Digital Commons @ George Fox University Western Evangelical Seminary Theses Western Evangelical Seminary 3-1975 A Study of Christian (Systematic) Theology Books Used as Texts in A. T. S. Schools Richard Alvin Johnson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/wes_theses Part of the Christianity Commons A STUDY OF CHRISTIAN (SYSTEMATIC) THEOLOGY BOOKS USED AS TEXTS IN A. T. S. SCHOOLS A Graduate Research Project Presented to the Faculty of Western Evangelical Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Religion by Richard Alvin Johnson March 1975 APPROVED BY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to many people for their assistance in making this research study a reality. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following. My wife, Sheryl Joy, an extraordinarily practical theolo­ gian, for her unfailing encouragement, faithful typing of the entire manuscript, scholarly assistance, and late hour humor. My son, Scott Richard, who loved his parents, even during the extreme periods of frustration encountered in the process cif pioducing the paper~ Dr. Norman N. Bonner, my major professor, for his intellect­ ual advise and criticism, wise counsel, and faithful encourage­ ment throughout the study. Dr. Arthur M. Climenhaga, f?r his professional and academic assistance and personal interest in the study. Dr. Philip S. Clapp, for his time and advice given as cooperative reader. The librarians of Western Evangelical Seminary, especially Mrs. Lona Climenhaga and Miss Leta Hockett, for their efficient assistance in acquiring library materials. All the professors of systematic theology from the A. T. S. schools that responded to the questionnaire. The Reedwood Friends Church, Portland, Oregon, for their support and cooperation with my time schedule. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM . 1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY . 2 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY 2 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY . 2 DEFINITION OF TERMS 3 Textbook . 3 Systematic Theology 3 Dogmatic Theology 4 Theological Perspective or Orientation . 4 Baptistic 5 Evangelical 5 Existentialism 5 Liberalism . 6 Nee-liberalism . 6 Neo-ortho·doxy 7 METHODS OF PROCEDURE . 7 STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION 9 2. PRESENTATION OF DATA . 10 ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 10 ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 11 AUSTIN PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 13 iv v Chapter Page BANGOR THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 17 BERKELEY DIVINITY SCHOOL 17 BRITE DIVINITY SCHOOL 18 CALVIN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 19 CANDLER SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY . 24 CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL UNION 26 CENTRAL BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 26 CHICAGO THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 26 CLAREMONT SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY 27 COLGATE ROCHESTER/ BEXLEY HALL/ CROZER 27 COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 29 CONCORDIA SEMINARY . 30 CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 31 CONSERVATIVE BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 33 EASTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 35 EMMANUEL COLLEGE . 36 EPISCOPAL THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL 37 EPISCOPAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE SOUTHWEST 38 EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 38 GARRETT-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 41 FULLER THEOLOGI~AL SEMINARY 42 GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 43 GETTYSBURG LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 45 GOLDEN GATE BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 46 GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 46 HARTFORD SEMINARY FOUNDATION . 48 vi Cha~ter Page HOWARD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF RELIGION . 48 INTERDENOMINATIONAL THEOLOGICAL CENTER . 49 LEXINGTON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 49 LUTHER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 50 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SOUTHERN SEMINARY . 51 MARY IMMACULATE SEMINARY . 52 MARYKNOLL SEMINARY . 53 FACULTY OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES OF McGILL UNIVERSITY 53 MOUNT SAINT MARY'S SEMINARY OF THE WEST 54 NASHOTAH HOUSE . 56 NAZARENE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 56 NEW BRUNSWICK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 57 NEW ORLEANS BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SE~INARY . 57 McMASTER DIVINITY COLLEGE 59 MEMPHIS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 60 MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 61 MORAVIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 62 NORTH AMERICAN BAPTIST SEMINARY 63 NORTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 65 -NORTH PARK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 66 NORTHWESTERN LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 68 PACIFIC LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 69 PACIFIC SCHOOL OF RELIGION 70 PERKINS SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY 71 PHILADELPHIA LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 72 vii Chapter Page PHILLIPS UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SEMINARY 75 PRESBYTERIAN SCHOOL OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 75 REGIS COLLEGE 76 SAINT BERNARD'S SEMINARY . ' . 77 SAINT JOHN'S SEMINARY 77 SAINT MARY OF THE LAKE SEMINARY 78 SAINT MARY'S SEMINARY 79 SAINT PAUL SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY 80 SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 81 SOUTHEASTERr BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY -82 SOUTHEkN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 82 SOUTHWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 84 TRINITY EVANGELICAL DIVINITY SCHOOL 85 UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 86 UNITED THEOLOGICAL .SEMINARY 87 UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO DIVINITY SCHOOL 89 UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . 90 UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MICHAEL'S COLLEGE FACULTY OF THEOLOGY 91 VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY DIVINITY SCHOOL 91 VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY 92 WASHINGTON THEOLOGICAL COALITION 92 WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 93 WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 94 viii Chapter Page WESTON COLLEGE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY 95 YALE UNIVERSITY DIVINITY SCHOOL 96 3. TABULATION OF THEOLOGICAL BOOKS 97 4. EVALUATION OF SELECTED SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY BOOKS . 125 GUSTAF AULEN 126 KARL BARTH . 128 LOUIS BERKHOF 132 GERRIT C. BERKHOUWER 134 EMIL BRUNNER 135 JAMES OLIVER BUSWELL, JR. 137 JOHN CALVIN 140 C. W. CHRISTIAN 142 L. HOWARD DEWOLF . 143 T. C. HAMMOND 145 GORDON KAUFMAN 146 GORDON R. LEWIS 149 JOHN MACQUARRIE . 150 WILLIAM NICHOLLS 152 FRANCIS PIEPER . 154 WILLIAM G. T. SHEDD 156 AUGUSTUS HOPKINS STRONG 157 PAUL TILLICH . 159 H. ORTON WILEY 161 5. SU~MARY AND CONCLUSIONS 164 SUMMARY . .. 164 ix Chapter Page CONCLUSIONS 165 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 168 APPENDICES . 170 SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE 170 B. INTRODUCTORY LETTERS ACCOMPANYING QUESTIONNAIRE 175 C. LIST OF A. T. S. SCHOOLS THAT RESPONDED TO FIRST SURVEY . 178 D. LIST OF A. T. S. SCHOOLS THAT RESPONDED TO SECOND SURVEY 184 E. LIST OF A. T. S. SCHOOLS THAT RESPONDED TO SURVEY WHOSE REPLIES WERE UNUSABLE . 187 F. LIST OF A. T. S. SCHOOLS THAT DID NOT RESPOND TO QUESTIONNAIRE . 189 G. SELECTED LETTERS OF PROFESSORS OF THEOLOGY· ACCOMPANYING THEIR SURVEY RETURN . 194 H. CHRISTIAN (SYSTEMATIC) THEOLOGY BOOK EVALUATION FORM· 206 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 209 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Fueled by a million man-made wings of fire the rocket tore a tunnel through the sky and everybody cheered. Fueled only by a thought from God the seedling urged its way through the thicknesses of black and as it pierced the heavy ceiling of the soil and launched itself up into outer space no one even clapped.l In an era today of rapid growth in knowledge, the average contemporary man has forgotten the Creator, applauding only the creations of his own mind. It has been and is the task of theologians, whether pastors or professors,. to keep alive the option of belief in the reality of God--to remind man to clap. In the theologian's field of knowledge, as in all arenas of thought, literary works have exploded, bombed, and even splintered in a mind-expanding wilderness of information. Access to this knowledge and its availability to theologians was the impetus for the following study. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM There was an apparent. lack of information concerning the availability and usability of Christian (systematic) 1 . Marc1e Hans, "Fueled," in Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle. and Other Modern Verse, Ed. Stephen Dunning (New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co., 1967), p. 83. 2 theology books used by professors of theology. Therefore, there was a need to obtain and compile information relating to such availability and usability. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of the study was to: (1) ascert"ain what Christian (systematic) theology books were available to professors ·of theology in A. T. S. schools, (2) evaluate the content and discern the theological perspective of selected available books, and (3) determine the usability of the above books in Christian theology courses. ~~STIFICATION OF THE STUDY A study of the proposed nature was to make available to professors of theology in evangelical schools a resource work containing: (1) a bibliog~aphy of available books in the discipline of systematics~ and (2) an individual evalua­ tion of each selected book concerning its content, theological position, and usability in the evangelical classroom. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY Because this study was of pertinence particularly to. professors of theology and because of the immense prolifera­ tion of graduate level Christian institutions, this study was restricted to: (1) professors of theology in accredited A. T. S. schools, (2) theology books used as texts by those professors in their courses, and (3) evaluations of selected 3 works in terms of their usefulness. Selected works were chosen on the basis of th~ii total content in relation to the entire spectrum of systematics and the frequency of their use by professors of theology. DEFINITION OF TERMS The Association of Theological Schools was abbreviated to A. T. S. Textbook This is a book, in the narrow sense of the term, used as the primary source of written information in a given class. Even though the book may not have been written for classroom use, a book is entitled a text if an instructor designates the book :or classroom study. In a.broader connotation, it is a book set aside for study, whet~er reference