No One Like Him (Hardcover): The Doctrine of God (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) [Hardcover]

John S. Feinberg (Author, Series Editor), Harold O. J. Brown (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Foundations of Evangelical Theology | Publication Date: April 26, 2006

Many contemporary theologians claim that the classical pictureof God painted by Augustine and Aquinas is both outmoded andunbiblical. But rather than abandoning the traditional viewcompletely, John Feinberg seeks a reconstructed model—onethat reflects the ongoing advances in human understanding of God'srevelation while recognizing the unchanging nature of God and HisWord. Feinberg begins by exploring the contemporary concepts ofGod, particularly the openness and process views, and then studiesGod's being, nature, and acts—all to articulate a mediatingunderstanding of God not just as the King, but the King whocares!

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book contains some rare combinations: first, an author who is as concerned with conceptual clarification as he is with the absolute truthfulness of the biblical text; second, an argument that avoids the common "either-ors" and contends for the importance of both divine sovereignty and divine solicitude in equal measure; third, an approach that espouses divine determinism and divine temporality. No One Like Him takes on the most intractable intellectual challenges of contemporary evangelical theology. Kevin Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School John Feinberg judicially reconstructs aspects of the classical view of God in a way that proves more faithful than process and openness of God theisms. Arguably, this is the best study of theology proper in print. Bruce Demarest, Professor of Theology and Spiritual Formation, Denver Seminary Feinberg reads theology with a philosopher's eye and writes it with a philosopher's sensitivity to illogic and incoherence. J. I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College A magisterial work, one that truly deserves to be called a magnum opus....It reveals its author as...perhaps the only modern scholar whose work, like that of Carl. F. H. Henry, can compare in size, detail, comprehensiveness, and intellectual acuity with the accomplishments of the late Karl Barth…. It is not risky to predict that Feinberg's No One Like Him will come to be a milestone in evangelical theology. Harold O. J. Brown, Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review

"This book contains some rare combinations: first, an author who is as concerned with conceptual clarification as he is with the absolute truthfulness of the biblical text; second, an argument that avoids the common "either-ors" and contends for the importance of both divine sovereignty and divine solicitude in equal measure; third, an approach that espouses divine determinism and divine temporality. No One Like Him takes on the most intractable intellectual challenges of contemporary evangelical theology."
—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Blanchard Professor of Theology, Wheaton College Graduate School

"John Feinberg judicially reconstructs aspects of the classical view of God in a way that proves more faithful than process and openness of God theisms. Arguably, this is the best study of theology proper in print."
—Bruce Demarest, Professor of Theology and Spiritual Formation, Denver Seminary

"Feinberg reads theology with a philosopher's eye and writes it with a philosopher's sensitivity to illogic and incoherence."
—J. I. Packer, Board of Governors' Professor of Theology, Regent College; author, Knowing God

"A magisterial work, one that truly deserves to be called a magnum opus. . . . It reveals its author as . . . perhaps the only modern scholar whose work, like that of Carl. F. H. Henry, can compare in size, detail, comprehensiveness, and intellectual acuity with the accomplishments of the late Karl Barth. . . . It is not risky to predict that Feinberg's No One Like Him will come to be a milestone in evangelical theology."
—Harold O. J. Brown, Professor Emeritus of Biblical and Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Product Details

• Hardcover: 880 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (April 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581348118
• ISBN-13: 978-1581348118
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John S. Feinberg is Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology and Chairman of that department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of several books, including Crossway's Ethics for a Brave New World (with Paul D. Feinberg) and The Many Faces of Evil, and is general editor of Crossway's Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Contemporary Statement of Evangelical Theology, October 13, 2002

By 

Scott David Foutz (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No One Like Him: The Doctrine of God (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) (Paperback)

No One Like Him is the most comprehensive and contemporary work currently available in Evangelical (systematic) theology proper. The author, Dr John Feinberg, Chairman and Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (and my doctoral advisor), not only brings readers into contact with the core historical positions grounding evangelical theology, but significantly emphasizes more contemporary questions within evangelical theology including the perspectives of divine temporality and process theology, both issues regarding which Feinberg has published major previous works. This may very well be the most thorough and current work dealing with the increasingly popular Process Theology from an Evangelical Perspective.

This massive 800 page theology text treats thoroughly the 'Being and Nature of God' and 'Acts of God', as well as humanity's 'Concepts of God' wherein trends in contemporary **thought** are analysed and evaluated. If you want to swim in the deep end with a trusted instructor, I thoroughly recommend this text.

This volume is one of 10 planned for the 'Foundations of Evangelical Theology' series. Future contributing authors will include Bruce Demarest, David C Clark, Kevin Van Hoozer, and Walter Kaiser.

Happy reading. Happy Learning. Happy thinking.

sdf

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Discussion About God, December 13, 2006

By 

Marc Axelrod (Potter, Wi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No One Like Him (Hardcover): The Doctrine of God (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) (Hardcover)

This book really fed me and strengthened my faith. John Feinberg presents God as the King who cares, taking a mediating position between classical theism and process theism.

Feinberg surveys the historic and contemporary understandings of who or what God has been thought to be. He discusses the theology of Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Immanuel Kant, Albert Ritschl, Hegel, and others. There is also a candid and clear interaction with modernity and postmodernity.

He also surveys the ontological, teleological and cosmological arguments for the existence of God. He also surveys the doctrine of the Trinity, and adds to the discussion of the relationship of God to the problem of evil.

The Openness of God has been highly debated in evangelical circles, so Feinberg has a lengthy discussion of this theology. He also discusses the relationship of God to the theory of evolution.

Feinberg writes in a wonderfully engaging way, and he always shows the utmost respect for the positions he critiques. I loved how it wasn't over my head, and he argues strenuously and persuasively for his own understanding of God. This is an instant classic in evangelical thought. Both lay people and clergy will be highly blessed by this book.

22 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Flawed Gem, August 17, 2003

By 

R. N. Azinger (Fox Island, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No One Like Him: The Doctrine of God (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) (Paperback)

The King who cares. This is the appellation given by Feinberg to God at the beginning of his monumental tome. He argues that this is a necessary response to the concerns raised by both Openness and Process Theology and rightly so. The distant, impassive God of much classical Christian Theology has little appeal to today's relational culture. A theology which features an immanent, caring God while remaining thoroughly orthodox is much needed.

Unfortunately this book fails to deliver. Part way through, Feinberg begins addressing topics which have a direct bearing on the classic Calvinist-Arminian debate and from that point on things start to unravel. Zealous to defend his own brand of moderate Calvinism, Feinberg loses sight of his "King who cares" motif and instead paints a picture of God that is not significantly different from every other Calvinist theology on the market. Since this is, in large part, exactly what Openness and Process theologians were reacting against in the first place, it is difficult to see how this adds anything useful to the debate.

Feinberg is at his weakest when analyzing the arguments for and against a given position. This is not due solely to the occasional less-than-even-handed way he deals with positions he does not agree with, but also to his somewhat clunky prose.

His handling of Biblical evidence is also irritating. While it is important, even paramount, to assess the Biblical data on a given subject, those sections of the book seem to be assembled with a concordance and a handy suply of conjunctions with little thought put into the arrangement of the evidence.

Still, there are moments of brilliance. Feinberg's exposition of the various ideas and the history behind them is handled with all the skill of a natural born teacher. This alone would make the read worthwhile. In addition to that, however, the number and diversity of the sources he assembles is impressive and makes this book a perfect jumping-off point for anyone interested in learning more about the subject.