theology through the arts, sexuality and the body and the nature of the church's everyday life, to mystical theology, spirituality, political action and ecology. Working imaginatively with the five senses and the notions of loving and resting, each chapter provides a range of activities, guided discussions and reflections on key theological texts, authors and issues. This is a unique introduction to the key innovative and interdisciplinary elements from contemporary theology, ideal for individual reflection, classroom work, or flexible and distributed learning.

Encountering theology for the first time is exciting, but it can also be daunting. Some struggle to connect with doctrinal discussion they perceive to be abstract or abstruse. Others may find the scope of theology, and the connections between different theological issues, dizzying. In order to address these difficulties and keep the initial excitement alive, A New Introduction to Theology offers a range of accessible, practical, experiential and interactive encounters with the major elements of academic Christian theology. The guiding motif of this book is the claim that theology is full-bodied thought. The phrase 'full-bodied' shows both the richness of the experience of theology and its nature as a thoroughly embodied encounter with ways of knowing God and God's ways with the world. This motif allows the authors to bring together topics ranging from theology through the arts, sexuality and the body and the nature of the church's everyday life, to mystical theology, spirituality, political action and ecology. Working imaginatively with the five senses and the notions of loving and resting, each chapter provides a range of activities, guided discussions and reflections on key theological texts, authors and issues. This is a unique introduction to the key innovative and interdisciplinary elements from contemporary theology, ideal for individual reflection, classroom work, or flexible and distributed learning.

Introducing readers to the conversation between Christian theology and the arts, this handbook offers a survey of the current research in this field, and opens avenues for future work. Across the chapters there is a concern for the cultural and political embeddedness of theology and the arts, the relationship between form and content (in both art and theology), and a robust understanding of the world as the theater of God's glory. A thorough-going commitment to Scripture is also woven into the many different habits of thought that are represented in this volume. Part I surveys different approaches to the theology-arts conversation. Part II focuses on how particular art forms bringing theological issues to the surface and how theological and denominational traditions shape the making and receiving of the arts. Part III delves into key topics in the current theology-arts scene and asks how artistic and theological performance can both speak to theological and artistic knowing and help to celebrate and interrogate embodied, lived reality. Overall, this volume presents the theology-arts conversation from a distinctly Christian perspective, as a witness of the gospel of Christ to the world.