Customer Reviews

Systematic Theology

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have given this work by Wayne Grudem 5 stars not because I agree word for word with everything he espouses here, because I don't. I am of the view that theology, as a discipline, is like any other discipline in being a human endeavor, and therefore, is fallible. When reviewing works of theology, I believe in being careful about not expecting any theological work to approach a level of infallibility that only Scripture can ever attain. But in reading and reviewing theological material, I do expect the author to put forth an intelligent, logical, rational, persuasive BIBLICAL presentation that hangs together internally as well as biblically. So despite my reservations and disagreements with some of what Grudem puts forth here, I think it deserves 5 stars because in my view, this work gets the job done.

There are a number of clear strengths to this book. First, this book is by far the most accessible systematic treatment of theology I've ever read. If there is any systematic theology book that theology novices could really sink their teeth into, this is it. This book, while effectively dealing with the many difficult theological issues that need to be dealt with in any adequate systematic theology, avoids drowning these difficult issues in difficult terminology that too many systematic theologies wrongly assume are common terms that non-theology focused Christians understand and don't need defining. This is what makes so many systematic theologies inaccessible to most Christians. While it's true that this represents a sad commentary on the relevance of theological fundamentals and ideas in the minds of too many Christians, I felt that this book by Grudem is a great place to begin reeducating everyday Christians to think theologically and to be able to grasp the material without being intimidated. This is an enormous strength of this book.

Second, I find myself agreeing with many of the endorsements of this book from a diverse variety of theological perspectives in saying that this book is respectful of varying theological traditions and is clearly written in a spirit of Christian love. Grudem is mostly reformed in his theology and clearly articulates a reformed theology here. But he does so without being disrespectful to alternate viewpoints. In addition, his bibliography at the end of each chapter and at the end of the book is extremely thorough in giving readers a long list of resources from a variety of theological traditions.

Third, I felt that Grudem's book was fairly thorough in dealing with the many areas of systematic theology. I felt that his section on ecclesiology was especially good, while also clearly articulating persuasive positions on election, reprobation, grace, and providence.

Having said all this, I do believe that Grudem's book reflects a disproportionate emphasis on charismatic gifts that was both unpersuasive and overdone. Grudem clearly makes an investment in this book to advancing charismatic operativeness. In fact, it seemed to me that Grudem devoted more time to this particular issue than on many of the fundamental doctrines of God and salvation. Given that the operativeness vs cessationist debate is (or at least should be) a secondary issue, I did think it was inappropriate for Grudem to treat this issue as if it was a primary article of faith, which is unfortunately a common attitude that has encompassed the charismatic gift issue in elements of both sides of the debate.

In the end, while I was close to giving the book 4 stars because of the sometimes missplaced emphasis outlined above, I felt that this book was simply too good in too many other areas to demote the review I'm giving it. I wholeheartedly agree with Grudem's introduction where he desires Christians to think theologically because theology is not a dry, academic exercise, but a vibrant expression of God's faithfulness that can dramatically transform our faith when undertaken in obedience to God. Since I think this book has reintroduced the wonder and amazement of theology to so many Christians who had previously adopted a 'see no evil, hear no evil' attitude towards theology which I think is a terribly half baked approach to the Christian life, I believe that Grudem has done the body of Christ an enormous service which will hopefully result in greater interest and passion in contemplating the great things of God as a joyful endeavor of the mind.

Most reviews below capture the essence of Grudem's work so hopefully I will add a comment or two without repeating other reviewers' compliments.

First, Grudem quotes many of his supporting texts. This makes for facility, rather than looking up the text.

Second, he interacts with several traditions thoughtfully.

Third, as one reviewer notes already, he has a good annotated bibliography at the end. If one read the bibliography, especially our a-theological pastors, the health of the church would rise. He cites Reformed, Anglican, Lutheran, Baptist, Dispensational and Papist works (usually pre-Vat 2 Ludwig Ott and post-Vat 2 Prof O'Brien). Excellent bibliograpy.

Fourth, Grudem attempts to incorporate doxological intent to each subject by inclusion of an historic hymn at the end. This is healthy given the American penchant to think the church began 10 years ago.

Every evangelical seminary student should own and read this, of any perspective. Of course, for liberal seminary students, this might be over their heads and we would recommend something much shorter, maybe Berkof's Manual of Christian Doctrine---as a warm-up.

Thanks Wayne for your clear labor of love.

Grudem's book provides a decent exposition of standard reformed doctrine, and he has the credentials of being a convinced charismatic, and so his sections on the gifts of the Holy Spirit are an invaluable addition lacking in most systematic theologies. He provides some very basic, though useful, defences of traditional evangelical theology.

On the other hand, Grudem's work is flawed by its overly scientific-rational approach to theology and doctrine. His treatment of the authority of the Scriptures, for example, is unconvincing in many of the details, eg. inerrancy etc. Evangelical theology, to be taken seriously, must move away from the 'prooftexting' approach, and interact on a more substantial level with some of the real challenges presented by alternative theological and philosophical understandings of Scripture which have equally been established out of a high regard and respect for the Bible.

Finally! You CAN be a Calvanist AND a Charismatic (notice I didn't say "Pentacostalist") at the same time and not have to apologize for it.

Here's a great systematic theology in readable English. It's humerous that it comes from a prof who teaches at a seminary run by a denomination that doesn't have a systematic approach to theology!

Definately worth every penny and more.

Strengths - (1) Grudem's Systematic is very readable, written in a very clear and precise style. (2) Grudem interacts well with most of the trends in modern evangelicalism. His critiques of Pinnock and his Arminian friends are outstanding. (3) Grudem summarizes a lot of his own research in the chapters and sections on inerrancy, gender issues, the descent of Christ into hades, church polity, and spiritual gifts. A lot of this is outstanding material that you cannot find anywhere else. (4) Other sections, such as the canon of scripture, the ordo salutis, and eschatology are very good. (5) Grudem provides strong scriptural support for his positions. (6) There is a good emphasis on personal applications. A lot of this material will preach. It can be used in Bible studies and sermons. (7) It contains very useful bibliographic information. Weaknesses: (1) There is almost a total lack of historical theology and interaction with non-evangelical theologians. (2) Grudem spends too much space discussing minor disagreements with his colleagues at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. (3) Too much space is devoted to Grudem's pet issues (spiritual gifts) while other issues are neglected (general and special revelation).(4) The heavy emphasis on charismatic theology in a couple of chapters is likely to make the book offensive to people who could benefit from the rest of the chapters. (5) The chapter on the atonement lacks the kind of synthesis that you find, for example, in Erickson's Systematic. But despite these weaknesses, Grudem's Systematic is one of the best recent systematics by an evangelical and definitely worth reading.

This book is nicely laid out. After the coverage of a subject in each chapter, it has sections at the end of each chapter entitled: "questions for personal application "; "special terms"; "bibliography"; "sections in evangelical systematic theologies" (cross-reference with other systematic theologies); and "hymn."

This book is subtitled, "An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine," and even though it has 1290 pages, it cannot cover its subjects comprehensively. It does serve as an excellent introduction to various topics though. It addresses most of the main arguments for both sides, although I find that at times, Grudem dismisses counter-arguments a bit too quickly. While he does well to concisely rebut some opposing viewpoints, but I have found a few places where his rebuttal -- while probably solid -- does nothing to answer against a position somewhere between his own and the discussed opposing viewpoint.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in getting an overview of theology, but I would always recommend that in theological debates, one always examine at least two opposing authors. Grudem presents opposing viewpoints nicely, but he can only speak for his opponents to a limited extent. You can look up some varying viewpoints on practically any doctrine on the Internet, and I recommend that you do so.

Grudem's Systematic Theology is not the typical boring theological treatise. It's an easy to read, clear, thoughful presentation of Evangelical theology. It is Reformed, Pre-millennial (and Post-tribulational), and is neither charismatic nor anti-charismatic (a very balanced evangelical work!). It treats opposing views fairly, though not always fully (which is typical of all Systematic Theologies). It also cross references most of the popular Syatematic Theologies of other Protostant, Evangelical, Reformed, Charismatic, and even Roman Catholic traditions. This work is witty without being reckless, readable without being simplistic, and thorough without being difficult. It is a great tool for the untrained layperson, as well as the trained clergy, regardless of the theological perspective. If I owned one Systematic theolgy, this would be the one.

As a member of the Evangelical Free Church of America, which is decidedly Reformed in its theology, I have had ample opportunity to get familiar with this book. Grudem's approach, like most systematic theology texts, is to categorize major areas of Christian doctrine and to discuss each in detail with heavy reference to supporting scripture passages. For example, this volume begins with basic tenets like the doctrines of God (i.e. his existence, nature, attributes, etc.) and the Bible (authority, canonicity, etc.), and moves on through a host of topics such as atonement, the doctrines of man and sin, angels and demons, election, and eschatology, to name just a very few.

The book is divided into major study units covering a particularly broad topic, for example, the doctrine of the Bible. That topic is then further divided as each chapter covers a major subtopic within the larger doctrine. Each chapter includes cross references to systematic theologies by other authors of all major Catholic and Protestant denominations, for ready comparison of how each doctrine is treated by those with other viewpoints. Not only is this a great study resource, but it is also very useful for group discussions, as each chapter concludes with a list of discussion questions, worship suggestions, and a relevant scripture passage for memorization.

The single quality which makes this volume such a valuable tool, however, is the author's full discussion and fair treatment of competing viewpoints. For any given topic, the author will first lay out all major "mainstream" views of the doctrine, and discuss the biblical texts which lend support to each. He will then state the position which he finds to be the most persuasive, and detail his reasoning with additional reference to scripture.

In every case, the text is heavily footnoted and all competing views are treated in a fair and scholarly manner. It is apparent that the author has taken great pains to avoid misrepresenting the views of those with whom he disagrees, and is very gracious in acknowledging the relative strengths of their positions where it is warranted. Grudem also readily admits, in the case of certain difficult issues, that the scriptures may not provide a definitive answer.

The net result is an incredibly useful and valuable tool for evaluating a wide range of Christian doctrinal issues, with an opportunity to review multiple viewpoints in the process and see the supporting texts for each. I am grateful to the author for the depth of understanding and clarity it has added to my own studies. You may not be reformed in your theology, but don't let that dissuade you from looking into this incredibly well researched and annotated study resource. It may challenge some of your beliefs (it certainly did for me) and you may not agree with all of his positions (I don't), but the experience will be a great benefit.

This text is simply a must for anyone interested modern evangelical Christian theology. The only thing keeping this book from being 5 star is Grudem's Calvinist bent, although he does at least try to present more than one view regarding several controversial positions. This work is well organized and well presented with plenty of scriptural references.

If you are a seminary student, this book is a must.

I read Grudem's work in conjunction with Millard Erickson's similar work. Grudem is a little simpler read than Erickson, although at times he will require the reader to think hard, especially concerning salvation. Grudem comes from a post-tribulational, charismatic-calvinist bent.

The work is unashamedly evangelical, although Grudem will at times express his indebtedness to non-evangelical theologians. Most evangelicals will agree with him on the doctrines of God, Bible, and creation. The points of difference for evangelicals will be salvation (many good argumetns from many positions), the authority within the church, and the millenium. This book differs from other theologies at the end of each chapter. Grudem offers study questions, memory verses, hymns, and a bibliography for furthter study.

I found that Grudem's most well argued sections were :salvation, Providence, modern day gifts (for which i remain unconvinced), and the millennium (also unconvinced). His logic for the most part is impeccable. I read this book alongside Erickson and Calvin and found it most helpful. It is well worth the price.