Studium der Theologie

Gerhard Ebeling's book is a very good introduction to the study of theology. First presented as a lecture for beginners at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Zurich, it was then published as a book in 1975. It was later translated into English (Fortress, 1978; Collins, 1979). Ebeling's purpose was to give a global vision of theology by characterizing its general intention and by presenting every theological discipline in its specific role. He also integrated neighboring disciplines from outside theology, for example philosophy, the natural sciences and the humanities. Throughout the entire work, it was Ebeling's intention to avoid the danger of high specialization in the different disciplines by connecting these to each other. This new edition contains an afterword which presents the book in its historical context and compares it with other works of the last decades in the same field.