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Robin Griffith-Jones (ed.), Islam and English Law: Rights, Responsibilities and the Place of Shari’a

traces this biblical story right up until the counter-reformations of the sixteenth century; this leaves Part 5 to deal with ‘contemporary’ issues and complete Towey’s historical (rather than thematic) approach. This part includes bringing theology into conversation with philosophy, science, anthropology and ethics. The final, sixth part (weighing in at nearly a hundred pages) is entitled ‘Customer Support’. Apart from an inelegantly compressed historical timeline, this final part of the introduction usefully contains a glossary and (perhaps most helpfully of all) an extensive chapter-by-chapter breakdown of sources used, biblical references, extracts from primary texts and examples of ‘further reading’. There is, then, an important self-effacing quality to Towey’s approach: this book helps to equip the reader to be a better reader of the primary texts of the Christian tradition and in particular a wiser reader of Scripture. Throughout, Towey proves a reliable guide. In its wide coverage, this book makes good on Towey’s promise to be an introduction not only to the central doctrinal loci but also to the Bible, Church history, ethics and much more. Although no single introductory textbook can do it all, however, it is surprising that this particular textbook does not include more considered attention both to non-Western voices (liberation theologies are scantily treated in three pages under a wider discussion of postmodernism) and to issues to do with prayer and spirituality. Surely theology is not only ‘thoughtful conversation about God’ but also conversation to that God in prayer. An Introduction to Christian Theology enters an already booming market; but competition, in this case, is a very good thing. The target audience for this book should be encouraged not only to read this introduction (and read it carefully and critically) but also to read it alongside other introductory textbooks that introduce theology with different emphases and alongside a variety of provocative primary texts upon which all good theological textbooks should be based and towards which point.