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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Book on Calvinism and Its History, March 10, 2009
This review is from: Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism (Hardcover)
Joel Beeke says, "The target audience for this book is laypeople and ministers who are interested in learning the basics of Calvinism. I hope it also will serve as a stimulating summary and refresher course for those who are already avid Calvinists, much as Steven J. Lawson's The Expository Genius of John Calvin from Reformation Trust excites those of us who are already familiar with much of its content. I have worked hard to keep this book simple, clear, and non-technical, in the hope that you might hand it to others to help them understand how you think as a Calvinist." I felt this was the case except the chapter on philosophy can be a more difficult read for those of us not well versed on the subject. While the book John Calvin - A Heart for Devotion Doctrine & Doxology, also from Reformation Trust is about John Calvin himself and a brief introduction to his theology, this book is less about Calvin himself and more about Calvinism from the beginnings of the Reformation through the time of the Puritans both in Europe and after they arrived in the U.S. It's a bit longer and more thorough than the previous mentioned book but is still introductory. Included in this history are the Reformed canons, confessions, catechisms. There is a lengthy treatment of these documents which may be of interest to some who are unfamiliar with their content and origins. Other notable figures from Martin Luther (including an explanation of the differences between Lutheranism and Calvinism) to Jonathan Edwards are mentioned in the book. Although the acronym TULIP wasn't developed until the 1900's, the Canons of Dort contain a response to the Remonstrance of 1610, a response to Calvinism by forty-three of Arminius' followers. This is covered quite a bit in the book. Therefore, this book isn't an objective look at Calvinism as compared to other areas of theology and Arminianism is talked about negatively and even called "heretical" (or at least what Arminius' followers had to say) which I think is going too far. Just when I thought there may have been too much time spent refuting Arminian theology, the book moved on from there. The book doesn't dwell too much on TULIP though, as Calvinism is much more than that: "It is important to note that the five points do not summarize all of Calvinism; that would be a truncated view of the Reformed faith. One of the aims of this book is to show the panoramic grandeur of the Reformed faith's worldview." The book also covers the popular 5 Solas-Scripture alone (sola Scriptura), grace alone (sola gratia), faith alone (sola fide), Christ alone (solus Christus), and the glory of God alone (soli Deo gloria). A couple of ancillary benefits to this book are the extensive citations and bibliographies at the end of each chapter and an introduction to the history and theology of the Puritans who carried on the Reformed tradition. Other than listing some of the current denominations that are Reformed, I would like to have seen the history go even farther-past the Puritan era-but that may have been beyond the size and scope of the book. This book is very readable, enjoyable and educational. I highly recommend it.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Competent but tedious, July 24, 2009
This review is from: Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism (Hardcover)
I'm ambivalent about this book. I'll put what I like first, then what I didn't like. WHAT I LIKE Joel Beeke's intention with this book is to present a full scale overview of the Reformed faith: her history, her theology, her philosophy, and her practice (worship, family life, work ethic). This is a great idea, and much of the peripheral material was well done, such as the first two chapters on history and the confessions. Beeke enlists a few other writers for some excellent (though very brief) chapters, such as Ray Lanning on worship, Robert Oliver on preaching, and Ray Pennings on practical theology. Pennings' three chapters were especially well-done. So, the thing I like most about the book is the breadth of material covered. Also, as a minor point, I highly appreciate the craftsmanship of the book: the binding, the typeface, the font size, the paper, the design of the cover -- all excellent! WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE The bulk of the book is written by Beeke, and I have to say that I'm not a fan of his style. He is competent in his knowledge of the material covered, but it is less than cohesive or flowing. The reading is "jumpy," largely because it reads like a series of quotations. There is no doubt that Beeke is well-read, but unfortunately he is too anxious to quote EVERY quote that he likes on any given matter. The quotes are often good, but they rarely serve to illumine the issues with any greater depth. It come across like a string of platitudes -- nice sounding but largely ornamental. As a result, the sections on soteriology and piety are quite tedious, and this is the bulk of the book and the most important parts. There are better places to go for an introduction to this material. Off hand, I would sooner recommend Boice's The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel or Hoekema's Saved by Grace for soteriology or anything by John Piper for piety. I was also highly disappointed by the chapter on philosophy by James Grier. I don't think Dr. Grier had a clear idea of what he wanted to accomplish with the chapter. It was very, very basic -- far too basic, even for an introduction (yet, curiously, a lot of philosophical terms are undefined). Grier's entire thesis is that Calvinist philosophy is governed by Scripture, thus metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics all require attention to the God of Scripture and His will. This is all well and good, but Grier completely avoids any of the issues that have made Calvinist philosophy unique from, for example, Roman Catholic Thomism. There is nothing about natural theology or the use of evidences. I didn't expect a full scale treatment of Van Til, Brunner, or Barth, but I did expect at least some cursory acknowledgment of the issues. You won't find it here. Reformed theology's relationship to classical philosophy is an important issue, and it has shaped most of the important debates in Reformed theology for the last century (and it continues unabated). Unfortunately, the reader of Grier's essay would not know this. So, I have to say that I probably won't be recommending this book to anyone as an introduction to Calvinism. There's better stuff out there, just not in one book. I would only recommend it to someone who is already fairly well-read and wants to cover their bases (and perhaps be introduced to some areas that he may not be familiar with). Like I said, some of the essays are good -- good enough for me to rate the book at three stars instead of two.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than five points, September 8, 2009
This review is from: Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism (Hardcover)
Dr. Beeke does an excellent job showing the historical- and more still the biblical- roots of Calvinistic theology, worship, and community. The chapters written by his contributors blend well into the general book, and the whole work presents a glorious picture of the Christian's life as lived for God's glory. I would use this book to teach basic Christian spirituality, as well as distinctive Calvinist dogma.
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