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Category: Historical Theology

  • New Books of Note

    Last year, I used Gerald Bray’s God is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology for my 11th grade Bible class. Along the way, I offered several posts with excerpts: The Christian Experience of God God Has Spoken To Us Christian Worldview and Speaking About God The Practice of Theology and Theology of Faith The Mystery…

  • God’s Battle Plan For The Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation

    One thing that struck me after reading Tim Keller’s book on prayer was how much importance he placed on meditation. Not just meditation in the abstract, or even the secular benefits of it, but the practice of meditating specifically on Scripture as a prelude to prayer. He spent a good portion on the topic, but I…

  • Reformed Catholicity: The Promise of Retrieval for Theology and Biblical Interpretation

    “Can Christians and churches be catholic and Reformed?” That may well be your first question after reading the title of this book. Thankfully, it’s also the opening lines of the book written by RTS Orlando theology profs Michael Allen and Scott Swain. Along with Puritan William Perkins, Allen and Swain suggest that “to be Reformed…

  • The Question of Canon: Challenging The Status Quo In The New Testament Debate

    Michael J. Kruger is president and professor of New Testament at RTS in Charlotte. He is the author of several books, notably Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books. Now more recently, he has released The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate. Though his canon…

  • When The Bible Speaks, God Speaks: The Classic Doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy

    Coming up on a month ago, I told you we were doing a series review of Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy. Now we’re ready for the first monthly installment, and the essay by Albert “From A Christian Worldview Perspective” Mohler is up.[ref]That nickname is from the constant refrain I hear every morning on The Briefing. If…

  • The Theology of Augustine: An Introductory Guide to His Most Important Works

    Matthew Levering, The Theology of Augustine: An Introductory Guide to His Most Important Works. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, March, 2013. 224 pp. Paperback, $24.99 Buy it: Amazon Read an excerpt Visit the publisher’s page Thanks to Baker Academic for the review copy! Matthew Levering is professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton. He also knows a thing or two about St. Augustine. Actually he knows…

  • Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology

    Andrew Louth, Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, October, 2013. 172 pp. Paperback, $20.00 Buy it: Amazon Visit the publisher’s page Thanks to IVP Academic for the review copy! Andrew Louth is professor emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine studies at Durham University, England. Conveniently, he is also a priest of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (Moscow Patriarchate), serving…

  • God Is Love: Bray on The Filioque Clause

    I missed last week and I actually don’t have highlights for chapter 10 of God Is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology, which is on Christology. Bray spends most of his time on generation, both in the eternal sense and in the historical sense. He does an adequate job of defending the historically orthodox position…

  • Awakening Faith: Daily Devotions From The Early Church

    James Stuart Bell, with Patrick J. Kelly, Awakening Faith: Daily Devotions From The Early Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, October 2013. 400 pp. Hardcover, $24.99 Buy it: Amazon Read an excerpt Visit the publisher’s page Thanks to Zondervan for the review copy! I think I’ve mentioned on here before that I’m not usually a huge fan of devotionals. I am however willing to…

  • Reading The Christian Spiritual Classics: A Guide For Evangelicals

    Jamin Goggin is a pastor at Saddleback Church, while Kyle Strobel is a professor of theology at Grand Canyon University. Together, they have edited together a collection of essays from a wide range of scholars. The focus in Reading The Christian Spiritual Classics: A Guide For Evangelicals is to give an overview and introduction to this collection…