Introducing Evangelical Theology
About
Evangelical theology has become more academically engaged, aware of global Christianity, and interested in the Great Tradition, yet is increasingly fragmented. This introductory textbook for evangelical colleges, universities, and seminaries offers students a biblically rich, creedally structured, ecumenically evangelical, and ethically engaged introduction to Christian theology.
Daniel Treier, coeditor of the popular Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, is on the cutting edge of evangelical theological scholarship. In this volume, he discusses key Scripture passages, explains Christian theology within the structure of the Nicene Creed, explores the range of evangelical approaches to contested doctrines, acquaints evangelicals with other views (including Orthodox and Catholic), and integrates theological ethics with chapters on the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer. The result is a meaty but manageable introduction to the convictions and arguments shaping contemporary evangelical theology.
Contents
"One Carries It Around Within"
The Nicene Creed
Chapter Theses
Introduction
Part 1. Knowing the Triune God
1. The Creed: Faith Seeking Understanding
2. The Ten Commandments: A Community's Moral Formation
3. The Lord's Prayer: The Church's Spiritual Formation
Part 2. The Father, the Almighty Lord
4. The Triune Name of God
5. The Character of Providence
6. The Goodness of Creation
7. Human Beings
Part 3. The Son, the Mediating Logos
8. The Identity of Jesus Christ
9. The Ministry of Reconciliation
10. Sin and Salvation
11. The Gospel in Christian Traditions
Part 4. The Holy Spirit, the Life Giver
12. God's Empowering Presence
13. Scripture
14. Church
15. All Things New
Glossary
Indexes
Endorsements
"In making introductions, first impressions count: according to a Harvard study it takes only seven seconds to size up a new acquaintance. Introducing Evangelical Theology makes a good impression in the first seven pages, where we meet a movement that is equally concerned with intellectual, moral, and spiritual formation; ecumenically orthodox and rooted in the great creeds; yet distinctly Protestant in its insistence that the gospel retain its glorious freedom to renew and reform. By the end of the book, readers will also have formed a good lasting impression of evangelical theology and an appreciation for Treier's clear, fair, and winsome exposition of the Trinitarian narrative of the gospel and its interpretive traditions. Each chapter includes theses, definitions of key terms, and a set of learning objectives--everything one needs to learn the grammar of evangelical faith. This is not simply an introduction to but an education in evangelical theology, and one to which I will be enthusiastically introducing students for years to come."
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
"Real faith seeks deeper understanding, and when it does, it inevitably reaches out for help. This book is that help. Treier has produced a tool for training the evangelical mind and for training the mind evangelically. Introducing Evangelical Theology is an instrument of catechesis designed for our times."
Fred Sanders, professor of theology, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University
"In these pages Treier offers a truly remarkable combination of Scripture, tradition, ethics, doctrine, historic debates, and contemporary challenges as he explores one essential topic after another. Trinitarian in both content and structure, the book could not be more thoughtfully ordered and presented. I know this book's pages will be dog-eared and its binding worn by many a college student, pastor, graduate student, and academic, for whom it will quickly become an invaluable and treasured resource."
Kristen Deede Johnson, dean and vice president of academic affairs, Western Theological Seminary
"Treier has produced a richly textured work that is at once ecumenical, Protestant, and evangelical in the best sense of the words. Further, by framing it within the three components of the traditional catechism, Treier connects modern evangelicals to their ancient heritage. Here is a book that I will readily recommend for introductory courses in systematic theology."
Simon Chan, editor of Asia Journal of Theology
"What a great teacher! Treier is a master of summarizing the expansive, explaining the complicated, and highlighting the central. Here we encounter an invitation to experience the breadth of the Christian tradition while standing within the best of the spirit of evangelical theology. Treier is fair, judicious, generous, and wise. Learn to theologize like him not only for the good of your heart but also for the good of God's church and world. This volume will surely be a great gift to a generation of readers."
Kelly M. Kapic, Covenant College
"Treier's Introducing Evangelical Theology treats the gamut of evangelical theological categories. He seeks to maintain Scripture's preeminent place as the authoritative source for theological formulation and its evaluative power for faith and practice. In the course of engaging theological and social questions and issues inside and outside the church, Treier consistently demonstrates a respect for centuries of church theological reflection done by sinful people who received the grace of Holy Spirit-empowered reasoning. This volume will no doubt become a standard work for the theological training of professional and lay church leadership."
Bruce Fields, professor of faith and culture, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
"Alert to theology's doctrinal, moral, and spiritual dimensions; deeply informed by classical and contemporary approaches to the matters at hand; and irenic in its survey of a broad theological landscape, Treier's Introducing Evangelical Theology offers a faithful and creative account of Christian teaching that both students and teachers will appreciate and that further distinguishes the author as one of our most gifted theologians."
Scott R. Swain, president and James Woodrow Hassell Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando
"Introducing Evangelical Theology is biblically rooted, historically informed, ecclesially located, and spiritually formative. While readers will not agree with every conclusion, Treier has given us an introduction to Christian theology that is eminently accessible, richly stimulating, grounded in the Christian tradition, and committed to evangelical distinctives--a rare feat. This book will benefit students, pastors, and academic theologians alike."
Matthew Y. Emerson, Dickinson Associate Professor of Religion, Oklahoma Baptist University
The Author
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Daniel J. Treier
Daniel J. Treier (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Knoedler Professor of Theology at Wheaton College Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture and the coeditor of several...
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Reviews
2020 Christian Book Award® Winner (Bible Reference Works)