THIS I BELIEVE: Summarising my Christian belief through statements (original) (raw)
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Essential Beliefs: A Wesleyan Primer Edited by Mark A. Maddix and Diane Leclerc
The Asbury Journal , 2019
The purpose of the book is to provide A Wesleyan Primer (as the subtitle suggests) for devotees of the Wesleyan-holiness tradition to enable them to distinguish the essentials "from the non-essentials of our theology" (10). The editors hold that truth is principally personal, entailing "a personal engagement with God through Christ as enabled by the Holy Spirit" (13), and as such, theology should not be merely informative but "formative and transformative" (13). The editors sought "young theologians, or theologians from other cultures" (16), although only four of the twenty contributors represent cultures outside of the United States. This section also indicates that seven writers have some connection to NNU. The introduction is entitled "Theology in Overalls," a phrase borrowed from J. Kenneth Grider which points toward a theology for the laity (9). Maddix and Leclerc define theology as "the process of taking the grand truth of the scriptural witness to Jesus Christ and applying it to the present-day context" (9). Borrowing a cue from John Wesley's sermon title, the design of the editors is to theologize in "The Catholic Spirit" (12). They assert that Wesleyans should engage theological challengers with a spirit of love: "…we must always, always love each other despite our differences over doctrine" (12). Against the "relative and purely contextual" background of post-modernity (12, emphasis in the original), the editors propose an attempt to transcend the "extreme positions between secular relativism and rigid absolutism" (13) and assert the precedence of genuine relationship with Christ, the Truth, "over static faith statements and cold, doctrinal propositions" (13). The nineteen chapters are divided into the following five parts: "How to Do Theology," "Who God Is," "Creation, Humanity, and Sin,"
Journal of Reformed Theology, 2010
It is a huge challenge to give a comprehensive account of all major issues that cover the field of contemporary Christian systematic theology in a single volume. It is even more challenging to do so on one's own, in a coherent way and using an accessible style. And yet, Mike Higton, senior lecturer in Theology at the University of Exeter, has done precisely that. His Christian Doctrine is printed on a cheap sort of paper-but presumably that is its most conspicuous weakness (and of course the publisher is to blame for this rather than the author). Addressing especially undergraduate students, Higton offers a superb survey of Christian theology's doctrinal claims, its tasks, traditions, sources, and main issues of contention. Of course the best way to introduce systematic theology is by undertaking it, so that is what Higton does: rather than rehearsing a static overview, he tries to make sense of the various doctrinal topics by showing what they may mean for us today and how they fit in with the overall Christian narrative. However, whereas many systematic theologians are inclined to give too much space to their own cherished ideas and constructions when introducing students to the main contours of Christian doctrine, Higton is modest enough to pause at the right moment to stimulate his readers to make a reasoned choice for themselves, offering at most a suggestion as to how a particular conundrum might be adequately handled.
SCM Studyguide: Christian Doctrine - By Jeff Astley
Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2012
The content of Christian theology is nothing if not complex and nuanced. Faith, in essence, may be something relatively simple; an orientation of the heart, an intention of the will, a determination of religious identity. But as soon as the person of faith takes up the Anselmian challenge to seek understanding of that faith, problems of where to start and how to proceed quickly become acute. Many easy solutions are offered, of course, and most of those are of dubious intellectual quality, short-changing both the integrity of the faith and the veracity of its supposed cognition. They result most often in misinformed fundamentalism or other variants of stifling naïveté. But for many Christian believers seeking to deepen their knowledge and understanding by becoming students of theology there are many worthy guides. This second edition of Anderson's Journey is one of particularly good value. It purports, in its preface, to offer a 'trusty companionship for the journey' as well as to present 'a hearty invitation' to undertake the journey in the first place (p. ix). And in an attempt to make the journey as relaxed and enjoyable as possible the intellectual demands along the way are lightened by the insertion of cartoon comment that can, at times, provide critical insight and reinforcement of a main idea by way of providing a shaft of humorous light. For some, however, they may be more of a sideline distraction, and there are times when it seems that without a deeper knowledge the point of a cartoon may in fact be lost. Still, the overall impression is of a book that deals with complex and heavy topics in a most appealing manner, and succeeding in that on the whole. One very interesting feature is that, although the book has been written and structured in a historically developmental fashion, the preface presents an alternate format whereby the book could be read thematically. By a judicious selection of provided readings, nine discrete theological topics-Faith and Reason, the doctrines of God,
Christian Doctrine as Ontological Commitment to a Narrative.pdf
The Task of Dogmatics (Zondervan; eds. Oliver Crisp and Fred Sanders), 2017
This is the fifth volume in a series published by Zondervan Academic. It is the proceedings of the Los Angeles Theology Conference held under the auspices of Biola University, in January 2017. The conference is an attempt to do several things. First, it provides a regional forum in which scholars, students, and clergy can come together to discuss and ref lect upon central doctrinal claims of the Christian faith. It is also an ecumenical endeavor. Bringing together theologians from a number of different schools and confessions, the LATC seeks to foster serious engagement with Scripture and tradition in a spirit of collegial dialogue (and disagreement), looking to retrieve the best of the Christian past in order to forge theology for the future. Finally, each volume in the series focuses on a central topic in dogmatic theology. It is hoped that this endeavor will continue to fructify contemporary systematic theology and foster a greater understanding of the historic Christian faith amongst the members of its different communions.