Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: Why We Need Our Past to Have a Future
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Evangelicalism is not commonly known for mining the rich theological heritage handed down from previous generations. Instead, it tends to follow what, in the worst cases, can look like a “me and my Bible” approach to theology. But lately there has been a restlessness among evangelicals—an aching for theological rootedness that has led some to abandon Protestantism altogether. This book aims to set forth a vision for how engaging historical theology can enrich and strengthen the church today—and highlight how it can be done without abandoning a Protestant identity. By addressing two key doctrines—the doctrines of God and the atonement—and drawing from neglected theologians—Boethius, Gregory the Great, and John of Damascus—this book charts a course for evangelicals eager to draw from the past to meet the challenges of the present.
- Provides a vision for engaging with historical theology
- Focuses on the doctrines of God and the atonement
- Proposes a course for evangelicals to draw from the past to meet the challenges of the present
Part I: A Manifesto for Theological Retrieval
- Can Evangelicals Retrieve Patristic and Medieval Theology?
- Why Evangelicals Need Theological Retrieval
- Benefits and Perils of Theological Retrieval
Part II: Case Studies in Theological Retrieval
- Explorations in a Theological Metaphor: Boethius, Calvin, and Torrance on the Creator/Creation Distinction
- God Is Not a Thing: Divine Simplicity in Patristic and Medieval Perspective
- Substitution as Both Satisfaction and Recapitulation: Atonement Themes in Convergence in Irenaeus, Anselm, and Athanasius
- Cultivating Skill in the “Art of Arts”: Pastoral Balance in Gregory the Great’s The Book of Pastoral Rule
Top Highlights
“In the first place, we must be wary of the danger of distortion, in which we move too quickly to the present issue without sufficiently ‘doing our homework,’ such that the historical resource being retrieved is somewhat caricatured or misconstrued. To the extent that our retrieval of the past is motivated to confirm a present opinion or advance a polemical purpose, we may be especially in the way of this danger.” (Page 73)
“A second danger is artificiality, in which past resources are pressed into the service of present needs in a way that is forced or inauthentic.” (Page 73)
“But affirming Protestant distinctives is not the same as using them as a filter, and a principial sola Scriptura can easily slide into a practical sola reformatione. Approaching the early church indirectly, through the intermediate link of Reformation theology, poses the danger of failing to appreciate patristic and medieval theology on its own terms and in its own context and thus of hindering our ability to learn from it.” (Page 30)
“To construct a metaphor, Protestant theology is the castle in which we safely live: patristic and medieval theology is a dark forest surrounding the castle into which we may occasionally venture.” (Page 30)
“First, patristic and medieval theology can help bulk up contemporary Protestant theology in areas where it is historically weak and/or underdeveloped.” (Page 69)
In an age of head-spinning change, Gavin Ortlund rightly calls evangelicals to stand their ground and recover the theological ground already plowed by earlier generations. When the very foundations are being shaken, it is vital that churches recover their center of gravity by retrieving the past—what Bernard Ramm once called ‘the evangelical heritage.’ Evangelicals are not the first generation to have received the gospel. Accordingly, Ortlund here issues a manifesto about the importance of retrieving theological tradition. He then practices what he preaches in a series of astute case studies that mine the past to fund the present.
—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; author, The Drama of Doctrine; Hearers and Doers; Biblical Authority after Babel; and Faith Speaking Understanding
Anyone convinced that evangelical and ancient are opposites should read this book. Gavin Ortlund provides a compelling case for retrieving patristic and medieval theology. Mining the premodern tradition, Ortlund reminds us of neglected and forgotten insights on the creator-creature distinction, divine simplicity, and atonement theology. An excellent contribution to Protestant retrieval theology!
—Hans Boersma, Chair, Order of St. Benedict Servants of Christ Endowed Professorship in Ascetical Theology, Nashotah House Theological Seminary
Ortlund argues compellingly that evangelicals can and should claim the classic theological heritage as their own. And then he actually does it, opening up the treasury of the great Christian tradition and dispensing theological wisdom with both hands. To look into this book is to look through a doorway into a world where there is such a thing as evangelical theology that is richly resourced, deeply informed, and ready for action.
—Fred Sanders, Professor of Theology, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University; author, The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything
- Title: Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: Why We Need Our Past to Have a Future
- Author: Gavin Ortlund
- Publisher: Crossway
- Publication Date: 2019
- Pages: 224
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Historical Theology
Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) serves as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Ojai in Ojai, California. He is the author of Anselm’s Pursuit of Joy and Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation.