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Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, by Michael F. Bird
PDF Ebook Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, by Michael F. Bird
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Evangelical Theology is a systematic theology written from the perspective of a biblical scholar. Michael F. Bird contends that the center, unity, and boundary of the evangelical faith is the evangel (= gospel), as opposed to things like justification by faith or inerrancy. The evangel is the unifying thread in evangelical theology and the theological hermeneutic through which the various loci of theology need to be understood.
Using the gospel as a theological leitmotif—an approach to Christian doctrine that begins with the gospel and sees each loci through the lens of the gospel—this text presents an authentically evangelical theology, as opposed to an ordinary systematic theology written by an evangelical theologian.
According to the author, theology is the drama of gospelizing—performing and living out the gospel in the theatre of Christian life. The text features tables, sidebars, and questions for discussion. The end of every part includes a “What to Take Home” section that gives students a run-down on what they need to know. And since reading theology can often be dry and cerebral, the author applies his unique sense of humor in occasional “Comic Belief” sections so that students may enjoy their learning experience through some theological humor added for good measure.
- Sales Rank: #229803 in eBooks
- Published on: 2013-10-29
- Released on: 2013-10-29
- Format: Kindle eBook
Review
It is rare for a biblical scholar to produce a systematic theology of the breadth and depth of this book. Warm-hearted yet with a critical and engaging style throughout, Michael F. Bird presents a theology that is robustly biblical, doxological, and woven through the breadth of the evangelical ecclesial traditions. Providing fresh interaction with concepts from the wider theological world while persistently mining the biblical text, this theology takes no short cuts in offering an evangelical theology that has everything to do with the gospel. -- Jason S. Sexton, , Research Associate, USC's Center for Religion and Civic Culture, Los Angeles
About the Author
Michael F. Bird (PhD, University of Queensland) is lecturer in theology at Ridley Melbourne College of Mission and Ministry in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission, The Saving Righteousness of God: Studies on Paul, Justification, and the New Perspective, Evangelical Theology, Bourgeois Babes, Bossy Wives, and Bobby Haircuts: A moderate Case for Gender Equality in Ministry and editor of The Apostle Paul: Four Views. He is also a co-blogger of the New Testament blog 'Euangelion.'
Most helpful customer reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
A Systematic Theology for Evangelicals
By Josh
Evangelical Theology by Michael Bird is a book that will grab readers early on and will not let them go for 800+, rich pages of theology, humor and worship. Bird hooked me early. From the outset, he cannot help but show his love for the church catholic and historic, freely citing authors from all walks of the Christian faith, from throughout two millennia of Christian history. His implicit focus on the fellowship of the saints in studying theology made it feel like, and really become, a worshipful and communal event.
Hearing a bit of who Michael Bird is encouraged me even more to dive into this text. He lays his "ecclesial and theological cards on the table" and shares a bit about himself early on.
"On the church side of things, I did not grow up in a Christian home, but I came to Christ through a Baptist church in Sydney, Australia. I also attended a Baptist seminary (Malyon College) and have been a pastoral intern and itinerant preacher in Baptist churches. I taught for five years in an interdenominational theological college committed to the Reformed tradition in Scotland (Highland Theological College); more recently I spent three years teaching at an interdenominational college in Brisbane while being on the preaching team of a Presbyterian church (Crossway College). I am now a lecturer in theology at an Anglican College (Ridley Melbourne). Strange as it sounds, I would describe myself as an ex-Baptist postPresbyterian Anglican."
Bird considers himself a "mere evangelical" and attempts to write his systematic from that perspective.
One of the things you will note in Evangelical Theology is the tone. Bird writes deeply and lightly, using humor freely to make points and disarm the reader. Is his use of humor good or bad? It is hard for me to say, but I am sure that some readers will be put off by it and some readers will benefit from it and enjoy it greatly. His tone makes this immense volume immensely readable but may leave it with a short shelf life due to pop culture references and whatnot. Will it stand the test of time? Who knows. But, it does allow a broader range of believers to access his work and be ministered to by it here and now, so for that reason I tend to view his tone and humor as a benefit of the book.
Bird starts his text off, after a proper prolegomena, with the Trinity. He makes some valid points as to why the Trinity should be the launching point for theological study rather than Scripture.
"Whereas the medieval theological tradition began with the Triune God as the starting point for theology, it was the Second Helvetic Confession (followed by the Irish Articles and Westminster Confession) that broke the mold by putting the doctrine of Scripture first in the order of topics covered in theology. This Protestant move is understandable, opposing as it does the medieval Roman Catholic view of authority; yet it was a misstep that ultimately led to a shift from theology beginning with God-in-himself to theology beginning with human reception/perception of revelation. It was inevitably that Protestant theology, in some quarters, would move from theology to anthropology as the measure of religious truth."
Bird rejects the Bibliolatry that many Evangelicals can, and do, slip into and labors the supremacy of the incarnation as God's ultimate revelation. In his section on revelation as Bird argues for the "extra extra special revelation" of the incarnation, he writes:
"I am not denying the supremacy of Scripture as our witness to Jesus. Jesus himself said that the Scriptures testify to him (e.g., John 5:36 - 39; 7:38). Nor do I want to minimize the necessity of Scripture for knowing Jesus. Yet the Bible does not have a monopoly for giving us access to knowledge about the incarnation and the salvation that it brings. You can apprehend knowledge of Jesus Christ through the proclamation of the gospel, by the experience of him in baptism and Eucharist, and through catechisms and creeds that summarize the teaching of Scripture."
Bird writes to his current audience. He knows the culture and mindset that we, as Evangelicals, live in and writes a systematic theology to address our current age. Bird addresses possible positions fairly and fully and then expounds on the position he holds to be true. He does not come to the task with a back full of straw and mean names, ready to engage in a battle of fallacies in hopes of being shown to be smarter, righter, holier, or better than those who would propose a different position than he. Rather, he engages arguments at their strongest point and even allows room for his own error or possibility of differing, yet correct, interpretations and positions.
Bird spends time looking especially at doctrines that are being shaped and debated currently in our Evangelical world, and does so with his typical humor and relevance.
As he discusses the differing views on the atonement he summarizes the Christus Victor position with a line from Getty and Townend. "Perhaps the best way to summarize the Christus Victor view is with a line from the wonderful modern hymn "In Christ Alone" by Stuart Townshend and Keith Getty: 'And as he stands in victory, Sin's curse has lost its grip on me.'" That is simple enough, even for me!
When speaking of penal substitutionary atonement and our quickness to bypass the Gospels for Paul's writings, he says:
"Routinely students run to Paul's letters or to Hebrews in search of proof texts for penal substitution. They completely bypass the Gospels like tourists from Florida detouring around Philadelphia on their way to New York. How much I enjoy the surprise when students learn that the gospel of the cross actually begins with the gospel according to the Evangelists. Even more gobsmacking is when they learn that you actually can preach the gospel from the Gospels! Who would have imagined!"
When speaking about the atonement being about both penal substitution and Christus Victor Bird writes,
"I do not wish to disparage Jesus' death as an atoning, vicarious, substitutionary, and penal sacrifice for sin. May I be anathematized -- or even worse, may I be tied to a chair, have my eyelids taped open, and be forced to watch Rob Bell Nooma clips -- should I ever downplay the cruciality of Jesus' sacrifice for sinners. However, I am convinced that Jesus' death for sinners on the cross is part of a bigger picture that is laid out in redemptive history, visible in the very shape of our canon, apparent in biblical theology, ubiquitous in historical theology, and explicit in Pauline theology. The doctrines of penal substitution and Christus Victor do not compete against each other, for the former is clearly the grounds for the latter. What binds together new exodus, new creation, Jesus' ministry, the cross, and the mission of God's people in the world is the victory of God in the substitutionary death of Jesus."
I cannot express how many "aha" moments I enjoyed in this book. Bird allowed me to understand how a Lutheran could legitimately hold to consubstantiation in his discussion of the communication of divine attributes.(I still do not hold to the view, but it is real nice knowing that my Lutheran brothers and sisters did not just pull the idea out of nowhere!)
Bird also allowed me to gain some insight on Karl Barth. To this point I had not progressed much in my understanding of Barth other than "Barth=bad". Bird spends some time addressing Barth; his theology, his legacy, his infamy, how to pronounce his name...and left me with a more sympathetic view of the man and a curiosity to learn more about his thought and life.
Bird's leaning towards Biblical Theology shows up in section 5.2, Redemptive History: The Plan for the Gospel. If you want a beautiful text on the Gospel from cover to cover of Scripture, a section to study and enjoy, this is for you. I will personally be returning there over and over because to see the Gospel throughout all of Scripture is a wonderful thing.
His section on ecclesiology was especially interesting. Bird discusses the eclectic and often-anemic nature of Evangelical ecclesiology.
"Evangelical ecclesiology has always been a bit of a conundrum. That is because there is no standard 'evangelical ecclesiology,' nor can there be in the strict sense. You can have an Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, or Presbyterian ecclesiology. Such ecclesiologies prescribe the confession, order, structure, discipline, governance, worship, sacraments, and ministries of these respective denominations. But there is no prescriptive evangelical equivalent because evangelicalism is a theological ethos, not a denominational entity. While evangelicals might agree on certain ecclesiological principles, like Jesus Christ is the head of the church and the church is the body of Christ, the general agreements largely break down when it comes to the specific ordering and structures of the church. Yet this has not always been a negative thing. Precisely because evangelicalism has no prescriptive ecclesiology, it can accommodate itself to virtually any form of church order. Evangelicals have implied an ecclesiology more than worked one out."
Bird maintains that Evangelicals have an ecclesiology, but the emphasis on it is well short of where it should be.
"(S)omething seems to be lacking in evangelical ecclesiology. I do not see anywhere near the same excitement, emotion, resolve, and passion for debates about ecclesiology as, for example, soteriology. I doubt that many American Presbyterians get riled over Tom Wright's ecclesiology as they do over his soteriology. "
Bird sees a few culprits, all valid, but I intensely agree with him on the culpability of hyperindividualism as a reason for Evangelicals poor and self-centered ecclesiology.
"For some folks the gospel is an iGod app that enables a person to get a wifi connection with heaven (where the one mediator between God and Man is Apple Inc.). To use another metaphor, the church is reduced to the weekly meeting of Jesus' Facebook friends. The locus of Christianity becomes God and me rather than God and us. One could contrast two slogans: 'I believe, therefore I am saved' with "We believe, therefore we are God's people." Evangelicals tend to prefer the former rather than the latter as the default setting for their ecclesiology."
Bird's discussion on "The shape of the church" edifying and challenging. Bird shows the church to be a community that is eschatological, Trinitarian, diacanol, holistic, and fellowshipping. The importance of these truths is spelled out nicely by Bird and I echo his sentiments on their importance.
The "What to take home" sections are immensely helpful and flashcard worthy. Bird does well in summarizing large chunks of information and leaving the reader with a page to take away from each chapter.
Bird takes positions I am not comfortable with, he quotes people I am not comfortable with, he approaches things in a way that sometimes leave me scratching my head...and this is why I love this book. He challenges me. He attacks, like a surgeon attacking a tumor, my small-town, American, evangelical, YRR, Puritans+Piper=perfect mentality on things. He does not do so maliciously or self-righteously. He does so in a manner that makes me want to grab hands with people I differ with on secondary issues and live out our common faith together, as brothers and sisters bonded together in Christ.
This book was challenging and encouraging and just a fun read. I recommend this to anyone with a love of the Gospel and an interest in Theology. I encourage you to read and re-read...as I will be doing.
I couldn't figure out how to work this quote in to the review, but I loved it and just thought I would tag it on the end. Bird writes beautifully and God used him to lead me in worship throughout this book.
"The gospel declares the victory of the Lord Jesus over death by deposing death of its power (i.e., evil) through the cross and by robbing death of its prize (i.e., human lives) through the resurrection. As a famous Greek hymn says: "Christ has risen, trampling down death by death, and giving life to those in the grave." Death, armed with evil and law, was no match for the Prince of Life. The gospel is not simply about how God deals with the individual's personal sins, a transaction of sin and righteous ness to clean the slate; yes, that is true, but the gospel declares so much more, namely, God's victory over the personal and impersonal forces of evil: the world, the flesh, and Satan. The gospel is an invitation to live in fellowship with Christ rather than to suffer under the tyranny of evil. The gospel means emancipation from the slavery of evil to the freedom of a new and authentic humanity. The gospel of Christ blesses us with the news that a world ravaged with evil is not how it ought to be, nor how it can be, nor how it will be. The gospel whispers to us that Jesus means freedom."
**I received a review copy of this book to provide an honest review. I purchased my own copy when it came out because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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42 of 50 people found the following review helpful.
Valiant attempt but falls just short
By theologicalresearcher
From the get-go, I must say that Michael F. Bird is a scholar who knows what he is talking about. Although I don't agree with some of the things he says, he is a very knowledgeable NT scholar who has done his homework. If one looks at his CV on his website, one will immediately notice that he has done a lot of research and written many materials on related to biblical studies and theology.
One of the interesting aspects of this work is that it is a SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY written by a New Testament scholar. This is quite out of the ordinary. Most authors of evangelical systematic theologies (Millard Erickson, Wayne Grudem, Robert Reymond, Robert Culver, Louis Berkhof, Norm Geisler, Mike Horton, Charles Ryrie, Norman Gulley, Herman Bavinck, Morton Smith, John Frame, Thomas Oden, Lewis and Demarest, etc.) are ALL theologians or dogmaticians. Michael F. Bird is not. This makes you wonder if the approach taken in this work will be strictly a standard systematic theology OR a biblical theology written using systematic categories. Fortunately, it is a systematic theology written by a biblical scholar.
First, the positive parts. The work is nicely organized and laid out. Bird also writes in a style that tries to be easy on lay people or seminary students. He doesn't write in a way that makes you think he is trying to be arrogant or typing away only for PhD-holding scholars. In fact, the language used in the work is quite "lay-friendly." Also, there are many helpful ways that Bird describes a particular doctrine so that the average Christian can understand. For example, his way of explaining the Trinity is well-done (pp. 92-124). Also, his darker shade commentaries on a particular doctrine are very helpful and interesting to read. Finally, his rigorous use of Scripture is refreshing. He doesn't just prooftext a passage and leave it there (like many systematic theologies). He actually digs into a particular passage and states why the passage supports a particular view. This is one of the positives of a biblical scholar writing a theology book. Overall, nothing in his work steps outside the boundaries of evangelical orthodoxy.
However, there are some concerns with this work. First, he attempts to center his theological work around one concept: the evangel. Although the gospel is the cornerstone to Christianity it is unwise to write a systematic theology using a single biblical concept. Theology is more vibrant, comprehensive, and fully-orbed. Christian theology cannot be simplified around one concept, whether it is the glory of God, the kingdom, justification, covenant, etc. Theology is an enterprise that takes in all strands of what the Bible has to teach human beings and the church.
Also, many traditional Reformed/Calvinistic believers will readily find Bird's perspective on soteriology troubling. For example, he disagrees with the traditional Reformation view of Christ's imputation and opts for something called incorporation in Christ (p. 563). Therefore, believers become righteous in Christ when they "participate in the vicarious death and resurrection of Jesus Christ" (p. 564). However, what Bird fails to notice is that the classic Reformed tradition NEVER divided Christ's imputed righteousness with the believer's union with Christ. Continuing on, Bird is also sympathetic to the New Perspective (although not agreeing totally) and argues that justification (though fundamentally forensic) is much more than a legal declaration by God based on what Christ has done in his obedience and sacrifice. He opts for a more Trinitarian view of justification that takes into account various strands of biblical teaching.
Overall, despite some shortcomings, I would recommend this book for laypeople and teachers alike. All the other sections do not deviate from classic Christianity but one would wish that Bird would come up with more firm convictions sometimes on a particular doctrine (for example, he tries to walk both the paedobaptist and credobaptist lines).
25 of 30 people found the following review helpful.
On the Prolegomena: Strong on the Gospel, Suspect on Its Sources
By Amazon Customer
Michael Bird is lecturer in theology at Ridley Melbourne College of Mission and Ministry in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of numerous books on topics ranging from the person of Christ to a commentary on Colossians---of which I gave high praise a few years ago. He also blogs at Euangellion.
Technically, Bird is a New Testament scholar. And yet, like another biblical scholar-turned-systematic theologian (Wayne Grudem), Bird is presenting the church with gospel-driven theology that stands on his careful exegesis. Yet, his book is not so much a desire to give an exegetical theology as much as he has written his book to provide an evangelical theology. You can see him speak to the need for a truly "evangelical" theology in his youtube introduction: [youtube=[...]
As a part of Zondervan's blog tour, I've been commissioned to review the introductory section of ET, what is known as the prolegomena ("first words"). Fulfilling that commission, let me outline my review under three headings: (1) a summary of the section, (2) the strength of Bird's gospel-centrality, (3) the stumbling block of his sources.
A Summary
After making an apologia for the evangelical nature of this theology textbook (see pp. 16-26 and the video above), Michael Bird gives the reader about sixty pages of prolegomena, introductory thoughts about how one should do theology and "talk about God." He answers the usual questions: "What is theology?" "What must you say before you say anything?" "Is theology possible?" And "What are the sources for theology?" To these questions, Bird engages with a number of historical figures whom he uses as foils for his proposed methodology.
Bird also asks the important and often overlooked question of "What is the Gospel?" In just a few pages, he gives the reader a very clear definition, and sets the stage for how he will press the gospel into every corner of his systematic theology. From the start, 'gospelizing' is Bird's stated intention. And from the table of contents, it looks promising that the whole book will be marked by the conspicuous question: What does this doctrine have to do with the Gospel? And how does the Gospel inform this doctrine?
THE STRENGTH OF ET IS THE GOSPEL
The strength of ET stems from this commitment to the Gospel. As Bird laments in his video, there is not another systematic theology that explicitly makes 'the gospel' its organizing principle. Other theologians explain what the gospel is, but few (if any) are so gospel-centric.
This of course makes his book entirely dependent on how well Bird understands and explicates the Gospel. Fortunately, his definition is very good.
This summer I spent ten weeks preaching on the contours of the biblical gospel and by consequence, I read a number of works on the subject. Anyone who has paid attention to the discussions of gospel-centrality in the last decade knows that their has been a great deal of discussion about what the gospel is and what it isn't. While the term is easily proffered, it is more difficult to define.
All that to say, when Christians talk about the simple gospel, it is not often very simple.
With that in mind, Michael Bird's short summary provides as clear a statement of the Gospel as anything I have read. While he doesn't say everything that can be said (and who can?), what he says is very helpful. In six, succinct statements, he gives the reader a clear understanding of the Gospel (47-54). That Bird gets the gospel right is vital for his book because the rest of his theology depends on his understanding of the evangel. As he says in the introduction (21),
I submit that an authentic evangelical theology should be a working out of the gospel in the various loci of Christian theology . . . I will defend the view that at its essence theology is the art of gospelizing [I like that word!], that is, making the gospel shape our thinking, praying, preaching, teaching, and ministering in relation to God.
Bottom line: Michael Bird's commitment to the gospel is the overarching strength of his systematic theology. He is unashamed of the gospel and from his opening statement, he calls his readers to understand the gospel and how it informs every facet of doctrine and life. In a world that wants to hedge of the centrality of Christ and his gospel, Bird's commitment to the gospel is good news for theologians and the church.
THE STUMBLING BLOCK OF ET IS ITS INTERACTION WITH SOURCES
No doubt, anyone who takes up ET as their first textbook on theology will be rewarded with an engaging book that blends biblical theology, basic doctrine, and current applications of the gospel. That said, Bird has culled his sources in some ways that leave this reader confused and concerned.
Space prevents me from listing every concern that I have in this review, but I can list four outstanding difficulties that I have with Bird's prolegomena. (I have substantiated my concerns on my blog: viaemmaus.wordpress.com)
First, Bird's treatment of the Reformation overplays the impact that the Reformers had on Modern thought. In one place, Bird cites the Reformers and their move away from church authority as a cause for Modern thought (34).In another place, he commends them for re-invigorating the church with gospel life (41). Well, which is it? Surely, the Reformers rejuvenated the church with the gospel, and their protest against Rome may have had the unintended consequence of breaking down the ecclesial power structures that led to the Enlightenment. But Bird's description of the matter lacks clarity and may confuse some readers.
Second, Bird's critique of Charles Hodge is misleading. Following in the footsteps of authors like Stanley Grenz and John Franke, Bird calls Hodge a modernist and critiques him for his 'storehouse of facts' approach to the Bible. While Hodge's methodology has weaknesses, his 'biblical foundationalism' is categorically different than that of Rene Descartes anti-supernatural, self-referential foundationalism. And so to label him as a modernist without making any distinction misrepresents Hodge and depreciates his contribution to Christian theology.
Third, Bird juxtaposes his theological method against 'naive biblicism.' To make space for his own methodology, Bird critiques Wayne Grudem and others for simply collecting and organizing Bible verses without giving proper attention to the framework of the Bible. This is kind of proof-texting is a problem. But it is also a problem that Bird can cite Stanley Grenz with approval without critiquing him for Grenz's coherentist approach to theology, one that puts Scripture on equal footing with tradition and culture. If Bible-believing evangelicals are going to critique biblical naivete, we should also critique those who demote Scripture and make it something less than first order. That Bird critiques Grudem without addressing Grenz is troubling.
Last, Bird's sources for theology are too eclectic for my ecclesial tastes. To say it another way, Bird as an ex-Baptist, post-Presbyterian Anglican is too favorable (in my view) of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. His own approach differs from the WQ, but he weights tradition and experience more heavily than I would. Admittedly, this is an objection that probably arises from our different ecclesial commitments. Nonetheless, for those looking for a theology book championing the Scriptures as first order, they are going to take issue with Bird's insistence that experience has a reciporical role in formulating doctrine.
A FINAL WORD
In the end, Michael Bird's shares his theological commitments in the first section of ET in a way that champions the good news of the gospel. While I have mentioned a number of concerns that I have with his method and his use of sources, I am very interested to see how he will articulate each systematic loci in relationship to the gospel.
Bird is off to a good start with a well-defined gospel that should anchor him to the faith once for all delivered to the saints. As I teach systematic theology next semester, I will consult his chapters both to see how he expounds the gospel and to see how his own quadrilateral (Scripture, tradition, nature, and experience) works itself out.
If you have read Bird's first section, tell me what you think. Did you have the same appreciations and/or concerns I did? As I have talked with at least one person who has poked around in the section, I imagine some of the differences of opinion will depend on the readers background (i.e., whether trained in biblical studies, church history, or systematics). So, what do you think? I'd love to hear.
Soli Deo Gloria, dss
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