Theology

"For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that 'nothing happens' when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand."C. S. Lewis

The word theology brings certain images to mind—aged scholars in tweed jackets with leather elbow patches and thick glasses reading enormous dusty tomes in chilly rooms accessed only by a stone spiral staircase, or young university students smoking pipes and drinking black coffee while discussing the influence of Tillich on the doctrine of the hypostatic union of the the anthropic person. Academic theologians are seen as studious, patient, intellectual. . . boring.

In our postmodern culture, ideas are expressed not held. Since we can't know anything for sure, why try? Life is busy and stressful enough; we'd prefer to spend our free time doing something fun instead of poring over hard-to-understand books. And tweed passed out of fashion a long time ago (though pipes and black coffee are making a come-back).

But academic theologians aren't theology. Theology—from the Greek theos (God) and logos (to know)—is the study of God. In a broad sense we are, every one of us, theologians. Paul said even unbelievers have knowledge of God (Rom. 1:18-23). As Christians we have definite beliefs about God. Sometimes those beliefs are unclear because we haven't taken time to study them, so we downplay their importance. We act like theology is optional, claiming "no creed but Christ." But the question isn't whether we're going to have a theology or not, it's whether our theology will be true or false. Because we want true theology, we base our study on God's Word where He has revealed Himself.

Theology is intensely practical: as one fellow said, it comes out our fingertips. It's not just mental exercise, it affects everything we do. God is concerned with what we believe because it influences the way we live. As Christians, we are new creations who want to serve Him (2 Cor. 5:16-18).

Disclaimer:

Our goal is to provoke theological discussion and thought. To that end our selection of theology offers a significantly different perspective than you'll find nearly anywhere else—at least all in one place. (We don't think we're heretics.) While we aren't dogmatic in our defense of all of them, we aren't apologetic either. We don't mean to be rude or divisive, but we aren't afraid to step on toes if it leads others to reflection. We believe generous dialogue is necessary among Christians to help us clarify what we believe and introduce us to new ideas (Prov. 27:17). It is our prayer that the books we offer help unify the Church, not divide it.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

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Adopted By God
by Robert A. Peterson
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Grace - DVD & Workbook
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Better Way
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Biblical Theology
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Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church
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Blessed Are the Hungry
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Bondage of the Will
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Call of Grace
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Calvin: Commentaries
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Carols for Christmas
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Challenge of Jesus
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Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine
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Chosen by God
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Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
by Eugene Peterson
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Christianity and Liberalism
by J. Gresham Machen
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Religion/Philosophy for 11th-Adult
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Christological Controversy
Sources of Early Christian Thought
by Richard A. Norris, Jr. (translator and editor), series editor William G. Rusch
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Contemporary Worship Music
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Cornelius Van Til
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Counted Righteous in Christ
by John Piper
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Covenant of Grace
by John Murray
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Day the Revolution Began
by N.T. Wright
1st edition from HarperOne
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by Keith Mathison
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Easy Chairs, Hard Words
by Doug Wilson
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Engaging With God
by David Peterson
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Erasing Hell
by Francis Chan, Preston Sprinkle
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Essential Truths of the Christian Faith
by R. C. Sproul
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Exhortations
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Existence and Attributes of God
by Stephen Charnock
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Explicit Gospel
by Matt Chandler
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Faith That Is Never Alone
by P. Andrew Sandlin
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by Terry L. Johnson
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Five Points of Calvinism
by David Steele, Curtis Thomas, S. Lance Quinn
2nd edition from P&R Publishing
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Five Points of Calvinism
by Edwin H. Palmer
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Four Views of the Endtimes
by Timothy Paul Jones
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Gentle and Lowly
by Dane Ortlund
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God Gave Wine
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God in Three Persons
by E. Calvin Beisner
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Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh Volume 1
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Grace Abounding in a Believer's Life
by Charles Spurgeon, compiled and edited by Robert Hall
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He Gave Us Stories
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He Shall Have Dominion
by Kenneth Gentry
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Heaven for Kids
by Randy Alcorn with Linda Washington
from Tyndale House
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How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
by Douglas Stuart, Gordon D. Fee
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Imputation of Adam's Sin
by John Murray
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Inspiration and Authority of the Bible
by B. B. Warfield
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Institutes of Biblical Law Volume I
by R. J. Rushdoony
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Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology
by Daniel L. Brunner, Jennifer L. Butler, A.J. Swoboda
from Baker Academics
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Invocations and Benedictions for the Revised Common Lectionary
by John M. Drescher
from Abingdon Press
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$11.00 (1 in stock)
Is Jesus Coming Soon
by Gary DeMar
2nd edition from American Vision Press
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$7.00 (4 in stock)
Jesus and the God of Israel
from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
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$19.00 (1 in stock)
Jesus I Never Knew
by Philip Yancey
from Zondervan
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$16.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Johannic Baptism
by James W. Dale
2nd edition from P&R Publishing
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
John Calvin
by Burk Parsons (editor)
from Reformation Trust Publishing
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
John Calvin Reformer for the 21st Century
by William Stacy Johnson
for Adult
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Justification
by N. T. Wright
from InterVarsity Press
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Justified by Faith Alone - Lecture series on 2 DVDs
by R. C. Sproul
from Ligonier Ministries
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in General Theology (Location: XTH-GEN)
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Know What You Believe
by Paul E. Little
5th edition from InterVarsity Press
for 9th-12th grade
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Lectures on Revivals
by W. B. Sprague
from Banner of Truth Trust
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lessons from the Upper Room - Lecture Series on DVD
by Sinclair B. Ferguson
from Ligonier Ministries
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Let Us Make Man
by Linleigh J. Roberts
from Banner of Truth Trust
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life in the Father's House
by Wayne A. Mack, David Swavely
from P&R Publishing
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$3.00 (3 in stock)
Life of Christ - Answer Key
by Michael McHugh & Edward Shewan
from Christian Liberty Press
for 7th-12th grade
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Liturgy Trap
by James Jordan
3rd edition from Athanasius Press
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Logical Criticisms of Textual Criticism
by Gordon H. Clark
from Trinity Foundation
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Lord and His Prayer
from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
in Jesus Christ (Location: XTH-JES)
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Making Sense of God
by Timothy J. Keller
from Penguin Books
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$18.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Making Sunday Special
by Karen Burton Mains
from Word Publishing
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Messiah the Prince, or the Mediatorial Dominion of Jesus Christ
by William Symington, introduction by Raymond P. Joseph
1990 Reprint from Still Waters Revival Books
for Adult
in Jesus Christ (Location: XTH-JES)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
O Worship the King
by Joni Eareckson Tada, John MacArthur, Robert & Bobbie Wolgemuth
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Devotionals (Location: XCL-DEV)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Oxford Companion to Christian Thought
by Adrian Hastings, Alistair Mason and Hugh Pyper, editors, with Ingrid Lawrie and Cecily Bennett
from Oxford University
for Adult
in Christians & Thought (Location: XWV-THO)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Passion of Jesus Christ
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
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in General Theology (Location: XTH-GEN)
$2.00 (5 in stock)
Pleasures of God
by John Piper
from Multnomah Books
for 11th-Adult
in Theology Proper: The Study of God (Location: XTH-GOD)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Pleasures of God
by John Piper
from Multnomah Books
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms
by Cherith Fee Nordling, David Guretzki, Stanley J. Grenz
from InterVarsity Press
for 10th-Adult
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Postmillennial Primer
by Andrew Sandlin
for 10th-Adult
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Postmillennialism
by Keith Mathison
from P&R Publishing
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$27.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Praise and Lament in the Psalms
by Claus Westermann
from Westminster John Knox Press
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$39.00 (1 in stock)
Primeval Saints
by James Jordan
from Canon Press
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Bible Commentaries (Location: XBI-COMM)
$14.00 $7.50 (2 in stock)
Principle of Protestantism
Lancaster Series on the Mercersburg Theology
by Philip Schaff
from Wipf and Stock Publishers
Theology for Adult
in Reformed Theology (Location: XTH-REF)
$21.50 $17.00 (1 in stock)
Prophetic Imagination
by Walter Brueggemann
2nd edition from Fortress Press
for Adult
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$11.00 (1 in stock)
Protestant Biblical Interpretation
by Bernard L. Ramm
3rd from Baker Books
for Adult
in Scripture & Hermeneutics (Location: XBI-HERM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Reformed Faith
by Loraine Boettner
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
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$2.95 $1.50 (6 in stock)
Reign of the Righteous
Chalcedon Monograph Number 4
by Andrew Sandlin
from Unknown Publisher
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Renewing Your Mind
by R. C. Sproul
from Baker Books
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$15.00 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Return From Exile and the Renewal of God's People
Short Studies in Biblical Theology
by Nicholas G. Piotrowski
from Crossway Books
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Reverberation
by Jonathan Leeman
from Moody Press
for 11th-Adult
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Roots of Reconstruction
by Rousas John Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
for Adult
in Biblical Law (Location: XTH-LAW)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Sacramental Teaching and Practice in the Reformation Churches
by Geoffrey W. Bromiley
from Wipf and Stock Publishers
for Adult
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Spiritual Disciplines (Location: XCL-SPDI)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Spiritual Disciplines (Location: XCL-SPDI)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Singing and Making Music
by Paul S. Jones
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
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$8.00 (3 in stock)
Sociology of the Church
by James Jordan
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$34.00 $20.00 (1 in stock)
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