Skip to main content

God Has Spoken: A History of Christian Theology









God Has Spoken: A History of Christian Theology by Gerald Bray

How has the inception of Christianity in the ancient and modern world changed the lives of its inhabitants?  Gerald Bray seeks to answer this question in his new book, God Has Spoken: A History of Christian Theology. This weighty tome begins with the parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity, the development of Christian theology as providing an answer to the modus operandi of the church apart from the obsessive nature of those interested in the law.  Bray comments early on that, “The church also had to explain how Jesus Christ was related to the Jewish God. This meant that biblical monotheism had to be interpreted in a way that could accommodate the divinity of Christ” (35).  As such, the attributes of God were often communicated through the life and work of Jesus, his ministry, his law abiding, and his death.

Part of the richness of Bray’s writing is his deft grappling with early concepts of theology such as monotheism.  Bray writes, “Most ancient peoples, on the other hand, had no trouble in depicting their gods in personal terms. The problem was that, in their case, personhood was a sign of relativity and imperfection” (77).  The personal nature of God was such that a reciprocal relationship was possible, one which was first characterized by the condescending acts of God. 

His goodness and compassion was seen from the beginning, starting in giving to humanity a good creation, rescuing his people from Egypt, and bringing them into a land of plenty.  Bray also contends that early Jews and Christians held God to be eternal and sovereign.  Nothing was out of his hand nor was he surprised by any human activity.  Yet, there was a also a difference in the way the Judeo-Christian heritage looked at the body and the surrounding culture, for many Platonist and Gnostic thinkers derided the body as evil and yet praised the non-material elements (89).

Gerald also brings out a most interesting point in his chapter on Christian theological vocabulary.  He writes, “…the first problem that the early Christians had to address was how to explain who the biblical God was without causing misunderstanding” (317).  The Christian message was that God was one in three persons, which was a stumbling block to Jew and Greek, but also that their theology was rooted in their practices.  Bray mentions that Stoics would go out of their way to distance themselves from the commoners, a radically opposite to the gospel believing Christians of the early church.  Further, the early Christians were full of people who defied the traditional notions of the privileged.  Therefore, the early Christians were constantly engaging the process of translating their faith to others from different worldviews and backgrounds.

With a sound background in understanding church history, the early church fathers, and Christian theology as it sprang up after Jesus, God Has Spoken is sure to be a wealth of wisdom for those who read it.


Thanks to Crossway for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rise of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Navigating the culture that we take up residence in, with its laser focus on sexual identity, tolerance, and an individualism that raises its head at every corner, Christians need a robust account of how we got to this point in our Western culture without retreating to our churches nor morphing with the latest trends.   Carl Trueman, professor of religion and theology at Grove City College, brings his keen historical research to bear on this issue in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.   Part historical survey and philosophical analysis, Dr. Trueman traces the trajectories of key thinkers such as Rousseau, Freud, and Marx, while also incorporating the insights of Charles Taylor and Phillip Rieff to form a cogent argument as to how we got to this point in our history, both in our expressive individualism and sexual freedom outlooks.   The book is surprisingly insightful and yet demands from the reader the pa
Post a Comment
Read more

The Conditioned Mind

The Conditioned Mind: Overcoming the Crippling Effects of Sin and Guilt by Michael J. Mannia Counselor and author Michael J. Mannia knows firsthand how the spiraling of sin and guilt can eat away at life.  His new book, The Conditioned Mind, is a look into how believers can overcome the effects of sin and guilt and live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  Through a careful look into the patterns that we develop and the mindsets that we get ingrained in, Michael is able to offer ways through guilt that bring freedom and healing.  I think this is not only a timely but a book that aims toward bringing real healing to its readers. In the first chapter Michael looks at two needs that we have: our need for love and our need for security.  Love isn’t something optional for the human race, but something it needs at its core.  “Additionally, we need to reciprocate love.  We need to feel loved as much as we need to love others (8).”  Love is a two-way street that inv
Post a Comment
Read more

Passover and Jesus

The Messiah in the Passover , Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser Why should Christians celebrate and remember the Passover?   This is a striking question that needs to be understood as well as the historical and theological context of the Passover.   However obscure we sometimes view the Old Testament, there is some significant reasons why we should reach back and study the Passover.   Mitch Glaser in the Introduction states, “When Christians celebrate the Passover, they grow in their understanding of the Old Testament, affirm the Jewishness of the Gospel, deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and build community with fellow Christians…” (20).   This book is answer to why celebrate the Passover but even more importantly an answer to what the Passover is and what it signifies to us today.   The various contributors of this book, Messiah in the Passover, bring a wealth of ministry experience in relating the Jewishness of both Jesus and the Old Testament to
Post a Comment
Read more