Christian theology 2nd edition by millard j erickson

Erickson is thoroughly evangelical and unapologetically Baptistic. Having studied under Wolfhart Pannenberg for his post-doctorate degree, his systematic reflects a robust philosophical angle that systematic theologies have hitherto left uncharted. This is especially true in his first section dealing with the nature of reality, knowledge, truth, and his treatment of Divine inspiration and the inerrancy of the Bible.

He wrestles with the philosophies of the modernist and post-modernist world in a vigorous way that leaves the reader equipped with a system that is philosophically durable as it is theologically evangelical. Erickson's treatment of Christology and theology proper is extensive and thorough--grappling with the Nicene Church Fathers and wrestling down the post-modern theologians. In fine, he offers a bold and tenable understanding of doctrines such as the incarnation that are thoroughly orthodox, yet tenable and evangelical.

Erickson's helpful analogies aid the reader in getting into the heart of his system, and proved to be workable and orthodox, especially in understanding Christ's dual natures and dual wills post incarnation. Erickson's development of explaining the Kenosis of Christ was especially helpful, and gave me a running analogy that I'll utilize in the future.

Erickson's treatment on divine foreknowledge is more philosophical than theological, as he calls his position "Moderate Calvinism" albeit it is merely a modified Molinistic model whereby he appeals to God actualizing a world wherein God's knowledge of what creature would do given any circumstance, thereby allowing for a greater libertarian sense of freedom. Hence, Erickson puts God's knowledge of what free creatures would do counter-factuals right in between His knowledge of what any free creature will do and could do.

Thus, Erickson still denies that humans have true power of contrary choice on an equal level--a philosophical presupposition he charges is simply untenable unless one resorts to a type of open theism of temporal ontology--but he nevertheless states that although a free creature could do option B over option A in any given circumstance, God actualizes the world where He knows the free creature would always choose option A over option B, etc.

Erickson sets up his understanding of divine sovereignty and human freedom quite nicely insofar as it flows right into his understanding of the atonement which he concedes is universal, albeit salvation is still particular because the application of the universal atonement is only applicable to the elect. Erickson allows this by taking on Augustus H. Strong's view of God's predestination, namely, sublapsarianism which states that God's causal decree to provide salvation is logically antecedent to His decree to save some and not others.

Erickson's understanding of eschatology is rather short, given the extensive treatment on other doctrines, but he holds to the traditional understanding of premillenialism, that is to say historic and post-tribulational.

Much more could be said about Eickson's Christian Theology , but suffice it to say I am very pleased and thrilled to have dove into this systematic, and look forward to reading more in the near future. Erickson's systematic will serve as an excellent resource to utilize for all future theological projects forthcoming; grateful to have read this and to always have this sitting on the shelf henceforth. Brent McCulley Dec 03, Barry rated it liked it Shelves: theology. The strength of this book is the depth into which Mr.

Erickson goes as he covers the main theological viewpoints on various topics. He does a great job of summarizing the various views, offering strengths and weaknesses of those views, and then offering his own final analysis as to which view he believes is the most Biblically sound. The drawback to this approach is that it is sometimes difficult to keep the views separated in one's own mind, causing some unnecessary confusion.

Additionally, by The strength of this book is the depth into which Mr. Additionally, by the conclusion of several chapters I was exhausted by the amount of information and competing views and almost too tired to care which conclusion Mr. Erickson holds. In this book you will find a width and depth of theological viewpoints that enlightens and educates. Though sometimes dry, this is a very useful book to use when trying to gain a better understanding of the underlying reasons people hold various theological views.

Feb 12, Philip Christman rated it it was amazing. Although completely evangelical, Erickson is unafraid to take less-than-majority opinions it threw me that he leans to post -tribulationism.

There is a constant emphasis on missions. I reccomend it highly. Feb 19, Ruth rated it it was amazing. Although firmly anchored within the Baptist tradition, Erickson presents all sides of each issue with clarity and balance before making his conclusions on each issue. Unlike much work in theology, Erickson's prose is light and readable throughout, making this a practical option for serious students as well as laymen.

Mar 14, Stacey rated it liked it. Even though I was in seminary and have had several years of Bible teaching, this book was written in a language that many could understand. I appreciated the unbiased presentation of different perspectives.

This is essentially a reference book. As such, it is far from exhilarating. Read all but one or two chapters of this work as a requirement for a graduate level class over two semesters. There were definitely some positives as well as some negatives for me. One positives was that, being a contemporary author, Erickson is very readable and understandable as compared to older authors.

I also read many lengthy excerpts from older systematic works and some were truly a chore to get through. Another positive is that Erickson does very accurately and unbiasedly present multipl Read all but one or two chapters of this work as a requirement for a graduate level class over two semesters.

Another positive is that Erickson does very accurately and unbiasedly present multiple viewpoints, both historical and contemporary, on doctrinal positions before presenting what he believes is the best fit with the biblical data. A major negative to me is closely related to the last positive point.

Yes, there were some chapter explicitly devoted to expounding a particular doctrine, but overall, it felt like a survey of all the viewpoints and not so much an in-depth look at biblical doctrine. Another negative was the lack of a detailed outline of systematic theology. The table of contents provided a very generic heading outline, but you had to go to each individual chapter in order to find a detailed outline for that heading; and sometimes the contents of the chapter were not easily discernible from the heading.

I realize that some doctrines do require refuting erroneous views, but that should not be the bulk of the material. I realize I am comparing multi volume works with a singles volume work; nevertheless, my critiques still stand. Book of This page behemoth of systematic theology has been a slow-but-steady read for me across three months and two systematic theology classes. Like the title says, this is Christian theology, and it is a systematic theology touching upon all areas of Christian doctrine.

For the armchair theologian: This is a dif Book of For the armchair theologian: This is a difficult and at times liberal work of theology. If you are inserted in reading a systematic theology book, I would suggest you start with MacArthur or Grudem before proceeding to Erickson.

Both are more pastoral in nature, great for practical application as opposed to philosophy. As for me, Erickson is truly a master in his field, and his book is an important work, often cited in journal articles and other books.

Whether you agree with him or not and I tend to the majority of the time , his work is one that every professional theologian should own and reference often. Nov 15, Mel Foster rated it liked it Shelves: christian-faith-theology. This was not a fast read. Erickson's approach is to try to engage a range of views on each of the many topics, and then try to come to a conclusion from the Biblical evidence usually or his personal preference a couple times.

He brings a broadminded Calvinistic evangelical approach, though sometimes the work seems disproportionately weighted with mid-Twentieth Century views--likely the cutting edge theories when he was in school. His view of science and Genesis seems very dated as wel Whew! His view of science and Genesis seems very dated as well as inconsistent with his professed epistemological approach , and his view that Ephesians 5 as the individual Christian being united as in marriage to Christ I found exigetically unsound.

These were my two biggest beefs in a book over pages long. This is a great work for working through various issues and their historical views. It's not so great as a quick concise theological reference--there are many out there better for that, depending on your denominational and theological background.

I think it is decent for what it purposes to do. Three stars is more about my engagement than his success or failure. I probably would have enjoyed more spending that much time days and days of reading reading more Wycliffe or Roger Williams or even Philip Schaff. I am tempted to say that Erickson is the "true and better Grudem" because they are both baptistic, introductory systematic theology but Erickson is slightly more detailed and engages more broadly with major positions, but halfway through the book I realised Grudem might be more conservative reformed than Erickson Grudem's problem is his doctrine of God.

Well, it wouldn't be fair to stack this against other single volume STs that are intentionally within the reformed tradition Berkhof, Horto I am tempted to say that Erickson is the "true and better Grudem" because they are both baptistic, introductory systematic theology but Erickson is slightly more detailed and engages more broadly with major positions, but halfway through the book I realised Grudem might be more conservative reformed than Erickson Grudem's problem is his doctrine of God.

Well, it wouldn't be fair to stack this against other single volume STs that are intentionally within the reformed tradition Berkhof, Horton, Frame. He also represents the egalitarian and amyraldism position, and I think he leans towards cessationism, which Grudem differs, so I think a side by side reading of both would be the best baptistic ST entry experience one could get.

Though it started off a little slow and in general engaged a little too much with liberal theology and not enough with historical theology for my tastes, these are very minor gripes. Apr 23, Colby Holloway rated it liked it.

If you happen to be the kind of person that wants to do a wide and deep dive into the current views and conversations occurring in white evangelical beliefs this is a great book. A nice summary of different main views on each topic, historical theological context when necessary, and an evaluation of each belief. He does have a clear bias throughout, but anyone who is going to care enough about a topic to write a page volume on systematic theology is inevitable going to care quite strongly a If you happen to be the kind of person that wants to do a wide and deep dive into the current views and conversations occurring in white evangelical beliefs this is a great book.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. By far the best, most-accurate analysis of God's message to humanity. However, fair warning to the reader, this is a graduate-level textbook, not a novel. So you might have to read Erickson's explanation more than once in order to understand the theology and theological applications to life in general.

What I like the most about Erickson's theology is his conservative analyses and explanations stay close to the Biblel That was important to me. Oct 17, C. It's not perfect, but it's one of my favorites. I don't agree with a lot of Erickson's theological leanings, but he treats most positions fairly throughout the book before writing on his own.

Packer calls it "gently Calvinistic. Even so, be sure to add this one to your shelf. Will make for good reference for me for years to come. Solid Theology Although there are certainly elements of this book that I would disagree with, for the most part Erickson seeks to be serious and Scriptural in his approach.

Overall, it is a solid evangelical work. He examines differing interpretations of key positions and then state his—often compellingly. Well worth the investment in money to purchase it and time to read it.

This was the standard textbook for my systematic theology classes. Recommended if you want a broad evangelical Baptist perspective. But if you are looking for more detail from a specific tradition, you might be frustrated. This is a thorough, comprehensive, and reasoned examination of the basic theology of Christianity.

While it is aimed toward theology students in college and seminary, it is accessible to any serious Christian who has a thirst for the knowledge of God and his ways. Dec 21, Jason Hoke rated it liked it. I always read a theology book with a highlighter.

Probably my least favorite of the Theology books I have reviewed. Read for Sys Theo Class Overall this book was ok. He covers a lot of territory. I was surprised by Erickson is a dispensational postmillennialist. Overall a very good overview of Christian theology from a more or less semi-Calvinistic perspective. Jun 20, Nicholas Matthews rated it really liked it.

I'm sure this will become a personal go-to resource over the many years to come. I've launched straight in to Chapter The Constitutional Nature of the Human for research for a book in currently writing.

Mar 04, Adrian Agapie rated it it was amazing Shelves: theology , reference. Aug 04, Bennett Cox rated it it was amazing. Fantastic in posture regarding tough doctrines. Allows for differences in minors while retaining major doctrines tightly and firmly. Explains, presents, and concludes fairly on doctrines and the variants on them. Lengthy, but attainable and accessible for any reader who puts in the work.

Dec 31, John Rimmer rated it liked it. I'd recommend Grudem before Erickson, but who cares what I say. Readers also enjoyed. About Millard J. Millard J. He has also held numerous visiting professorships, both in the United States and internationally, and is the author of many books. Erickson lives in Mounds Millard J. Erickson lives in Mounds View, Minnesota.

Books by Millard J. Related Articles. New year, new you! While retaining the accessibility of the original volume, Erickson has taken into account input from professors, students, and reviewers and added several sections, a new chapter on postmodernism, chapter objectives, chapter summaries, and study questions.

Erickson: The central theme of Christian Theology is the magnificence of God. By this the author refers to the greatness of God in terms of his power, knowledge, and other traditional 'natural attributes,' as well as excellence and splendor. The second edition of this theologian's companion seeks to bring the original dictionary up to date by supplementing it with pertinent ideas and persons from the past 15 years.

The emphasis remains, though, upon the historical figures and movements of the first 19 centuries of the Christian era. The clear, succinct definitions of this must-have resource provide every student of theology, whether a beginner or seasoned learner, with the groundwork they'll need in their quest for understanding. Musser: Discussion Millard Erickson, newly appointed Research Professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has performed a great service for Evangelicals in writing this systematic theology text.

As he states in the preface, "While the textbooks written by Charles Hodge, Augustus Strong, Louis Berkhof, and others served admirably for their day, there was no way they could anticipate and respond to the recent developments in theology and other disciplines. Christian Theology represents an attempt to fill that need for our day. Isn't God absolute?

Isn't there just one truth, as opposed to error? Indeed, this proposal does not imply that a statement and its direct negation are both true "A is B" and "A is not B". It would obviously be false to claim, for example, that "God is Love" and "God is not Love," or "Jesus is divine" and "Jesus is not divine. These opposite poles often seem far apart and difficult to hold together.