Systematic Theology?

[JPatton]

My wife got the book Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem and has left it on the coffee table for me to find. It is definetly about reformed theology (a very thick and detailed book). She often complains that I don’t study from enough Protestant sources to compare to Catholicism. Of course my response is I’ve lived the non-C faith and believed it for the last couple of years so I have that to compare to, but I do study both sides.

Has anyone ever read or studied this book?

It is required reading for certain year long programs at my wife’s church and they hold it in high reguards.

Also just throwing it out there, I just read Rome Sweet Home and it was very rewarding. Finished it in 2 days, could’nt put it down. Thanks to those who recommended it.

Peace
Jamie

 

[Donald45]

Grudem’s book was used as a text at the Protestant seminary I attended prior to my conversion to the Catholic faith. It’s a good representative example of Reformed Protestant theology. Of course, that doesn’t make it *true, *but it does make it handy if you want to get the Protestant viewpoint on a particular issue.

For Catholic theology, besides the *Catechism of the Catholic Church, *I recommend these:

Peter J. Kreeft, Catholic Christianity: A Complete Catechism of Catholic Beliefs (Ignatius Press, 2001)

Mario P. Romero, Unabridged Christianity: Biblical Answers to Common Questions About the Roman Catholic Faith (Queenship, 1999)

If you liked Rome Sweet Home, I highly recommend Stephen Ray’s excellent book, Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church (Ignatius Press, 1997). Your wife may find this one helpful in understanding Catholic beliefs.

Blessings,

Don
+T+

 

[toaslan]

Hi all! The only time I ran across Systematic Theology was when it was honored by a young man who also throws out the baldest and most ignorant anti-Catholic slanders (such as that all over Italy the "“Mary” statues are bigger than the Jesus statues in the churches, or that Luther heroically rescued the bible from the Catholic Church by daring to translate it into the vernacular!, etc.). He thinks highly of this work, and has swallowed as well the very broadest of the bigotries–so, guilt by association, can’t have too much interest in this thing which sits so comfortably in his mind next to the prejudice…

 

[RevDrNorth]

My wife got the book Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem and has left it on the coffee table for me to find. It is definetly about reformed theology (a very thick and detailed book). She often complains that I don’t study from enough Protestant sources to compare to Catholicism. Of course my response is I’ve lived the non-C faith and believed it for the last couple of years so I have that to compare to, but I do study both sides.

Has anyone ever read or studied this book?

It is required reading for certain year long programs at my wife’s church and they hold it in high reguards.

Also just throwing it out there, I just read Rome Sweet Home and it was very rewarding. Finished it in 2 days, could’nt put it down. Thanks to those who recommended it.

Peace
Jamie

Yes I have read it. Dr. Grudem is a Reformed Theologian (not Arminian, etc) and you will learn a lot if you read it. However, one of the flaws (IMHO) is that he often is somewhat biased in the way he presents the arguments of other perspectives (ie sets them up in flimsy fashion and then demonstrates how he can defeat the argumentation). If you want a good Reformed perspective try Dr. Ryrie’s Systematic Theology (I like him much better).

To be fair you also need to get a hold of a good book on Dogmatic Theology/Systematic Theology from a Roman Catholic Theologian and read that as well. It will give you a better idea of why you believe what you do. Then make a deal with your wife. You read Grudem if she reads the Catholic perspective.
marianland.com/atheology01.html

 

[Love_is_Patient]

I haven’t read it cover to cover, but Grudem makes some big mistakes: insisting the Mass is a “repetition” of Christ’s sacrifice, claiming that a mortal sin is a sin that can’t be forgiven, and ignores the roles of the Church in Rome and North Africa in determining the canon of Scripture.

:banghead:

Love is Patient

 

[John7]

Plus he teaches ‘Penal Substitution’ in ch.27 which the CC rejects.

 

[Randy_Carson]

My wife got the book Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem and has left it on the coffee table for me to find. It is definetly about reformed theology (a very thick and detailed book). She often complains that I don’t study from enough Protestant sources to compare to Catholicism. Of course my response is I’ve lived the non-C faith and believed it for the last couple of years so I have that to compare to, but I do study both sides.

Has anyone ever read or studied this book?

It is required reading for certain year long programs at my wife’s church and they hold it in high reguards.

Also just throwing it out there, I just read Rome Sweet Home and it was very rewarding. Finished it in 2 days, could’nt put it down. Thanks to those who recommended it.

Peace
Jamie

If you haven’t already read it, try Karl Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism.