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Biblical Theology: The God of the Christian Scriptures
Imagine someone who has spent a lifetime listening deeply and attentively to the full range of Scripture's testimony. Stepping back, they now describe what they have seen and heard. What emerges is a theological cathedral, laid out on the great vectors of Scripture and fitted with biblically sourced materials. This is what John Goldingay has done. Well known for his three-volume Old Testament Theology , he has now risen to the challenge of a biblical theology. While taking the New Testament as a portal into the biblical canon, he seeks to preserve the distinct voices of Israel's Scriptures, accepting even its irregular and sinewed pieces as features rather than problems. Goldingay does not search out a thematic core or overarching unity, but allows Scripture's diversity and tensions to remain as manifold witnesses to the ways of God. While many interpreters interrogate Scripture under the harsh lights of late-modern questions, Goldingay engages in a dialogue keen on letting Scripture speak to us in its own voice. Throughout he asks, "What understanding of God and the world and life emerges from these two testaments?" Goldingay's Biblical Theology is a landmark achievement―hermeneutically dexterous, biblically expansive, and nourishing to mind, soul and proclamation.
608 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2016
22 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
John E. Goldingay
87 books67 followersJohn Goldingay is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. An internationally respected Old Testament scholar, Goldingay is the author of many commentaries and books.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 31, 2024
I found this to be largely orthodox in theology, though he does allow his open theism and reformed thinking to influence him a little here and there. He also argues for the doctrine of soul sleep (though he doesn't use that term) near the end and is looser than I believe the scripture to be on who will ultimately be saved. Despite these occasional issues, the majority of the book is helpful for biblical reflection, and the primary virtue is in the fresh presentation of the biblical material, including his unique translations that run throughout. His analyses and translations regularly invite you to consider afresh the ideas of the Bible.
April 11, 2017
This is a long, sprawling book, like most of Goldingay's stuff; his OT theology is about 3,000 pages long! There are lots of exegetical and pastoral treasures to be had. I still find that he is too preoccupied with the Old Testament, but that is his passion and I have greatly benefited from his learning in understanding and trying to live by the bulk of the Christian canon. I recommend this book for anyone interested in encountering and serving the God of the Christian Scriptures.
December 14, 2016
John Goldingay, who has already produced a three-volume theology of the Old Testament and another on Isaiah’s theology among many other works, has now broadened his sights to the theology of the entire Bible. Because of his stature in the scholarly world, I predict this will become an influential volume.
As for me, I picked it up with a fair amount of skepticism. As a staunch conservative, I find Mr. Goldingay sometimes on the other side side of the tracks. (There is a debate out there about whether he is really an evangelical or not). For the record, I found several sentences that were subversive to my eyes in this book. I thought I should pick one such statement for this review to prove my point. On page 74 in an explanation of Jesus as the I AM he says, “… The New Testament’s references to ‘worship’ of Jesus need not imply that he is seen as divine.” Are you kidding? To be fair, in the next paragraph, he returns to a more orthodox description, yet he has some such statements along the way. He is clearly a provocative writer, but where he succeeds as a writer may also be where he fails. As a provocateur he should stop short of inciting cardiac arrest in his readers!
Not that I am the standard, but I found myself disagreeing with many of his conclusions along the way too. I only mention that because of what I want to say next.
This book threw away the mold of traditional theologies. I had never noticed before just how close a script all such volumes had in the past. From differing theological perspectives, they all present the same way. Here’s the Doctrine of God and off they go …1, 2, 3. Goldingay, for the better or worse, wrote his own script. That approach makes for creative new Approaches to study, even if you are a conservative like me who says often as you go, “O, you’re wrong again there, Mr. Goldingay.”
If you are as conservative as me, this is not going to be your first choice for a theology on your shelf. But if you are like me, you are going to make it one of a handful you always consult just to help you think outside the box. He simply made me think about things that I had never thought of before. I like that! I’ll make my own conclusions anyway, thank you. So I unashamedly give 4 out of 5 stars and recommend a book that I thought I might not.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
As for me, I picked it up with a fair amount of skepticism. As a staunch conservative, I find Mr. Goldingay sometimes on the other side side of the tracks. (There is a debate out there about whether he is really an evangelical or not). For the record, I found several sentences that were subversive to my eyes in this book. I thought I should pick one such statement for this review to prove my point. On page 74 in an explanation of Jesus as the I AM he says, “… The New Testament’s references to ‘worship’ of Jesus need not imply that he is seen as divine.” Are you kidding? To be fair, in the next paragraph, he returns to a more orthodox description, yet he has some such statements along the way. He is clearly a provocative writer, but where he succeeds as a writer may also be where he fails. As a provocateur he should stop short of inciting cardiac arrest in his readers!
Not that I am the standard, but I found myself disagreeing with many of his conclusions along the way too. I only mention that because of what I want to say next.
This book threw away the mold of traditional theologies. I had never noticed before just how close a script all such volumes had in the past. From differing theological perspectives, they all present the same way. Here’s the Doctrine of God and off they go …1, 2, 3. Goldingay, for the better or worse, wrote his own script. That approach makes for creative new Approaches to study, even if you are a conservative like me who says often as you go, “O, you’re wrong again there, Mr. Goldingay.”
If you are as conservative as me, this is not going to be your first choice for a theology on your shelf. But if you are like me, you are going to make it one of a handful you always consult just to help you think outside the box. He simply made me think about things that I had never thought of before. I like that! I’ll make my own conclusions anyway, thank you. So I unashamedly give 4 out of 5 stars and recommend a book that I thought I might not.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
March 7, 2017
John Goldingay is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including An Introduction to the Old Testament, The Theology of the Book of Isaiah, the three-volume Old Testament Theology, and many more. Most recently, in Biblical Theology: The God of the Christian Scriptures, John Goldingay has uniquely navigated across canonical lines and produced a biblical theology that both encapsulates the grand narrative of the Bible while simultaneously transcending traditional theological categories.
Biblical Theology is a sizable tome, covering over 600 pages and divided into eight major sections: (1) God’s Person, (2) God’s Insight, (3) God’s Creation, (4) God’s Reign, (5) God’s Anointed, (6) God’s Children, (7) God’s Expectations, and (8) God’s Triumph. The keen reader will be able to detect the close parallel between Goldingay’s major category organization and that of classic systematic approaches to theology. That said, it is quickly visible that Goldingay has sought to venture off the beaten path to pave his own way. Those previously acquainted with Goldingay will be met with his familiar wit and lucid writing style as he reframes the conversation towards an understanding of God and the world as it effortlessly emerges from within the Christian Scriptures (p. 13).
Where I think Goldingay shines in this volume is in his willingness to allow the text of the Old and New Testament to speak for itself. Goldingay avoids trying to unnaturally harmonize tensions within the text, and instead seems to intentionally allow them to remain unresolved. I found this to be refreshing at times and frustrating at others. It is also here I presume that Goldingay is going to find himself in a familiar place with many conservative evangelicals. Among other things, this seemingly intentional ambiguity is most recognizable in Goldingay’s omission of an affirmation of penal substitutionary atonement (p. 332). It is here, and his comments on justification, that will likely generate the primary buzz within the ears of readers committed to traditional categories of Protestant Christianity (myself included)—none of which will detract from the usefulness or brilliance of this volume.
Biblical Theology: The God of the Christian Scriptures by John Goldingay is a masterpiece of excellence and a new benchmark in the arena of biblical/theological studies. Goldingay has an uncanny ability to keep his eye focused on the bigger picture of the Bible as he brilliantly unpacks a compelling portrait of the God revealed therein. While Biblical Theology is a large and somewhat intimidating book, Goldingay is accessible and easy to read. There will be some inevitable areas of disagreement along the way for many readers. That said, for most of those looking to engage with this volume, such points of disagreement are likely to be known by virtue of its author. Biblical Theology is a unique and praiseworthy work that merits the widest readership possible. If it hasn’t found its way on to your 2017 reading list yet, it should!
Biblical Theology is a sizable tome, covering over 600 pages and divided into eight major sections: (1) God’s Person, (2) God’s Insight, (3) God’s Creation, (4) God’s Reign, (5) God’s Anointed, (6) God’s Children, (7) God’s Expectations, and (8) God’s Triumph. The keen reader will be able to detect the close parallel between Goldingay’s major category organization and that of classic systematic approaches to theology. That said, it is quickly visible that Goldingay has sought to venture off the beaten path to pave his own way. Those previously acquainted with Goldingay will be met with his familiar wit and lucid writing style as he reframes the conversation towards an understanding of God and the world as it effortlessly emerges from within the Christian Scriptures (p. 13).
Where I think Goldingay shines in this volume is in his willingness to allow the text of the Old and New Testament to speak for itself. Goldingay avoids trying to unnaturally harmonize tensions within the text, and instead seems to intentionally allow them to remain unresolved. I found this to be refreshing at times and frustrating at others. It is also here I presume that Goldingay is going to find himself in a familiar place with many conservative evangelicals. Among other things, this seemingly intentional ambiguity is most recognizable in Goldingay’s omission of an affirmation of penal substitutionary atonement (p. 332). It is here, and his comments on justification, that will likely generate the primary buzz within the ears of readers committed to traditional categories of Protestant Christianity (myself included)—none of which will detract from the usefulness or brilliance of this volume.
Biblical Theology: The God of the Christian Scriptures by John Goldingay is a masterpiece of excellence and a new benchmark in the arena of biblical/theological studies. Goldingay has an uncanny ability to keep his eye focused on the bigger picture of the Bible as he brilliantly unpacks a compelling portrait of the God revealed therein. While Biblical Theology is a large and somewhat intimidating book, Goldingay is accessible and easy to read. There will be some inevitable areas of disagreement along the way for many readers. That said, for most of those looking to engage with this volume, such points of disagreement are likely to be known by virtue of its author. Biblical Theology is a unique and praiseworthy work that merits the widest readership possible. If it hasn’t found its way on to your 2017 reading list yet, it should!
July 3, 2021
What a wonderful book. Goldingay writes very well. His being such an astute OT theologian grounds his biblical theology well. He doesn't appeal to anthropopathisms of Divine condescending: when the text says God repented or God regreted God actually repented or regreted (which keeps the text coherent). His eschatology is so well written. He paints the chapter with passion and you can tell he is ready for home to come down.
September 23, 2025
Very readable. Mostly things discussed felt elementary but it’s a good overview!
December 30, 2016
Pick up most versions of systematic theology and it becomes quickly obvious that the writer is balancing both system and theology. Normally they loosely follow the categories laid out by the Apostles’ Creed, with excursions into this corner or that. They also, consciously or not, draw along with them theological concepts from ages past, using specialized language and assumptions. But recently John Goldingay, associate pastor at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Pasadena, David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary and seasoned author, has taken a stab at breaking out of the traditional confines of a systematic theology in his new 608 page hardback, “Biblical Theology: The God of the Christian Scriptures”. This brick of a book has been penned with pastors, parish priests, and professors in mind.
“Biblical Theology” is concerned with answering the question: “What understanding of God and the world and life emerges from” the First and New Testaments (13). The author sees Sacred Scripture as not flowing out of a single, coherent tradition, but unfolding from plurality of traditions. Further, Goldingay explains that there are two primary ways of theology in Scripture, the one comes as story and the other unpacks the implications of the narratives in a more didactic fashion, and so “Biblical Theology” will interweave these two ways. The author’s aim is to “avoid reading into the Scriptures the categories and convictions of postbiblical Christian theology” and therefore allow the Scriptures to test our thinking (17-8).
The author follows a path that begins with God’s person, moves to God’s insight and steps over into God’s creation. Then he comes to God’s reign, turns to gaze at God’s anointed and discusses God’s children. And lastly, he works over God’s expectations and ends with God’s triumph. Throughout the work, Goldingay does not disappoint the reader, in that he makes good on his promise to interact with Scripture, drawing from both the First Testament and the New. He spends pages networking biblical stories, themes and passages from both Testaments, showing how they interrelate and interlock to paint a multicolored portrait. And yet the work does not cast aside scholarly insights from others, but draws from Dunn, Wright, Hayes, McClendon, Volf, and a whole army of others. Though this is somewhat hyperbolic, it felt as if Barth showed up in referential footnotes at almost every turn.
Certain favored theological subjects of various branches of Protestantism received rewriting, reworking or remitting. The two that stick out are justification and atonement. For example, dikaiosis “does not involve a legal fiction. It does not mean treating someone as in the right when they are not. It means treating them as within the covenant people” (313). And then with regard to atonement the author affirms expiation, purification, restitution, emancipation, and subjugation, but seems to leave propitiation off to the side somewhere, especially penal substitution. Or maybe the author includes it, but so softens it that it is nearly unrecognizable. In his own words, another person “cannot be punished for you; that doesn’t work. But another person can make compensation for you, if you then identify with the offering they have made” (332).
“Biblical Theology” is a big, bustling and broad work. It would be essential acquisition for a seminary library, and would make a great dialogue partner in certain seminary classes. Though it may not usurp standard theologies that ministers and mentors depend on, nevertheless it will be a respectable resource to bump one’s thinking up against when wrestling through various biblical subjects. Though I didn’t always agree with the author, I still found engaging with the work useful, and recommend it.
Thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing, upon my request, the free copy of “Biblical Theology” used for this review. The assessments are mine given without restrictions or requirements (as per Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255).
“Biblical Theology” is concerned with answering the question: “What understanding of God and the world and life emerges from” the First and New Testaments (13). The author sees Sacred Scripture as not flowing out of a single, coherent tradition, but unfolding from plurality of traditions. Further, Goldingay explains that there are two primary ways of theology in Scripture, the one comes as story and the other unpacks the implications of the narratives in a more didactic fashion, and so “Biblical Theology” will interweave these two ways. The author’s aim is to “avoid reading into the Scriptures the categories and convictions of postbiblical Christian theology” and therefore allow the Scriptures to test our thinking (17-8).
The author follows a path that begins with God’s person, moves to God’s insight and steps over into God’s creation. Then he comes to God’s reign, turns to gaze at God’s anointed and discusses God’s children. And lastly, he works over God’s expectations and ends with God’s triumph. Throughout the work, Goldingay does not disappoint the reader, in that he makes good on his promise to interact with Scripture, drawing from both the First Testament and the New. He spends pages networking biblical stories, themes and passages from both Testaments, showing how they interrelate and interlock to paint a multicolored portrait. And yet the work does not cast aside scholarly insights from others, but draws from Dunn, Wright, Hayes, McClendon, Volf, and a whole army of others. Though this is somewhat hyperbolic, it felt as if Barth showed up in referential footnotes at almost every turn.
Certain favored theological subjects of various branches of Protestantism received rewriting, reworking or remitting. The two that stick out are justification and atonement. For example, dikaiosis “does not involve a legal fiction. It does not mean treating someone as in the right when they are not. It means treating them as within the covenant people” (313). And then with regard to atonement the author affirms expiation, purification, restitution, emancipation, and subjugation, but seems to leave propitiation off to the side somewhere, especially penal substitution. Or maybe the author includes it, but so softens it that it is nearly unrecognizable. In his own words, another person “cannot be punished for you; that doesn’t work. But another person can make compensation for you, if you then identify with the offering they have made” (332).
“Biblical Theology” is a big, bustling and broad work. It would be essential acquisition for a seminary library, and would make a great dialogue partner in certain seminary classes. Though it may not usurp standard theologies that ministers and mentors depend on, nevertheless it will be a respectable resource to bump one’s thinking up against when wrestling through various biblical subjects. Though I didn’t always agree with the author, I still found engaging with the work useful, and recommend it.
Thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing, upon my request, the free copy of “Biblical Theology” used for this review. The assessments are mine given without restrictions or requirements (as per Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255).
April 22, 2017
This book seems more to be "thoughts on theology" rather Biblical theology-where the theological units are books of the Bible rather than encyclopedic theological topics (e.g. God, sin, heaven, etc.).
The discussion of the Torah and Christians in chapter 7 is really good.
All in all this was an enlightening discussion once i got past the title and/or my perception of what the title said about the book.
The discussion of the Torah and Christians in chapter 7 is really good.
All in all this was an enlightening discussion once i got past the title and/or my perception of what the title said about the book.
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April 28, 2017Goldingay asks "What understanding of God and the world and life emerges from theses two Testaments?" Then he proceeds to rely primarily on scriptures to seek his answer. This is not a systematic theology. I am adopting Goldingay's terminology of the First Testament (Hebrew scriptures) and New Testament (Christian scriptures.)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews