This Reader is designed to make available some 280 seminal texts from the entire Christian tradition from Ignatius of Antioch to sources published in the 1990s, cross-referenced, and indexed for ease of reference.
All readings prior to 1800 have been specially translated for the purposes of this Reader, to ensure consistency of translation and ease of reading in English. Every effort has been made to ensure that the work is as user-friendly as possible. Each chapter includes an introduction outlining the main historical and theological issues and identifying key issues and thinkers. Each individual reading is prefaced by an introduction, alerting the reader to its importance and context, and followed where necessary by notes on translation and interpretation. The book adopts the same user-friendly format which has proved so attractive a feature of the author's earlier volume Christian Theology:

The work includes a full glossary of theological terms and biographical details of theologians cited, as well as suggestions for further reading.