Through an in-depth study of four key figures û Pierre Rousselot, Joseph Marechal, Jacques Maritain, and Etienne Gilson û From Unity to Pluralism traces the evolution of Thomism in the first half of the twentieth century. Through their work, Thomisism encountered contemporary thought and rediscovered its authentic roots, and the ideal of a univocal, unitary doctrine of Scholastic truth embodied in the unambiguous teachings of Thomas Aquinas, which had inspired the Thomist revival at the end of the nineteenth century, gradually gave way. The result is the emergence of pluralism within the system itself and the independent development of the theologies of Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan.
The last 20 centuries of Christian history have witnessed the emergence of numerous theological traditions. This reference provides alphabetically arranged entries for more than 450 Christian theologians. Included are entries for those individuals whose work was primarily in systematic and spiritual theology, or who were church historians chiefly concerned with theological matters. Whenever possible, each entry provides basic biographical information, a brief account of the theologian's education and career, and a summary of the person's most important contributions to theology. The entries end with bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, while the volume concludes with a selected, general bibliography.