The present book is a revised version of the 2001 Bampton Lectures delivered in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford. I am grateful to the Bampton Electors for their invitation to deliver the series and to those who hosted me during eight visits to Oxford. A particular debt of gratitude is owed to Professor Ernest Nicholson, then Provost of Oriel College, to Miss Elizabeth Llewellyn-Smith, then Principal of St Hilda's College, and to Dr Richard Repp, then Master of St Cross College, for their generosity and encouragement. The opportunity to visit two former teachers, Basil Mitchell and John Macquarrie, also added to the enjoyment of my time in Oxford.

The material from eight lecture-sermons has been converted into book-length chapters during a period of research leave at the University of Edinburgh, and I am grateful to my colleagues for making this possible. Since returning to New College in 2000, I have been assisted by occasional conversations with many friends along the way. Particular thanks are owed to Duncan Forrester, Will Storrar, Larry Hurtado, Graeme Auld, David Reimer and Jane Dawson. I am also grateful to Jason Curtis for preparing the index.

The study has also benefited immeasurably from the detailed comments of four anonymous referees whose reports were solicited at an early stage by Cambridge University Press. Their constructive criticisms have reminded me that there is no such thing as a bad review prior to publication.