Yesterday my family and I didn’t have time for after breakfast Bible reading. Thus instead of sharing from it with you, I’ll comment briefly on the systematic theology books that I have. I’d appreciate your advising me of other systematic theology books that you have and find useful.
Aquinas, Thomas. The Summa Theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Volumes 19-20 of Great Books of the Western World. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1952. Aquinas (1224-74) was the greatest philosopher and theologian of the medieval church. He wrote The Summa Theologica in 1267-73. In 1879 Pope Leo XIII declared it official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Edited by John T. McNeill and translated and indexed by Ford Lewis Battles. Volumes 20-21 of The Library of Christian Classics. Philadelphia, Westminster, 1960. Calvin (1509-64) was the greatest theologian of the Reformation. He wrote the original version of Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536 and revised it several times. The LCC version was translated from the 1559 version collated with earlier versions.
Strong, Augustus H. Systematic Theology. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1907. Strong (1836-1921) was a president and professor of theology at Rochester Theological Seminary. Systematic Theology was first published in 1886 and revised and enlarged in 1906. It was widely used by Baptists until replaced by Millard Erickson’s Christian Theology (1983-85).
Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Fourth edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939. Berkhof (1873-1957) was a president and teacher at Calvin Seminary. Systematic Theology was the favourite systematic theology book of Dr. Ratz, the dean of Eastern Pentecostal Bible College when I attended it. Grudem describes it as “the most useful one-volume systematic theology from any theological perspective,” but I think that Grudem’s own Systematic Theology is.
Thiessen, Henry Clarence. Lectures in Systematic Theology. Revised by Vernon D. Doerksen. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979. Thiessen (1883–1947) was a former chairman of the faculty at Wheaton College. The first edition of Lectures in Systematic Theology was published in 1949. It was the textbook for systematic theology at Eastern Pentecostal Bible College when I attended it. Grudem categorizes it as Dispensational.
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994. Grudem (1948- ) became Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary in 2001 after teaching for twenty years at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. My family and I are currently reading Systematic Theology in our after breakfast reading time.
Horton, Stanley M. Editor. Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective. Springfield: Gospel Publishing House, 1994. Horton (1916- ) is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Bible and Theology at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective was written by twenty teachers of Bible and theology in the seminary and colleges of the Assemblies of God.
Bob's Corner 
Does the fact you consider Grudem’s Systematic Theology as “the most useful one-volume systematic theology from any theological perspective” mean it’s your favorite?
Since writing “My Systematic Theology Books,” I’ve acquired Millard J. Erickson’s Christian Theology and J. Rodman Williams’ Renewal Theology and begun working through them. Although I still think that Grudem’s Systematic Theology is “the most useful one-volume systematic theology from any theological perspective” and the best systematic theology for group studies such as our family study, I suspect that both of my new acquisitions will rank with it for my personal use, Christian Theology for its interaction with scholarly works and Renewal Theology for its charismatic orientation. As you know, I dream of someday writing a systematic theology from a Pentecostal and open theistic perspective.
Since my initial reply to your question, I’ve finished reading Millard J. Erickson’s Christian Theology and read two of the three volumes in J. Rodman Williams’ Renewal Theology. I still think that Grudem’s Systematic Theology is “the most useful one-volume systematic theology from any theological perspective” and the best systematic theology for group studies such as our family study. However both of my new acquisitions now rank with it for my personal use, Christian Theology for its interaction with scholarly works and Renewal Theology for its charismatic orientation and for its footnotes on the Greek text. The latter were a factor in my recently ordering a Greek-English interlinear New Testament to replace the one that I had to discard when it fell apart. I plan to post an updated version of “My Systematic Theology Books” when I finish reading Renewal Theology.
Perhaps these posts are serving as the research or first step to fulfilling your dream. I hope your dream comes true for you.
Thanks!
may God bless u and your ministry
Thanks.
Thanks for your post Bob!
I am currently studying theology (pursuing a B.Th) and we use Grudem and Erickson’s systematic work for the assigned reading usually. Sometimes A.H Strong’s work too. But recently I bought and started reading Stanley J. Grenz’s systematic work “Theology for the Community of God” and I’m loving it! He takes a unique approach, using the “eschatological community” as his reoccuring motif as well as interacting with non-evangelical writers (while still committed to a Baptist, evangelical faith himself). You should check it out! I’ve also flipped through Alister Mcgrath’s “Christian Theology: An Introduction” which looks good. Have you read either of them? Or any Karl Barth?
“Have you read either of them?” No, I haven’t read either of them. However the comments on them at Amazon.ca make them sound good. If our local religious book store carries them, I’ll certainly look at them. Thanks for recommending them.
“Or any Karl Barth?” I have his The Doctrine of the Word of God (two first two half-volumes in his Church Dogmatics). I can’t remember how much of them I read, but I do remember that I liked what I read well enough that I wanted to get the other volumes in Church Dogmatics.