A Layman's Guide to Protestant Theology

by William E. Hordern

The events of the twentieth century have led to a rebirth of Protestant theology. This book is intended to help the layperson discover what is going on in theology. In clear, nontechnical language, it traces the rise of orthodoxy since the sixteenth century, and proceeds to examine schools such as fundamentalism, liberalism, and neo-orthodoxy. Because of their great influence and importance, the theologies of Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Paul Tillich are treated separately, and this revised and expanded edition contains new chapters on Rudolf Bultmann, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the God is Dead" controversy.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Christianity, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1968

Reviews

[Ted Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book on theology for lay people I read in high school. It was a basic roadmap to a history I was just learning. Professor Hordern was a fair-minded, clear expositor or then basic contemporary theologies. His suggestions for furtther reading were comprehensive for the time. From the get go, I wafelt some of those about whom he wrote seemed, if not repellant, impossible to take seriously.

From the suggested reading list, I picked Shailer Matthews's The Faith of Modernism (1924), but did not follow up with his subsequent work. I think I read the Matthews book during 11th grade but I'm not certain.

Anyway, I kept my paperback copy for several years as a basic reference. I bought a replacement copyv 22 years ago. Frankly, the book is now out-of-date.

[Cool_guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

a helpful overview of non-fundamentalist protestant thought post 1800. Hordern is a mid 20th century liberal christian, grappling with secularization and what he calls the "god is dead controversy." i could see his brow furrow as he asks how the church can stay relevant in the 20th century.

bad news bud, the party's over. the numbers don't lie: mainstream protestantism is on the way out. maybe i'm being unkind, but i'm not sure what theological debates inspire megachurch pastors these days. on the other hand, theological questions seem important to contemporary catholicism at all points on the political spectrum. lots of far right whackos in the upper echelons of the american elite these days. but i'm ignorant as to why

[Randy Corn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the revised edition of this book when I was a student at Temple Seminary and recall being impressed with it, but also being a bit bogged down by it as well. This original edition is similar. The author does not want to simply hit the high points with the theology of men like Paul Tillich and the result is that it is hard to follow. I suppose the early part of the book is the most interesting to me because it is talking about orthodoxy and then fundamentalism, both of which I identify with.

In his conclusion, the author writes, “It has but one purpose: to stimulate the layman to read further and think more deeply about theological questions.” I really wonder how many laymen actually read this book. There must have been demand for it or there would not have been a revised edition, but I think it was mostly clergy who were buying and reading it. I can’t imagine that many laymen who would find this sort of thing interesting.

I am sure that it was good for me to wade into this book. I don’t think enough about theology, especially the theology of those that I disagree with. I think it is good to get a broad acquaintance with these ideas, but I doubt there is time enough to read deeply in someone like Barth or Tillich. Maybe I can do some of that as an avocation. I am sure that there is much of it that I would disagree with, but it would be fun to find out why.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book over the course of twelve weeks with members of a study group. For someone who knew nothing about the theologians covered in the book, it was fairly easy to understand and quite interesting. Of course, the discussions within the group really made it come alive. I especially enjoyed the section on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor and theologian who was also an anti-Nazi dissident. He was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned for over a year, eventually being transferred to a concentration camp. He was then accused of being a part of the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, was tried and subsequently hanged in 1945 at the age of 39 - right before the camp was liberated. The book was worth reading just to learn more about him. “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before passing this on to someone who might benefit from it, I guess this is a pretty useful summary of how Protestant Theology evolved in the 20th and 21st centuries. I had a good read on theologians I have encountered in my studies like Bultmann, Brunner, Bonhoffer, and Niebuhr. i hope this becomes useful for the next person.

[Cincylitigator · Rating 5 out of 5]

Halfway through. Great sketch of history. Incredible implications for understanding the 20th century. If you were born in that century and want to understand where you came from this is a great tool. I can't wait to finish and pick up some Barth to read.

Well almost finished now. I found the book compelling and hard to put down. My theology is mostly fundamental but this is unsatisfying in many ways as it leaves some dissonance that started very early in my Christian walk when I noticed apparent inconsistencies in the gospel narrative regarding the resurrection of Christ. I think the 20th century theologians Barth, Brunner, Niehbur and Tillich earnestly struggled with reconciling modernity with scripture and the gospel. One of the interesting developments was the implosion of liberalism in the mid 20th century and retreat to orthodoxy. I do not think your average Joe understands that full throated liberalism is historically repudiated and no longer viable. In fact an intellect no less than that of our president made a liberally invalid appeal to his own conscious as the ultimate authority in an interview on religion as I recall. In any event the innovations of the neoorthodox were fascinating including the obliteration of the subject object relationship of God to the universe. This made me think of God in new and perhaps more reverent way than my former qualitative analyses. In the end these intellectual seemed to draw to similar Christian conclusions in that the resurrection of Christ is the impulse of all meaningful spirituality. I am impressed at the fidelity of these thinkers though they left the moorings of fundamentalism or even liberal thinkings ultimately they found Christ on the high seas out there walking in the waves through the storm waiting to be beckoned into our boat where he always is. No seriously the theologians would say He is in the here and now and that He only becomes real when we meet him in the present. That is the resurrection and be damned with the historical proofs as perhaps Bultman would say.

So glad I finished this book. It really has me excited to read further.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Hordern has written an excellent book for the layman as the title shows, but it is also an excellent book for the minister as well.

Hordern is extremely readable. He is able to take complicated thoughts and put them in a way that it is very understandable. He also is able to take thoughts and opinions that differ from him and consider them fairly and yet able to present his concepts and ideas as well.

This book is a good read, even though it is getting old now, it has an abundance of good material in it.

J. Robert Ewbank, author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic intro to theology. The weakness is that it is quite dated. Actually, it doesn’t matter for most issues, it just means that any of the more recent developments are missing. But we’ve lived through those developments so it isn’t a huge problem. The Boehoeffer stuff was especially good.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated, but a great brief history of protestant theology and a good introduction to the currents of the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th century of the same. I feel like I missed an opportunity by not reading this with other people because there would have been a lot of interesting things to talk about.

[Nenad Knezevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of Protestant theology; concise and to the point. Having said that, it is dated: the edition I read was published in 1968 and so one won't find here a treatment of current developments in theology. Still, the chapters on the great theologians of the 20th century - Barth, Tillich, Niebuhr - serve as a well written introduction to their thought.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated and a little too casually chatty at points, but the sections on Kierkegaard, Barth, Niebuhr, and Tillich were particularly good for helping me orient myself in the developments of 20th century theology. I also liked the chapter on conservative/fundamentalist Christianity.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great handbook/simple resource for studying the liberal and conservative divide in 20th century theology. A Good resource for 20th century theology students or ministers who have people who may or may not be influenced by these ideas.

[Rob the Obscure · Rating 3 out of 5]

very useful

[Michael Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise and informative review of the topic into the late 1960s (and has anything else changed much since then?). Very accessible.