Baxter, Richard (1615–1691): English Puritan, advocate of Amyraldianism
or “four point Calvinism.”
Benedict XVI (1927– ): Born Joseph Ratzinger, German priest and theology
professor, archbishop of Munich (1977–1982), cardinal (1977–2005), and
pope beginning in 2005.
Brunner, Emil (1889–1966): Swiss Reformed pastor and theologian,
advocate of a neo Orthodox theology of divine human encounter that requires
a “point of contact” between God and human nature, a point famously and
¿ ercely rejected by Karl Barth.
Bultmann, Rudolf (1884–1976): German New Testament scholar, neo-
Orthodox theologian, advocate of “demythologizing” the language of the
New Testament and interpreting it using Existentialist concepts.
Calvin, John (1509–1564): French Protestant theologian who lived most
of his adult life in Geneva. He was the most inÀ uential ¿ gure in Reformed
theology and author of the Institutes, the most important systematic theology
text of Protestantism.
Cyril of Alexandria (c. 378–444): Nestorius opponent, Bishop of Alexandria,
dominant ¿ gure at the Council of Ephesus 431, known for his Christology of
hypostatic union, which emphasizes the unity of the person of Christ, and his
defense of the title theotokos (Mother of God) for the Virgin Mary.
Dante Alighieri (1265–1321): Italian poet and author of the Divine
Comedy, an epic poem in which Dante portrays himself journeying through
hell, purgatory, and heaven. He’s an important source for the Christian
imagination of the afterlife.
Darby, John Nelson (1800–1882): Anglo Irish theologian, leader of the
Plymouth Brethren, and founder of Dispensationalist theology.