Customer Reviews

The Faith Once for All: Bible Doctrine for Today

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Dr. Jack Cottrell is one of the most intelligent Bible scholars around and yet he often goes unnoticed because of his views on water baptism and his Arminian theology. However, this edition covers nearly all major Bible doctrines from the doctrine of God to end times. While Dr. Cottrell comes down on the Arminian side on nearly every issue, he does back his views up with exegesis from Scripture and offers replies to those opinions that are contrary to his own.

This is a great theological edition for anyone to read whether you are a Calvinist or Arminian.

Dr. Cottrell is one of the finest Biblical scholars of our day. This book (because of its Arminianism) will likely not be widely read beyond Arminian/Wesleyan cirlces. However, it deserves to be.

Dr. Cottrell explains every major doctrine of Scripture in a clear, concise way. He is not afraid to explain why he disagrees with other scholars on certain positions but he is not disrespectful. He did his doctoral work at Westminster Theological Seminary and thus has a solid grasp on the tenets of Calvinism. With this background, he explains why he disagrees with TULIP theology. However, in the end, most readers will see that his theology is exhaustive, thoroughly referenced, and Biblical. It is not solely an exposition of Arminianism. Rather, it is a solid presentation of Biblical truth.

This systematic theology deserves to be read by every serious student of the Bible, no matter what soteriological position they align themselves with. I highly recommend this book.

If grasping theological concepts has always been difficult for you I would highly recommend this book. Dr. Cottrell writes factually and two the point. Agree with him or not, he will tell what he believes and why! He will also explain opposing views and and why he believes them to be in error. This has helped to answer many question that I have wresteld with for some time. It is not necessairly simple but it is understandable. If you want to develop a deeper undersatnding of Biblical doctrine then you must read this book.

This is simply one of the best systematic theologies available. I've lost count of the number of copies I've given away. I've read it over and over, regularly refer to it when studying the Bible, and use it to teach. It is scripturally based, logically sound, precise in analysis, clear in explanation, in-depth in coverage, broad in range, and can be pragmatically applied. This book is written from an Arminian perspective and reflects certain doctrinal distinctives, but anyone along the conservative spectrum who cares about understanding and articulating Christian doctrine would benefit from reading it. You don't have to agree with Cottrell on every issue (I don't) to learn from this book. My Calvinist friends who read the book were impressed. In an age where doctrine in evangelical churches has been largely disregarded, this volume provides a remedy. It should be standard issue in seminaries and churches.

jack cottrell's main strength lies in his ability to articulate complex ideas very clearly. this systematic theology and his other main works (romans commentary and his "what the bible says" series of the early 80's)boast a reputation of being readable and accessible to anyone, regardless of the level of theological education.

if you are reformed, then you must read some of the chapters that speak to predestination and providence; he is the best current arminian scholar. his doctrine of water regeneration is presented in a fair-minded fashion, but will obvioulsy turn many people off (though he is simply following suit of Augustine). the main weakness of this book, however, is that one, it is simply not exhaustive enough in analysis, and two, it does not interact with enough secondary literature enough. he almost comes across as being an obscurantist--a scholar who demonstrates a lack of desire to interact with the wider academic field of religion as a whole.

one thing is for sure about cottrell, he always seeks to root his theology in the Bible, a trait that has been too few and far between among many systematicians.

p.s. acorrection in a previous review--cottrell did his master's at Westminster theological seminary and his PhD at princeton theological seminary.

Excellent book - a great reference book to use for various topics within Christianity. It touches on a lot of the controversial Christian subjects of our day in a very detailed and intellectual way.

To be honest, the book does get a little too intellectual at times, but in those areas it's reassuring to know that the author truly understands the material. It takes a little longer to get through those areas, but it's worth the read to understand the material more thoroughly.

One of the benefits of the book is that the author is very exact. There are many commonly held beliefs in Christianity that are a little skewed - he keeps you on the right track.

The author is a professor and the book certainly has that "textbook" feel to it at times. At other times he gets a little informal, but not much. For the most part, this book is intended to be an intense education of Christian theology.

Great book - glad I got it and so are the many friends I recommended it to. Reference books of this type are so very, very important.

At this point I am unable to write much of a review regarding the actual contents of this book. For now I will simply limit myself to the assertion that this is hands down the best one-volume systematic I have ever come into contact with. Cottrell's teachings here on soteriology are especially to be commended. In many ways, to me, he is the last Arminian. Unlike Roger E Olson and the Free Will Baptist theologians (eg, Stephen Ashby, F Leroy Forlines, Robert Picirilli, J Matthew Pinson) he denies the entire TULIP as fallacious (which involves throwing out the 'T') and casts aside the spurious notion that Christ's 'active' righteousness somehow is imputed to believers for their justification in the salvation process (something many, if not most, conservative Arminians are unwilling to do). If you do not have this volume, I cannot recommend 'The Faith Once for All' by Jack W Cottrell more highly. I have never used a single theological text with more frequency than this one.

God would have us to know Him as He truly is. God would have us to know Him as He truly does. In his superb teaching style, Dr. Jack Cottrell has given Christians and seekers the means to obtaining accurate understanding. This book is a must multiple read and a constant reference. It is written at the college/graduate level in regards to content, but Cottrell's ability to break down complex issues of theology and present them understandably to everyone is a gift. "The Faith Once for All" is by-and-far the most notable book purchase that I have made in recent years. You would most likely agree.

Besides its biblical accuracy, the strength of this book lies in its succinct and highly readable presentation. I went through this book in one year as part of a weekly men's reading group. The chapters on original sin and predestination are nice summaries from an Arminian perspective, but are, of course, just the tip of the iceberg. I also greatly benefited from the chapters on interpreting biblical prophecy and views of the end times. Cottrell takes an amillenial perspective, while providing a lucid summary and critique of other views. This book is an indispensable reference that I refer to often.

If you want a more in-depth treatment of Free Will and Calvinism, Cottrell has an excellent three-part work titled "What the Bible Says About God the"... (1) Creator (2) Ruler (3) Redeemer. The second work in particular addresses religious determinism (including Calvinism) in detail. Cottrell also has a magnificent commentary on Romans that is written from an Arminian perspective (something rather difficult to find these days).

Dr. Cottrell's Faith Once For All has helped me more than any other book I have read. Deep, clear, concise, he makes understanding the Bible easy and common sense. My recent purchase was a gift, I've already read the book (4 plus times) and use it constantly as a reference, it doesn't go on the shelf, it's constantly close at hand. Dr. Cottrell is one of my favorite authors. Would recommend anything he has written.