Book By Truett Seminary Professor Awarded ECPA Gold Medallion
The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform (InterVarsity Press), by Dr. Roger E. Olson, professor of theology at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, was awarded the 2000 Gold Medallion for best theology/doctrine book from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
The awards were presented during the 23rd Annual Gold Medallions Awards banquet held earlier this summer in New Orleans, La.
More than 200 judges--from bookstore owners, managers and book buyers to editors, book reviewers and industry leaders--evaluated Gold Medallion nominees on content, literary quality, design and the significance of the contribution.
"God just blessed my work in this," Olson said. "I had a burden to do it, not just as an academic exercise, but for the purpose of interesting Christian readers and lay people in our Christian heritage."
This is the second time Olson's book has been honored. Earlier this year, Christianity Today named The Story of Christian Theology as "Best Book in Theology and Ethics," calling the book "evenhanded, refreshingly readable, impressive in its breadth and depth."
Reviewers for the Christian magazine wrote that The Story of Christian Theology, is "poised to become a standard historical theology textbook. Roger Olson vividly recounts the deeds and words of the apostolic fathers of the second century, the clash between the theological schools of Alexandria and Antioch, the epochal division between East and West, the revolutionary advent of the Reformation and much more--right on up to the dazzling, sometimes dismaying fallout that has continued to shake Christians through the 20th century. Through it all he highlights a common thread: a concern for salvation--God's redemptive activity in forgiving and transforming sinful human beings."
Olson, who joined the Truett Seminary faculty in 1999, co-wrote two other books with with Stanley J. Grenz--Who Needs Theology? and 20th Century Theology: God and the World in a Transitional Age, which received Christianity Today's award in 1993 for "Best Book in Theology/Biblical Studies." He teaches Christian texts and traditions courses at Truett.