The advent of the modern, historical, and critical methods of reading Scripture is one of the most significant events in the last five hundred years of Christian history and theology. The Challenge of History traces the trajectory of this development, presenting key readings from over thirty-five theologians--from Erasmus to Ellacuria--whose writings relate to the birth of modern historical and critical exegesis and more broadly to the emergence among theologians and biblical scholars of a certain historical consciousness that characterizes vast segments of modernity. Informative introductions readable translations, and an ecumenically and geographically diverse selection of readings make this volume an ideal textbook for studying of one of the most important topics in modern theology.