Introduction to Christian Doctrine

by John Lawson

1. Belief in God- I believe in God the Father Almighty; Arguments for the Existence of God; Revelation and Inspiration: Maker of Heaven and Earth 2. The Jesus of History- Historical Religion; Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord: the Incarnation; Conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary 3. The Word of the Cross- The Suffering Christ; the Mystery of Evil; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Theologies of the Atonement; Dead and Buried, He Descended into Hell 4. The Power and the Wisdom- He Rose Again; the Doctrine of the Resurrection; the Resurrection as Fact and as Symbol; the Evidence for the Resurrection; He Ascended into Heaven 5. The Spirit of the Lord- The Holy Ghost; the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: the Pentecost Experience; Aspects of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit: the Work of the Holy Spirit: Summary: the Christian Doctrine of God, the Holy Trinity 6. The People of God- The Church: a Divine Plan: the Church of the Old Covenant; the Church of the New Israel; the Doctrine of the Ministry 7. The Means of Grace- Grace and the Means of Grace; Worship; the Sacramental Principle; Holy Baptism; the Holy Communion, or Eucharist 8. The Written Word- The Witness to the Christ-Centered Faith; the Inspiration of the Bible; the Canon of Scripture; the Old Testament Scripture; the New Testament Scripture 9. The Double Cure- Personal Religion; the Doctrine of Grace; the Life of Grace 10. The Hope of Glory- The Christian Hope; Hebrew and Greek Symbolism; the Second Advent; the Millennial Kingdom; Human Destiny

300 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1967

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Russell Frazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Lawson’s book provides a very good overview of the Christian faith. The structure of the book follows to a large degree that of the Apostles’ Creed. Lawson cites at the header of each of the 10 chapters a portion of the Apostles’ Creed which pertains to the subject of the chapter.

The stated aim of the book is “to provide initial reading in the systematic study of Christian theology, framed as far as possible in non-technical language, yet of sufficient scope to provide the foundation for a more detailed study of particular theological subjects” (p. [i]). He does not want to present the views of a particular segment of or denomination within the church; his aim is to “give an outline of the historic, continuing, balanced, reliable, and Scriptural tradition of Christian faith, stated in a form which my make it intelligible in the present day” (p. [iii]). Oftentimes throughout the text, Lawson will present a section entitled “Summary of Divergence” and will underscore the divergent traditions on the particular subject of theology from the various mainstreams of Christian thought, including Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Calvinist and Wesleyan.

In this manner, Lawson’s ecumenical purpose is largely addressed. His concern is to focus in the spirit of paleo-orthodox theology on the consensual tradition of the Church, yet he does address the points of divergence of the various traditions as noted above. Certain readers may be disappointed because he appears to leave too much “wiggle room” on the doctrine of universalism or purgatory or any number of other controversial subjects within the Christian tradition.

Overall, I find the book to be a very good introduction to the Christian faith from an ecumenical viewpoint. The book is somewhat dated. The author both espouses and rebuts certain points of both higher criticism of biblical studies and existentialism. Lawson does not meet his aim of writing in “non-technical language,” at least not for the average student at the entry-level course in Christian beliefs today.

Nevertheless, Lawson’s book has made an important contribution to Christian theology. One can appreciate his emphasis on the distinction between “The Faith” as the body of Christian teaching and “faith” as the relationship of trust in Christ. For Lawson, the latter is vital to the Christian life but must be based upon the former. The author provides a very solid introduction to the Christian faith from an ecumenical viewpoint, but the book needs to be updated to serve the average entry-level student.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A college text I haven't been able to part with.