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Solid, Trustworthy, and Biblical doctrines designed to better equip the Christian man or woman
Pros
Packed with hundreds of Scripture verses!
Cons
None
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
This is a respected book worth owning if your learning or teaching God's word!
I first came into contact with this book because I am a seminary student and we are required to read systematic theologies.
WHAT IS A SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY?:
A systematic Theology is not as technical as it sounds, so don't fear! Essentially, what a systematic theology does is that it puts into systematic sections the different studies (doctrines) of the Bible (for example: the doctrine of salvation and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit). Another way to explain it, is that the book takes all the verses of the Bible that deal with a specific doctrinal issue and places them together in one place. When all of these doctrines are systematized, you have a "Systematic Theology."
WHO IS THE BOOK WRITTEN FOR?
I mentioned earlier that I read this book as a textbook in class. However, the book is designed to meet the needs of different types of readers. Here are some ways the book may be used:
Text Book: For students, the book is a great text book. It can be read in a systematic way. For example weekly chapters can be assigned in order to finish the book in a designated amount of time.
A Reference Book: The book is wonderful for the reader who only wants to use it to understand a certain topic, such as salvation, better. I have used this book as a text book in a specific class, but I have used it as a reference book in nearly all of my theological classes. That is a real bang for the buck as well!
Bible Study Guide: Although this book is a large read, 1,264 pages to be exact, it may be used in a small Bible study group without any problem.
Personal Study: This book is the perfect book for someone who simply wants to study at their own pace. If an individual intends to read the entire book on their own, it may take the un-disciplined reader a very long time to read; however, the disciplined reader will do just fine.
HOW THE BOOK IS WRITTEN:
Okay, you might be wondering "how one book can be used in so many different ways without being overly stretched?" Well, I am glad you asked! The book is written in a reader-friendly format. The book can be read by starting at the begining and reading it through to the end. On the other hand, the book can be picked up and opened at any point and read (this is most likely the "reference" way of using the book). The language of the book is easy to understand also. The reader can quickly search the book or he can take his time and wonder through the book chasing words.
If the reader comes to a theological word that he does not understand, then he can study that theological term in it's very own chapter of the book. This is one big advantage of having a systematic theology book, because you can use it to read in major sections or just to figure out the "basic" meaning of a term.
For example, if you want to learn what the Bible is, you may want to simply understand a simple definition of the Bible.
For example: The Bible is the book that Christians base their faith in as being God's words written to men.
On the other hand, the reader may want to understand a more in depth break down of the Bible.
For example: The Bible is made up of 2 testaments: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each testament is made up of individual books. While those individual books are broken down into chapters and those chapter are broken down into verses and so on.
THE AUTHOR:
Wayne Grudem is the author of this 1,264 page book. To begin with, he is a trustworthy author. I come from a strong, solid, respected seminary (The Master's Seminary) which is considered a conservative school. We believe in the Bible and that there are no other "inspired" books except the Bible. I give that introduction so that you will understand that we only use texts books that are written from the teachings of Scripture. Furthermore, we believe this systematic theology to be solid and worth reading thoroughly!
Wayne Grudem is a professor at Phoenix Seminary. He has earned his B.A. at Harvard University; M.Div. at Westminster Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. at University of Cambridge. He has also written many articles in Theological journals. This is just a brief introduction of the author. As you can see, he is well educated in his field and respected among professors and students of Theology alike.
This book contains WAY too many topics to list completely in this review; however, here is a list of the doctrines that the book covers (I will give these in order that the text covers them):
Part 1
The Doctrine of the Word of God
Part 2
The Doctrine of God
Part 3
The Doctrine of Man
Part 4
The Doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit
Part 5
The Doctrine of the Application of Redemption
Part 6
The Doctrine of the Church
Part 7
The Doctrine of the Future
The text also includes a comprehensive index. In fact it has 4 separate indexes.
1. Author Index
2. Hymn Index
3. Scripture Index
4. Subject Index
The book also includes an index on abreviations at the beginning of the book.
For those readers who want to know more about a certain doctrine that goes beyond the information found in the designated chapter, there are 6 appendices in the back of the book.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST CHAPTER:
The first chapter covers the "Introduction to Systematic Theology." After covering several sub-topics concerning systematic theology, it gives us an overview of the book itself. It explains issues such as "why we should study theology" and "how we should study theology" (just to name a few).
Now as we have seen, the chapters are basically the normal "topics with sub-topics" layout. The best part of the chapter though, is all the extras that the chapters end with. The chapter ends with the following:
Questions for Personal Application
Special Terms
Bibliography
Other Works[to study]
Scirpture Memory Passage
A Hymn [that goes along with the corresponding theological doctrine found in the chapter]
For the amount of information that this book covers, the price is incredible! I recall the book being in the price range of $40-$50. That is a great price for a book of this size. It takes years for someone to put together the information that a systematic theology book includes. This is so because of the many, many hours of studying scripture to prepare such a book. So, for about $45, you are essentially getting one man's entire life studies of the word of God! That my friends is impressive! I would say that none of us reading (or writing) this review will ever accomplish such a wonderful task!
REMEMBER:
Not all systematic theologies are worth reading or owning for that matter. In fact, many of them are not even biblical, so be very careful to only purchase or read solid biblical systematic theologies. If one is not careful only solid, biblical theology, his knowledge of the the Bible will be unbiblical and therefore will not be glorifying to God!
WHAT IS A SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY?:
A systematic Theology is not as technical as it sounds, so don't fear! Essentially, what a systematic theology does is that it puts into systematic sections the different studies (doctrines) of the Bible (for example: the doctrine of salvation and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit). Another way to explain it, is that the book takes all the verses of the Bible that deal with a specific doctrinal issue and places them together in one place. When all of these doctrines are systematized, you have a "Systematic Theology."
WHO IS THE BOOK WRITTEN FOR?
I mentioned earlier that I read this book as a textbook in class. However, the book is designed to meet the needs of different types of readers. Here are some ways the book may be used:
Text Book: For students, the book is a great text book. It can be read in a systematic way. For example weekly chapters can be assigned in order to finish the book in a designated amount of time.
A Reference Book: The book is wonderful for the reader who only wants to use it to understand a certain topic, such as salvation, better. I have used this book as a text book in a specific class, but I have used it as a reference book in nearly all of my theological classes. That is a real bang for the buck as well!
Bible Study Guide: Although this book is a large read, 1,264 pages to be exact, it may be used in a small Bible study group without any problem.
Personal Study: This book is the perfect book for someone who simply wants to study at their own pace. If an individual intends to read the entire book on their own, it may take the un-disciplined reader a very long time to read; however, the disciplined reader will do just fine.
HOW THE BOOK IS WRITTEN:
Okay, you might be wondering "how one book can be used in so many different ways without being overly stretched?" Well, I am glad you asked! The book is written in a reader-friendly format. The book can be read by starting at the begining and reading it through to the end. On the other hand, the book can be picked up and opened at any point and read (this is most likely the "reference" way of using the book). The language of the book is easy to understand also. The reader can quickly search the book or he can take his time and wonder through the book chasing words.
If the reader comes to a theological word that he does not understand, then he can study that theological term in it's very own chapter of the book. This is one big advantage of having a systematic theology book, because you can use it to read in major sections or just to figure out the "basic" meaning of a term.
For example, if you want to learn what the Bible is, you may want to simply understand a simple definition of the Bible.
For example: The Bible is the book that Christians base their faith in as being God's words written to men.
On the other hand, the reader may want to understand a more in depth break down of the Bible.
For example: The Bible is made up of 2 testaments: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each testament is made up of individual books. While those individual books are broken down into chapters and those chapter are broken down into verses and so on.
THE AUTHOR:
Wayne Grudem is the author of this 1,264 page book. To begin with, he is a trustworthy author. I come from a strong, solid, respected seminary (The Master's Seminary) which is considered a conservative school. We believe in the Bible and that there are no other "inspired" books except the Bible. I give that introduction so that you will understand that we only use texts books that are written from the teachings of Scripture. Furthermore, we believe this systematic theology to be solid and worth reading thoroughly!
Wayne Grudem is a professor at Phoenix Seminary. He has earned his B.A. at Harvard University; M.Div. at Westminster Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. at University of Cambridge. He has also written many articles in Theological journals. This is just a brief introduction of the author. As you can see, he is well educated in his field and respected among professors and students of Theology alike.
This book contains WAY too many topics to list completely in this review; however, here is a list of the doctrines that the book covers (I will give these in order that the text covers them):
Part 1
The Doctrine of the Word of God
Part 2
The Doctrine of God
Part 3
The Doctrine of Man
Part 4
The Doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit
Part 5
The Doctrine of the Application of Redemption
Part 6
The Doctrine of the Church
Part 7
The Doctrine of the Future
The text also includes a comprehensive index. In fact it has 4 separate indexes.
1. Author Index
2. Hymn Index
3. Scripture Index
4. Subject Index
The book also includes an index on abreviations at the beginning of the book.
For those readers who want to know more about a certain doctrine that goes beyond the information found in the designated chapter, there are 6 appendices in the back of the book.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST CHAPTER:
The first chapter covers the "Introduction to Systematic Theology." After covering several sub-topics concerning systematic theology, it gives us an overview of the book itself. It explains issues such as "why we should study theology" and "how we should study theology" (just to name a few).
Now as we have seen, the chapters are basically the normal "topics with sub-topics" layout. The best part of the chapter though, is all the extras that the chapters end with. The chapter ends with the following:
Questions for Personal Application
Special Terms
Bibliography
Other Works[to study]
Scirpture Memory Passage
A Hymn [that goes along with the corresponding theological doctrine found in the chapter]
For the amount of information that this book covers, the price is incredible! I recall the book being in the price range of $40-$50. That is a great price for a book of this size. It takes years for someone to put together the information that a systematic theology book includes. This is so because of the many, many hours of studying scripture to prepare such a book. So, for about $45, you are essentially getting one man's entire life studies of the word of God! That my friends is impressive! I would say that none of us reading (or writing) this review will ever accomplish such a wonderful task!
REMEMBER:
Not all systematic theologies are worth reading or owning for that matter. In fact, many of them are not even biblical, so be very careful to only purchase or read solid biblical systematic theologies. If one is not careful only solid, biblical theology, his knowledge of the the Bible will be unbiblical and therefore will not be glorifying to God!
