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Useful Books about Systematic Theology for the Evangelical Reader
There are any number of good books related to systematic theology. They are rather common because authors in each denomination have an interest in exploring, defending, and teaching the distinctive doctrines of their denominations. So authors in conservative Reformed and Presbyterian denominations often write about the sovereignty of God, and so forth. The following is only a brief sample of the kinds of works available. EXEGESIS (or Principles for Interpreting the Bible) Ferguson, Duncan. Biblical Hermeneutics: An Introduction. Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1946. This is not a completely conservative book. However, it contains a lot of information about principles used to interpret the Bible. It is written at a college level. McDonald, Lee Martin. The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission, and Authority. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007. This is a long and detailed study of how the canon of Scripture was established. Packer, J. I. Truth & Power: The Place of Scripture in the Christian Life. Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1996. This is a conservative study written at a college level. Yamauchi, Edwin. Composition and Corroboration in Classical and Biblical Studies. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1966. This is a conservative study written at a college or masters level. This is a small paperback that contrasts the principles that liberal scholarship applies to the Bible with the principles that scholarship uses to study other narratives from antiquity. This contrast calls into question the validity of a left wing view of the Bible. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY Fesko, J. V. Diversity Within the Reformed Tradition: Sepra- and Infralapsarianism in Calvin, Dort, and Westminster. Greenville, SC: J. V. Fesko, 2001. This is a solid doctoral level study of the doctrine of election in the Reformed orbit. Kline, Meredith G. By Oath Consigned: A Reinterpretation of the Covenant Signs of Circumcision and Baptism. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eardmans, 1968. This is a conservative study written at a masters or doctoral level. Kline, Meredith G. The Structure of Biblical Authority. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1972. This is a conservative study written at a masters or doctoral level. Machen, J. Gresham. The Virgin Birth of Christ. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1930. This is a conservative study written by one of the founders of Westminster Seminary. It is written at a masters level. It does a great job of surveying the Biblical material related to Christ's birth. Murray, John. The Covenant of Grace: A Biblico-Theological Study. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1953. This is a very short conservative study by one of the great Reformed scholars of the last generation. It is written at a college level. Peterson, Robert A. Calvin's Doctrine of Atonement. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1983. This is a conservative look at Calvin's theology. It is written at a college or masters level. Pink, A. W. The Sovereignty of God. London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1928. This short paperback is a classic study of God's sovereignty from a Reformed perspective. It is written at a college level. Vos, Geerhardus. The Self-Disclosure of Jesus. New York: George H. Doran, 1926. This is a great conservative study written at a masters level. It discusses in detail the claims that Jesus made about Himself. HISTORICAL THEOLOGY Zemek, George J. A Biblical Theology of the Doctrines of Sovereign Grace: Exegetical Considerations of Key Anthropological, Hamartiological, and Soteriological Terms and Motifs. Little Rock, AR: BTDSG, 2002. This is a conservative book written at a masters or doctoral level. It is (or was?) distributed free by B.T.D.S.G., 1615 Dorado Beach Drive, Little Rock, AR 72212-2685. APOLOGETICS Clark, Gordon H. The Incarnation. Jefferson, MD: Trinity Foundation1988. This is a conservative college level book about the attacks that have been raised recently against the Bible's claims about Christ. Habermas, Gary R. Ancient Evidence for the Life of Jesus: Historical Records of His Death and Resurrection. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984. This is a conservative book written at a college level. It traces the historical evidence for Jesus' life and different ways that Jesus death and resurrection have been understood in the academic debate. Kullberg, Kelly Monroe ed. Finding God at Harvard. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1996. This is a conservative book written at a college level. It includes a collection of articles by people in an academic environment who became Christians. It is written at a college level. Packer, J. I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. Chicago: InterVarsity, 1961. This small paperback argued that a belief in God's sovereignty leads to evangelism. Thomas, Gordon. The Jesus Conspiracy. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2000. This is a conservative, college level book. It records on man's search for the historical basis for the Gospels amid all of the claims that the resurrection did not actually happen. It explains why that search led him to believe that the New Testament was accurate and that Jesus did in fact rise from the grave. Van Til, Cornelius. A Christian Theory of Knowledge. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1969. Van Til was a conservative Reformed thinker. This book is intended for a masters level reader. Van Til can be hard to read, but his basic perspective is useful.
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Copyright © 2009 Dr. Rodger Dalman
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