Christian Dogmatics: An Introduction

by Cornelis van der Kooi, Gijsbert van den Brink

A fresh, inviting text on the content of Christian faith in our contemporary context.

This one-volume systematic theology presents an accessible, orthodox overview of the Christian faith for students, teachers, pastors, and serious lay readers. Cornelis van der Kooi and Gijsbert van den Brink not only cover all the traditional themes—creation, sin, Jesus Christ, Scripture, and so on—but also relate those classical themes to contemporary developments like Pentecostalism, postmodernism, and evolutionary theory.

Consisting of sixteen chapters, the book is ideal for classroom use. Each chapter begins with engaging questions and a statement of learning goals and concludes with a list of recommended further reading. Written in a student-friendly tone and style and expertly translated and edited, van der Kooi and van den Brink's  Christian Dogmatics  splendidly displays the real, practical relevance of theology to the complexities of today’s world.

Genres: Theology

820 pages, Hardcover

Published May 19, 2017

Reviews

[Sebastian Wittwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine sehr interessante Dogmatik, die aus dem holländisch-reformierten Raum kommt, aber gleichzeitig auch moderne Ansätze drin hat, sowie in einem guten Diskurs zu den Bibelwissenschaften steht. Ich konnte/kann sehr viel daraus lernen. Es ist freilich eine "Introduction" in die Dogmatik, aber hierfür sehr empfehlenswert

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s another option for a systematic theology. To be honest, I had never heard of Cornelis van der Kooi or Gijsbert van den Brink. Still, I figured it must have some value if it was picked up by Eerdmans since a publisher would have to have some confidence to publish another volume in the crowded systematic theology field.

It turns out that these authors come from the influential Dutch Reformed theology stream. That stream gave us, among others, Bavinck. Be that as it may, this book did not seem like reading Bavinck to me. The writing style was more modern and at times the theology was too.

These authors struck me as mostly true to what I’d expect from a reformed theologian with a few modern concessions. I read some sections carefully because I’d been studying them and had a better basis of comparison. For example, their section on the Holy Spirit was unique. Not exactly how others have tackled the subject even among those on their own team. Not really unorthodox either, just emphasizing on the down beat. Where you’d expect more, you may not find it; where you expect little, you may get a basket full. Again, on the Holy Spirit check out what they had to say on the Spirit and the Word. That’s where I got my basket full while, say, on the deity or filling of the Spirit not so much.

That trend continued as I delved into other sections. Mark this down as good second-level option. It’s never going to knock the big boys off their perch, either for the public at large or for my own shelves, but from its peculiar vantage point it can give new visions of the exquisite portrait of God’s Word. The gallery is not as crowded here so you can take your time and enjoy what most of the crowd never sees. I don’t know about you, but I love to take some moments on this side of the gallery as well.

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.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian Dogmatics
An Introduction
Cornelis van der Kooi and Gijsbert van den Brink
Translated by Reinder Bruinsma with James D. Bratt
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans
Hbk, 820pp, £34.99
ISBN 978-0-8028-7265-4

Publisher's website here

In their Preface, van der Kooi and van den Brink pose the question: ‘Who in their right mind would consider publishing a book with this title?’ Fortunately, Eerdmans have.

The book is extremely well laid out and each chapter follows a similar well-framed structure:

Aim
Making Connections
The main text
List of references

The aim highlights what each chapter attempts to do and serves as the skeleton of the discussion. Making connections poses some questions that will aid understanding of the subsequent chapter, they also provide opportunities for self-reflection. These would make excellent seminar materials for students studying the book. Each chapter is concluded by one or two pages of references - this supplements the surprisingly brief bibliography at the end of the book.

Van der Kooi and den Brink write from a Dutch Reformed perspective and this provides a refreshing approach. Kuyper, Dooyeweerd, sphere sovereignty, common grace and the cultural mandate all get a mention. As well as the usual topics of the Trinity, the attributes of God, the doctrine of revelation, the doctrine of creation, anthropology, sin and evil, the covenant, Christology, Soteriology, pneumatology, the doctrine of scripture, ecclesiology and eschatology.

If you can afford only one book on Christian Dogmatics or Systematic theology then this is the one to get.

Below (see http://stevebishop.blogspot.co.uk/201...) I have provided a tabular comparison with Michael Bird’s Evangelical Theology and Grudem’s rather dated Systematic Theology. My original comparison was here - I’ve since updated it with rows on 'Kuyper mentions' and 'views of common grace'.

[Andrew Mcneill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding systematic theology

Having read numerous systematic theology texts, I was not expecting this one to be so impressive. Often such texts can be dry and tedious, but this one breathes excitement and joy in its contemplation of God and his works. The breadth and depth of the authors' knowledge is remarkable, their generosity of judgement encouraging, and their wisdom in cautious reflection is commendable. That's not to say that there is nothing to disagree with here, but consistently one is impressed by the manner in which the authors approach their task; theirs is a task devoted to praxis and doxology, not merely to intellectual appreciation of theology. In short, this is a text well-worth reading and revisiting.

[Riley Brysch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book on systematic theology. It is very well- balanced and it pulls from a vast array of theologians every single chapter.

[Josh Trice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully helpful introduction to and general overview of Christian dogmatics. The authors shape the text in a reader-friendly format that is easy to follow and endlessly engaging. As well, the chapters are structured in such a way that they build upon one another, adding to the ease of understanding. There are indented paragraphs containing background information meant to supplement the reading, but they may easily be skipped over without losing out on the primary emphases of the authors. This book is not exhaustive, but does not set out or claim to be. The authors are more Reformed than I'd prefer, but they never set hard boundaries needlessly. I generally enjoyed this read and will certainly hang on to this volume for future reference!

[Dane Jöhannsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only made it to page 500 or so in this volume and will likely never touch it again, however I can say that is a window through which we can see the modern articulation of the Dutch Reformed in Holland. Good in some historical issues, weak in its allowance of post-modernism into its articulations of historic christian doctrine.

[Danessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heavy but necessary read which offers an accessible, orthodox explication of the Christian faith for students, teachers, pastors, and serious lay readers alike.