Many students have either struggled with or revelled in Macquarrie’s Principles of Christian Theology. His Jesus Christ in Modern Thought is a landmark study in Christological thought, and his groundbreaking work on existential theology set forth the works of Heidegger and Bultmann for a new generation. John Macquarrie, Emeritus Lady Margaret Professor of Theology in Oxford, is certainly no lightweight when it comes to theology.

However, for readers of Themelios, his existentialist programme in theology has taken him a long way beyond the biblical revelation. This must not mean that his thought be ignored, for, as this book illustrates, he has wrestled with some of the great thinkers of the enlightenment, and some of the most influential theologians in the modern period. He has made these people accessible, and developed their thought in important directions. Thus this book is a helpful mix between autobiography, historical anecdotes, and theological writing, giving a clearer picture of Macquarrie.

This work is not essential reading, but provides insight into a period of British and American theology that saw the growth and fading of an existential liberalism. Nevertheless, it does remind us evangelicals that these existential questions must still be dealt with, as must many of the ecumenical issues that Macquarrie raised through his long career. It also offers a fun little window into the world of Oxford theology!

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