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Theology for Everyman
Book by Gerstner, John H.
127 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
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About the author
John H. Gerstner
68 books21 followersJohn Henry Gerstner was a Professor of Church History at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary and an authority on the life and theology of Jonathan Edwards.
He earned both a Master of Divinity of degree and a Master of Theology degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Harvard University in 1945. He was originally ordained in the United Presbyterian Church of North America, then (due to church unions) with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1990, he left the PCUSA for the Presbyterian Church in America.
Gerstner counted among his students, noted author and preacher, R. C. Sproul, founder of Ligonier Ministries, Dr. Arthur Lindsley, Senior Fellow at the C.S. Lewis Institute, and Dr. Walter (Wynn) Kenyon, Professor of Biblical Studies and Philosophy; Chair of the Philosophy Department and Division of Ministry and Human Services at Belhaven University.
In addition to the books Gerstner had written, he also recorded several lengthy audio courses giving a survey of theology, church history, and Christian apologetics, which are distributed through Ligonier Ministries. Gerstner was non-dispensationalist.
In 1976, a Festschrift was published in Gerstner's honor. Soli Deo Gloria: Essays in Reformed Theology included contributions by Cornelius Van Til, J. I. Packer, Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, John Murray, R. C. Sproul, John Warwick Montgomery, and Roger Nicole.
He earned both a Master of Divinity of degree and a Master of Theology degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Harvard University in 1945. He was originally ordained in the United Presbyterian Church of North America, then (due to church unions) with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1990, he left the PCUSA for the Presbyterian Church in America.
Gerstner counted among his students, noted author and preacher, R. C. Sproul, founder of Ligonier Ministries, Dr. Arthur Lindsley, Senior Fellow at the C.S. Lewis Institute, and Dr. Walter (Wynn) Kenyon, Professor of Biblical Studies and Philosophy; Chair of the Philosophy Department and Division of Ministry and Human Services at Belhaven University.
In addition to the books Gerstner had written, he also recorded several lengthy audio courses giving a survey of theology, church history, and Christian apologetics, which are distributed through Ligonier Ministries. Gerstner was non-dispensationalist.
In 1976, a Festschrift was published in Gerstner's honor. Soli Deo Gloria: Essays in Reformed Theology included contributions by Cornelius Van Til, J. I. Packer, Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, John Murray, R. C. Sproul, John Warwick Montgomery, and Roger Nicole.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 20, 2023
Overall I loved this!! highlighted the necessity of theology in my life and in my walk because knowing God stirs up gratitude and perseverance to keep trusting. I suppose you can get by on the bare minimum but it just makes life more of a trudge trying to get through serving a God you barely know. Not a massive fan of the whole babies going to hell part tho. Ratchet vibes to be sure :/ minus a star for that.
"The knowledge of God is necessary to eternal life. And if eternal life is necessary for every man, then theology is also necessary for every man." Pg10
"When I realise that some joy will never come to an end, that realisation in itself is a joy and accentuates the original joy, just as thinking that a present joy will come to an end is a disturbance and that disturbance detracts from the present joy itself. Christian joy, fellowship in the Holy Ghost, is the only kind of pleasure, with which we are familiar with in this world, which is pure, unalloyed, and augmented pleasure, because it is a grace in which we stand rooted, immovable... This is the blessedness of those who have and to whom it shall be given which contrasts so sharply with the misery of those who have not and from whom shall be taken even that which they have."Pg 94
"The knowledge of God is necessary to eternal life. And if eternal life is necessary for every man, then theology is also necessary for every man." Pg10
"When I realise that some joy will never come to an end, that realisation in itself is a joy and accentuates the original joy, just as thinking that a present joy will come to an end is a disturbance and that disturbance detracts from the present joy itself. Christian joy, fellowship in the Holy Ghost, is the only kind of pleasure, with which we are familiar with in this world, which is pure, unalloyed, and augmented pleasure, because it is a grace in which we stand rooted, immovable... This is the blessedness of those who have and to whom it shall be given which contrasts so sharply with the misery of those who have not and from whom shall be taken even that which they have."Pg 94
December 10, 2019
Gerstner was a mentor for my dad, and I got to meet him when I was a young child. I can almost hear his raspy voice saying these wonderful truths. This is a great primer for anyone on basic theology and there are some wonderful truths expounded in a very moving way. Many of the references are outdated but the truths never are.
December 9, 2019
John Gerstner wrote a very light, very accessible book on basic theology. It's simple and short, so it's worth taking a read.
October 27, 2021
A super-condensed systematic theology book by Gerstner. This is where Sproul originally got the idea for his work "Everyone's a Theologian". Good stuff.
January 10, 2012
Short, sweet. Nothing too deep, but a good introduction to Christian theology.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews