But will it teach? The only good answer to this question often asked about a Christian theology is to teach it, which is to say, to teach according to it, to what it indicates, reflectively and critically, valid Christian teaching ought to be.
This volume of selected courses and seminars documents a career-long attempt to do exactly that. Concerned at once to be faithful to the Christian witness and to speak intelligibly and credibly to women and men here and now, it represents the way of doing church teaching, and so clarifying the meaning of the Christian commitment, that is of a piece with the distinctive way of doing Christian theology set forth and argued for in Schubert Ogden's other books and articles. This is why the courses and seminars seek to address the real questions of persons about being a Christian today and include extended treatment of such basic issues as the authority of Scripture and the credibility of the Apostles' Creed. It is also why each of them, in its way, indirectly calls for a Christian decision. Thus, together with its companion volume, To Preach the Truth, this book offers a model for bearing witness to the truth as Christians understand it.

Schubert Ogden is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theology at Southern Methodist University. His other books include 'The Reality of God and Other Essays' and 'Christ Without Myth: A Study Based on the Theology of Rudolf Bultmann'.