Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Kelly's Systematic Theology: Volume 1 Now Available

Douglas Kelly's 640-page first volume of his three-volume Systematic Theology is now available: Systematic Theology, Volume 1: Grounded in Holy Scripture and Understood in Light of the Church.

Professor Kelly writes:
I have written this first volume, thinking of my heritage as both Reformed and Catholic; gladly appropriating crucial insights of the whole people of God over the last two thousand years - Eastern Orthodox, Western Catholic, and Reformation Protestant - as they sought to live out the foundational truths of the inspired Word of God.
Here are some endorsements:
"If this first installment is any indication, Douglas Kelly’s three-volume Systematic Theology is sure to set a new standard. Harvesting decades of steady scholarship and equally steady engagement in all facets of the church’s life and ministry, Kelly displays the richness of the Christian faith, particularly in its Reformed expression. Christians of all traditions will benefit greatly from the catholic breadth, appropriate but not bewildering depth, and exegetical insight of this remarkable work."

Michael Horton
J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics
Westminster Seminary in California, Escondido, California

"Douglas F. Kelly is one of the English-speaking world’s leading Reformed theologians. A brilliant Patristics scholar and a gifted linguist, with a grace-wrought passion for the Triune God, a love for truth, and a commitment to godliness, Dr. Kelly is a hearty advocate for supernaturalism in its fullest Christian sense (and you will not read far before you see his polemic against rationalism in every form). I know of no one who is better at making the unseen world of spirituality reality vivid and tangible. Here we begin to enjoy the fruits of his labors of more than three decades as a doctor of the church and servant of the Word in the teaching of systematic theology. What a feast it is. Few Protestant theologians in our day know the terrain of the doctrine of the Trinity, and the Person of Christ, as well as Professor Kelly. Consequently, he is at his best when opening up to us the unrealized importance and glory of these foundational truths about our Savior God. For those who yearn for an orthodox Reformed catholicity, Kelly shows the way forward."

Ligon Duncan
Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi
President, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
Adjunct Professor, Reformed Theological Seminary

"Professor Douglas Kelly’s eagerly awaited Systematic Theology exceeds all expectation. With the same exacting diligence and attention to detail that have always characterised his work, Doug Kelly presents a theology that is at once grounded in Scripture and appreciated within the church. His contention is that these are the hallmarks of all true theological reflection, and this volume fulfi ls its intention to distill the teaching of the Bible for the benefit of the believing community. Professor Kelly weaves together a rich tapestry of biblical exegesis, historical reflection, critical engagement and contemporary application; while standing in mainstream Reformed theology, he is not afraid to engage other traditions.
This first volume is a comprehensive introduction to discussion of God’s self-disclosure, Triune being, transcendent majesty, and covenant relationships. It is a magnificent gift both to the Church and the Academy."

Iain D. Campbell
Back Free Church of Scotland, Isle of Lewis
Here are the chapter titles for the first volume:
  1. Knowledge of God: God Reveals Himself
  2. Knowledge of the Triune God through Creation and Conscience
  3. Western Rejection of God’s Testimony to Himself in Creation and Conscience (The Continuing Heritage of the Enlightenment)
  4. The God Who Is: the Holy Trinity as One Lord
  5. What Kind of Lord He Is: His Transcendence, Beauty and Majesty Mean that His Sovereign Control is ‘Good News’
  6. The Triune God Makes Himself Known in the Covenant of Grace
  7. The One Lord exists as three persons
  8. The Christian Church Thinks Through how God is One Being and Three Persons
  9. The Full Co-equality of the Trinitarian Persons: No Subordinationism
The full table of contents--with numerous appendices--and the author's preface can be read online.