The Living God: Systemic Theology: Volume One

by Thomas C. Oden

A prominent scholar sets forth in plain, uncomplicated language the essence of two millennia of Christian thinking on the existence and nature of God, how Jesus reveals God, and what this means for the faithful today.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction, Reference

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Thomas C. Oden was Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology and Ethics at Drew University in New Jersey from 1980 until his retirement in 2004. He remained faculty emeritus until his death. He was the general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and the Ancient Christian Doctrine series as well as the author of Classic Christianity, a revision of his three-volume systematic theology.

Reviews

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oden is a skilled communicator; a self proclaimed modernist, he came to a new, revived faith in classical orthodoxy after submerging himself in Patristic studies, and indeed, his Vol. I is steeped in the Fathers. Oden's arrangement is a little odd, but he acknowledges this and puts it forth as the way of the early Fathers rather than the way of the cumbersome prolegomenas of the medieval scholastics. In fact, he doesn't even discuss his theological method until almost 400 pages in. Even still, Oden's work here is refreshing: let me explain.

The amount of citations of the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers alone would make this volume excellent if for nothing else save an excellent reference book where you could nail down any given topic and find a wide array of patristic primary sources to go to. What's more, Oden's citation of Thomas and Calvin are a plenty--remember, Oden is a Wesleyan scholar! But that brings me to my final point, Oden doesn't claim to present anything new or ingenious, but rather wants to present what the catholic Christian community has typically been agreed upon, and in that sense he does a brilliant job presenting his Vol. I in a truly ecumenical way that bears witness to classical theism.

I am moving into Vol. II, and looking forward to wrestling with this three volume systematic a little longer.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oden heroically disregards modern theology's fear to speak about God. In return he gives us a clean, lucid account of the classical Christian tradition, grounded in Scripture and the fathers with some attention to later writers. Methdologically, this follows the first part of most Systematic theologies--Prolegomena and God. There is a twist, though. Oden gives the prolegomena after the doctrine of God. There is a reason for this: earlier accounts began with the subject of theological discourse, God, rather than our thoughts about God.

Oden writes, " Christian teaching has its external source in God’s self-disclosure, whose record is Scripture preserved, studied, and remembered by the living tradition, and its internal source in faith personally experienced and reasonably ordered” (Oden 26). Oden then follows with a classic exposition of who God is, with a helpful discussion on God's attributes, properties, relation to divine, and divine foreknowledge.

Unique contributions:

*Oden notes how classical writers focused on God's economy, which often isn't emphasized in modern theologies.
*The Patristic citations are worth the price of the book. This almost functions as a topical index to the fathers.

Cons:

*Oden more or less dodged the Filioque question.
*While he had good points on how Tradition functioned, he could have developed it more.

Oden writes from a historical methodist position with regard to synergy, so one might expect disagreements there. But it doesn't detract from the work. It enhances it. He invites us to a discussion.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oden seeks to follow the Classical order examining the data. His underlining outline follows the Apostle's Creed. He often presents his material beginning with a summery statement followed by proofs (sometimes ad nauseum), but in other places he will have beautiful reflections that demand to be read. Oden himself has sought to say nothing new in this systematic theology, but rather present what has been universally accepted and believed everywhere at all times. He often cites the Classical exegetes, but where no early examples are found he will quote more contemporary authors.

[Steve Irby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished "The Living God: Systematic Theology, Volume One," by Thomas C. Oden, 1987.

Odens three volume ST has been sitting on my shelf for a few years laughing at me while I walk by. When I finally decided to read him I let slip that he was coming up on my short stack and was blessed with Odens autobiography and his four volume work on John Wesley's Teachings as a crash course in Oden (I am blessed, thankful and grateful for the godly people in my life). I now know to expect this to be a work grounded in Patristic theology (Oden also saw Wesley utilizing the Patristics) though against a Wesleyan/Arminian framework.

High spots as I go:

I think this is the first time I've heard it stated this way, that natural theology is man alone reaching for God and revealed theology is God reaching for man. This gives Barth's "Nein" a bit more context.

Christ it the unparalleled revealer through whom all other revelations are to be understood. This is perfect especially for those who hold scripture as the pinnacle of revelation. Scripture begins to reveal Jesus who is the highest revelation of God through whom all else is measured. Or more Brunner: the prophets spoke the Word; Jesus is the Word. Oden is following a beautiful Christocentric approach: what is God like?--Look at Jesus, period.

Oden on omniscience sounds quite like a molinist where God knows the counterfactuals, "what could have happened." But in his constant notating the fathers who mentioned this or that he doesn't mention Luis de Molina while dealing specifically with middle knowledge.

Speaking of the will of God Oden says that personhood largely is composed of one's ability to will. Interested to see if he keeps lately to this definition as he approaches the Trinity. Personally when dealing with the Trinity, and by extension the person of Christ, the big and often unanswered question is "what do you mean by 'person'?"

Oden has a page here covering atonement metaphors in light of God's holy love. There is the common judicial but he also adds family and priestly. My appreciation is that he calls it a metaphor which many miss and that he lists three. I'm sure this will come back up in the next book, "The Word of Life," but we must remember when speaking to people who are not participants in the Kingdom that there are multiple approaches. In relationship pick the route that doesn't push them away, rather the one that looks beautiful like Jesus.

His chapter on the Trinity is some of the best I've read on the topic. He even had a couple of places that allowed me to reconsider in an even more beautiful way He who is the triune God. Oden is humble when dealing with the subject and a bit more relaxed than he is on the doctrine of God. This is because we can re-contemplate this topic and nuance it differently, a route he leaves open for the Trinity.

Following this, with God as creator, Oden leaves room for evolution and big bang cosmology. People, stop dying on this hill. Uber conservative Oden choose not to.

"If God is good and goodness wills to communicate itself, then creation is contingently necessary--contingent upon the premise that God is good," p 255.

Awesome observation. God's goodness demands He create.

In Providence Oden makes the observation that Theodice demands Prividence first be established. I agree. He then goes on to say that God governs all that happens and is outside our freewill. It sounds like he is saddling God as the cause of all natural evil.

A great book even if I disagree with some of his doctrine of God.

#PatristicTheology #Wesleyan #ArminianTheology #Arminian #Theology #SystematicTheology #ThomasCOden #ThomasOden #Oden

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Oden has written a remarkable book about God. He has attempted to write a volume about God by using the historical consensus. His stated goal is to say nothing new. Compared to the fascination with the novel that plagues us moderns (including myself), Oden’s emphasis on the value of the past reads like a breath of fresh air. We should not think for a moment that Oden has only written an interesting work of history. No, this volume goes beyond merely showing what the fathers and mothers of the faith said about God but shows that what they have to say about God is still true, beautiful, and good for us today. We still have much to learn from the church fathers and reformers, and we neglect them to our own harm.

Oden’s writing is remarkably clear and concise throughout. He does use theological jargon but is almost always quick to define what he means by the terms he has used. Even though I was familiar with many of the terms, seeing them all clearly defined was incredibly helpful and makes Oden’s presentation of God clear.

I found remarkably little to disagree with in this book. Perhaps that is due to my own understanding of the topics as I am still a novice when it comes to systematic theological questions. However that may be, I am of the opinion that we should start with understanding the faith passed down to us before we depart from it, even if we depart into the modern consensus. Tradition should be respected, and while tradition is not scripture, we should be hesitant to deviate from tradition. Oden’s project helps us, and me, gain a much deeper understanding of tradition so that we can see how the Holy Spirit guided our ancestors in the faith.

The book has a few minor weaknesses. While Oden’s book is highly respectful of tradition in most things, he was never able to come to a satisfactory conclusion when it comes to the gendered language of God. Tradition clearly uses masculine language to talk about God, but Oden seems to prefer more gender-neutral language about God. But, because this his intention in The Living God is to “say nothing new”, that means Oden sticks as close as he can to the language of tradition. This seems to be the most uncomfortable Oden is with the traditional view of God, at least so far.

He also assumes that evolution and Christianity are simply compatible, and that the modern scientific consensus is correct. While he doesn’t necessarily have to defend this view, the lack of a defense of it in a book which contains sections on apologetics and Creation seems lacking.

Those two minor points of critique aside, this book was wonderful.

[Andrew McHenry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I wish had been an assigned text for seminary. (I know for some people it was, but not in my case.) As it is, I acquired a copy in the 90s and came to use it for a number of years as an occasional reference book. A few months ago I decided to read it all the way through.

Oden aspires to articulate statements of overall doctrinal consensus - covering the historical span of Christendom (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox). He draws heavily from Augustine, Aquinas, the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, the Ante-Nicene Fathers, John of Damascus, and a number of others. Occasionally pulls in thoughts from modern thinkers, but he does that more selectively. He has an unusual way of noting his sources, using abbreviations (maybe even acronyms?) that go back to a short glossary at the end of the book. It can be a bit confusing at the start, but it's easy once you figure it out - and all his statements are thoroughly supported.

Oden covers a lot of ground with this one. It's interesting that the classical proofs for the existence of God are deliberately and statedly *not* his starting point. He explains the historical grounds, coupled with the nature of "atheism" as a contrarian position. (What kind of god do you not believe in?) So he begins with the categories of the naming, the nature, and the character of God. He moves on to the Trinity - which is elaborated later in the successive volumes of this series. (It's interesting that there are two more volumes, while this one seems to be so thorough by itself.) Oden explores the ideas of providence, does some dabbling with theodicy, goes into an understanding of theological method, and even discusses the place of theological study in the wider realm of academia.

Oden has biases that come from his personal evolution. Occasionally he gets on his soapbox; he is critical of modernity and of pantheism in particular - but this is peripheral to his larger thrust. This isn't a book of an ideological bent; it's a survey of the larger historical/doctrinal consensus. It's an excellent resource for the foundational, formative years of study - and reading it all the way through leaves me eager to read future volumes (as well as the historical authors that he points his readers back to.)

[Brayden Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Oden’s “The Living God” provided an expounded exposition of the theology and convictions of the Early Church Fathers. Instead of seeking to compound new theological insight, Oden’s approach sought to simple reclaim the spirit of the early church in the apostles creed, representing a sort of “modern reformation.” This makes sense in light of Oden’s own dissolution with modernity’s liberal theology.

Though deeply insightful, this treasure can be quite arduous at times, requiring deep reflection and intense focus. It may be difficult for someone who has little education and understanding of Christian theology to crank through this text. Nevertheless, those that brace the challenge will come out with humility and joy after reflecting on the covenantal God we serve.

Academically, this text was sound and rewarding. Nevertheless, my only critique of this book is its lack of pastoral insight. Oden set out to provide a theological foundation not just for academia, but primarily for pastors and church leaders. It was difficult tracing the connection between theological soundness and practical ministry in Oden’s book, which may be a gap in his work.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed pouring over this book on an 8 hour bus ride. All Christian’s, regardless of political and denominational differences, can discover rich insight from Odens’s book.

[Miguel Cornejo]

En caso de que les guste lo sistemático, este libro tiene una perspectiva muy interesante. Tal vez no tiene la misma extensión de obras clásicas, pero su lenguaje es muy sencillo de entender. Sin duda les recomiendo The Living God, a parte, pueden usarlo como un "diccionario" de ciertos temas teológicos. Un libro re-chido.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading a theology textbook. I was pleasantly surprised. Oden writes his book to present historical Christian theology in a way that is accessible to pastors and others not in academia. He does a good job. I appreciated how easy he was to understand, and his constant quoting of classical sources which helped me to understand the theological developments in context. I didn't love the book, though. Perhaps I'm not very used to theological texts yet, but it was tiring wading through all the topics, and I found myself wishing the book were shorter. Still, I had feared it would be overly dry, but there were many sections where Oden beautifully communicated the significance of what had initially seemed mere intellectual curiosities.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slowly reading through this first of three books by Oden and am enjoying his writing style and how he incorporates church history in his theology. Very thorough when dealing with subjects, and also easy to understand.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a pretty good resource on basic Christian doctrine and how to understand and articulate those beliefs.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

partially read for class. Interesting, overall theological summary.

[Bradley]

This man opened me up to the beauty of the Church Fathers , forever grateful