Everyone's a Theologian

Book review by Trinity McConnell

Everyone’s a Theologian
R. C. Sproul
Ligonier Ministries, 2014

Is theology a dying art?

So often as a young person in this day and age I hear the phrase: “As long as you have a relationship with Jesus, nothing else matters." Although I commend the prioritisation of a relationship with Christ, it's disheartening to think of my generation in the church growing up with no desire to inspect the Scriptures to have a broader understanding of their faith and how they practise it. Everyone's a Theologian, by R.C. Sproul, seeks to make theology more accessible by encouraging all Christians to take an interest in, and giving a simple introduction to, big Biblical concepts.

As a novice myself I found that the book lived up perfectly to its subtitle: ‘An introduction to Systematic Theology.’

The book is in eight parts. An introduction informs the reader of important concepts to consider before studying theology at any level, eg the infallibility of scripture, the purpose of theology and the three theological disciplines: biblical, historical and systematic.

This is followed by sections on; Theology proper (the study of God), Anthropology (the study of human beings) and Creation, Christology (The study of the nature and work of Jesus Christ), Pneumatology (the person and work of the Holy Spirit), Soteriology (salvation), Ecclesiology (The study of the church) and finally Eschatology (death, judgement, heaven and hell). The book is laid out in simple format and uses easy to understand language.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever wanted to study theology (young or old), who thought they hadn't the ability or didn't know where to start. I'd also recommend it to anyone who thinks that theology is unnecessary or leads to traditionalism or legalism - in the hope that it will give them the positive outlook and joy that studying the word of God should bring. I would even suggest that those looking to revise an old topic, begin a new one or even just get a refresher of the overall picture of the main branches of Systematic Theology pick up a copy of this informative and to the point piece of literature.

I Will Build My Church

Stephen reviewed the following book for the February 2023 Banner of Truth magazine:

I Will Build My Church: Selected Writings on Church Polity, Baptism, and the Sabbath
Thomas Witherow; Jonathan Gibson (ed.)
Westminster Seminary Press, 2021
313 pp., hbk, $29.99
ISBN 9781733627269

Why would anyone read a little-known, nineteenth-century Irish Presbyterian writing about secondary issues? Sinclair Ferguson’s answer in the foreword is that this trilogy really sets out to answer the questions of how God wants us to regulate our church, family and weekly lives. As for being unknown, a new 70-page biographical sketch by the editor fills out the life story of a man trained under Thomas Chalmers, who pastored a small-town church of almost 2,000 people, before becoming the first Church History and Pastoral Theology Professor at Magee College, Derry.

Witherow’s Apostolic Church seeks to bring Prelacy, Independency and Presbyterianism before the bar of Scripture. While he claims to have entered the project with misgivings as to which would triumph, he unsurprisingly finds Presbyterianism to meet all the Apostolic criteria (Independency meeting half, and Prelacy none). His only real departure from historic Presbyterianism is a radical two-office view which sees no place for a distinct ordination for ministers.

The second work, Scriptural Baptism, robustly sets out the paedobaptist position. Witherow writes as a man who had seen the 1859 Revival lead to defections from the Presbyterian Church, and takes no prisoners.
His work on the Sabbath (a published address) is the weakest of the three. Witherow’s Sabbatarian conclusions are biblical, but some of his argumentation is problematic, not least the claim that our Lord breached ‘the inspired interpretation…of the Mosaic law’.

The three works have been lightly edited for readability. The decision to characterise them all as ‘Presbyterian distinctives’ seems odd when only one of them is. While a number of footnotes say that the editor was unable to locate sources for quotations or books, all are easily found using Google.

Overall, this is a very valuable volume and many will feel that Witherow’s arguments have never been answered.

The Happy Christian

Stephen wrote the following review in 2015 of David Murray’s book The Happy Christian: Ten ways to be a joyful believer in a gloomy world:

If someone who had never encountered Christianity walked into your home or church, how would they describe the mood? That’s one of the searching questions David Murray asks in a book, which given its neon blue and yellow cover, looks at first glance like just another self-help resource. But behind its frothy exterior comes theological punch as a seminary professor marshals Biblical teaching, scientific research and his own personal experience as a ‘recovering sceptic’ to make the case that the Christian faith has too often been misrepresented by its friends, never mind its enemies.

He sets his sights on a siege mentality in the church, where sermons and prayers often sound more like discontented defeatism than inspirational calls to worship and serve. The Bible is the most positive book in the world – but Murray contends that the church has not always been successful in communicating the Bible’s uplifting and inspiring message.

The book starts with the good news that both the Bible and scientists agree that happiness is mostly not dependent on our circumstances (studies say only 10%). While 50% is based on genetics that still leaves 40% that we can do something about. But rather than going down the ‘Power of positive thinking’ route, Murray says the way to change things is not to believe in yourself more, but to believe in God more.

In a chapter on ‘Happy Media’, Murray points out the harmful effects of listening to a stream of negativity. Challengingly, he applies this not just to secular media but to those who teach God’s word. The reason a doctor can tell what an unhealthy heart sounds like is that he’s listened to 1000s of healthy ones. In the same way we should focus more on the truth than innumerable errors and heresies – and spend more time exalting Biblical marriage than highlighting the latest perversion of it.

In ‘Happy Salvation’ Murray tries to encourage us to stop being discouraged by never ending to-do lists and rest in our completed salvation provided by a Saviour who has already done it all and tells us: ‘It is finished’. God has given us a weekly reminder of this in the Sabbath, which we reject to our peril.

In the battle for happiness, involvement in church plays a key role. Murray points to Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer having banned all telecommuting as the lack of personal contact resulted in more loss than gain. Statistics show that those who attend religious services at least once a week have a 25% higher life expectancy than those who don’t, probably because church attendance increases social support, which is a proven life-extender. Murray also extols ‘Everywhere Grace’, reminding us that we shouldn’t just look for God’s grace in Christians. We shouldn’t be ashamed to use goods and services provided by non-Christians, or truth discovered by them.

This is a book which Murray would admit himself would not have been written if he hadn’t swapped Scotland for America, and he extols our transatlantic cousins’ ability to praise other people. ‘Scots don’t do praise’ he says. ‘Of God sometimes, but never of one another’. He seeks to unmask the sinful reasons behind this and urges us not to wait for one another, our churches or our children to be perfect before we praise them.

Murray also sets his sights on the ‘Gimme Generation’ (ie the generation most Messenger readers are part of!) whose failure to give their money and themselves is damaging charity, marriage and work, as well as being a poor witness to the secular world.

One of the biggest challenges many people find to being a happy Christian is their work, and Murray devotes a whole chapter to this area, showing that the most mundane job is as valuable as any other if it’s done for Christ. ‘The Lord’s work’ isn’t just something ministers do.

The tide of negativity in our thinking, relationships and churches is having a devastating effect, and Murray’s book is a helpful and invigorating corrective. Anyone could benefit from it and small groups could benefit from discussing and fleshing out some of the issues raised – and then holding each other accountable. Happily, of course!

For a review of Murray’s earlier book, Jesus on Every Page, see here.

Jesus on Every Page

As we’ve been working our way through the book of Acts, we’re seeing that the message of evangelists like Philip and Apostles like Paul can be summed up by the words ‘Jesus Christ’. All they had from which to preach Christ was the Old Testament, but they had no problem doing so.

Given the fact that we can be a lot slower to see Jesus in the Old Testament, one recommended resource on the topic is Jesus on Every Page by David Murray. Here’s a review of the book written by Stephen in 2013 for the Messenger Magazine:

Every so often a book comes along that before even finishing it I start trying to think how I can persuade everyone I know to read it. Last year it was Rosaria Butterfield's The Secret Thoughts of an Unexpected Convert. A few years before that it was Michael LeFebvre's Singing the Songs of Jesus. This year it's David Murray's Jesus on Every Page. As RPCNA pastor Barry York writes in the midst of pages of glowing endorsements: 'If you heard that archaeologists had discovered a genuine book with pictures of Jesus’ life, a diary of his thoughts, and further explanation of his ministry, would you not yearn to have that book in your hands? If you have the Old Testament, you do!'.

The problem the book seeks to tackle is that 'Christians seem to have forgotten that the Old Testament has everything to do with Jesus Christ'. Surveys show that the ratio of Old Testament to New Testament sermons is 1 to 10. Yet even if we sit under a balanced mix of preaching and even if we diligently read as much or more of the Old Testament as we do of the New, we can often fail to see how it relates to Jesus. Occasionally we might come across prophecies or appearances which are pretty clear, but we're far from seeing Jesus on Every Page.

Murray himself took a long time to see the Old Testament in this way. It wasn't until he had gone through 3 years of theological training, been a pastor for a number of years and then been asked to teach Old Testament at the Free Church (Continuing) Seminary before the light even began to dawn. In the first section of the book he retraces the steps of his own journey, focusing especially on how key figures in the New Testament (Jesus, Peter, Paul and John) understood the Bible they preached from.
The ten steps to seek and find Jesus in the Old Testament begin with Creation. Murray recounts how he was asked to speak at a conference on 'Christ in creation'. Sounds like it would be a short talk? He felt the same. Up until then, he thought Genesis 1-2 was all about Creation versus Evolution. Yet being asked to speak at that conference was a turning point for him and in a few short pages he shows that Jesus is everywhere in the Bible's opening chapters; from creating sheep so he could teach sinners about how he is the good Shepherd to creating angels, not because he was lonely but to minister to his needy people - and to himself in Gethsemane.

The next nine steps are similarly short but profound. He covers seeing Jesus in Old Testament characters, appearances, law, history and prophets. His chapter on 'Jesus' Pictures' (Old Testament 'types' or 'visual theology') takes Patrick Fairbairn's 700 page pre-cut-and-paste classic on the topic and reduces it to 10. The chapter on 'Christ's Promises' is really a masterly introduction to what is in fact Covenant Theology, but with the usual jargon replaced by terms like 'The Covenant of the Defeated Serpent'. In fact, the book is really a Christ-centred Bible overview. It's God's Big Picture but simpler and more Jesus-focused.

He also challenges popular conceptions of God's people before 1AD. They didn't trust in works righteousness or an earthly king. Neither did they just have some vague hope of a Messiah to come. They had a lot clearer understanding of Jesus than we often give them credit for. As Mr and Mrs Israelite read the Old Testament, they were always peering over the horizon for the one who was to come.

The book finishes by looking at Christ's Proverbs and Christ's Poems. Proverbs, 'the Old Testament Twitter', and the 10 Commandments are both expositions of Jesus' life. The section on the psalms brings the book towards a fitting climax; the fact that many have thrown out their psalters and replaced them with gospel choruses is 'because of a fundamental misunderstanding of Old Testament theology'. And in light of everything that's gone before, guess what? He doesn't think the Song of Solomon is about marriage guidance!

Every Christian will benefit from this book. Anyone who teaches the Bible in any capacity (whether to your children, in Sunday School or to a congregation) will find help for that task. Murray started off writing this book for pastors but then scrapped that idea and aimed it at everyone. It even includes study questions, which actually look good! I couldn't recommend it more highly.

How our children come to faith

(A helpful article which illustrates some of the principles below is the interview with Margaret McPhail in the most recent issue of Good News, pp 5-7)

How our children come to faith
Stephen Smallman
P&R, 2006

P&R publishing have a helpful series of booklets entitled ‘Basics of the Reformed faith’. This booklet is particularly helpful for giving a covenantal understanding of how we should expect our children come to faith. It’s written by a grandfather who by God’s grace has seen all four of his children come to faith and marry Christian spouses.

Here are some highlights:

• “In my pastoral experience, too many Christian parents are so focused on their responsibility for their children’s spiritual lives that their prayers are essentially, “Lord, help me do my job and fulfill my calling to raise my children in the faith.” They don’t stop and listen first to what God has told them about his commitment to our children” (p. 6)

• “When we pray for our children and work with them in our homes and churches, God’s covenant-making and covenant-keeping should give us confidence that it is his purpose and plan to pass his salvation from generation to generation. In the Presbyterian tradition, we use the expression covenant children to describe their unique standing before God. That is a very helpful and biblical way to think of our children. Having this confidence in God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises is the most important single thing we can do for the salvation of our children. We should pray for them with earnestness, but pray with confidence because God has clearly revealed his will for our children and he keeps his promises” (p. 15)

• “…Once we understand that regeneration is a hidden work of God, then we can pray and believe that the Spirit would begin that work very early in our children’s lives. It will probably be several years before our children express that faith in a public confession. But that doesn’t mean the Spirit hasn’t been at work from a very early point in their lives. I think many parents are particularly zealous to press their children to make some sort of “decision for Jesus” because they think that such a point marks the beginning of their spiritual lives. Actually, the beginning is the mysterious work that only the Spirit can do.” (p. 17)

• “Do our children need to be converted? The answer to that is yes, as long as we don’t define conversion in terms of a particular kind of experience. In a companion booklet in this series, I have defined conversion in the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism as “embracing Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.” Based on this definition, our children most certainly need to be converted—but that conversion could be so much a part of their lives that they grow up never knowing a time when they weren’t embracing Jesus Christ freely offered in the gospel.” (pp 20-21).

• “The matter of how to make sure that our children are “saved” is a source of real anxiety for many conscientious Christian parents. Concerned parents begin to “evangelize” their children as soon as they are able to talk...Then they proudly announce that Mary, at age three or four, has “received Christ as her Lord” because she prayed some variation of the sinner’s prayer or answered the call at a vacation Bible school or Sunday school meeting. Loving teachers or youth leaders ask our children over and over whether they are “really sure” they have accepted Jesus. After a while they aren’t sure—because they don’t know which time they prayed the prayer was the “real” time. One of my children tells about making up a “testimony” to finally satisfy his youth leaders that he was a believer.

  That is all well-intentioned, but I wonder if it is the best approach. How much of this way of dealing with children is a consequence of feeling that their salvation hangs on how effective we are in evangelizing them? I want to encourage you instead to start with an awareness of God’s wonderful promises and to rest in those promises. Of course we have great responsibilities, but that can’t be our starting place.

  If we build on the foundation of God’s promises and Jesus’ statement about our children, then we can view the salvation of our children from the perspective of faith rather than anxiety. And by faith, we then set about the privilege of raising our children “in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). The word that better fits this admonition is discipleship rather than evangelism. The earliest disciples were following Jesus even while they were learning what it meant to believe in him. Can’t it be said that our children are part of a family of Jesus’ disciples and that in that sense, they themselves are also disciples? As the family serves the Lord, led by the head of the household, the members of the family learn together what it means to embrace Jesus personally.” (pp 21-22)

• “The term used in earlier generations to describe this more discipleship-oriented way of passing along the faith was Christian nurture. The question of how children come to faith received a great deal of attention in the Presbyterian church with the rise of revivalism in the nineteenth century. So much attention was given to dramatic conversion stories that the “boring” examples of people growing up and receiving the faith passed along to them by their families were considered invalid. In some ways it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because such ordinary means as family prayers, catechizing children, and faithful church attendance were being set aside to wait for the next great season of revival, many children were leaving the faith of their fathers” (p. 23)

• In previous generations: “Christian nurture was, then, the appointed, the natural, the normal, and ordinary means by which the children of believers were made truly the children of God. Consequently it was the method which these leaders believed should be principally relied upon and employed for the salvation of their children.” (p. 23)