The Story of Christian Theology: The Best Single-Volume Introduction to Historical Theology

If you have ever wanted to understand where Christian doctrine came from — how the church moved from the New Testament to the Nicene Creed, from the Nicene Creed to the Reformation confessions, from the Reformation to the present — Roger Olson’s The Story of Christian Theology is the book to read first.

Published in 1999 and still in print, it has become one of the most widely used introductions to historical theology in evangelical seminaries and universities. This review explains why.

What Is It?

The Story of Christian Theology is a single-volume narrative history of Christian doctrine from the apostolic fathers to the twentieth century. At around 650 pages, it is substantial — but Olson writes with the clarity and narrative momentum of a skilled storyteller, not the dry precision of an academic monograph.

The book is organized chronologically, moving through the major periods and controversies of church history:

• The Early Church — The apostolic fathers, the apologists, the development of the biblical canon, and the earliest Trinitarian and Christological controversies
• The Patristic Era — Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius, the Cappadocians, Augustine, and the great ecumenical councils (Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, Chalcedon)
• The Medieval Period — Anselm, Aquinas, the development of scholasticism, and the theological precursors of the Reformation
• The Reformation — Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, the Anabaptists, and the confessional settlements that produced the Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican traditions
• The Modern Era — Pietism, the Enlightenment, liberalism, Schleiermacher, Barth, and the major theological movements of the twentieth century

Why Is It Valuable for Creed Students?

Every great Christian creed and confession emerged from a specific historical moment in response to specific theological pressures. The Nicene Creed was a response to Arianism. The Chalcedonian Definition was a response to Nestorianism and Eutychianism. The Westminster Confession was a response to Arminianism and Roman Catholicism. The Augsburg Confession was a response to the medieval church’s departure from biblical doctrine.

To understand what any creed says, you need to understand why it was written. Olson provides that context better than any other single-volume treatment available.

Specifically, his chapters on:

• The Trinitarian controversies of the fourth century illuminate the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds
• The Christological controversies of the fifth century illuminate the Chalcedonian Definition
• The Reformation illuminate the Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican confessions
• The Calvinist-Arminian controversy illuminate the Westminster Confession and the Canons of Dort

Who Is It For?

Olson writes for a broad audience — seminary students, serious lay readers, and pastors who want a theological education without a seminary degree. His theological sympathies are moderately Arminian and broadly evangelical, which means he is more generous to non-Calvinist perspectives than some Reformed readers might prefer — but his historical account is fair and thorough, and his coverage of the Reformed tradition is substantive and respectful.

This is the book to recommend to:

• New students of theology who need a narrative framework before diving into primary texts
• Church members who want to understand why the church confesses what it confesses
• Pastors who want a refresher on the historical context of the creeds they recite in worship
• Anyone beginning serious study of any major Christian creed or confession

Where to Get It

The Story of Christian Theology is available on our Resources page →

Once you have read Olson and want to go deeper into specific creeds, see our reading lists:

• 5 Essential Books for Studying the Nicene Creed
• 5 Essential Books for Studying the Apostles’ Creed
• 5 Essential Books for Studying the Athanasian Creed
• 5 Essential Books for Studying the Chalcedonian Creed
• 5 Essential Books for Studying the Westminster Confession
• 5 Essential Books for Studying the Heidelberg Catechism
• 5 Essential Books for Studying the Augsburg Confession
• 5 Essential Books for Studying the Belgic Confession

Roger Olson set out to tell the story of Christian theology in a way that was both scholarly and readable — and he succeeded. The Story of Christian Theology is one of those rare books that earns its place on the shelf not by being the most specialized treatment of any topic, but by providing the essential context that makes every other theological book more intelligible.