The Insanity Of Systematic Theology: A Review Of Michael Bird’s "Evangelical Theology" -- By: Marc Cortez

Journal: Southeastern Theological Review
Volume: STR 06:2 (Winter 2015)
Article: The Insanity Of Systematic Theology: A Review Of Michael Bird’s "Evangelical Theology"
Author: Marc Cortez


The Insanity Of Systematic Theology:
A Review Of Michael Bird’s
Evangelical Theology

Marc Cortez

Wheaton College

Introduction

A student once asked if I would ever write my own one-volume systematic theology. Unfortunately I was eating, so I nearly killed myself when the shock of such an absurd proposal caused me to inhale a barely chewed chunk of burrito. There is just too much to say, too many complex issues to grasp, too many debates to resolve. Even if you manage to address everything you want, your book must still face an array of theological experts, each frustrated that you didn’t say more or present with more nuance the issues on which they are most concerned. Give me the thirteen volumes of Barth’s Church Dogmatics, the entirety of Augustine’s theological corpus, or even the paltry 2–3 volumes allocated to many modern theologians. But one? What sane person would accept such a challenge?

I can’t comment on Michael Bird’s sanity, though I’d be willing to offer a few speculations after the session. But I can say that, unlike me, he was willing to take up the challenge, and has created a unique resource: a systematic theology that demonstrates an exemplary commitment to clear and engaging communication, while also striving to ground itself in the gospel, biblical theology, and the real needs of everyday Christians. For that we should all be grateful.

I could comment at length on the many things that Bird’s Evangelical Theology does well.1 Following the long-standing tradition of focusing a review on more constructive and critical observations, however, I will guide my reflections in that direction. To that end, we will consider two major issues. First, we will look at Bird’s claim

to have offered a systematic theology that is more thoroughly determined by the gospel than earlier evangelical efforts. Second, we will assess the content of ET by looking specifically at his doctrine of humanity as a case study for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the volume as a whole.

Part 1: Thoroughly Determined By The Gospel

Bird clearly states at the beginning that one of the primary motivations for producing this book is the lack of “a genuinely evangelical theology textbook…that has its content, structure, and substance singularly determined by the evangel,”2 thus identifying several desiderata for a truly gospel-centered theology. Since I am unclear on this distinction between “content” and “substance,” I will treat those two as sy...

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