It contains twenty one colour pictures and ninety six black and white illustrations.

[4][5] In his introduction Bowden noted that most Christians have only a limited understanding of the traditions of their own religion.

[1] Religion writer Richard Ostling called this book, together with its companion release, the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.

), "2005's books of the year in religion", and commented that the Encyclopedia takes a "relatively moderate approach to literary and historical disputes.

"[2] Publishers Weekly said: "Overall, this encyclopedia is a must-have for any Christian reference shelf.