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Doctrine (Re:Lit)
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Item Description...
Overview
While Christians disagree on a number of doctrines, there are key elements that cannot be denied by anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus. In Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe, Driscoll and Breshears teach thirteen of these key elements. --from publisher description
Publishers Description
Doctrine is the word Christians use to define thetruth-claims revealed in Holy Scripture. Of course there is amultitude of churches, church networks, and denominations, eachwith their own doctrinal statement with many points ofdisagreement. But while Christians disagree on a number ofdoctrines, there are key elements that cannot be denied by anyoneclaiming to be a follower of Jesus. In Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe, Driscolland Breshears teach thirteen of these key elements. This meaty yetreadable overview of basic doctrine will help Christians clarifyand articulate their beliefs in accordance with the Bible. |
Item Specifications...
Pages 464
Dimensions: Length: 8.68" Width: 5.69" Height: 1.21"
Weight: 1.65 lbs.
Binding Hardcover
Release Date Mar 1, 2010
Publisher Crossway Books/Good News
ISBN 1433506254
EAN 9781433506253
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Availability 0 units.
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Product Categories | 1 | Books > Subjects > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Theology > General [4167 similar products] |
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Solid Doctrine Presented in a Dry Format. Jun 8, 2010 |
I received a review copy of this book from Crossway Publishers at no cost to myself.
I was looking forward to reading a book on Bible doctrine from one of the most influential pastors of our time, Mark Driscoll. Mark pastors a church of around 10,000 people and founded the Acts 29 church planting network which has planted over 300 churches world-wide. He co-authors the book with seminary professor Dr. Gary Brashears.
The book's appearance and construction is solid. Stitched binding and a hard cover make this book durable while the 1.5 inch line spacing works great for underlining and note taking. It seemed no matter how much I read it, the binding never "cracked." If I were to grade the book on construction, it would be 5 stars. It looks beautiful.
Too bad I am not grading it on looks.
The content of the book is "OK." I am in line with much of the doctrines inside the book. I am a "old earth, literal 6 days of creation" kind of guy. I am slightly charismatic in my beliefs about the gifts of the Spirit, and I am pretty orthodox in my thinking. For the most part, I would recommend this book to anyone who had questions or was seeking to "go deeper" in their studies of theology.
But...
The material is dry, rehashed, and full of opinions. As Driscoll does in this book, let me explain by making each of my critiques a point followed by summary.
* Dry - Drink a glass of water while reading this book. The material is predominately lifeless. It is the cold hard facts and nothing else. No pedagogical devices, no stories or allegories (that I remember), no humor and only a handful of exclamation points (which sometimes seemed out of place). Even "serious" theologians, like John Frame or Wayne Grudem, can be engaging.
* Rehashed - I knew going in the book was based on a sermon series Driscoll did a while ago. What I did not know is, at times, it would feel like reading the sermon manuscript. While the book contains a lot of new information (not included in the sermons), it feels "old." If you have listened to any of Driscoll's preaching, or read any of his books (he rips several paragraphs and a chart strait from Death by Love), you may be thinking to yourself, "I've heard / read this before..."
* Full of opinions - While the doctrine is pretty factual, sometimes Mark (or Gary) would put random opinions in the text. My favorite? Mark claims "Johnathan Edwards is the best American theologian of all time." Never tells us why. Never backs up his claim. Never gives us examples of why he believes this unprovable "fact." Driscoll also plays some semantic and word games with the text in Genesis to prove the existence of the Trinity. I believe there is enough evidence to prove this without having to attempt a substitution of Hebrew words.
Not all negative.
I do believe the book has some great things going for it. There are many facts backed up by quotes from other theologians (in truth, N.T. Wright should get credit for at least one entire chapter) who have been instrumental in my personal studies, like John Stott and Don (D.A.) Carson. I also loved the books dedication to many of the great theologians from the past generation or two who have played a key role in God's plan to educate and teach. Of course, I enjoyed the unabashed truths the book proclaimed. I think the book is a good resource and deserves three stars. Honestly, if it was not so dry, and contained less rehashed information I would have rated it higher.
I would recommend this book for two readers: Those unfamiliar with Driscoll, and those who have been Christians for about a year.
-Don-
| | |  | Theology For Everyone May 24, 2010 |
I have read many theology books over my 30+ years of teaching the Bible. Most of those books are written by theologians for theologians. They tend to be more philosophical than biblical. What I especially appreciate about Driscoll and Breshears is that while they address virtually all aspects of theology, they do so from a biblical perspective. They are answering the question, "What does the Bible say about God ... about sin ... about creation ... about salvation, etc?" This is not theology "lite," but it is theology that is biblical, understandable, and practical. This is a book I will reference in my classes as I direct students to a deeper understanding of what the Bible teaches about a variety of topics. It is a book that all students of Scripture can appreciate and benefit from--even theologians.
J. Carl Laney
Western Seminary | | | | Outstanding Introduction to Foundational Christian Beliefs May 19, 2010 |
Doctrine by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears had been on my radar since I first heard Driscoll talking about writing it during his sermon podcasts that I listen to regularly. I confess I had some doubts as to how well he would balance the serious issues of doctrine with his decidedly brash personality. Don't get me wrong, I like Driscoll and I think he is a great preacher, but it is not every preacher who has the skill to co-author a lengthy and detailed introduction to the primary tenets of the Christian faith. I should also note that this is the first book I have read by Mark Driscoll so I honestly didn't know what to expect from him in terms of his writing skills.
First I have to give Driscoll and Breshears major props for keeping the book succinct enough so as not to scare away the typical Christian. Many people will never crack a theology book simply because the thing weighs thirty pounds and is written with so much academic speak that even those familiar with the lingo have a hard time following along. Doctrine is accessible on everything from the size of the book, to the style of the writing, to the Greek and Hebrew words that are transliterated into English to help those unfamiliar with the original languages.
The chapters in the book average around fifty pages per chapter. Nearly every page is loaded with foot notes referring to the Scripture verses that Driscoll and Breshears use to ground their book in the Book. That is also the greatest strength of this book. The incredible amount of Scripture that they reference over and over again allows the reader to go back and check the source to make sure the authors are staying true to Scripture. Seeing all the Scripture gave me great confidence in the level of work, research, and immersion in the Biblical text that these men spent in order to write the book.
One of the most helpful chapters on the book was the very first one on the Trinity. Trinitarian theology and the implications of it are daunting for even the most seasoned theologian but Driscoll and Breshears do an admirable job of laying out what a Christian must believe about the Trinity. They also spend a good deal of time in the Trinity chapter talking about the different heresies that have cropped up over the centuries in relation to the Trinity. I found this to be particularly useful as I worry that many Christians have views of the Trinity that more resemble a heresy than that which is put forth in Scripture.
The biggest surprise in the book was the chapter on stewardship. My emphasis for my M.Div is `steward leadership' so I was excited to see a chapter on stewardship included in the book. It seemed very fitting to read about it in a book on doctrine since western culture is so driven by the pursuit and idolization of wealth that Christians need to have a functional theology of stewardship in order to avoid putting money in the place of God.
Finally, I also really appreciated how Driscoll and Breshears always brought things home with practical application. They don't just leave the reader hanging out in space and wondering how all these theological truths should play out in daily life. They carefully explain the significance of each truth and how those truths should manifest themselves in how we live every day.
Doctrine is a book that I plan on keeping handy on my bookshelf. I also plan to buy a few extra copies so that I can give them to new Christians or Christians who are looking to gain a deeper understanding of their faith. This is a book that everyone from the new Christian to old saint can appreciate. The approachable style and solid theology of the book make it an easy one for me to recommend. | | | | Explaining Essential Doctrines with Clarity May 18, 2010 |
Over the last three years, Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears have been releasing books at a mind-boggling pace.
Vintage Jesus focuses on the question of who Jesus is and why it matters; Death by Love looks at the atonement; Vintage Church explores what it means to be the Church.
And now they've released Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe. Based on Driscoll's sermon series of the same name from 2008, Doctrine examines 13 essential beliefs of the Christian faith: the Trinity, Revelation, creation, image, the fall, covenants, the incarnation, crucifixion & resurrection, the church, worship, stewardship and the Kingdom.
In many ways, this is Driscoll's most focused book. As the story goes, the book originally weighed in at over 700 pages. The authors were forced to do some serious pruning. The result is a sharp 464 page work that sacrifices cuteness for clarity.
This is a welcome change, particularly for those who really don't appreciate Driscoll's sense of humor (and even for those who do). While his personality is definitely present, it doesn't overshadow the content (something that happened in certain passages of Vintage Jesus). Honestly, this is exactly how it should be. The content in this book is compelling enough on its own.
As the authors provide readers with a foundational knowledge of each doctrine studied, they manage to tie each doctrine together so that we can see how they all fit. This is particularly evident in the chapter on worship. Here, Driscoll & Breshears write:
"Worship, rightly understood, begins with the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of image. . . . the Trinity [is] the uniquely Continuous Outpourer who continually pours himself out between the persons of the Godhead in unceasing communication, love, friendship, and joy. It follows that humans created in God's image would also be unceasing worshipers as continuous outpourers." (p. 338-339)
Because the Triune God "continuously pours" himself within the community of the Trinity, we, who are made in God's image do likewise. They continue:
"As the doctrine of image reveals, human beings are unceasing worshipers. We are not created to worship, but rather we are created worshiping. Everyone worships all the time. Atheists, agnostics, Christians, and everyone in between are unceasing worshipers. Everyone, everywhere, all the time, is always worshiping. While the object and method of worship vary, the act of worship does not." (p. 339)
This explanation (citing Harold Best's book, Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts) gives greater depth to the commands against idolatry. It's not simply that we're worshiping a false god--we're actually misrepresenting God when we worship an idol.
Also insightful is the importance they stress on the distinction between Creator and creation in what they refer to as Two-ism vs. One-ism. Where two-ism upholds the distinction, one-ism is "the eradication of boundaries and differences to bring opposites together as one" (p. 343). And this, the authors rightly say, is anti-thetical with the Christian worldview. When there is no distinction between Creator and creation, God and man, good and evil, man and animals, man and nature, man and woman, and between different religions, then situational ethics and relativism reign.
"Subsequently a Christian who makes distinctions (such as between God and man, Jesus and Satan, angels and demons, heaven and hell, man and animals, holiness and sin, the Bible and other texts, male and female, heterosexuality and homosexuality, truth and error, good and evil) is considered a fundamental threat to the utopian world of peace, love, and oneness." (p. 345)
What I enjoy most about Doctrine, its focus on the study of each essential belief, is also in some ways its weakness. Because the book is packed--and I mean packed--with information, it's requires a much slower, thoughtful read. It is a book you cannot rush through.
I sat with this book for a little over a week and felt like I could still be going slower. Maybe devote a couple of days for each chapter and take advantage of the study & discussion questions at the end of the book.
Take your time. Let the text work through your mind slowly. Wrestle with it.
And let reading the book be an act of worship as Driscoll & Breshears encourage you to grow in your understanding of what Christians should believe.
------
A complimentary copy of this book was provided for review by Crossway Books | | | | Good! But not the best May 18, 2010 |
| I just read Driscoll/Breshear's newest book entitled, "Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe," and it's GOOD, and you'll learn a lot about what the Bible teaches. It's conservative and substantive although less comprehensive than I'd hoped for. If you crave deeper coverage on a broader range of topics with precise explanations, excellent insights, and are willing to invest time in absorbing the material, then I highly recommend the BEST single systematic theology on the market: "The Faith Once For All: Bible Doctrine For Today," by Dr. Jack Cottrell (note: he's a non-Calvinist). Cottrell beats Berkhof, Erickson, and Grudem's single volume systematic theologies hands down. (One small complaint about Driscoll/Breshear's book: the scripture references are in the footnotes and I would have preferred them in the text for easier reference. One thing I enjoyed: the study guide at the end.) | | | Write your own review about Doctrine (Re:Lit)
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