Beeke and Smalley's "Reformed Systematic Theology," Volume 1

[bookslover]

Well, I just finished it tonight (12/25).

My goal was to finish it by the end of the year. Finishing it on Christmas night was just a coincidence.

My verdict: it's wonderful. It's comprehensive and treats each of its topics in full.

It is wordy, and you have to read through a lot of pages to get the main points the authors want to get across for each topic covered. It reminds me of what D. A. Carson said about reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones: there's a lot of good information, but you have to read through oceans of text to get at it.

That said, I would recommend this volume (the first of 4) to anyone who wants to learn more about systematic theology. It's reverential and devotional in its style, and very God-honoring.

Reading it is time well spent. Well worth your time.

On to Volume 2, which should be out in another 3 or 4 months, I'm guessing.

(In the meantime, it's time to get started on Robert Letham's new ST.)

 

[Username3000]

A fine word spoken by Richard, lover of books.

 

[Ed Walsh]

It reminds me of what D. A. Carson said about reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones: there's a lot of good information, but you have to read through oceans of text to get at it.

I am going through DrMLJ's sermons on Romans. He preached 13 sermons on the first sentence of Romans 1.
The first sermon was limited to the first word of Romans 1:1 -- "Paul." All in all, he preached 366 sermons over twelve years on Romans.

I love J. Beeke. I think I have everything he has published. For me, the most life-changing work of his was a Living By God's Promises.

 

[Polanus1561]

It is wordy because it is the text for seminary students under Beeke. Nevertheless, slow and steady,,

 

[RamistThomist]

How much of it is taken from other works? In many of his books he uses chapters from other books.

 

[bookslover]

How much of it is taken from other works? In many of his books he uses chapters from other books.

As far as I can recall, he doesn't use any of his other books in the ST, remarkably. It seems to be a fresh work all through.

 

[Regi Addictissimus]

You will find less repetition from his other works in Reformed Systematic Theology. These chapters are derived from his course lectures. What you will find is a rich repository of quotes from works that are no longer in print.

We met with Crossway a few weeks ago. Volume two is on track for October.

 

[bookslover]

You will find less repetition from his other works in Reformed Systematic Theology. These chapters are derived from his course lectures. What you will find is a rich repository of quotes from works that are no longer in print.

We met with Crossway a few weeks ago. Volume two is on track for October.

Gotta wait almost a year for Volume 2? Bummer, dude.

 

[bookslover]

I should add that the book is soaked in Scripture. The Scripture index is 64 pages long - with 3 columns per page!

 

[bookslover]

. . .a rich repository of quotes from works that are no longer in print.

Footnote 75 on page 1100 refers to The Christian Entirely the Property of Christ in Life and Death, Exhibited in Fifty-Three Sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism by Johannes VanderKemp. This book was published in 1810 and republished by RHB in 1997. That peaked my interest, so I went to RHB's website to hunt it up. Unfortunately, it's out of print. That was disappointing. There aren't even any copies for sale on Amazon or Abe Books (I checked).

 

[Regi Addictissimus]

Gotta wait almost a year for Volume 2? Bummer, dude.

Volume two is massive. Our friends at Crossway said they were looking at special binding due to the volumes size.

 

[Regi Addictissimus]

Footnote 75 on page 1100 refers to The Christian Entirely the Property of Christ in Life and Death, Exhibited in Fifty-Three Sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism by Johannes VanderKemp. This book was published in 1810 and republished by RHB in 1997. That peaked my interest, so I went to RHB's website to hunt it up. Unfortunately, it's out of print. That was disappointing. There aren't even any copies for sale on Amazon or Abe Books (I checked).

Volume one:
http://www.archive.org/details/christianentirel01kemp

Volume two:
http://www.archive.org/details/christianentirel02kemp

 

[User20004000]

How much of it is taken from other works? In many of his books he uses chapters from other books.

John Frame too.

 

[bookslover]

Volume two is massive. Our friends at Crossway said they were looking at special binding due to the volumes size.

More massive than Volume 1's 1,309 pages. It's starting to sound scary!

 

[Polanus1561]

Robert, may I assume RHB did not publish this and Reformed Preaching due to marketing reasons (Crossway being a major publisher)?

 

[Filter]

I pre-ordered the book the day that it was announced, but didn’t start reading it until July. This morning I read chapter 35 on immutability - I agree that it is a solid work.

 

[Regi Addictissimus]

Robert, may I assume RHB did not publish this and Reformed Preaching due to marketing reasons (Crossway being a major publisher)?

In a nutshell, this is pretty accurate. Dr. Beeke agreed to publish Reformed Preaching with Crossway due to their broad distribution. At the time, they had the Lifeway accounts. Crossway got wind that he was working on his Reformed Systematic and suggested that he also publish that with them. It has been great exposure for Dr. Beeke and RHB. We also encourage the PRTS faculty to work with other publishers on occasion to give them wider exposure.

 

[bookslover]

Volume one:
http://www.archive.org/details/christianentirel01kemp

Volume two:
http://www.archive.org/details/christianentirel02kemp

Thanks, Robert.