Written by: rhbaker275 on October 27, 2013

Writing an introduction to a vast area of study, such as theology, is a significant undertaking. Alister McGrath in Christian Theology: An Introduction has written just such a course of study. I say “course of study” because McGrath in the introductory material indicates his intentional use of the writing as a text book and addresses the use of the book by students and teachers. The writing is comprehensive in that it covers the subject sufficiently and gives enough information to go beyond a simple cursory knowledge.

I do not want to do a book review. It is difficult to engage the book beyond its intended purpose. By this, I am referring to the book’s use as a text book.  Because the subject is broad and expansive and the book is comprehensive, unless one wants to engage a single element of the content such as, McGrath’s presentation and inclusion of any single doctrine of Christian theology, the value of the book exists in its use as a text. In a comprehensive reading of parts of the book and a perusal reading of other parts, I found two distinct values in the book.  First, it is an excellent “read’ on the subject of Christian theology. I have not sat down and simply “read” a book on theology for a number of years. This book serves as a good renewal/reminder of what Christian theology is. The arrangement of the book provides the historicity of theology (historical fact and the implication of historical development), theological methodologies and theological content. This structure and the authors writing style, much of the material presented as narrative, makes easy reading of a subject that otherwise could be much more difficult. This is of course, the perspective of a pastor, preacher and biblical student; perhaps an academic theologian might see less value.

Second, the additional aids in the book make it a good (not excellent) reference work. The “key names, words and phrases at the end of the historical chapters and the chapter questions for refection are very helpful. There is also a short but helpful glossary of terms (about ten pages) that gives a good, succinct definition of many theological terms. The author’s writing in an easy-to-comprehend style is very apparent in the glossary. Along this same line, as the author indicates in the introduction, most of the book chapters can be read as stand-alone material. This enhances the books value as a reference. In my own library, I have located the book in a reference section with other biblical and theological dictionaries rather than with books on theology. This is my first copy of Christian Theology: An Introduction; it seems to me that this 5^th addition is very current covering concepts into the twenty-first century. The short section on “postmodernism”(73) is an unadorned introduction but is well written and a good place to turn when one wants to sort out all of the writings, some rhetorical, and get back to a simple rendering of what this philosophical turn means for us today.

Theology – Preaching – Doctrine:

This week I was privileged to attend a Church Preaching Clinic sponsored by the Ohio Ministries of the Church of God (Anderson). Dr. James Earl Massey served as the presenter and facilitated an informative and inspirational discussion on preaching. Massey presented the task of the preacher/pastor as threefold in nature: First, the preacher is to understand the scripture. This requires a deep reading and arduous study of the meaning of the text by those who received it and the original text and within the contextually in the Bible, individual books, chapters and paragraphs. Second,  use the Word; make it a priority in teaching and preaching; third, connect the scripture to life; meet the people/parishioners’ need.

In reading McGrath’s book, I wanted to jump ahead to the last section. After all, the content, the theology, in the final analysis is what is most important. The history of development, heritage and the methods of theology are significant, but the message is what a preacher preaches and it is what reveals God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and redirects a person’s life. This conference, along with McGrath’s work, was inspirational in my own spiritual well-being. Dr. Massey outlined a four-fold function for doctrine:

1. Christian doctrine differentiates the church from culture (we explain ourselves by what Jesus taught).
2. Christian doctrine helps the church understand and explain herself.
3. Christian doctrine is necessary to shed light on human experience
4. Christian doctrine helps us understand God’s relationship to us.

I found these thoughts to be helpful in my reading this week. The church is not a school but it is a place where teaching takes place. Our knowledge is not perfect and we shall always “know in part” but in the process we can seek the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit in this life that we might know God and Jesus Christ whom God sent – this is eternal life.

About the Author

rhbaker275