The Case for Orthodox Theology

by Edward John Carnell

Here is a thoughtful and scholarly presentation of one type of contemporary Christian thinking. Orthodoxy, as here defined, is that branch of Christendom that limits the ground of religious authority to the Bible. It lays claim to a "plenary" but not necessarily a literal inspiration for the sacred books of the canon. After defining the rules that govern biblical hermeneutics, the author indicates how orthodoxy should meet the difficulties and perils that beset it. He speaks from his heart as a confirmed adherent of the position he defends.

Genres: Theology

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Edward John Carnell was an evangelical Christian theologian and apologist. He was an ordained Baptist pastor and was a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary from 1948 until his death. Carnell was president of that school from 1954 to 1959. He received ThB and ThM degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary and earned doctorates from both Harvard and Boston Universitie

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

The vast majority of this book makes bold claims with no backing evidence (not that none exists, but none are presented). Large swaths of the book are portrayed as solidly concluded fact. This book also struggles with circular reasoning (the gospel is true because the gospel says it is true). The arguments presented here have had far too many years to develop to ignore the newer iterations for these much older ones. As a result of this, I couldn't possibly recommend this book over other, more modern, much better written versions. The one redeeming part of the book is at the very end when he really digs in about the importance of not dividing the church into a million denominations. As a personal conviction of mine, it did soften the ending of the book for me significantly, but 95% of the book is still an absolute slog to get through and not worth the read.

[Dwight Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carnell’s “Case for Orthodox Theology” starts off beautifully. He handles both the Scriptures and the historic creeds quite well, and I found the first half of the book to be quite enjoyable and edifying. As soon as he embarks on his chapter entitled “Proof,” he slides sharply into rants and tirades about denominationalism and the petty matters of his day. The book became so unreadable, that by the last two chapters, I found myself skimming and flipping through hurriedly just to complete the reading.

I would give the first half (chapters 1-5) a five-star rating, and the latter half (chapters 6-10) a two-star. It averages out to not-quite-a-four-star overall.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first and last couple of chapters were good but the middle section was quite typical (yet solid). Also, some parts can be quite hard to follow due to the drawn-out style of thought and heavy use of quotations.