Title: Love: A Brief History Through Western Christianity
By: Carter Lindberg
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 195
Vendor: Wiley-Blackwell
Publication Date: 2008

Dimensions: 7.46 X 5.42 X 0.61 (inches)
Weight: 8 ounces
ISBN: 063123599X
ISBN-13: 9780631235996
Series: Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion
Stock No: WW235994

Publisher's Description

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3,000 years of ideas about the nature of love in Western culture are brought together in this concise history. By blending the works of many scholars and examining the significant lives, works, and movements associated with love, Love: A Brief History Through Western Christianity traces the evolution and impact of this timeless topic.

Takes the reader on a lightning but enlightening journey through 3,000 years of the idea of love
Examines the influential movements, people, and work that have helped shape our notion of love in Western culture, written by a key figure in religious history
Tackles the historical and religious concept in Western society, and our efforts to apply ideas of love to social concerns
Explores diverse periods and examples – from the theological and philosophical texts of figures such as Augustine, Luther, and Feuerbach to intellectual movements like Romanticism and tragic historic figures such as Abelard and Heloise
Contributes valuable insights into one of history’s most inexhaustible and timeless topics, spanning biblical views of love including monasticism and pietism, romantic notions of love, through to today’s liberal religion and concept of love as self-fulfillment.

Author Bio

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CARTER LINDBERG is Professor Emeritus of Church History at Boston University School of Theology. He is the author of numerous books, including A Brief History of Christianity (2005), The Pietist Theologians (2004), The Reformation Theologians (2001), and The European Reformations (1995) – all published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Editorial Reviews

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"Lindberg’s readable and enjoyable history is framed by an account of eros and agape." (International Journal of Systematic Theology, 19 June 2015)

"Overall, Lindberg offers a significant work, one which will be helpful for pastors, seminarians, graduate students, and interested lay people." (Lutheran Quaterly, 2011)
"Lindberg has written an excellent book that deserves a wide readership. Its vastness of scope is breathtaking and its selection of topics comprehensive.." (Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2010)
"Any scholar or general reader who wishes to grapple with the nature of love may find this book and its bibliography a fine place to start." (The Catholic Historical Review, January 2009)

"A wonderful overview of the ways in which the theme of love has been presented and reflected upon from biblical times to the late 20th century." (Church Times, November 2008)