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Pocket History of Evangelical Theology
Roger Olson provides us with a concise, lively and readable history of evangelical theology. Finding its antecedents in early Pietism of the late seventeenth century, Olson traces its development through the revivalism in Great Britain and America in the eighteenth century from its roots within Puritanism, Wesleyanism and the Great Awakening. Olson then takes us forward in time as he considers evangelicalism in its connection with the Old Princeton theology, Holiness-Pentecostalism and fundamentalism, tracing its course to our contemporary context. Great as a reference book, a refresher course or for use in introductory theology classes. Designed for students and pastors alike, the short and accessible volumes in the IVP Pocket Reference Series will help you tackle the study of biblical languages, church history, apologetics, world religions, Christian spirituality, ethics, theology, and more.
Paperback
First published January 26, 2007
About the author
Roger E. Olson
69 books64 followersRoger E. Olson (PhD, Rice University) is professor of theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University. He is a prolific author whose volumes include The Story of Christian Theology and The Mosaic of Christian Belief. He is also coauthor of 20th-Century Theology. Olsen identifies as an Arminian and a Baptist.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 19, 2012
I consider myself an evangelical. I believe I fit that term based on virtually anyone’s definition of what it means to be an evangelical.
A number of years ago I had a job in the sales field. My manager told me over and over that you sell the sizzle, not the steak. To use another metaphor, if you are selling clocks, most people buy the clock based on the things they perceive about it – outward design, sound of the chime or alarm, size, etc. Only a few people care even a little bit about how the clock works, most just want to know that it works.
I think that is how a number of evangelicals feel about their evangelicalism. They don’t care much about where it came from or how it got to be what it is. They just want it to work for them.
I think that is unfortunate. Knowing something about the current evangelical movement goes a long way toward explaining why we worship the way we do. It speaks to the current stresses within the movement. And it gives us a hope and a groundwork for reaching others with the gospel and enlarging the kingdom.
Roger Olson’s Pocket History of Evangelical Theology (2007, InterVarsity Press, taken from The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology, 2004, Westminster John Knox Press) does a great job of filling in those blanks.
Often books about evangelical theology and/or evangelical history make the mistake of going one of two directions. Some work from the assumption that the only legitimate evangelical history and theology is reformed. This has been called the “Presbyterian Paradigm”. This is the assumption that “authentic Evangelicalism and evangelical theology is rooted in the Puritans and the Princeton School of theology.” (page 142) The other approach to evangelical history has been referred to as the “Pentecostal Paradigm”. This is the view that “authentic Evangelicalism and evangelical theology is revivalistic and at least implicitly Arminian, not Reformed.” (page 142)
While on his website and in other works Olson makes no secret of his Arminianism, he does a great job in this work of presenting Evangelicalism as a tapestry woven from both of those heritages along with others. Olson describes several influences that come together to form what we now recognize as Evangelicalism:
* The Pietism that began among German Lutherans in the late seventeenth century
* The revivalism founded by John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards, followed by Charles Finney, Dwight Moody, Billy Sunday, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Billy Graham
* The Puritans, which became influenced by the Pietists and then (in the New World) by early revivalists like Jonathan Edwards
* Wesleyanism as it was born out of the ministries of John and Charles Wesley
* The role of the Great Awakenings served in combining a number of these influences and becoming something like a birth of what became known as Evangelicalism
* The early shaping of what became evangelical theology by the Princeton School of theology
The influence of the Holiness and Pentecostal movements, especially on twentieth century Evangelicalism
* The fundamentalist movement of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s
After taking us on a journey through the roots of evangelical theology, the author offers brief profiles of a few key theologians of what he calls “Postfundamentalist Evangelical Theology”. He would characterize all of these as being conservative in their theology. These theologians include:
* Carl F.H. Henry
* E.J. Carnell
* Bernard Ramm
* Donald Bloesch
I usually think about Evangelicalism being pretty conservative by nature. Olson makes room for a little bigger tent than I prefer. I don’t know that he is wrong to consider as evangelical what he calls “Postconservative Evangelical Theology”, but I am not really comfortable with it. In a chapter by that title, he spends most of the time describing the progression of the late Clark Pinnock. Pinnock was a proponent of what he called “Open Theism”. While I do not agree with Pinnock’s view, I do now have a better understanding of it. For that I am grateful.
The last chapter is spent describing what Olson sees as the tensions within Evangelicalism. The primary one he identifies is the growing tension between “conservative, aggressive Calvinist evangelicals and defensive Arminian evangelicals”. (page 142) Unfortunately, he is probably correct.I really enjoyed this history. It gave me a greater appreciation of where I have come from theologically and the role those with very different viewpoints have played in forming my perspective. I think this is healthy. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a better understanding of what Evangelicalism really is. It would not hurt if a few journalists, along with others from outside the evangelical camp, read this book. If you consider yourself an evangelical, you should read it as well.
A number of years ago I had a job in the sales field. My manager told me over and over that you sell the sizzle, not the steak. To use another metaphor, if you are selling clocks, most people buy the clock based on the things they perceive about it – outward design, sound of the chime or alarm, size, etc. Only a few people care even a little bit about how the clock works, most just want to know that it works.
I think that is how a number of evangelicals feel about their evangelicalism. They don’t care much about where it came from or how it got to be what it is. They just want it to work for them.
I think that is unfortunate. Knowing something about the current evangelical movement goes a long way toward explaining why we worship the way we do. It speaks to the current stresses within the movement. And it gives us a hope and a groundwork for reaching others with the gospel and enlarging the kingdom.
Roger Olson’s Pocket History of Evangelical Theology (2007, InterVarsity Press, taken from The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology, 2004, Westminster John Knox Press) does a great job of filling in those blanks.
Often books about evangelical theology and/or evangelical history make the mistake of going one of two directions. Some work from the assumption that the only legitimate evangelical history and theology is reformed. This has been called the “Presbyterian Paradigm”. This is the assumption that “authentic Evangelicalism and evangelical theology is rooted in the Puritans and the Princeton School of theology.” (page 142) The other approach to evangelical history has been referred to as the “Pentecostal Paradigm”. This is the view that “authentic Evangelicalism and evangelical theology is revivalistic and at least implicitly Arminian, not Reformed.” (page 142)
While on his website and in other works Olson makes no secret of his Arminianism, he does a great job in this work of presenting Evangelicalism as a tapestry woven from both of those heritages along with others. Olson describes several influences that come together to form what we now recognize as Evangelicalism:
* The Pietism that began among German Lutherans in the late seventeenth century
* The revivalism founded by John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards, followed by Charles Finney, Dwight Moody, Billy Sunday, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Billy Graham
* The Puritans, which became influenced by the Pietists and then (in the New World) by early revivalists like Jonathan Edwards
* Wesleyanism as it was born out of the ministries of John and Charles Wesley
* The role of the Great Awakenings served in combining a number of these influences and becoming something like a birth of what became known as Evangelicalism
* The early shaping of what became evangelical theology by the Princeton School of theology
The influence of the Holiness and Pentecostal movements, especially on twentieth century Evangelicalism
* The fundamentalist movement of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s
After taking us on a journey through the roots of evangelical theology, the author offers brief profiles of a few key theologians of what he calls “Postfundamentalist Evangelical Theology”. He would characterize all of these as being conservative in their theology. These theologians include:
* Carl F.H. Henry
* E.J. Carnell
* Bernard Ramm
* Donald Bloesch
I usually think about Evangelicalism being pretty conservative by nature. Olson makes room for a little bigger tent than I prefer. I don’t know that he is wrong to consider as evangelical what he calls “Postconservative Evangelical Theology”, but I am not really comfortable with it. In a chapter by that title, he spends most of the time describing the progression of the late Clark Pinnock. Pinnock was a proponent of what he called “Open Theism”. While I do not agree with Pinnock’s view, I do now have a better understanding of it. For that I am grateful.
The last chapter is spent describing what Olson sees as the tensions within Evangelicalism. The primary one he identifies is the growing tension between “conservative, aggressive Calvinist evangelicals and defensive Arminian evangelicals”. (page 142) Unfortunately, he is probably correct.I really enjoyed this history. It gave me a greater appreciation of where I have come from theologically and the role those with very different viewpoints have played in forming my perspective. I think this is healthy. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a better understanding of what Evangelicalism really is. It would not hurt if a few journalists, along with others from outside the evangelical camp, read this book. If you consider yourself an evangelical, you should read it as well.
February 27, 2018
Very concise, thorough, well-balanced history of evangelical theology. Olson discusses how "evangelical" is defined, the roots evangelical theology and its revivalist tendencies, the rise of fundamentalism in the late 1800's and early 1900's, and the theologies that arose post-fundamentalism to the present (book was published in 2007).
Olson also discusses, in separate chapters, the views of five "leading movers and shakers of postfundamentalist evangelical theology: C.F. Henry (ch.11), E.J. Carnell (12), Bernard Ramm (13), D. Bloesch (14), and C. Pinnock.
I find an interesting note that Olson makes in chapter 16 when he discusses a tension that arose between evangelical parties beginning as early as the mid-1900's, that is, the Calvinist vs. Arminian debate. This debate "threaten[ed] to disrupt the uneasy harmony of the evangelical community." And he is what I found of interest where he further states, "As long as Billy Graham is alive and well and able robustly to hold the evangelical coalition together in spite of all it's diversity, these tensions remain just under the surface. Once the 'Graham glue' dissolves with his retirement or death, it seems likely that at least the more dogmatic group of Reformed evangelicals and the more defensive group of Arminians (including Wesleyan) evangelicals will break away from each other and disrupt the evangelical coalition" (p.143).
The date of writing my review is 2/27/2017, and Graham passed away just last week on 2/20. It will be interesting to see if Olson was prophetic.
In any case, as small and short as this book is, it is very informative and enlightening putting into perspective the history and theology of the evangelical movement.
Olson also discusses, in separate chapters, the views of five "leading movers and shakers of postfundamentalist evangelical theology: C.F. Henry (ch.11), E.J. Carnell (12), Bernard Ramm (13), D. Bloesch (14), and C. Pinnock.
I find an interesting note that Olson makes in chapter 16 when he discusses a tension that arose between evangelical parties beginning as early as the mid-1900's, that is, the Calvinist vs. Arminian debate. This debate "threaten[ed] to disrupt the uneasy harmony of the evangelical community." And he is what I found of interest where he further states, "As long as Billy Graham is alive and well and able robustly to hold the evangelical coalition together in spite of all it's diversity, these tensions remain just under the surface. Once the 'Graham glue' dissolves with his retirement or death, it seems likely that at least the more dogmatic group of Reformed evangelicals and the more defensive group of Arminians (including Wesleyan) evangelicals will break away from each other and disrupt the evangelical coalition" (p.143).
The date of writing my review is 2/27/2017, and Graham passed away just last week on 2/20. It will be interesting to see if Olson was prophetic.
In any case, as small and short as this book is, it is very informative and enlightening putting into perspective the history and theology of the evangelical movement.
December 11, 2008
This little book, really an extended historical essay, presents a nice introduction to evangelical theology, from roots in pietism, revivalism, Puritanism, and Wesleyanism, to the "post-fundamentalist evangelical coalition," to envelope-pushing postconservative thought. There is much it doesn't cover or only succeeds in touching upon; still, it draws together various lines of influence in ways that I found clarifying and helpful. For example, Olson emphasizes the uneasy convergence of Reformed and Arminian thought within evangelicalism from American frontier days and the tensions that produces to this day.
I learned a lot about Carl F.H. Henry and other early post-fundamentalist big shots; I wasn't all that impressed by the heavily rationalistic and propositional tone (as conveyed by Olson), though I know these short chapters can't give a comprehensive view of any thinker. I discovered that it's possible I care little about inerrancy as such...and I was bothered by the seeming lack of a robust trinitarianism in their thought, as Olson presents it. I do want to learn more about the "mediating" ideas of Bernard Ramm and Donald Bloesch; even Clark Pinnock intrigues me a bit, though I'm hardly a postconservative and definitely NOT an open theist.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book as a starting-point for learning about evangelical history, despite all that inevitably gets omitted. My big complaint is that it includes no bibliography, which I consider to be a must for such a book!
I learned a lot about Carl F.H. Henry and other early post-fundamentalist big shots; I wasn't all that impressed by the heavily rationalistic and propositional tone (as conveyed by Olson), though I know these short chapters can't give a comprehensive view of any thinker. I discovered that it's possible I care little about inerrancy as such...and I was bothered by the seeming lack of a robust trinitarianism in their thought, as Olson presents it. I do want to learn more about the "mediating" ideas of Bernard Ramm and Donald Bloesch; even Clark Pinnock intrigues me a bit, though I'm hardly a postconservative and definitely NOT an open theist.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book as a starting-point for learning about evangelical history, despite all that inevitably gets omitted. My big complaint is that it includes no bibliography, which I consider to be a must for such a book!
October 19, 2017
As someone who works in an interdenominational and evangelical setting, this book was invaluable in understanding where evangelicalism comes from. I appreciated that Dr. Olson gave attention to the many rivers that lead to the evangelical ocean (not only focusing on those that have influenced Reformed theology). It was a rewarding book to read that helped make so many things come together. I also appreciated his inclusion of the chapter on post-conservative evangelical theologians as well as the chapter on tensions in evangelical theology (theologians as gate-keepers or pioneers for example). A fantastic book that I would recommend to any Christian, especially those heavily involved in the evangelical world!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews