Customer Reviews

Systematic Theology (Volume 1): Grounded in Holy Scripture and Understood in Light of the Church (Systematic Theology (Mentor)) (v. 1)

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This is a marvelous time to write a vast and prepossessing book on Systematic Theology. We know a lot about the damage that the theologically-thin church has done to scripture-based Christian expression. It's still unclear, though, whether the weak man-focused pillars of modern Evangelicalism are merely teetering, or about to collapse - and, if they do crumble, what will the Christ-centered voices within Evangelicalism do to shepherd the wandering sheep. In "Systematic Theology, volume 1" by Douglas Kelly one discovers an important instrument to assist the church in securing underfed believers: A Bible-based Theology built within the context of church history from the well-spring of the Triune God.

I read a plethora of books annually and in the last three years or more, this is the book I most enjoyed reading, rereading, and pondering (obviously excluding the Bible).

This is a supremely stupendous, phenomenal, and amazing work.

Dr. Kelly (B.A. from the University of North Carolina, B.D. from the Union Theological Seminary, Ph. D. from the University of Edinburgh) has constituted a marvelous and comprehensive volume on Trinitarian dogmatics. This monumental work is utterly unique and captivating (Professor Kelly sites copious aspects of Church Fathers, Eastern Orthodoxy, The Roman Catholic, Scottish, Dutch, and French scholars including Popovitch, Mascall, T.F. Torrance, Duns Scotus and countless other unrenowned as well as eminent theologians and scholars), therefore it makes a outstanding companion to Reymond's, Berkhof's or Grudem's works on S.T.

This outstanding theological resource is not a book on apologetics, nonetheless S.T. texts have underlying apologetic presuppositions. Kelly builds on T.F. Torrance's thought: "What we are concerned with ... here is the proper circular procedure inherent in any coherent system of thought operating with ultimate axioms or beliefs which cannot be justified or derived from any other ground than that which they themselves constitute. Thus ... ultimate axioms ... for which we can offer no independent demonstration, but without which the scientific system concerned, together with the knowledge it yields, would not be possible at all" (p. 20). One can see in Kelly's pre-commitment the necessity of a transcendental starting point to make science and knowledge possible. kelly then quotes Torrance on Michael Polanyi: "Polanyi reminds us in his Gifford lectures that we cannot convince others by formal argument, for so long as we argue within their framework, we can never induce them to abandon it. `Formal operations relying on one framework of interpretation cannot demonstrate a proposition to persons who rely on another framework'" (p. 59).

Kelly's validation of theological truth claims are:

1. We do not step off the grounds where the living God has given Himself to be known (His word and Spirit), and hence:

2. We operate outside all framework of unbelief so as to call their inhabitants forth in faith and repentance into an utterly new paradigm (p. 60).

There is a fine chapter that discusses the Classical arguments for the existence of God. Kelly calls himself a sort of "peeping Thomist." He also has an attraction for the ontological argument and covers that befittingly.

The author engages Thomas, Kant, Hume, Reid, and Plantinga as he aptly defends theistic proofs against the onslaught of skeptics and modernists; nevertheless he doesn't conclude that the theistic proofs are strong and solid, concluding that they have no "final value" (p. 99). He doesn't interact or even mention Van Til's apologetic; whereas he argues that "God's truth is validated the same way it is revealed" (p. 59).

Vital Chapters include:

- Knowledge of God

- Knowledge of the Triune God through Creation and Conscience

- The God Who Is: the Holy Trinity as One Lord

- What Kind of Lord He Is: His Sovereign Transcendence, Beauty, and Majesty

- God Makes Himself Known in the Covenant of Grace

- Many Citations from Patristic Theology

- Work from a wide diversity of traditional theological thought

- How God is One Being and Three Persons.

Additionally Kelly refutes Darwinism as he demolishes it at its epistemic base and by exposing its self-stultifying rational framework. The reader is drawn closer to the triune God when the author goes on to exult in God's majesty, beauty, and holiness. He covers the New Testament witness of the Trinity and discusses the implication of the baptismal formula Jesus gave His church.

This impressive volume is unlike any I have read (I own thousands of books) and all ministers, seminary students, apologists, and studious lay-people should purchase this remarkable S.T. presentation.

Moreover there is very little direct Van Tilian influence (cited once in the Bibliography, not cited in the name index) or any mention of any other presuppositional theologian; Frame, Bahnsen, Poythress, etc. are absent from the bibliography and name index. Since Kelly uncritically quotes numerous unorthodox scholars, a new believer should not buy this work (mature believer's should pick this outstanding volume up if they already own S.T. text from Berkhof, Hodge, or Reymond - it makes a wonderful complement to more comprehensive S.T.s).

God Does Exist!: Defending the faith using presuppositional apologetics, evidence, and the impossibility of the contrary

The Bible literally shines with God's majesty, but seven different Hebrew words and two different Greek words are used for the glorious concept of majesty. Our English translators therefore rendered nine different words in the original biblical languages with the grand anglicized Latin term `majesty'" (p. 343).

Kelly's work is splendid in its focus, powerful in its presentation, and arresting in its profundity. Buy it, you will not be disappointed.

also see:

Truth, Knowledge and the Reason for God: The Defense of the Rational Assurance of Christianity

or

"One Way to God: Christian Philosophy and Presuppositional Apologetics Examine World Religions" ASIN:1432722956

This book is a must have for any serious theological library. The first volume in Doug Kelly's systematic theology series does a magnificent job at articulating the specifics of reformed theology in light of the history of the church. This book is filled with the collective wisdom of the most brilliant theologians in the history of the church - from the early fathers to modern scholars, and beyond.

Especially good if you would like to familiarize yourself with patristic theology, as Doug Kelly is very well versed in early church history.

This first volume (in a series) Professor Kelly focuses his attention exclusively on the Biblical and historical doctrine of the Trinity. Almost 600 hundred pages of sustained serious attention given to what Christians must and do believe concerning the God of the Bible!

The subtitle claims that this work is "Grounded in Holy Scripture and understood in the light of the church" is not an empty one. This is not light reading, nor is it insurmountable for the earnest student.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it is very interesting to read as Kelly quotes a lot from those I would not normally read e.g. Church Fathers, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic. Some of the quotes are excellent. On the other hand, there are times when it feels like I was simply reading a lot of quotes, which were often difficult to understand. This made the book feel a little like a digest of Christian thought. Kelly quotes liberally from French theologians and cultural historians - something I am obviously not able to do. So in some ways I am thankful for the 'digest' nature of the book. However, as an experiment I briefly tried to read portions of the book by just reading Kelly's own words. It seems to me that Kelly could have put much of the thought of the quotes in his own words and simply foot noted them. I think this would have made a better book.

Also, the placement of appendices after each chapter disrupts the flow of the book. Much better to have them at the end.

Also, Kelly's chapter in the influence of Enlightenment thought had loads of quotes but only a little discussion of 'influence'. The balance seemed a little off.

But - his chapter on God revealing himself through the Covenant of Grace was amazing.

Given that Prof Kelly is writing two more volumes I would suggest that perhaps an abridgment could be made into a 1 volume ST with many of the quotes summarized.

All to say, I have mixed feelings. Some portions (when Prof Kelly himself writes) had my mind and heart praising God. Some portions (many of the Appendices and long quotes) had me thinking "why am I reading this"?

In short, I think this book needs to be read along side other ST's such as Robert Reymond's and/or Wayne Grudem's. However, if I was to recommend an ST to the man or woman in the pew it would not be Douglas Kelly's ST Vol. 1 - better wait for the abridged version of his 3 volume work.