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This revised edition of a classic college-level introduction to theology presents the core doctrines of the Christian faith, encouraging readers to connect belief with everyday life.
- Sales Rank: #210073 in Books
- Brand: Baker Pub Group/Baker Books
- Published on: 2015-01-20
- Released on: 2015-01-20
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .80" w x 6.00" l, .96 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 320 pages
From the Back Cover
Using the resources of the biblical message, the heritage of the church, and the thought forms of our culture, this introductory systematic theology text presents the core doctrines of the Christian faith, encouraging readers to connect belief with everyday life. The third edition, updated for a new generation of readers, illustrates theological concepts with current cultural examples and includes a new preface and afterword, resources for further study, and updated footnotes.
Praise for Previous Editions
"As a professor of theology in a Christian university, I am always looking for texts particularly suited to the nonspecialist, undergraduate student that communicate in clear, ordinary language but do not compromise on scholarly substance. I am delighted to find in Created for Community a textbook in systematic theology that meets these criteria."
--Douglas Harink, The King's University
"A fresh, creative work that makes deep theological reflection accessible to everybody. In a tradition too often tinged with anti-intellectualism, it offers the opportunity to help us worship God with our whole mind."
--John Ortberg, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
"Stanley Grenz restores the balance between thought and action, individual and community, head and heart, reason and experience in this splendid and readable work."
--Robert E. Webber, author of Ancient-Future Faith
"With its simple, readable (almost conversational) style and clear explanations of doctrinal concepts, [this book] is suitable for new Christians and laypeople generally."
--David Parker, Evangelical Review of Theology
"A readable, practical, and thought-provoking presentation of the Christian faith. . . . The material is well laid out, with helpful previews and summaries, and each chapter includes a list of questions 'for connection and application.'. . . Grenz has done a remarkable job of covering the territory concisely and interestingly, and I hope that his book will be widely read and used."
--Terrance Tiessen, Didaskalia
About the Author
Stanley J. Grenz (1950-2005) was the Pioneer McDonald Professor of Theology and Ethics at Carey Theological College. He earned the Doctor of Theology degree at the University of Munich. A leading voice on the North American theological scene, he wrote or
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Theology in Common Language for the Community of God
By Dr Conrade Yap
The word 'Theology' sometimes does not get a fair hearing. In some circles, just mentioning the words "theology," "Bible school," or "theological studies" would lead to sarcasm and skeptical remarks about theology being too intellectual and impractical for daily living. I have heard of opponents who drop names of various famous people who had never attended Bible school. Names like AW Tozer who had such great influence but never had formal theological training, sometimes pop up that downplays the need for theological education. Of course, the face of theological education has been represented (or misrepresented) by theological publications that seem so intellectually challenging or difficult to understand. Some professors who speak at churches fail to speak at the level of the congregation. Books have also come from the direction of an ivory tower to the common man in the street. No wonder people tend to have a mistaken idea of theology and theological education. In this book, the late systematic theologian Stanley Grenz seeks to buck the trend by talking about theology from a common man in the street perspective. He makes three assertions.
1) Theology enables us to affirm orthodox doctrine. Believers can then distinguish right doctrine from wrong.
2) Theology helps us to teach doctrine and Christian truths. Believers can be grounded in the faith.
3) Theology helps us learn about God and God's purposes. Believers can understand what the Bible teaches about God and God's will.
For Grenz and Smith, the primary task for theologians is to study and to teach the divine message of Scripture. The secondary task is to observe the traditional heritage of the Church and historical faith. The tertiary task is to be involved actively in various cultures through theological engagement and contemporary thought forms. The way Grenz communicates this is to begin with the Triune God, and slowly works his way through the doctrines of anthropology, Christology, Pneumatology, Ecclesiology, and finally Eschatology. Theology's unifying focus is God as Trinity, and us being created for community. In connecting the Trinity with human community, we essentially have a framework for connecting Christian belief with Christian living.
Grenz begins with the cultural perceptions of today. Atheism is a rising force and many believers simply do not have a way to respond to their criticisms. Grenz leads readers through the ontological (what is commonly believed), cosmological (ultimate cause), teleological (pondering on the design of the natural world), and moral (problem of good/evil) proofs for the existence of God. He shares about Alister McGrath's other arguments, like the anthropological and aesthetic perspectives. The point is, Christianity is no intellectual pushover. While the arguments for the existence of God are legitimate, the author acknowledges that it is impossible to argue people into the faith. For Christians, we are encouraged to get to know God despite our limitations. The best way for us to know God is to be united in the body in Christ. For the Triune God is relational, triune, and creator. The Father originates; the Son reveals; and the Spirit proceeds to complete.
On Anthropology, he begins with a general statement about man's constant search for identity, our dependence on God, and only in God can we truly find our true essence of being. For if we are made in God's image, we are indeed created for community. We learn about our connectedness with other human beings and creation. On celestial beings, we need to distinguish between natural order versus the occult. We learn the relevance of a Fallen World where sin has become the failure of the human heart. As a result, community gets broken. We are alienated from God, condemned in sin, and separated from community.
On Christology, we learn the theological assertions that Jesus is fully divine and fully human. As divine, Jesus is sinless, his perfect teachings, his truth claims, and the total fulfillment of his words. As human, we learn not only about Jesus coming to be like us as a human, but also to give us new life as the New Human. We learn how theologians explain Jesus' preexistence, being with God right from the beginning, uncreated, perfect, and is God. Jesus is not simply one with a human body disguised as a divine being. Jesus is fully human and fully God. Jesus' identity is as Son of God, as Suffering Servant, as Israel's true Messiah. Jesus' atonement at the cross is the reason why we are saved from our sins. In doing so, we are reconciled to God, as legally speaking, Jesus has become our "expiation" who had paid the price for our sins.
On Pneumatology, we learn about the Third Person of the Trinity. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit sustains life on earth. The Spirit is active in the lives of the people. In Jesus, the Holy Spirit anoints Jesus and Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to fully guide and teach the disciples in all things. Through the Church, the Spirit continues to work the will of God through community. The Spirit convicts us about the Word of God. The Spirit fills us with wisdom and enables us to understand the deep things of God. The Spirit leads us to receive the salvation of Christ. I really appreciate the way Grenz describes the "human condition," "Christ's provision," and "Spirit's application."
On sanctification, there are questions about holiness and why it is important for our Christian living. "Positional sanctification" is our "holy status before God." This is different from "conditional sanctification" in which we let the Holy Spirit work in us to help us bring about the fruit of the Spirit.
On Ecclesiology, we read about the Church and the people of God. Not only are we a called out people to God, we are the future-oriented, fellowshipping people. The purpose of the Church is to glorify God, to worship God, edify one another, and reach out to others not in the fold. Outreach is both evangelism and service. True ecclesiology is about participation of members of the body. There are two dimensions of understanding Church membership. The first is "pure membership" where one has to explicitly state their declaration of faith while the second is "mixed membership" where membership is beyond local confessions. The authors then describe the sacraments that help us understand the rituals members would practice together. It is in these chapters that the idea of community becomes more practiced and relevant. He underlines the importance of Church membership that our relationship in the Church is a visible bond of the body of Christ.
On Eschatology, we are reminded that Christians are a future-oriented people of God. With the Left-Behind series of books and the infamous predictions of Harold Camping who died in December 2013 without any of his predictions fulfilled, we have many confusing pictures of what the future is going to look like. Here Grenz and Smith lead us through the various interpretations, the premillennialism, the postmillennialism, the amillennialism, and also the topics of death. As far as God's community is concerned, there is an eternal home. There is a Final Judgment for all people. There is also the reality of heaven and hell.
This is one of the clearest works of theology that bridge the academic domain with the practicing world. It covers the full spectrum of theology without becoming overly weighed down by scholarship details. At the same time, there is a lot of practical explanations on why the theology is important for daily Christian living. The big issue with the theological community and the Christian Church community is to know that we need each other. True theology is both practical and mindful of intellectual challenges. It is engaging and essential for the defense of the faith, for discipleship, as well as for training in righteousness. Good works need to be informed by sound doctrine. I shudder each time I hear laypeople dismiss theology as if it is mere head knowledge. This is unfortunate as theology is crucial for the people of God. Without theology, there is no foundation for Christian living. One can do good works without the input of Christian theology, just like many other religious and secular groups that claimed to do good works. I thank God for this book that helps to explain in a layperson manner the importance of theology. It is also an example for other academics on how to explain difficult concepts in simple terms.
We are created for community. The Bible says it. Church history proves it. We can all live it. This book reminds me once again why Professor Stan Grenz was so well loved by my community at Regent College, Carey, and many others in the Christian world.
Rating: 5 stars of 5.
conrade
This book is provided to me courtesy of Baker Academic and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
more like a conversation between a minister and a parishioner
By Quentin Decker
In their book Created for Community: Connecting Christian Belief with Christian Living, Stanley T. Grenz and Jay T. Smith lay out the principles of Christian doctrine and the importance of applying Christ’s teaching in our lives and becoming a part of God’s community. While they are able to cite scriptures to support their doctrinal beliefs and were genuinely sincere that their ideology is comprehensive and is gratifying for mankind, I have some difficulties in their writing style and some of their conclusions.
One of the problems with the book is that the structure is very obvious. In no way do Grenz and Smith try to hide that it is written in an outline format. Each chapter speaks of a different aspect of Christian—Protestant Christian—theology, and the chapters themselves are divided and subdivided into topics and subtopics that spell out the different points of doctrine. What is more, the structure of each point all follow the same pattern, namely, stating what the point is, saying what it is not, declaring in brief what is it, perhaps citing scripture to support this definition and breaking it down into small characteristics of that same points. The total effect is that it feels rather bare-boned, more like a conversation between a minister and a parishioner, and lacking the depth of a more scholarly volume.
There are also a few points of their doctrine I have difficulty as they are presented in the book. The role of Adam in God’s plan for mankind as explained in the book is sketchy. The authors cannot come to a conclusion on this matter. Yes, Adam is the first man, the father of the human family, who fell while in the Garden of Eden. But was it a part of God’s design that he fell? Some faiths hold that all of mankind would still be in a paradisiacal state if Adam did not fall, and that earth will one day return to that same condition. Grenz and Smith shy away from answering this question. The best they are willing to say it that the earth will be “refashioned” during the Millennium.
Also sketchy is what will the community we are will enter into will be like. Realizing that this is asking the authors pull back the veil of heaven and tell the reader what is there, but they do not provide much detail. They say we will exist in a community with God, sing praises unto Him. How will we be singing His praises? Just raising our voices in hallelujahs sound like it would grow dull after a thousand years, adding to assessment of some that the lives of the faithful will be one-dimensional and heaven will be humdrum. Is it possible that this praising will be taking different forms? Grenz and Smith do not seem have considered this question.
Also problematic is the whole matter of community. Granted, the model of hermits, living alone in a hair shirt in his cave to draw nearer to God, is hardly the existance of the Christian living most aspire to. Yet in her book Quiet, Susan Cain points out the church’s shift toward charismatic approaches of worship excludes introverts from participating in the church community, a charge to which the church at large has yet to respond. Some are not comfortable in such a large community that the authors are advocating, whether it is led by a clergyman here in this world or by God in the next.
Ultimately, Created for Community is a good primer for those who wish to understand and live a Christian life, albeit a rather Protestant version of it. Its writing is simple enough for the beginner to approach, even though some of its points of doctrine are not very well explained.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Five Stars
By T. baker
great price and book
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