Initial impressions:

This book is in desperate need of a table of contents that goes down one more level of detail, similar to his [b:An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives|1499803|An Introduction to Ecclesiology Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives|Veli-Matti Karkkainen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1184326869s/1499803.jpg|1491205] - I just skimmed the text so I could write one in. Oddly, his chapter on ecclesiastical (what I would call denominational) traditions omits Anglicans (the ecclesiology book does this too) and Methodists (particularly odd given Wesley's "heart strangely warmed" conversion experience); and selects the Lutheran church as a representative of the Reformed tradition(??).

Although plenty of space is given to Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic perspectives, and some to ecumenical perspectives, I didn't spot a discussion of the filioque clause. Maybe that's due to his desire to emphasize experience and new perspectives, rather than rehashing thousand-year-old disagreements; or maybe I just missed it. I care a lot about this topic because it has been church-dividing; on the other hand, I'm already reasonably well informed about it. And our other text, [b:I Believe in the Holy Spirit|827935|I Believe in the Holy Spirit|Yves Congar|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328806561s/827935.jpg|813649], looks like it has an extremely detailed (albeit necessarily slightly dated) discussion of it... which, however, is not included in the syllabus for the course I'm taking! ( )