5 September 2015 A.D. Kevin De Young’s “Ten Systematic Theology Resources”
5 September 2015 A.D. Kevin De
Young’s “Ten Systematic Theology Resources”
De Young, Kevin. “Ten Systematic Theology Resources.” TGC. 3 Sept 2015. http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2015/09/03/systematic-theology-ten-resources/. Accessed 4 Sept 2015.
After
Tuesday’s post about why study systematic theology, I thought it might
be helpful to explore what systematic theologies are worth using. In the
last few years a number of significant systematic textbooks have been released
as well as a host of stand alone volumes on different topics with in systematic
theology. I can’t begin to mention them all. And once we get outside of
Reformed-Evangelical circles, my knowledge becomes much more limited. So rather
than attempting a survey of the field, let me mention ten systematic theology
resources I come back to again and again.
In no
particular order:
1. John
Calvin, Institutes
of the Christian Religion (1559). Historians would argue it’s not exactly a systematic theology, but it
is theology at its best. It’s the one I read first and have read most. Much
more readable than you might think, and filled with beautiful passages that
will inspire as well as inform.
2. Louis
Berkhof, Systematic
Theology (1938). Still hard
to beat for order, precision, and (relative) brevity. Is there a better
one-volume systematic theology in the Reformed tradition?
3. Herman
Bavinck, Reformed
Dogmatics (1906-1911). What a
tremendous gift it was when Bavinck’s magnum opus began to be published in
English–only a little more than a decade ago. Berkhof is basically a summary of
Bavinck, so if you want to go deeper and wider and fuller, you need these four
volumes. Also check out Bavinck’s smaller work Our
Reasonable Faith.
4. Francis
Turretin, Institutes
of Elenctic Theology (1679-1685). This was
the textbook at Old Princeton until Hodge’s own Systematic Theology was
released. It’s hard to overstate the influence Turretin has had on the
development and transmission of Reformed theology in the English speaking
world. Get these three volumes. Yes, they use the scholastic method. Yes, some
of the debates will seem overly philosophical and arcane. But for
comprehensiveness and careful delineation of categories, you will not find
anything better.
5. Wayne
Grudem, Systematic
Theology (1994). An unlikely
bestseller, but if you find a college student reading systematic theology for
fun, he’s probably reading Grudem. As a Presbyterian I don’t agree with all of
Grudem’s conclusions, but he’s hard to beat for clarity, accessibility, and
readability. You may also want to use Bible
Doctrine or Christian
Beliefs.
6. R.C. Sproul, Everyone’s a
Theologian (2014). I’m always on the look
out for introductory volumes that we can use with elders or in our leadership
training course. This book fits the bill nicely. We’ve also used John Frame’s Salvation Belongs to the
Lord before.
7. Chad Van
Dixhoorn, Confessing
the Faith: A Reader’s Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith (2014). It would be
a mistake to dive into systematic theology without paying attention to the
great theological statements which have stood the test of time. For a lot of
folks, that means the Westminster Confession of Faith, and this is the best,
most use-able commentary out there. I wrote a popular-level commentary on the
Heidelberg Catechism that may also interest some people.
8. Michael Horton, The Christian Faith (2011).
Not as user-friendly as Grudem, but more sophisticated–theology for
theologians. Horton is especially good if you want a reliable contemporary
writer who is very conversant with the history of theology and with the best
theologians from other traditions.
9. Anthony
Hoekema, Created in
God’s Image (1986), Saved by
Grace (1989), The Bible
and the Future (1979). I’ve always
found the structure in these volumes very intuitive and the exegesis
particularly careful. Excellent and easy to use in pieces if you don’t want to
read the whole thing.
10. Contours
of Christian Theology (1993-2002). This
series, edited by Gerald Bray, is one of the best things IVP ever published.
Each volume tackles a single loci in 250-300 pages: the doctrine
of God (Gerald Bray), the work of
Christ (Robert Letham), the
providence of God (Paul Helm), the doctrine
of humanity (Charles Sherlock), the Holy
Spirit (Sinclair Ferguson), the person
of Christ (Donal MacLeod), the
revelation of God (Peter Jensen), the church (Edmund
Clowney). Every pastor should have these on his shelf. I use them often.
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