Mine have been Calvin, Berkhof, Grudem, and now wading thru Frame!and benefited from?
Theology (the study of God) can be a slippery slope. I avoid books and ideologies separate from the Word and organized topical assessments of the doctrines of God because of the fallacies which may arise in the reception of what is being said. One person, or even an institution, may establish in their own minds that a certain thought is being conveyed and that resolution should be maintained, even militantly, to subvert any wrong think; very dangerous. I do not intend to diminish the importance of systematic theology but only caution on the "results" found by some of its famed authors.and benefited from?
and benefited from?
I've been learning new vocabulary, but not really searching out systematic theology.
cp
Everyone's a Theologian
An Introduction to Systematic Theology
By R.C. Sproul
A good overview and resource for most Christians. Clergy will need more depth, but most committed lay believers will be blessed if they put in effort.
Well, we just use the Bible and there's about 750 pages, but, I suppose you could just put everything we know about it on the one page.How many pages are in this particular book?
cp
Is that a really big page, or really fine print, or that not much is _known_ ?Well, we just use the Bible and there's about 750 pages, but, I suppose you could just put everything we know about it on the one page.
Well there's the LILY doctrine.Is that a really big page, or really fine print, or that not much is _known_ ?
Well, we just use the Bible and there's about 750 pages, but, I suppose you could just put everything we know about it "on the one page."
right, that does it then....Lanolinism.
Everyone's a Theologian
An Introduction to Systematic Theology
By R.C. Sproul
A good overview and resource for most Christians. Clergy will need more depth, but most committed lay believers will be blessed if they put in effort.
I would feel better if one was to read say Calvin Institutes, or Berkhof, or a Boice!Just so that we are all on the same page, and I do not say this to be argumentative, only to be factual.
When you read material produced by R.C. Sproul, you will come to realize that he is a promoter of the "Preterist" method of understanding the Bible.
He claims that the rapture of the Church is modeled after the return of the Roman soldiers to Rome in triumph after a military campaign.
R.C. Sproul publicly endorsed Hugh Ross's book, Creation and Time, which is a polemic for progressive creationism/theistic evolution, and thereby, is a denial of orthodox Christianity's literal/factual/historical interpretation of the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis. This NavPress published book also openly attacks the creation movement and the major people involved (2/26/96, Christian News).
Source: R. C. Sproul-- Heretic and Blasphemer (blessedquietness.com)
In a 3/88 Eternity editorial, Sproul promoted a raunchy movie staring Barbara Streisand--the movie included cursing, prostitution, incest, and a glib justification for abortion. Sproul bemoans the fact that most Christians won't see the film simply "because there is a growing taboo in the evangelical world against watching movies." Raunchiness is not new for Sproul. In his Johnny Come Novel, many of its pages were "blue with blasphemy" uttered by its principal characters, and he used "unnecessary and offensive explicitness" in relating an illicit event.
Source: (7/24/87, Sword of the Lord).
Berkhof would be better to read, except for his take on Infant baptist!Everyone's a Theologian
An Introduction to Systematic Theology
By R.C. Sproul
A good overview and resource for most Christians. Clergy will need more depth, but most committed lay believers will be blessed if they put in effort.
I appreciate the views of Major and YeshuaFan (and all my brothers & sisters here).
One should not take any of man`s works as definitive. And I find several of Sproule's points a little or more curious.
And as I said, it is only an overview. But I found it approachable and there are several places where he takes pains to be respectful of differing views while pointing up underlying agreements.