By: Dawnel Volzke on October 30, 2014
Alister E. McGrath’s Christian Theology: An Introduction provides an overview of the history and development of Christian theology. He traces the development of theology through history, by sectioning it off a chunk at a time. I appreciate his approach as “there is no need to read every chapter in this book, nor need you read…
By: Brian Yost on October 30, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister E. McGrath. This is a great book for both the novice as well as the scholar. McGrath “assumes that its readers know nothing about Christian theology.”[1] He thus creates a tool that can be placed in the hand of a student, but at the same…
By: Travis Biglow on October 30, 2014
The Quadrilateral of Christian Theology October 30, 2014 The renewal of my love for Theology has come full circle again. Studying Christian Theology this week has renewed my interest and pointed me to a point of theology that I believe is timeless in its nature, the quadrilateral. Before I get into that I…
By: Dave Young on October 30, 2014
My posts have been reflecting upon ways in which theological thinking can be a meeting place, a place to ask important questions. I’ve been attempting to adopt a learning posture, being curious without having to be ‘the answer guy;’ communicating a broader vision, which goes beyond my comfort level, going beyond what I had described…
By: Nick Martineau on October 30, 2014
Who Needs Theology, followed by, A Very Short Introduction to Theology, followed by a 500+ page student textbook on theology is enough to make me cry for mercy! I’m not sure where to even start with Alister McGrath’s Christian Theology: An Introduction. While yes, this is an introduction to theology, McGrath chose the comprehensive approach…
By: Jon Spellman on October 30, 2014
Put Down Those Matches! Christian theology, at any level much any deeper than just below the surface, should not be attempted without also studying its developmental arc down through the history of the church. To more fully embrace the theological thoughts and conversations found within the available corpus of theological work, it is important…
By: Mary Pandiani on October 30, 2014
After teaching Western Civilization to 15-16 year olds for a number of years, I learned that history, like theology, can easily cause a syndrome called, “Roll-the-eyes-back-into-the-head because I can’t take it anymore” which usually resulted in this question, “Besides, what relevance does it have in my life?” While they, like so many today referencing theology,…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on October 29, 2014
In theory, being a student and teacher of Christian theology ought to be one of the most dynamic and exciting fields of study. However in the words of Alister McGrath in his text, Christian Theology: An Introduction, “In practice, both student and teacher often find the teaching of the subject to be difficult , and…
By: Travis Biglow on October 25, 2014
Theology and Jesus Thinking October 25, 2014 For this to be an introduction it covered a broad range of theological topics. And since we are faced with so many world religions and dogmas, exploring other religions is not bad just to understand ours. I like how David F. Ford explained the concepts surrounding why we…
By: Jon Spellman on October 24, 2014
Theology, allow me to RE-introduce myself. It feels like I’m being introduced to theology all over again. I knew her once really well but life happened and we grew apart. I am reflecting on the timeline leading up to and immediately following my completion of the MA in theology (remember, it’s practical!). My program concluded…
By: Dave Young on October 23, 2014
In my last post I mentioned that “My American evangelical bubble is deflating; maybe that’s good.” Jason Clark asked me to comment further on what I meant and why I thought it was ‘good.’ I’d like to answer that in this post. My reality has been deflating generally since I started this GFES graduate study,…
By: Nick Martineau on October 23, 2014
I have lived my entire life in the Bible belt. Not just the Bible belt, but white Christian suburbia. No doubt this plays deeply into my theology of God, even in ways I don’t understand. I can remember when I first realized God is bigger then the box I have put him in. When I…
By: Dawnel Volzke on October 23, 2014
Each religion has core theological beliefs, which have come about as theologians and scholars have debated the great questions of life throughout centuries. Today, we have many different flavors of religion or theological views. Ford, in his book, Theology: a Very Short Introduction, asserts that there are “between four and five billion of the world’s…
By: Mary Pandiani on October 23, 2014
Understanding God Theology and Wisdom Humble Transforming Trying my hand at Haiku (5-7-5 syllables) today as I attempt to assimilate the “whole shape of living” by David Ford at a deeper level. I’m struck by his words at the end of his book, Theology: A Very Short Introduction: “Who will do theology?….God will..by taking the initiative…
By: Brian Yost on October 23, 2014
When picking up a book that includes “a very short introduction” in the title, one may expect to find a pamphlet of about a dozen pages or fewer. This is not the case with David Ford’s Theology: a Very Short Introduction, which is nearly 200 pages long. The ironic thing is that, given the immense…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on October 22, 2014
I like your Christ, I just don’t think you understand your theology? While being a loose spin-off of a famous quote of Mahatma Gandhi, after reading David F. Ford’s book, Theology: A Very Short Introduction, I am concerned about the church I know and it’s capacity to theologically engage the emerging culture and increasingly complex…
By: Dawnel Volzke on October 17, 2014
The concept of theology often seems lost in the midst of a myriad of new ideas and beliefs. Grenz and Olson, in their book Who Needs Theology?: An Invitation to the Study of God, assert that “many Christians today not only are uninformed about basic theology but even seem hostile to it.”[1] Hostility seems like…
By: Travis Biglow on October 16, 2014
Thinking Theologically, a quest to know God October 16, 2014 So many thoughts came into my mind as I began to read “Who Needs Theology” because this book hit on a lot of points that have a lot to do with my theological thinking today. At Azusa Pacific University our program…
By: Brian Yost on October 16, 2014
I never cease to be amazed at the reactions people give when questioned about their theology. In my experience, those who say they love theology are in the minority. In fact, many people are highly suspicious of those who would call themselves theologians. I was appalled, but not surprised that “A 1994 poll funded by…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on October 16, 2014
Directionally Normalizing In the book, Who Needs Theology?: An Invitation to the Study of God, the authors Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson successfully attempt to normalize the concept and practice of theology. By taking a topic our culture and society has moved to the top and almost unreachable shelf for the elites and…
