M. James Sawyer

Men and women embarking on the study of systematic theology quickly find themselves awash in a sea of unfamiliar theological terms, historical names, and philosophical "-isms." The Survivor's Guide to Theology is both a life preserver to help stay afloat and a compass to help navigate these often unfamiliar waters. While many books on systematic theology provide introductory material, still the reader is often forced to dive right into actual theology without adequate framework for understanding. Resources for building this framework are available but scattered. This unique book brings them together in one place. The Survivor's Guide to Theology is ideal for both introduction and review/reference. - The first part deals with the question, "What is Theology?" It addresses issues, categories, theory of knowledge, and more. - The second part surveys nine major theological systems. For each, the author provides history and background, overview of content and theological distinctive, and a critique. - The final part provides the reader with biographical sketches of significant theologians, a brief dictionary of common theological terms, and an annotated bibliography of major theological works.

The Survivor's Guide to Theology

Daniel B. Wallace

While not endorsing what they consider to be the excesses of Pentecostalism, the charismatic movement, and the Third Wave, Sawyer and Wallace have embraced what they have tentatively called pneumatic Christianity. They contend that the way much of evangelical cessationism has developed is reactionary and reductionistic. Rather than focus upon scriptural images of the Holy Spirit as a presence deep within the soul of the believer, many cessationists have reactively denied experience in opposition to the Pentecostal overemphasis upon experience, which at times supplanted the revealed truth of scripture.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit?

Christian faith and theology always reflect the culture patterns of thinking, understanding and worldview in which they are planted. Western Culture for nearly 2500 years has looked to the philosophical heritage of ancient Greece to interpret reality, particularly the dualistic patterns of thinking set forth by Plato and Aristotle. In contrast to this Greek dualism, Christianity arose out of the Hebraic worldview whose thinking patterns are holistic, as opposed to dualistic. But both Catholicism and Protestantism have been held captive to various forms of dualism since the fifth century. Dualism has robbed Western culture of freedom and cut us off from and hope of a true knowledge of reality in itself. Instead it has limited knowledge to mere appearances. In the past century, the rise of the theories of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics has shown that reality is holistic and interrelated rather than reflecting two underlying irreconcilable (dualistic) realms. A World Split Apart provides a survey of dualism and its effects on Western culture and theology. And shows that we can truly have a holistic understanding of reality, and opens the door for a more profound, consistent and rational understanding of the Trinity, the person of the incarnate Christ and the implications that these theological realities have for all of life.

Dualism in Western Culture and Theology

A World Split Apart

An introduction to the study of theology and an overview of the systems, terms, and people of the discipline.

J. Ed Komoszewski

Reinventing Jesus cuts through the rhetoric of extreme doubt to reveal the profound credibility of historic Christianity. Meticulously researched yet eminently readable, this book invites a wide audience to take a firsthand look at the primary evidence for Christianity's origins.

M. James Sawyer

Books

Your next favorite book is out there