Christianity: The Complete Guide Edited by John Bowden The Guide is unlike any other book about Christianity. It approaches Christianity as a foreign land, which it is for a large number of people. Written at the level of a serious daily newspaper, it introduces readers to the very different forms of Christianity as they are to be found today on all the continents: to its geographical spread; to its history; to its great works of art from cathedrals to paintings, sculpture and music; to its values and ethical responses to the great issues of the day; to its contrasting forms of prayer and worship; to its Bible and the thinking based on it; to its belief in God. Almost 200 contributors - a team of scholars fro the United States, Europe and the British Commonwealth who are all experts in their subjects - have written over 300 major articles which the book contains. In addition, 166 'boxes' provide succinct summaries of information on a whole variety of issues, supplemented by a 'Who's Who' of key figures, along with illustrations, diagrams, maps, time chart, and a comprehensive index. The Guide assumes that its readers are completely unfamiliar with Christianity and is focused primarily on them: no word or idea goes unexplained. But at the same time it is based on a wealth of scholarship, so that it can serve as an authoritative reference work. And for those who do not just want information but an answer to the fundamental questions of evil, suffering, death and the meaning of life, it offers possible answers based on the resources of the Christian tradition. After teaching theology at Nottingham University, in 1966 John Bowden became Editor and Managing Director of SCM Press Ltd in London, a position he held for 34 years. As well as publishing famous theologians from all over the world, he also found time to edit, write and translate. Among other books he edited A New Dictionary of Christian Theology (1983) and wrote Jesus: The Unanswered Questions (1988), which was short-listed for the Collins Religious Book Award. He was also English-language editor of the Roman Catholic international theological journal Concilium from 1990 to 2004. He has translated more than 200 books from German, Dutch, French and Italian and has twice won the annual Schlegel-Tieck Prize for the best translation of a book from German into English. He is an adviser to the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism.