(I posted this in "General Discussions" because it is not a full book review, nor is it a theological discussion or question.)
Dr. Wayne Grudem's second edition of his famous and widely-acclaimed Systematic Theology was released December 8, 2020. I pre-ordered the volume in Logos, looking greatly forward to it. His was the first systematic theology I ever read (though not all of it). Even though I ended up a "cessationist" Presbyterian, I have such fond memories reading Grudem. Despite his flaws, what he did for me was make me excited about understanding the system of doctrine taught in Scripture. In fact, Grudem may be one of the main reasons I am pursuing ministry even now. I wanted to post my initial thoughts of the second edition of this work for those who might be interested. Like me, I imagine many of you are wondering what has been changed, added, or taken away.
Grudem marks in the preface to this edition exactly what is different in the main:
Later in the preface, he notes some places where his thinking has changed:
While his changes in his view of divine impassability and eternal generation are welcome, his view of the age of the earth might bother many here. Regarding his discussion of eternal generation, he affirms the doctrine, but he refrains from making any sort of conclusion as to what eternal generation means or refers to—whether it is (a) the Father's communicating the essence or (b) the Father's being the source of the Person of the Son:
Grudem does take some time in this second edition to address the heated controversy over the eternal subordination of the Son:
Beyond all this, Grudem has a lengthy discussion of the "New Perspective on Paul" that I think will be helpful.
I think this is still a valuable contribution to introductory systematic theologies. It is easy to read, staunchly Calvinistic in its soteriology, strongly complementarian, and very devotional. Of course, I would not hand this to a new believer for them to read unguided on their own; I would want to direct their thoughts to better things in some areas. But even then, Grudem seems sober even in those areas where I disagree with him (e.g., spiritual gifts). In other words, he is not wild-eyed when it comes to matters where he strays. I would say that this is an excellent volume to read, refresh a certain area of doctrine, or to reference.
Dr. Wayne Grudem's second edition of his famous and widely-acclaimed Systematic Theology was released December 8, 2020. I pre-ordered the volume in Logos, looking greatly forward to it. His was the first systematic theology I ever read (though not all of it). Even though I ended up a "cessationist" Presbyterian, I have such fond memories reading Grudem. Despite his flaws, what he did for me was make me excited about understanding the system of doctrine taught in Scripture. In fact, Grudem may be one of the main reasons I am pursuing ministry even now. I wanted to post my initial thoughts of the second edition of this work for those who might be interested. Like me, I imagine many of you are wondering what has been changed, added, or taken away.
Grudem marks in the preface to this edition exactly what is different in the main:
The changes in this edition mainly consist of additional material:
1. completely updated bibliographies
2. all Scripture quotations changed from RSV to ESV
3. new sections on the differences between evangelical Protestant theology and Protestant theological liberalism (additional note to chapter 4), Mormonism (additional note to chapter 14), and Roman Catholicism (additional note to chapter 45, with extensive quotations from the 1997 edition of Catechism of the Catholic Church)
4. additional discussion of specific “problem verses” for biblical inerrancy (chapter 5)
5. a completely revised, stronger chapter on the clarity of Scripture (chapter 6)
6. updated sections on God’s atemporal eternity (chapter 11), the relationship of the Son to the Father in the Trinity (chapter 14), seeker-sensitive churches (chapter 44), the role of women in the church (chapter 47), contemporary worship music (chapter 51), and miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit (chapters 52 and 53)
7. a more extensive critique of open theism (chapter 12)
8. a completely revised, stronger chapter on creation and evolution, including recent evidence for intelligent design, a longer critique of theistic evolution, and a summary of recent evidence regarding the age of the earth (chapter 15)
9. a new discussion and critique of middle knowledge (or Molinism) (chapter 16)
10. a reply to recent criticisms of the penal substitutionary view of the atonement (chapter 27)
11. an extensive discussion of “Free Grace” theology (chapter 35)
12. a critique of the “new perspective on Paul” and its view of justification (chapter 36)
13. a critique of the preterist view that Christ has already returned in AD 70 (chapter 54)
14. a contemporary worship song added at the end of each chapter (while retaining the traditional hymns as well)
15. indexing of topics covered in twenty-one new systematic theology texts (including new translations of older texts by Turretin and Vos) that have been published since 1993
16. numerous smaller modifications that have been prompted by letters and emails from people around the world and by interaction with the many wonderful, insightful students as I have taught through this material over the last twenty-six years both at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and at Phoenix Seminary...
—Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), xv-xvi.
Later in the preface, he notes some places where his thinking has changed:
“Did you change your mind about anything?” is the question people often ask me about this second edition.
The short answer is, “Very little,” but there are a few changes: (1) I now affirm the doctrine of God’s impassibility in the sense of “incapable of suffering harm,” a meaning that I had mistakenly failed to consider in the first edition (chapter 11). (2) Because of substantial new evidence about the meaning of the Greek word monogenēs, I now think that this word should be translated as “only begotten” rather than simply “only” in John 3:16 (and elsewhere), and I now endorse the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son by the Father (chapter 14). (3) I now think that the scientific evidence in favor of an old earth (4.5 billion years) and an old universe (13.8 billion years) has become overwhelming, with the result that I now advocate an old earth position, though I still believe that both old earth and young earth viewpoints are valid for Christian leaders to hold today (chapter 15).
—ibid., xvi.
While his changes in his view of divine impassability and eternal generation are welcome, his view of the age of the earth might bother many here. Regarding his discussion of eternal generation, he affirms the doctrine, but he refrains from making any sort of conclusion as to what eternal generation means or refers to—whether it is (a) the Father's communicating the essence or (b) the Father's being the source of the Person of the Son:
I am not convinced that God has revealed enough information in Scripture for us to affirm or deny either option (a) or (b) with confidence. The actual meaning of the eternal generation of the Son might in fact be option (c), an explanation that we do not now understand or even know about. What we do have is five verses that say that Christ is the “only begotten” Son of the Father, and we have other verses that teach that God is eternal. Therefore, we can affirm with confidence the eternal generation of the Son. But we are dealing here with a topic of great mystery,50 and it seems wise to admit that much of this topic remains among the “secret things” that “belong to the Lord our God” (Deut. 29:29).
—ibid., 298.
Grudem does take some time in this second edition to address the heated controversy over the eternal subordination of the Son:
In the first edition of Systematic Theology, as well as in this second edition, and in subsequent writings on the doctrine of the Trinity, I have repeatedly and explicitly affirmed that the Son and Father are of the same essence or same being (homoousios), that the Son is fully God, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share in ontological equality...I did not affirm but rejected “the heresy of subordinationism, which holds that the Son is inferior in being to the Father.” (In these sentences, I used the word being as a synonym for essence.) I also repeatedly denied inferiority or subordination in essence (though I more often used the word being) in Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth.
—ibid., 306; italics original.
Regarding the question as to the relationship between this subordination to the essential being of God, he says:Is this authority/submission relationship between Father and Son only found in the works of God outside of himself (such as creation and redemption), the works that theologians have called the opera ad extra (“works to the outside”)? Or does this relationship also belong to the necessary activity of God within the Trinity, what theologians have called the opera ad intra (“works to the inside”)? We must be cautious here because the eternal relationships among the three members of the Trinity are largely a matter of mystery, with little explicit testimony from Scripture.
I think we can say at least that (1) the names Father and Son (and Spirit) are eternal names and suggest some kind of priority for the Father in the relationship; (2) all of God’s works outside himself (his opera ad extra) are voluntary, not necessary (see the discussion of God’s free will in chapter 13, p. 254), and therefore all the works of God in creation and redemption that show a pattern of the Son’s submission to the Father were entirely voluntary, not necessary; (3) what Scripture reveals to us about God’s works in creation and redemption is the primary way we have of knowing what God is like in himself (that is, the economic Trinity reflects the ontological Trinity); (4) the eternal generation of the Son is necessary to the very nature of God and this suggests the p 318 appropriateness of some kind of internal ordering of the relationship; and (5) many of those who deny an eternal relationship of authority and submission end up supporting a kind of egalitarian relationship among the members of the Trinity for which there is no explicit support in Scripture while also claiming that everything revealed in Scripture about the Father-Son relationship does not really tell us who God is in himself.
—ibid., 317-318.
Beyond all this, Grudem has a lengthy discussion of the "New Perspective on Paul" that I think will be helpful.
I think this is still a valuable contribution to introductory systematic theologies. It is easy to read, staunchly Calvinistic in its soteriology, strongly complementarian, and very devotional. Of course, I would not hand this to a new believer for them to read unguided on their own; I would want to direct their thoughts to better things in some areas. But even then, Grudem seems sober even in those areas where I disagree with him (e.g., spiritual gifts). In other words, he is not wild-eyed when it comes to matters where he strays. I would say that this is an excellent volume to read, refresh a certain area of doctrine, or to reference.