5 Minute Theologian: Maximum Truth in Minimum Time

by Rick Cornish, Lisa Samson

5 Minute Theologian explains 100 essential beliefs of the Christian faith in short daily readings. In about three months, you can absorb the major tenets of Christianity and greatly improve your understanding of God’s Word and theology.

Genres: Theology

336 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2004

Reviews

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was just down right fun to read. It is an enjoyable and informative primer on Christian Doctrine.

[LaRosa Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many Christians would like to be able to have a greater understanding of doctrine and how it helps us to better understand the overarching theme of the Bible, but for many that’s a difficult task. How can we best make this happen? Do we have them hunker down and trudge their way through a complex systematic theology with words that only a scholar would use? How about taking a theology course at a Bible college or seminary? That’s probably a bit too expensive. What if instead of giving them all of the complex options you gave them a book that is essentially a systematic theology written for everyday Christians that only takes 5 minutes of their day? Yes, you can teach Christians the many different doctrines of theology in only 5 minutes a day, and this is what Rick Cornish sets out to do in his book 5 Minute Theologian: Maximum Truth in Minimum Time.

When I saw that this book was made available for Logos Bible Software, I immediately purchased it, mainly because the price was right. I purchased it for $9.95 via Logos’ Pre-Pub program, but even now it’s still a very affordable $12.99. This book first captured my attention because I am always looking for a good theology book to read, but I also look for ways to easily disseminate doctrine to those who may not be as enthusiastic about it as I am. With the premise to teach doctrine in only 5 minutes doses, I had to at least look into this book.

5 Minute Theologian is broken down into 100 five-minute daily readings that are designed to equip and engage the reader over a broad range of theological topics. Since I already had a daily reading routine, I decided to setup a reading plan in Logos that allowed me to read this book over the course of 50 weeks, reading a chapter each Saturday and Sunday. Since I set aside the weekends for lighter reading, I thought this would be good to see how well it would be for the average Christian to get into. Having just finished a week or two ago, I must say that I looked forward to reading the next chapter.

Throughout the book Cornish does a delightful job of presenting theological truths in compact form that are very easy for readers to digest without becoming overly technical. As the reader works their way through the book, they cover ten areas of doctrine including: introduction to theology, the Bible, God, man, sin, Christ, salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and Last Things. One of the great things about this book is that you can read it regardless of your denominational affiliation. In areas where theology differs among camps, Cornish is very even-handed in offering a broad overview of the subject in general without getting into specifics; he leaves that stuff for the larger systematic theologies.

I really liked reading this book and it is one that I plan on using as a part of discipleship and teaching new believers. 5 Minute Theologian is a great way to get Christians acclimated to the core doctrines of the faith without going over anyone’s head. Even for mature Christians, this book can serve as a devotional read that can keep you fresh on the major areas of doctrine. There’s no reason not to recommend a book like this to every Christian young or old; so, pick it up today!

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does exactly as promised and would be great as a lesson planning guide or for some pastoral notes that can be beefed up and sermonized. The essays get a little repetitive and sitting down to read the book cover to cover was my own fault. This may sound crazy, and not really what the book promised, but the book was lacking the morality of a Christian. This was supposed to be a broad stroke book on what Christians' believe, but he never really gets into morality. In a world where mega-churches simply spout rah-rah speeches, "Christians" protest military funerals, "Christians" allow gay-marriage, and "Christians" support abortion, I really would have liked him to spread the word, with solid scripture backing like the rest of the book, on what Christian morality looks like. People repent and take communion on Sunday only to stab their neighbors in the back on Monday. I think this is a topic sorely needed and needs to be addressed on Sundays and around the dinner-table. I just hope that he didn't avoid it because he was afraid it would offend people. I prefer to think he simply had other purposes with this book.

[chandra wim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to christian theology for lay person.

[Crystal Walker-pirtle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my go back to book during my time of study.