Digital Logos Edition
Evangelical Theology is a systematic theology written from the perspective of a biblical scholar. Michael F. Bird contends that the center, unity, and boundary of the evangelical faith is the evangel, or gospel, as opposed to things like justification by faith or inerrancy. The evangel is the unifying thread in evangelical theology and the theological hermeneutic through which the various loci of theology need to be understood.
According to Bird, theology is the drama of gospelizing—performing and living out the gospel in the theater of Christian life. Using the gospel as a lens to examine Christian doctrine, this text presents an authentically evangelical theology, as opposed to an ordinary systematic theology written by an evangelical theologian. The text features tables, sidebars, and questions for discussion. The end of every part includes a “What to Take Home” section that gives students a run-down on what they need to know. And since reading theology can often be dry and cerebral, the author applies his unique sense of humor in occasional “Comic Belief” sections so that students may enjoy their learning experience through some theological humor added for good measure.
“1. Theology is necessary to provide clarification and unity to the diverse body of biblical materials.” (Page 55)
“When I refer to experience as a source of theology, I mean the acquisition of knowledge and relational intimacy through an encounter with the living God. I want to advocate that our encounter with God in prayer, worship, sacraments, Scripture, mission, and Christian fellowship provides a genuine source for theology.” (Page 72)
“The key Reformation contribution to the subject of theological prolegomena was the assertion that theology should commence with a description of the mode of God’s self-communication of himself to his creatures.” (Page 33)
“It is my contention that an evangelical theology should proceed by taking into account four primary sources of authority: Scripture, tradition, nature, and experience.” (Page 62)
“However, an evangelical theology should take into account not only the propositional content of what God says in Scripture, but also how God has revealed himself in Scripture. In other words, the content and genre of revelation are equally important in our analysis of the divine revelation.” (Pages 79–80)
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