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Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth About God
A visual introduction to systematic theology. We live in a visual culture, increasingly relying upon infographics and other visuals to help us understand new and difficult concepts. But the visual portrayal of truth is not a novel idea. God himself communicated his truth visually though the tabernacle, the sacraments, and even the cross. In Visual Theology , Tim Challies and Josh Byers use a combination of words and illustrations to convey the concepts and principles of systematic theology in a fresh, beautiful, and informative way. They have made the deepest truths of the Bible accessible in a way that can be seen and understood by a visual generation, focusing on four foundational disciplines: This unique resource is an inviting and artful way to learn theology, comprehend difficult Bible concepts, and grow in your faith.
160 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2016
74 people are currently reading
1045 people want to read
About the author
Tim Challies
62 books1,570 followersTim Challies is a leading evangelical blogger. A self-employed web designer, Tim lives in the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
February 26, 2018
This book is kind of like a mini-systematic theology of healthy Christian growth that uses colorful and informative infographics and visuals in addition to the text of the book. Because of the helpful graphics and visuals, I think I will find myself referring back to this book more often for myself and as I get into conversations with friends. It’s a great “coffee table” book in that regard.
He divides up spiritual health into four parts which make up the 4 sections of the book: Grow close to Christ, Understand the work of Christ, Become like Christ, and Live for Christ. Highlights for me were the chapters on vocation and stewardship. Recommend it to anyone.
He divides up spiritual health into four parts which make up the 4 sections of the book: Grow close to Christ, Understand the work of Christ, Become like Christ, and Live for Christ. Highlights for me were the chapters on vocation and stewardship. Recommend it to anyone.
April 16, 2016
I picked up Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth About God by Tim Challies and Josh Byers because I was intrigued by a bit of its marketing material, which may be found on the back of the book: “Visual Theology presents the concepts and the principles of systematic theology in a fresh, beautiful, and transformative way. Using graphic displays and text that go hand in hand, this unique resource helps you connect the truth of the Bible to life application.” I anticipate a book full of helpful infographics that I might be able to use in teaching theology at different depths. What I received was a great disappointment.
There are twenty-seven “infographics” (we’ll use that term loosely here), five of which should be considered parts of a whole (about the drama of Scripture), three that are simply word-pictures that don’t really provide any info (imagine a phrase with color), many (most) that are not very clear and are likely more unhelpful due to the way in which they are composed, and only three that I would estimate to be helpful in some way. They all follow the same style and theme: use of specific colors, sequential circles and gradients, dashed lines and dot anchors, most of which serve no real function (e.g., lines go to nowhere or have unclear connections, words are in bubbles but with no obvious reason why they would be so organized, etc.). Most of these (and a few more) may be found at visualtheology.church, but a Google image search (“visual theology” or anything similar) will bring up even more useful infographics and demonstrate that there is nothing unique about this book.
The bulk of the book is text, which reads like easy-to-read Baptist tracts strewn together. I imagine anyone who went to enough Sunday school classes in such a church would have been able to write this book. The theology is akin to that of the often quoted Grudem (he wrote the Foreword), Piper, and Sproul, strewn with contradictions. This is not to say that theirs is nothing helpful, but to demonstrate the root of this surface level theology (the authors explicitly state that they intentionally go into no depth). There should be no need to discuss further the theology of the book (that would be a book of its own) given that it has already failed to live up to its stated purpose.
There really is nothing new (or unique) about this book, and the infographics are significantly wanting. I have no doubt the authors love Jesus, but this project simply does not live up to the hype. I imagine there will be better infographics to come once the authors develop their medium, perhaps later included at the site mentioned. I pray blessings on them in that regard.
Not recommended.
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
There are twenty-seven “infographics” (we’ll use that term loosely here), five of which should be considered parts of a whole (about the drama of Scripture), three that are simply word-pictures that don’t really provide any info (imagine a phrase with color), many (most) that are not very clear and are likely more unhelpful due to the way in which they are composed, and only three that I would estimate to be helpful in some way. They all follow the same style and theme: use of specific colors, sequential circles and gradients, dashed lines and dot anchors, most of which serve no real function (e.g., lines go to nowhere or have unclear connections, words are in bubbles but with no obvious reason why they would be so organized, etc.). Most of these (and a few more) may be found at visualtheology.church, but a Google image search (“visual theology” or anything similar) will bring up even more useful infographics and demonstrate that there is nothing unique about this book.
The bulk of the book is text, which reads like easy-to-read Baptist tracts strewn together. I imagine anyone who went to enough Sunday school classes in such a church would have been able to write this book. The theology is akin to that of the often quoted Grudem (he wrote the Foreword), Piper, and Sproul, strewn with contradictions. This is not to say that theirs is nothing helpful, but to demonstrate the root of this surface level theology (the authors explicitly state that they intentionally go into no depth). There should be no need to discuss further the theology of the book (that would be a book of its own) given that it has already failed to live up to its stated purpose.
There really is nothing new (or unique) about this book, and the infographics are significantly wanting. I have no doubt the authors love Jesus, but this project simply does not live up to the hype. I imagine there will be better infographics to come once the authors develop their medium, perhaps later included at the site mentioned. I pray blessings on them in that regard.
Not recommended.
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
January 6, 2026
This book offers very solid content, both doctrinally sound and thoughtfully summarized. When I first noticed the word “visual” in the title, I was not entirely sure what to expect. While some of the diagrams and schematics do a helpful job of distilling key concepts, others require more time and effort to digest and may not feel immediately intuitive. I might have expected a slightly different approach to the visual aspect, but overall, I still found the book enjoyable and beneficial. I would confidently recommend it, especially to those who are new to the Christian faith and looking for a clear and trustworthy introduction.
April 16, 2019
An introduction to theology presented in conjunction with a set of infographics. There was more text than I had expected - it's a work of theology, not just a set of graphics. Some of the infographics are brilliant, aiding clarity and understanding, while others are little more than a graphic rendering of a list of points. Challies' background as a blogger is evident in one of the distinctive & helpful features of the book: almost every section is arranged as a progression or list of themed headings. A good doorway into systematic theology.
June 12, 2016
Admittedly I am a very visual learner. Many times when my wife is attempting to describe her vision for a future home renovation project, it is difficult for me to put her words into a mental picture of what she is trying to get across. I need a blueprint or a picture at least to put some context and connections to the vision being relayed. Once I have that in hand, the grand vision and to a large degree the details begin to come into focus.
Tim Challies, noting that many others fall into the same visual learning category as myself, began to offer on his website a series of infographics. These well down visual depictions of a number of theological truths, were something I continually looked forward to as I found them quite helpful besides being visually appealing. Using that idea, Challies and Josh Byers have provided a book aptly titled Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth about God in which they utilize a number of excellent infographics to help the reader make needed connections on matters of theology.
For starters, this is a visually stimulating book. This is not a statement I often make about books dealing with theology. Typically I comment on the plethora of footnotes or the expansive bibliography or the manner in which the author elaborates and exegetes a particular element of theology. Make no mistake that this book deals with theology. The authors examine a number of important theological topics. They just do it in a somewhat unique manner, namely through the use of full page and colorful infographics.
I am sure most remember trying to memorize that dreaded periodic table of the elements. I recall trying to put to at least my short term memory for a test all the facts concerning the elements such as the abbreviation, weight, and other facts. Challies and Byers used that periodic table picture concept to present the books of the Bible. I mention this because it is rather clever and it represents just a small sample of how these infographics are quite helpful in driving home facts and concepts. In the case of the books of the Bible periodic table, they provide an abbreviation for each book, the “long name” if you will, the author, and the date of authorship. What a great way to depict some basic facts that would be very useful in a Sunday School classroom or for my personal purposes, as part of a homeschool curriculum.
There was even one of my least favorite types of infographics, namely a flowchart. I encounter these at work and I usually cringe when trying to follow the process that is being depicted. Challies and Byers use a flowchart to outline how to mortify sin. I humble admit that I was able to completely follow the train of thought and the yes/no decisions throughout the flowchart. Furthermore, besides being visually useful, the information was spot on theologically, an important element after all for a book discussing theology.
This is a book I highly recommend, especially if you are a visual learner or you interact with visual learners. As I noted, this is a tool I will be using as part of my homeschool curriculum this coming year. What is even more useful is the various graphics provided in this book are available for purchase and download here. Pick up a copy of this book. I am confident you will find it very useful in your study and application of God’s Word.
I received this book for free from Zondervan Academic and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Tim Challies, noting that many others fall into the same visual learning category as myself, began to offer on his website a series of infographics. These well down visual depictions of a number of theological truths, were something I continually looked forward to as I found them quite helpful besides being visually appealing. Using that idea, Challies and Josh Byers have provided a book aptly titled Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth about God in which they utilize a number of excellent infographics to help the reader make needed connections on matters of theology.
For starters, this is a visually stimulating book. This is not a statement I often make about books dealing with theology. Typically I comment on the plethora of footnotes or the expansive bibliography or the manner in which the author elaborates and exegetes a particular element of theology. Make no mistake that this book deals with theology. The authors examine a number of important theological topics. They just do it in a somewhat unique manner, namely through the use of full page and colorful infographics.
I am sure most remember trying to memorize that dreaded periodic table of the elements. I recall trying to put to at least my short term memory for a test all the facts concerning the elements such as the abbreviation, weight, and other facts. Challies and Byers used that periodic table picture concept to present the books of the Bible. I mention this because it is rather clever and it represents just a small sample of how these infographics are quite helpful in driving home facts and concepts. In the case of the books of the Bible periodic table, they provide an abbreviation for each book, the “long name” if you will, the author, and the date of authorship. What a great way to depict some basic facts that would be very useful in a Sunday School classroom or for my personal purposes, as part of a homeschool curriculum.
There was even one of my least favorite types of infographics, namely a flowchart. I encounter these at work and I usually cringe when trying to follow the process that is being depicted. Challies and Byers use a flowchart to outline how to mortify sin. I humble admit that I was able to completely follow the train of thought and the yes/no decisions throughout the flowchart. Furthermore, besides being visually useful, the information was spot on theologically, an important element after all for a book discussing theology.
This is a book I highly recommend, especially if you are a visual learner or you interact with visual learners. As I noted, this is a tool I will be using as part of my homeschool curriculum this coming year. What is even more useful is the various graphics provided in this book are available for purchase and download here. Pick up a copy of this book. I am confident you will find it very useful in your study and application of God’s Word.
I received this book for free from Zondervan Academic and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
April 18, 2021
The theology part deserves a 4 or even a 4.5. It is very well written and clear. Aimed at a young believer it really hits the mark.
The visual part, deserves a 2 for me. I was expecting it to deepen the understanding of the theology by showing relationships between ideas and concepts. But instead they were (for the most part) simply nice graphics presenting some of the information in another way. I may have had unrealistic expectations... it wasn’t that the graphics were bad, but most of them did little more than make the book more attractive/appealing.
The visual part, deserves a 2 for me. I was expecting it to deepen the understanding of the theology by showing relationships between ideas and concepts. But instead they were (for the most part) simply nice graphics presenting some of the information in another way. I may have had unrealistic expectations... it wasn’t that the graphics were bad, but most of them did little more than make the book more attractive/appealing.
November 14, 2020
Un livre accessible à tous, qui résume les grandes lignes de la théologie. Il donne de nombreux conseils pratiques sur des sujets importants (gestion de l'argent, mortification de ses péchés, vocation, etc.). Je le trouve particulièrement adapté à de jeunes convertis n'ayant que peu lu de théologie et ayant besoin de conseils pratiques, notamment pour se “dépouiller du vieil homme et revêtir l'homme nouveau”.
Read
March 18, 2017The text itself is theologically sound, though light (I'd call it a theological primer). The graphics, however, are worth the price of the book. They're thoughtful and absolutely gorgeous. Recommended especially for young or new Christians.
November 11, 2018
I think this was a pretty solid book for a young believer. Had a pretty good coverage of basic topics. I especially appreciated the second half which had some good practical points about putting off sin and putting on Christ-likeness. I personally didn't think the visuals added anything... I was hoping for more, in both the depth and the visuals. But it still provided for worthwhile reflections.
October 30, 2022
A good starter book on theology. I am a more visual person so the graphics were helpful in reinforcing the text. Love the books of the Bible as a Periodic Table (p50-51), I think the flowchart on putting sin to death will be helpful in the future (p96-97), and the chapter on Vocation (p118-127) was insightful. I liked the helpful reminder both Doctrine and Vocation lead to worship.
March 31, 2023
3.5 — the first half was better than the second. I also noticed that some of the visuals in here were just iterations of the words. So, the visuals weren’t always helpful. Their visual theology guide to the Bible looks a lot more detailed and thorough, so I’m looking forward to reading that one day.
January 2, 2026
at first I was disappointed because it has way less infographics than the visual theology Guide to the Bible one, but it actually ended up being very enjoyable and informative.
June 30, 2017
A solid book that doesn't live up to its hype. Also mistitled. Theology = the study of God, but this book is all about you. It's a good book about the Christian walk, but it's not theology. It's you-ology.
The infographics are okay, but don't really provide the kind of enlightenment they are billed as having. They're possibly useful to visual learners, but many of them are just attractive arrangements of text, so they strike me as extraneous. Not mind-blowing or enlightening, as the marketing copy would have you believe. The "illustrations" merely restate what is in the text. You could skip the infographics and still get the complete picture. So what are the infographics for?
In two places, the chapter on relationships reveals the author's opposition to equality.
First, of church leadership, he says, "Men are qualified to hold the office of elder or pastor…" As a woman who holds the office of elder, I take exception to that statement. And no, I don't believe he's using "men" generically to mean "people," because if he meant to include women he'd have done so.
Second, on the topic of marriage, he makes the usual complementarian case that focuses on wifely submission while omitting the egalitarian verses "Be subject to one another" (Ephesians 5:21) and "there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Most of this book is dedicated to what it means to be a Christian, and not to the attributes of God. The Trinity, for example, is relegated to a four-inch sidebar. The one thing in the book that most needs an illustration goes unillustrated. Do a Google Images search for "shield of the Trinity" and you will get more theology that's visual than is contained in this book.
I will say the chapter on vocation is excellent. This is a solid book, and probably good for new believers, but it's not theology.
The infographics are okay, but don't really provide the kind of enlightenment they are billed as having. They're possibly useful to visual learners, but many of them are just attractive arrangements of text, so they strike me as extraneous. Not mind-blowing or enlightening, as the marketing copy would have you believe. The "illustrations" merely restate what is in the text. You could skip the infographics and still get the complete picture. So what are the infographics for?
In two places, the chapter on relationships reveals the author's opposition to equality.
First, of church leadership, he says, "Men are qualified to hold the office of elder or pastor…" As a woman who holds the office of elder, I take exception to that statement. And no, I don't believe he's using "men" generically to mean "people," because if he meant to include women he'd have done so.
Second, on the topic of marriage, he makes the usual complementarian case that focuses on wifely submission while omitting the egalitarian verses "Be subject to one another" (Ephesians 5:21) and "there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Most of this book is dedicated to what it means to be a Christian, and not to the attributes of God. The Trinity, for example, is relegated to a four-inch sidebar. The one thing in the book that most needs an illustration goes unillustrated. Do a Google Images search for "shield of the Trinity" and you will get more theology that's visual than is contained in this book.
I will say the chapter on vocation is excellent. This is a solid book, and probably good for new believers, but it's not theology.
April 19, 2016
Interesting concept book. I’ve not seen anything quite like it elsewhere and suspect that for some this one would be quite helpful. And that is why I find myself in a love/hate quandary over this one. Challies narratives present the 101 theology basics to the reader. The last section Live for Christ being the best of the lot as far as readability goes. The others are the reason theology has such an uphill climb with most people. Accurate, factual, categorized. Dry as the bones Elijah saw in the desert. The same ones that as they acquired meat and sinew and skin came to life. Theology is just one of those areas that need more than skeletons to make it palatable.
Challies, to his credit, says as much in his introduction. It takes more than looking at the equipment in the gym. You gotta work it. And this book just scratches the surface, almost. Hence, the love/hate relationship with this book.
Yes, there are some things we need to know and learn and practice. And this is the crash course. I felt as if I was reading the script that went with a very sophisticated power point presentation. I nearly lost it completely with the flowchart How to put sin to death (96-97).
As you can see, this book, even though the graphics are great, just isn’t for me. For the person that can relate more fully with a business or updated classroom style it may be just what you need. Overall even though I don’t like this book I can also recommend it as a starting point. It will not help the cause of theology for the novice and that is a shame. The study of God can be the most amazing study ever.
I received this book form the publisher in exchange for a review.
Challies, to his credit, says as much in his introduction. It takes more than looking at the equipment in the gym. You gotta work it. And this book just scratches the surface, almost. Hence, the love/hate relationship with this book.
Yes, there are some things we need to know and learn and practice. And this is the crash course. I felt as if I was reading the script that went with a very sophisticated power point presentation. I nearly lost it completely with the flowchart How to put sin to death (96-97).
As you can see, this book, even though the graphics are great, just isn’t for me. For the person that can relate more fully with a business or updated classroom style it may be just what you need. Overall even though I don’t like this book I can also recommend it as a starting point. It will not help the cause of theology for the novice and that is a shame. The study of God can be the most amazing study ever.
I received this book form the publisher in exchange for a review.
September 23, 2016
This is a good introduction to systematic theology. It's a very easy read but is nothing you wouldn't have seen before if you've read something more in-depth. The book is well designed and attractive to pick up, this helps me with wanting to read it. Some of the visuals are great, some of them are a bit arbitrary, and they are all basically just a summary of the text which is really the strong point of this book.
I plan to lend this book to Christians I know who a re not readers, this is the kind of book that I think anyone can read.
I plan to lend this book to Christians I know who a re not readers, this is the kind of book that I think anyone can read.
February 5, 2017
An eye-catching book with glossy paper and color, color everywhere! However, I don't think I'm the best audience for this book since I've always been a word-lover through and through. Infographics typically don't make much of a difference for me. Thus far, the only infographic I ever get excited about is the "Your Reading Year in Review" one that Goodreads sends me every December. :-)
I can see how this book would be helpful to a visual learner, but I was paying more attention to the written theology in the book. If I want systematic theology, I think there are other books I would turn to first. So I would call this a book that will work well for others, but it wasn't the best fit for me!
(Read for the 2017 Tim Challies Christian Reading Challenge: A book about theology)
I can see how this book would be helpful to a visual learner, but I was paying more attention to the written theology in the book. If I want systematic theology, I think there are other books I would turn to first. So I would call this a book that will work well for others, but it wasn't the best fit for me!
(Read for the 2017 Tim Challies Christian Reading Challenge: A book about theology)
August 27, 2016
What a timely and beautiful book!
The pages are laid out so that the text and info graphics are appealing and easy to read and understand. Challies has a gift for clarity, and the brevity of this book makes it particularly accessible. I found myself thinking of dozens of people I wanted to give it away to before I had even finished it.
The bright and thought-provoking visual aids really unlock theological truths and led me to meditate on some things and think deeper than I otherwise would have. I think the "icons" throughout also really connect with the way this generation pictures things in bite size pieces.
I love the simplicity and also the profound gospel truths in this book...there are great illustrations in story and graphics...perhaps my new favorite gift and recommendation!
The pages are laid out so that the text and info graphics are appealing and easy to read and understand. Challies has a gift for clarity, and the brevity of this book makes it particularly accessible. I found myself thinking of dozens of people I wanted to give it away to before I had even finished it.
The bright and thought-provoking visual aids really unlock theological truths and led me to meditate on some things and think deeper than I otherwise would have. I think the "icons" throughout also really connect with the way this generation pictures things in bite size pieces.
I love the simplicity and also the profound gospel truths in this book...there are great illustrations in story and graphics...perhaps my new favorite gift and recommendation!
February 8, 2017
I picked this book intending to survey it quickly and ended up reading it all in one sitting. What it is: a light (don't mean that pejoratively) systematic theology focused on Christian growth. This book contains clear, eye-catching, educational infographics. Even if you've had a lot of exposure to Bible doctrine I'd recommend this book as a good easy reading reminder....especially if you teach/preach.
March 2, 2018
Tim Challies is such a blessing to God’s Church and the world today. He writes with precision, concision and wit, and can always be relied upon to stay faithful to the Bible, and to connect intelligently to modern culture. ‘Visual Theology’ is a large format, entry level Christology with an accessible style and lots of colourful diagrams (infographics, in some cases).
Its 10 chapters comprise Gospel, Identity, Relationship, Drama, Doctrine, Putting Off, Putting On, Vocation, Relationships and Stewardship, and they all focus on Christ and the reality and implications of relationship with him.
Most of the book will be quite familiar to experienced Christians, though much of it is a blessing and as the apostle Peter says, “I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them... I think it is right to refresh your memory” (2 Peter 1:12,13).
My favourite section was chapter 6, Putting Off, because here I think Challies’ most arresting material is found. Launching off with a metaphor from the raising of Lazarus, Challies then borrows from John Owen in his 8-step plan for killing sin (before it kills you!):
1. Evaluate - even though all sin cuts us off from God, weigh up the sins that are most serious and deep-rooted
2. Fill - let your mind become full of the guilt, weight and evil of your sin - an act of wilful rebellion against God (this is very counter-cultural, it seems to me!)
3. Long - Long for deliverance from this horrible, God-defying sin
4. Consider - How is this sin amplified by your natural disposition? How can you ward against it?
5. Contemplate - Put together a plan of action against this sin, being prepared to take precautionary and radical ‘hand-severing’ measures (knowing that the root of all sin is the heart)
6. Battle - Cry out to God the moment the first stirrings of temptation begin, and look to him to fill you with his conquering Holy Spirit
7. Meditate - Meditate on God’s glory and your desperate inability. Stay in the Word and humble yourself before him
8. Expect - Expect God to speak peace into your soul, but don’t speak peace to yourself until God does. “God is for you, and he loves to help you put your sin to death. It is his delight.”
In my view, the slight weakness of the book is its USP - the ‘visual’ side. I love infographics and diagrammatic representations of ideas, but I found more than half of the graphics in this book to be counterintuitive in an unhelpful way. For example, the illustrator is big on concentric circles with labelled dots on them, but in my mind, the closer a circle is to the centre, the more significant it is (as in an archery target). In the illustrator’s mind, it seems to be random - so in ‘The Work of a Christ Follower’, the label ‘Christian’ is on the outermost ring, whereas ‘Artist’ and ‘Citizen’ are closer to the centre. So little was gained by representing the ideas in a diagram, and actually the impact was confused by creating implications that were not intended.
Overall, I do recommend this readable, colourful, Christ-centred book, but it might have been just as good without the pictures, or better with more coherent ones.
Its 10 chapters comprise Gospel, Identity, Relationship, Drama, Doctrine, Putting Off, Putting On, Vocation, Relationships and Stewardship, and they all focus on Christ and the reality and implications of relationship with him.
Most of the book will be quite familiar to experienced Christians, though much of it is a blessing and as the apostle Peter says, “I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them... I think it is right to refresh your memory” (2 Peter 1:12,13).
My favourite section was chapter 6, Putting Off, because here I think Challies’ most arresting material is found. Launching off with a metaphor from the raising of Lazarus, Challies then borrows from John Owen in his 8-step plan for killing sin (before it kills you!):
1. Evaluate - even though all sin cuts us off from God, weigh up the sins that are most serious and deep-rooted
2. Fill - let your mind become full of the guilt, weight and evil of your sin - an act of wilful rebellion against God (this is very counter-cultural, it seems to me!)
3. Long - Long for deliverance from this horrible, God-defying sin
4. Consider - How is this sin amplified by your natural disposition? How can you ward against it?
5. Contemplate - Put together a plan of action against this sin, being prepared to take precautionary and radical ‘hand-severing’ measures (knowing that the root of all sin is the heart)
6. Battle - Cry out to God the moment the first stirrings of temptation begin, and look to him to fill you with his conquering Holy Spirit
7. Meditate - Meditate on God’s glory and your desperate inability. Stay in the Word and humble yourself before him
8. Expect - Expect God to speak peace into your soul, but don’t speak peace to yourself until God does. “God is for you, and he loves to help you put your sin to death. It is his delight.”
In my view, the slight weakness of the book is its USP - the ‘visual’ side. I love infographics and diagrammatic representations of ideas, but I found more than half of the graphics in this book to be counterintuitive in an unhelpful way. For example, the illustrator is big on concentric circles with labelled dots on them, but in my mind, the closer a circle is to the centre, the more significant it is (as in an archery target). In the illustrator’s mind, it seems to be random - so in ‘The Work of a Christ Follower’, the label ‘Christian’ is on the outermost ring, whereas ‘Artist’ and ‘Citizen’ are closer to the centre. So little was gained by representing the ideas in a diagram, and actually the impact was confused by creating implications that were not intended.
Overall, I do recommend this readable, colourful, Christ-centred book, but it might have been just as good without the pictures, or better with more coherent ones.
March 21, 2017
A solid entry-level theology book with illustrations that help to summarize the work. Challies' writing is easy to follow, engaging, and reasonably thorough on the basics without going too far into the weeds.
I was a little disappointed for a couple of reasons. First, I had wrong expectations - I thought "visual theology" meant there would be illustrations that helped depict complex ideas such as the atonement, the trinity, the church, and the prophetic future. Instead, it is really "illustrative text", where words and phrases (taken from the prose portions) are arranged in a way that shows the flow of the argument. That's still cool, but not what I was looking for.
Also, I couldn't have told you, before I read this, what exactly were Challies' theological distinctives. While I understood he held to Reformed Protestant theology in general, that was all I knew. After completing this, I am nearly certain he is a Baptist or similar flavor (non-denom). Why? There is absolutely no significant ink given to the church! The view of salvation is entirely individualistic, and while that is a central aspect of the faith, it is by no means independent from the corporate body of Christ. The church is mentioned briefly in a list of relationships, and it seems it is solely listed as a relationship in which one is subordinate to church elders - but that's it.
Finally, he occasionally wanders off into surprisingly novel explanations of biblical texts. In discussing the prodigal son, for example, he claims that the prodigal's words to his father when he comes "prove" that he didn't care about food or his physical condition, just his relationship with his father. Of course, the parable itself refutes that! "he said to himself, 'how many of my father's servants have food to spare, and I am starving to death! I will go home and say to my father...". The parable doesn't need to be churched up any more, but Challies finds a need to do so. He even claims the son's behavior is a true repentance and dedication to righteous living - which simply isn't there.
Still, there are memorable written illustrations as well as the visual theology depicted in illustration. I found both his descriptions of the Fall and of the relationship between sin and virtue useful for my future use in teaching, and his visual depiction of what is essentially John Owen's "Mortification of Sin in the Believer" outstanding.
A helpful work on the theology of salvation of man as individuals, as long as you recognize its limitations.
I was a little disappointed for a couple of reasons. First, I had wrong expectations - I thought "visual theology" meant there would be illustrations that helped depict complex ideas such as the atonement, the trinity, the church, and the prophetic future. Instead, it is really "illustrative text", where words and phrases (taken from the prose portions) are arranged in a way that shows the flow of the argument. That's still cool, but not what I was looking for.
Also, I couldn't have told you, before I read this, what exactly were Challies' theological distinctives. While I understood he held to Reformed Protestant theology in general, that was all I knew. After completing this, I am nearly certain he is a Baptist or similar flavor (non-denom). Why? There is absolutely no significant ink given to the church! The view of salvation is entirely individualistic, and while that is a central aspect of the faith, it is by no means independent from the corporate body of Christ. The church is mentioned briefly in a list of relationships, and it seems it is solely listed as a relationship in which one is subordinate to church elders - but that's it.
Finally, he occasionally wanders off into surprisingly novel explanations of biblical texts. In discussing the prodigal son, for example, he claims that the prodigal's words to his father when he comes "prove" that he didn't care about food or his physical condition, just his relationship with his father. Of course, the parable itself refutes that! "he said to himself, 'how many of my father's servants have food to spare, and I am starving to death! I will go home and say to my father...". The parable doesn't need to be churched up any more, but Challies finds a need to do so. He even claims the son's behavior is a true repentance and dedication to righteous living - which simply isn't there.
Still, there are memorable written illustrations as well as the visual theology depicted in illustration. I found both his descriptions of the Fall and of the relationship between sin and virtue useful for my future use in teaching, and his visual depiction of what is essentially John Owen's "Mortification of Sin in the Believer" outstanding.
A helpful work on the theology of salvation of man as individuals, as long as you recognize its limitations.
December 20, 2023
The prominence of infographics and information in digestible formats in this book not only lends itself well to visual learners, but also creates an easily transmissible way to share the Gospel. In Visual Theology, the beautiful images portraying the truths of God are carefully laid out under the sections of: growing close to Christ, understanding the work of Christ, becoming like Christ, and living for Christ. What I appreciate most about this book is that it takes intellectual knowledge and transfers it into life-changing beliefs and behaviours. The end goal of theology is not just to accumulate information; it is to know Jesus and to be changed by Him to become more like Him. As 1 Corinthians 8:1 states, "But knowledge puffs up while love builds up."
This book is clear in that by understanding more of God's nature, our hearts will draw nearer to Him. Not only does Visual Theology delve into the personal areas of our lives like our vocation and our relationships, it all points back to how God has created us and how we reflect His image. To make the leap from systematic theology to personal application by simplifying and clarifying theological teachings in understandable terms is in short, a transformative experience. Knowing that there is sense and order in how God has revealed Himself in our study of theology makes this book a visual treat to pick up. For readers that appreciate having graphics depict information, this book delivers. Readers who want more of this type of book will be glad to know that the next book in this set, A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible: Seeing and Knowing God's Word , has even more visuals!
Review link: https://christianshelves.blogspot.com...
This book is clear in that by understanding more of God's nature, our hearts will draw nearer to Him. Not only does Visual Theology delve into the personal areas of our lives like our vocation and our relationships, it all points back to how God has created us and how we reflect His image. To make the leap from systematic theology to personal application by simplifying and clarifying theological teachings in understandable terms is in short, a transformative experience. Knowing that there is sense and order in how God has revealed Himself in our study of theology makes this book a visual treat to pick up. For readers that appreciate having graphics depict information, this book delivers. Readers who want more of this type of book will be glad to know that the next book in this set, A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible: Seeing and Knowing God's Word , has even more visuals!
Review link: https://christianshelves.blogspot.com...
June 24, 2018
This is an interesting concept, but I’m not sure the execution is completely successful. The title is Visual Theology, and there are issues with both words.
First: visual. The concept is to provide visual infographics for visual learners. The book features twenty-seven infographics of varying quality. And most of them consist of words depicted in spatial relationships via lines or circles. It also means the book is still over eighty percent text. I myself was disappointed; I was expecting more creativity in the visual approach (and more visuals) than the book actually delivers.
Second: theology. The back cover states that “Visual Theology presents the concepts and the principles of systematic theology in a fresh, beautiful, and transformative way”. Aside from the issue of how “fresh” and “beautiful” the visual presentation is, the major problem is that this book isn’t a work of systematic theology, and it doesn’t do what a systematic theology does. A better description would be an introduction to Christian living, or an introduction to discipleship. And it’s an introduction written fron a very specific Reformed Baptist Evangelical Protestant perspective, which limits its usefulness for Christians that exist outside that perspective.
Despite these criticisms, I found the idea of the book to be an interesting experiment, and I hope the authors (and others) try to expand upon this first step.
First: visual. The concept is to provide visual infographics for visual learners. The book features twenty-seven infographics of varying quality. And most of them consist of words depicted in spatial relationships via lines or circles. It also means the book is still over eighty percent text. I myself was disappointed; I was expecting more creativity in the visual approach (and more visuals) than the book actually delivers.
Second: theology. The back cover states that “Visual Theology presents the concepts and the principles of systematic theology in a fresh, beautiful, and transformative way”. Aside from the issue of how “fresh” and “beautiful” the visual presentation is, the major problem is that this book isn’t a work of systematic theology, and it doesn’t do what a systematic theology does. A better description would be an introduction to Christian living, or an introduction to discipleship. And it’s an introduction written fron a very specific Reformed Baptist Evangelical Protestant perspective, which limits its usefulness for Christians that exist outside that perspective.
Despite these criticisms, I found the idea of the book to be an interesting experiment, and I hope the authors (and others) try to expand upon this first step.
August 9, 2020
When I ordered this book, I was very excited about the visual aspect. I pictured a book of infographics depicting various theological doctrines.
This is not that.
This may seem like semantics, but these are not infographics, they are merely illustrations. Pretty to look at, but not at all what I expected.
The book is mostly words. I mean, I pretty much agree with the text, but of all the illustrations, only two (maybe 3) actually give in visual form some helpful information. I will point them out here since they are well done.
The first is the books of the Bible to look like the periodic table of elements. VERY well done. Best graphic in the book.
The second is harder to explain. It is five categories of how we should treat each other. Each category is a different color. Under each category are specifics. Each specific is in its own circle with the Bible verse of where it is mentioned. The circles are nickel coin sized if they are mentioned in one verse and each circle grows larger with more verses. I studied it for probably five minutes.
And that’s my frustration with this book. I wanted a whole *book* full of such visual treasures. Instead, it often feels disjointed. “Why does this circle have lines coming off it? What do the lines mean? Do they connect? Is it just to look cool.”
Anyway, good text. But meh on visuals. Hence the two stars for *Visual* Theology.
This is not that.
This may seem like semantics, but these are not infographics, they are merely illustrations. Pretty to look at, but not at all what I expected.
The book is mostly words. I mean, I pretty much agree with the text, but of all the illustrations, only two (maybe 3) actually give in visual form some helpful information. I will point them out here since they are well done.
The first is the books of the Bible to look like the periodic table of elements. VERY well done. Best graphic in the book.
The second is harder to explain. It is five categories of how we should treat each other. Each category is a different color. Under each category are specifics. Each specific is in its own circle with the Bible verse of where it is mentioned. The circles are nickel coin sized if they are mentioned in one verse and each circle grows larger with more verses. I studied it for probably five minutes.
And that’s my frustration with this book. I wanted a whole *book* full of such visual treasures. Instead, it often feels disjointed. “Why does this circle have lines coming off it? What do the lines mean? Do they connect? Is it just to look cool.”
Anyway, good text. But meh on visuals. Hence the two stars for *Visual* Theology.
April 25, 2018
What a great little, fun book to read! Using traditional evangelical/conservative theology and displaying it in a visual way, this book is accessible to people of all different academic levels of theology (including lay persons and those who have never set foot in an academy). It's written in a conversational and practical style with lots of anecdotes from the author's own personal life and is truly an example of marrying the rigorous academic discipline with day to day discipleship. The ascetically pleasing nature of this book also makes it fun just to flip through even if you aren't planning to read it word for word. I am sure that even non-readers would benefit greatly from a resource such as this!
April 5, 2019
I appreciated the clarity and simplicity of this book. It was a little different from what I was expecting from the title. I was expecting more of a systematic-type theology with many diagrams and pictures explaining theology. It did not have nearly as many diagrams and pictures as I was expecting and only a few of them really added anything besides aesthetic appeal. Also, it is more of a Christian growth book than a book about doctrine. Having said that, it is an excellent book both for new believers and mature Christians. I especially appreciated the sections on prayer, putting sin to death (probably the most beneficial diagram as well), and stewardship. Overall, it would be an excellent book to use for a Sunday School class or to disciple a new believer.
January 15, 2022
I was excited to read this because I have enjoyed many of Tim Challies’ blog posts that review different teachers or resources. This book wasn’t as captivating as I expected. It was straightforward, probably good for new Christians or teenagers raised in a Christian family. It held all the basic theological points you might expect. The illustrations are cool but don’t add much — mostly repetition from the text.
The part I found most helpful was the chapter on putting off the old man, and the method he walked through of identifying and fighting sin. It was practical and useful, but it wasn’t original; he borrowed it from someone else.
So, over all, nothing to write home about.
The part I found most helpful was the chapter on putting off the old man, and the method he walked through of identifying and fighting sin. It was practical and useful, but it wasn’t original; he borrowed it from someone else.
So, over all, nothing to write home about.
July 22, 2021
Simple, easy to read, and full of great visual pieces to help illustrate the core tenants of the Christian faith! Personally, I am not a big “visual” person. I am good with words, and words alone. So, unsurprisingly, I actually skipped most of the illustrations and went right for the text, lol.
This might be really helpful to someone who is having issues connecting the dots. A great place for anyone to start when it comes to strong but basic theology. I think it would make a great Christmas present or the basis for discussions at Bible studies. A great job by Mr Tim Challies!
This might be really helpful to someone who is having issues connecting the dots. A great place for anyone to start when it comes to strong but basic theology. I think it would make a great Christmas present or the basis for discussions at Bible studies. A great job by Mr Tim Challies!
July 20, 2017
Though I am 100% a visual learner, I didn't care for this book. I think it's a GREAT read for a new Christian or even an unbeliever, but for a "seasoned" Christian, it felt a bit "Ho-hum." It covered the basics of Christianity which, as a long-time follower of Jesus Christ, I was frankly bored with. I wanted meat, something deeper. I found myself annoyed with the visuals because they were redundant to the words written on the previous pages. It's a good book for "beginner" Christians, however.
June 4, 2018
This book presents some of the basic principles of learning to follow Jesus, which makes it a good resource for discipleship and ministry opportunities. While some chapters were repetitive and read like an academic textbook, it's well-organized and grounded in Scripture. I think it'd be most useful in the context of group conversation and read alongside other resources to disciple new Christians and for "older" Christians to remind each other of the gospel's true foundation.
September 25, 2017
A great starting point for a new Christian who hasn't dug into reformed theology yet. Are they the best visual representations or displays of some of the concepts? I think some fall short - but to each his own - and if it helps another sister or brother internalize the concepts or commands and then live them out- I can't argue with that.
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