# First Systematic Theology to Begin Studying?



## davidsuggs (Aug 2, 2008)

I have mainly listened to a lot of lectures and read various works by Sproul, Piper, Van Til, Schaeffer, etc. But lately I have become very interested in systematic theology. Whose would you recommend beginning with?


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 2, 2008)

Charles Hodge


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## greenbaggins (Aug 2, 2008)

I would go with a'Brakel's Christian's Reasonable Service, and then after that read Turretin. Hodge is basically Turretin, but you need something to step up to that kind of thinking, and a'Brakel is excellent in that regard.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 2, 2008)

I like a'Brakel alot. But I prefer Hodge.

Also, a good "quick" reference book on theology  is A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology.

I guess I'm just partial to old Princeton theologs!


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## cornopean (Aug 2, 2008)

Presbyterian Deacon said:


> I like a'Brakel alot. But I prefer Hodge.
> 
> Also, a good "quick" reference book on theology  is A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology.
> 
> I guess I'm just partial to old Princeton theologs!


I would recommed Louis Berkhof. It is a very skeletal system and very well organized.


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## timmopussycat (Aug 2, 2008)

cornopean said:


> Presbyterian Deacon said:
> 
> 
> > I like a'Brakel alot. But I prefer Hodge.
> ...



Likewise. Although maybe I found Berkhof so easy because my first encounter with systematic theology was not a full ST but JI Packer's _Knowing God_. I recommend that book as an introduction before doing a full ST.


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 2, 2008)

timmopussycat said:


> cornopean said:
> 
> 
> > Presbyterian Deacon said:
> ...




If not Berkhof's full theology, there is always Berkhof's paperback, Summary of Christian Doctrine. This is a good "beginner."







You may find it here:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Summary-Christian-Doctrine-Louis-Berkhof/dp/0802815138"]http://www.amazon.com/Summary-Christian-Doctrine-Louis-Berkhof/dp/0802815138[/ame]


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Aug 2, 2008)

Presbyterian Deacon said:


> timmopussycat said:
> 
> 
> > cornopean said:
> ...



That is online here:

Links and Downloads Manager - Theological Links - Summary of Christian Doctrine -- Louis Berkhof - The PuritanBoard

I rate Berkhof very highly, Turretin and Hodge too, but agree with Lane that a'Brakel is the best place to start.


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## JohnGill (Aug 2, 2008)

*I would do...*

These four in the following order:


a Brakel's - Christian's Reasonable Service
Turretin's - Institutes of Elenctic Theology
Gill's - Body of Doctrinal & Practical Divinity (o)
Bavinck's - Reformed Dogmatics

For just the basics of Systematic Theology I recommend 4 books:

Thomas Watson's - A Body of Divinity, The Lord's Prayer, & The Ten Commandments (o)
The Westminster Larger Catechism. (o)

There is a reading program for selected readings of Watson with the WLC available out on the internet.

Some other good basic books are William Ames' Marrow of Theology and Henry Bullinger's The Decades (o).

Also you might try Concise Theology by J. I. Packer.

Everything with (o) after it is available online at the following sites:

Providence Baptist Ministries Gill
Welcome to the Christian Classics Ethereal Library! | Christian Classics Ethereal Library Watson
www.archive.org Bullinger

Hope these help.


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## Casey (Aug 2, 2008)

You could always go for individual volumes on the different loci of theology, too. Not to detract from the bigger volume series, but this might be a better first step than trying to plod through some several-thousand-page work. You could pick the subject you're most interested in and get your feet wet with that (like eschatology, ecclesiology, Christology, etc.). If you're looking for a good, short, sweet, succinct book on soteriology, I highly recommend John Murray's _Redemption Accomplished and Applied_. And you could also go ahead and read Calvin's _Institutes_, too.


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## DMcFadden (Aug 2, 2008)

I would commend Grudem to the person lacking in theological vocabulary. He is up to date, fair, and qualified. Besides, who is easier to read than Grudem? Then go to something more substantial.


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 2, 2008)

joshua said:


> I forgot that Charles Finney also has a Systematic Theology.



There's also, Basic Theology by C. C. Ryrie and, Systematic Theology by A. H. Strong, and we forget shouldn't the valuable contributions by Charles Wesley either.


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 2, 2008)

Seriously though, another good one volume is J. M. Boice's Foundations of the Christian Faith.


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## JM (Aug 2, 2008)

R. L. Dabney

Gill's Archive


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 2, 2008)

joshua said:


> I think Norm Geisler has a Systematic Theology out. (te he he he)



 Might as well get this:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Lectures-Systematic-Theology-Clarence-Thiessen/dp/0802835295]Amazon.com: Lectures in Systematic Theology: Henry Clarence Thiessen: Books[/ame]


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## davidsuggs (Aug 2, 2008)

Presbyterian Deacon said:


> Seriously though, another good one volume is J. M. Boice's Foundations of the Christian Faith.


 
I can't tell if you are still joking or not...


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 2, 2008)

davidsuggs said:


> Presbyterian Deacon said:
> 
> 
> > Seriously though, another good one volume is J. M. Boice's Foundations of the Christian Faith.
> ...



No joke! Dr. Boice was a fine preacher and speaker. His book is an excellent one volume study of the doctrines of Scripture in a very readable format with lots of interesting material.

I do like it.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Aug 2, 2008)

Presbyterian Deacon said:


> Seriously though, another good one volume is J. M. Boice's Foundations of the Christian Faith.



Boice's was the first one I started with. I Liked reading Dabney's because it was set up as lectures. I have read portions of Calvin's Institutes and Hodges. 

After I am done reading Covenant Theology from Adam to Christ again, I am going to take a look at John Brown's Systematic Theology. I just got it in the mail the other day.


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## Jared (Aug 2, 2008)

The first and only Systematic Theology that I bought was Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. I read it quite a bit. 

I would like to get Calvin's Institutes though.


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## DMcFadden (Aug 2, 2008)

Boice was no slouch. Harvard, Princeton, and Basel and still holding to inerrancy, he was a leading person in the founding of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy as well as a mover with the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (which includes White Horse Inn). His one volume book is a good lay introduction to theology. 

Grudem is often underestimated on the PB (in my opinion), due to his non-cessationist position. But, after completing Harvard, attending Fulller, graduating from Westminster, and getting his PhD at Cambridge, the man is sharp as they come. And, more than a quarter of a million copies of his SysTheo in print is an amazing accomplishment for someone with Calvinist soteriology, a complementarian view of gender relationships, and a strict inerrantist.


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## bookslover (Aug 2, 2008)

I would recommend Robert L. Reymond's _A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith_ (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998). It's excellent; it will give you a thorough grounding in Reformed theology. It is also very well written and easy to read.


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## Bygracealone (Aug 2, 2008)

I'll put my vote in for A'Brakel and Turretin as well...


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## JM (Aug 2, 2008)

No one mentioned Chafer....? [kidding]


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 2, 2008)

JM said:


> No one mentioned Chafer....? [kidding]



Thanks for messin' that up!


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## DMcFadden (Aug 2, 2008)

> I think Norm Geisler has a Systematic Theology out. (te he he he)





> No one mentioned Chafer....? [kidding]



Hey, Chafer was my first Sys Theo. I read the whole thing in 7 weeks during my junior year in high school. I have theologies (entire or parts of them)from Chafer, Geisler, Brunner, Arminius, Barth, Finney, Olson, Pinnock, Duffield (Pentecostal), Hayford, Aquinas, Ryrie, Oden, Jewett, Grenz, and Cottrell (Restorationist Campbellite). Wanna make something of it?  Does that make me a heretic, airhead, or just very confused?

(Actually, pride of place in my library goes to Luther, Calvin, Turretin, Owen, Edwards, Gill, a Brakel, Ames, Warfield, Strong, Bavinck, Kuyper, C. Hodge, Dabney, Shedd, Warfield, A.A. Hodge, Van Til, Berkouwer, Berkhof, Boice, Sproul, Bloesch, Frame, Gill, Piper, Schaeffer, Spurgeon, Henry, Reymond, Grudem, Smith, Erickson, etc.)


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Aug 2, 2008)

Brakel!!!! Brakel!!!! Brakel!!!

Here at RHB for $90.00


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## Ivan (Aug 2, 2008)

Presbyterian Deacon said:


> ...and we forget shouldn't the valuable contributions by Charles Wesley either.



Hmmm...John?


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## PuritanCovenanter (Aug 2, 2008)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> Brakel!!!! Brakel!!!! Brakel!!!
> 
> Here at RHB for $90.00



Ok,
I just ordered it. I have been hearing about this set for sometime. So I had to indulge. 

Thanks.


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## Jared (Aug 2, 2008)

This is kind of an aside, but I am somewhat newly "reformed", but not "truly reformed" and I was wondering why it seems like most of the more popular Calvinistic preachers among younger people mostly talk about Wayne Grudem's systematic theology and they really don't mention any others very often except for occasionally mentioning Calvin's institutes perhaps. 

Is it because most of the Calvinistic preachers that are popular among younger people are at least slightly charismatic?


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## CalvinandHodges (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi:

You cannot go wrong with any of the one's suggested above - Chafer and Finney excluded. 

You should definately read Calvin's Institutes. The Institutes should be a priority. A'Brackel's Christian Reasonable Service is also a must read. If you are looking for something contemporary than Robert L Reymond's New Systematic Theology is excellent.

Without any further information from you the above three should be your focus. Depending on what you are actually looking for the others: Berkhof, Dabney, Bavinck, Hodge, Gill, Bullinger, Turretin, would also be very good recommendations as well.

You might also try John Brown of Haddington's Systematic Theology as well.

I cannot stress the importance of reading Calvin's Institutes. He teaches the soul and substance of Reformed Theology.

A'Brakel's work is excellent. Not only does he teach the very marrow of Christian doctrine, but he also applies it to the reader - experimental theology at its best.

Reymond's book I only recently picked up, but I am very impressed by the way he packs Scripture into everything he says.

Turretin's Elenctic Theology is instructional not only in the truth, but also in answer to the error. He displays what heretics and Romanists teach concerning a certain area of theology, and then he demonstrates the Truth in answer to them.

I enjoy reading Hodge - sort of an updated Turretin.

Berkhof, Dabney, and Gill* can get very technical. If you are looking for precision, then these men are a good choice. I would recommend reading them after Calvin and a'Brackel.

Bullinger's Decades is systematics worked out through sermons. Thus, it is invaluable for a preacher. Excellent for laymen as well - he preaches right to you.

John Brown of Haddington's work has over 10,000 citations of Scripture in it, and that is the value of the book. However, you can only get it in a reprint of an old edition. Thus, it is a bit difficult to read, and there is a bit of a language difference between Early Modern English and Modern English (after a while you get used to it). I have memorized portions of his work for tests in Systematics, and have gotten "A's" in them! (updated the language of course)

To add one more to the list: Dr. Richard Gamble's Systematic/Biblical Theology which, if all goes well, should be available in September.

Be careful in reading Systematics, though, because too much exercise of the Brain, and not enough exercise of the Heart, can dry out the soul.

Grace and Peace,

-CH

*Exceptions I would make with Gill are his views on Baptism, Church Government, and, later in life, his hypercalvinism.


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## DMcFadden (Aug 3, 2008)

Jared104 said:


> This is kind of an aside, but I am somewhat newly "reformed", but not "truly reformed" and I was wondering why it seems like most of the more popular Calvinistic preachers among younger people mostly talk about Wayne Grudem's systematic theology and they really don't mention any others very often except for occasionally mentioning Calvin's institutes perhaps.
> 
> Is it because most of the Calvinistic preachers that are popular among younger people are at least slightly charismatic?



Quite possible. However, here are some other reasons:

1. Grudem sides with clear communication over technical jargon. Despite his Harvard, Westminster, and Cambridge education, he avoids leaving Latin droppings on every page. And, when it comes to English words, can you really cram more meaning into the "perspicuity" of Scripture (the term used in many texts) as opposed to the "clarity" of the Bible?

2. Grudem calls his work a "systematic theology." However, he suffuses it with lots of exegetical insight. Remember that he is known for his exegetical and commentary work. 

3. Grudem has written his book to make it accessible to students taking their first course in Systematic Theology. You do not need to understand the intricacies of philosophy to follow his arguments.

4. While he is Baptist, historic premil, and Vineyard friendly, his commitment to Reformed soteriology comes through quite clearly. Perhaps some of the speakers who appeal to younger people appreciate the fact that one does not need to be TR in order to appreciate Grudem.

Is Grudem my be-all and end-all? Not by a mile! Reymond is pretty easy to read, contemporary, and Presbyterian. The older dogmaticians, including the Protestant scholastics, are rich, deep, and satisfying. I just thought that a non-swimmer might appreciate the wading end before going for the deep water.


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## Grymir (Aug 3, 2008)

To continue Joshua's posts about great systematic theology books, how about Barth's Dogmatics??


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## wturri78 (Aug 3, 2008)

One volume I've found particularly helpful, especially as a beginner, is G.I. Williamson's "Westmister Confession of Faith for Study Classes." Obviously this is not a seminary-level text, but it's organized around an historic confession of Reformed belief and is quite easy to read, especially since each chapter is fairly short and can be read by itself. 

I also recommend Grudem's book for the same reasons...easy to read, very clear, and each chapter can be read to great benefit apart from the others. I've noticed that he also has a series of lectures (Sunday school, I think?) on the web that follows his book. Lately I don't have much time to swim or wade in books, and I find that much of my learning comes by way of listening through lectures while driving to and from work!


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Aug 3, 2008)

PuritanCovenanter said:


> Backwoods Presbyterian said:
> 
> 
> > Brakel!!!! Brakel!!!! Brakel!!!
> ...


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Aug 3, 2008)

CalvinandHodges said:


> Hi:
> 
> You cannot go wrong with any of the one's suggested above - Chafer and Finney excluded.
> 
> ...



I had Dr. Gamble for Doctrine of Revelation in the Spring and cannot wait to feast upon his writing.


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 3, 2008)

Ivan said:


> Presbyterian Deacon said:
> 
> 
> > ...and we forget shouldn't the valuable contributions by Charles Wesley either.
> ...




 Yeah. I guess subconsciously I couldn't bring myself to attribute something as a "valuable contrintribution" to John Wesley. Is that what they call one of them there "Fraudulent Slips?"


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## timmopussycat (Aug 3, 2008)

Presbyterian Deacon said:


> Ivan said:
> 
> 
> > Presbyterian Deacon said:
> ...



Twnety years ago, after reading through a few ST's boorowed from libraries, the first ST an acquaintance actually bought was that by ... Rudolf Bultmann. To my raised eyebrows he replied, "Know your enemy."


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## Grymir (Aug 3, 2008)

timmopussycat said:


> Twenty years ago, after reading through a few ST's boorowed from libraries, the first ST an acquaintance actually bought was that by ... Rudolf Bultmann. To my raised eyebrows he replied, "Know your enemy."



I know, that's why I got stuck reading Barth. I like Dabney because he's philosophical in the right way, but for the atonement, nothing beats Owen's Death of Death!!


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## bookslover (Aug 3, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> While he is Baptist, historic premil...,



You got something against being historic premil, bub?


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## greenbaggins (Aug 4, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> > I think Norm Geisler has a Systematic Theology out. (te he he he)
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I had to laugh at this, Dennis. You say "pride of place." And then you mention just about every ST known to man as taking pride of place. I especially like the "etc." at the end. That is one huge pride of place you got goin' there!


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## cornopean (Aug 5, 2008)

I know you all meant to mention this one....the dumb ox.


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