An Introduction to Christian Theology (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: An Introduction to Christian Theology Matthew W.I. Dunn Richard J. Plantinga, Thomas R. Thompson, and Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Pp. xx + 634. Paper, $29.99. ISBN 978-0-521-69037-9. The authors are religion professors at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which was formally associated with the Christian Reformed Church. They view their work as “an introduction and an invitation to Christian theology” (xiii). [End Page 333] The book’s first part (47–415) treats several key themes: revelation and “God talk,” the nature of God, creation, humankind and sin, theodicy, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the Church and mission, and eschatology. Each chapter follows a routine course from a consideration of the biblical data to a discussion of relevant historical issues. The authors give their view of how best to actualize the doctrine for today as well as its practical relevance to contemporary problems and questions, from the world’s ecological devastation (176–179) to social justice (275–276) to Christianity’s encounter with religious plurality (361–372). The second part (417–574) offers a historical survey of Christian theology through “five significant . . . epochs”: Patristic, Medieval, “Reformational,” Modern, and Contemporary. The “big names” are present, like Augustine and Luther, as are other theologians of interest to the authors, like Richard of St. Victor and Jürgen Moltmann. Nearly every chapter ends with a brief bibliography, and very helpful tables and figures accompany every part of the text. The book also contains a theological glossary (575–604), a general bibliography (605–625), and an index (626–634). What I found surprisingly lacking, however, was a catalogue of biblical references used in the book. The authors write from the perspective—and hence the preconception—of Evangelical Protestant Christianity. As one might expect, then, Luther and Calvin are frequent theological reference points, as is Karl Barth. Still, the authors should be credited for the numerous instances in which they include the insights of other thinkers who do not fit the Evangelical mould, like Thomas Aquinas, Karl Rahner, and N.T. Wright. Even the Bible’s Deuterocanon finds a place in their discussions (e.g., see 149 and 403). As a Byzantine Catholic, I truly appreciated their nods—albeit few and far between—to Eastern Christian theology. I should also mention the creative way the authors wove into the text references to literature (Emily Dickinson’s poetry), music (Bach’s “Mass in B Minor”), and film (the humorous dialogue on the Trinity from Nuns on the Run). I felt that the authors’ historical survey was an unnecessary appendage. The authors themselves seem to admit as much when they say that their survey “can be read profit-ably and independently before, during, or after” the book’s other sections. They further explain that it is meant to reinforce—or “mother” (?)—the historical material covered in the doctrinal sections of the book (xv). Nonetheless I wondered why the historical material alone needs reinforcement, and whether or not the material could have been used to enrich the doctrinal sections. For each chapter, the authors outline “the biblical basis for the teaching” followed by the teaching’s development and their own systematic reflection (xv, emphasis in original; see also 25). However, although the authors emphasize the biblical base of their theology, I found their treatment of Scripture generally superficial and in some places almost nonexistent (e.g., see chapter 8 on theodicy). The authors display their biases significantly when they use the phrase proof text to describe their methodology (115). Finally, while the authors intend to provide an introductory text, their language is certainly not introductory. Consider, for instance, the following passage: During the intertestamental period, amid the ebb and flow of messianic expectations, there grew a nostalgia for the prophetic Spirit of Israel’s former days, an activity which now appeared quiescent. Along with the rise of apocalypticism there emerged a more detailed angelology and demonology. . . . In Hellenistic (diaspora) Judaism . . . there developed a virtual identification of God’s Spirit with the divine wisdom immanent in creation . . . [etc.] (287–288). Many college students would have difficulty understanding much of this without a...