Systematic Theology, vol. 1
Overview
Theology belongs in the pulpit, the school, the workplace, the family, and everywhere. Society as a whole is weakened when theology is neglected. Systematic theology helps people approach the Bible with a clear and coherent picture of God’s revelation. Theology helps us discover the nature and person of God. Rushdoony’s Systematic Theology is designed to assist in the application of the Word of God to every area of life and thought.
In the first volume, Rushdoony writes on creation and providence, the doctrine of God, the doctrine of Christ, and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. This volume also includes a defense of systematic theology, including its definition, its limits, its application, and its necessity. He also explores the covenant, the theological nature of sin, and the atonement.
- Penetrating studies of the doctrine of God, the covenant, the atonement, eschatology, and other doctrines
- Written with practical application in mind
- All Scripture references directly linked to original language texts and English Bible translations.
Top Highlights
“Thus, an infallible word must come from a self-conscious source, from one who speaks in full knowledge of himself and his abilities. But this is not enough: an authoritative and infallible word requires not only total self-consciousness but also total power—omnipotence—in order to speak the word and then bring it to pass.” (Page 5)
“Any apologetic or systematic theology thus which seeks to ‘prove’ God is denying Him. God is not a fact among facts, who, through careful scientific or philosophical inquiry can be discovered or proven. Rather, He is the Creator of all facts, and every fact witnesses to His purpose and order.” (Page 171)
“The doctrine of predestination is, of course, the doctrine of total planning and control. To hold to the eternal decree of God is to say simply that God from the beginning planned, predicted, and totally controls everything that comes to pass. The modern state, as the new god, seeks total control over man in order to speak an infallible word, in order to experiment with man and control him from cradle to grave.” (Page 6)
“Whenever people feel that God has no word for them, fear and terror begin to dominate society, and evil roams the streets unafraid. If there is no immediate word from God, the immediate word of evil dominates men’s lives.” (Page 2)
“The systematics of neoplatonism works to break the dialectic tension between mind and body and to establish their implicit dualism. Because of this, the seminary works to create, with each generation, a more and more irrelevant type of religion, with neoplatonic eschatologies of retreat and withdrawal.” (Page 100)
- Title: Systematic Theology, vol. 1
- Author: Rousas J. Rushdoony
- Publisher: Ross House Books
- Publication Date: 1994
Rousas John Rushdoony (1916–2001) was was a well-known American scholar, writer, and author of over thirty books. He earned degrees from the University of California, received theological training at the Pacific School of Religion, and received an honorary Doctorate from Valley Christian University for his book The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum.
Rushdoony was an ordained minister and served as pastor at two California churches. He served for almost nine years as a missionary to the Shoshone and Paiute Indians in a remote area of Nevada. It was during this time as a missionary that Rushdoony began writing. The Institutes of Biblical Law and Commentary on the Pentateuch are just a few of the titles that Rushdoony has penned.
The Chalcedon Foundation, an educational organization devoted to research, publishing, and cogent communication of a distinctively Christian scholarship to the world at large, was founded by Rushdoony in 1965. He served as the editor of The Chalcedon Report, the monthly magazine of the Chalcedon Foundation.
Rushdoony also published the Journal of Christian Reconstruction and was an early board member of the Rutherford Institute which was founded by John W. Whitehead.
