A Confessing Theology for Postmodern Times

The evangelical church should be a beacon of truth and light in the world. Yet today's relativistic mindset has begun to seep in, and orthodox biblical theology is giving way to "personal experience". Michael Horton and other scholars from various Christian denominations provide ideas and strategies for resolving the crisis of truth within the church, focusing in particular on recovering the practice of systematic theology in our postmodern world. This is a timely and challenging book.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1581341024
• ISBN13: 9781581341027
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Crossway Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.8" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Engages the Subject, but with Too Few Answers

The challenge is real, so say these Baptist, Epicsopalian, Lutheran and Reformed writers, to the challenges facing the church of today.Rising to this challenge first of all means understanding and defining the issues and challenges. Here they do an admirable job, providing historical background and some contemporary assessment. However, what I continually see the work falling short on is where to go from here. This is so typical of our time, seeing the yeast multiplying and taking over more and more of the dough, however little suggestion of how to isolate, surgically remove, etc.In a church environmnet that is all the things shown in this fine collection (individualistic, pluralistic, relativistic, postmodern, etc.), there will have to be concord in some confession of theology, not in more respected academia or focused seminaries.Churches and their confessional bodies are where the trenches are where the spiritual wars are being lost and won. Many of those who see themselves as generals and strategists don't know exactly the daily pressures the trench fighters go through, nor provide even recognition of what resources and assistance they can provide. The dumbing down of the faith is rolling. To just acknowledge pros and cons on all sides, and then leave it there is tragedy.This book leaves it there. Well done, but tragic in its void of what will aid the church.

How are we responding to the crisis of truth?

Let the dialogue begin -- in earnest! This new volume, the first in a series of projected volumes, begins the orthodox response to the various "postmodernisms" that are impacting the church and and world today. (For more background, see our Quicktime Video "Conversation" with Mike Horton @ the antithesis.com web site). This is no "knee-jerk" reponse... the contributors (including a leading representative of "the opposition") are serious about providing adequate answers to the excellent questions/issues/problems raised by Postmodern thinking (in all of its various forms).In a world in which absolute truth, values and authority have lost their place, the evangelical church should be a beacon of truth and light. But the relativistic mindset of our culture has seeped even into our midst. Churches that once held firmly to the orthodox doctrines of the Bible have begun to waver as theology gives way to experience.This book is the combined work of Christian scholars from Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist and other backgrounds and is meant to provide ideas and strategies for relating orthodoxy to the challenges and opportunities of a postmodern world. It is a call to the evangelical church to hold firm in matters of theology while at the same time reaching out to a world that needs the life-changing message of the Gospel. There is a crisis of truth in the church, and this volume challenges us all to respond.Contributors: Charles Arand, Albert Mohler, Richard Gaffin, Richard Muller, D.G. Hart, J.A.O. Preus III, Richard Lints, Paul Raabe, Edgar McKnight, David Scaer, Benjamin Mitchell, Paul Zahl, and Michael Horton (Editor).About the Editor: Michael Horton, Ph.D., is the highly awarded author/editor of ten books and the Vice-Chairman of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. He also co-pastors a church and is an associate professor of historical theology at Westminster Theology Seminary.