Bøger af Roger E. Olson

Clear-eyed and foundational, Roger Olson's The Essentials of Christian Thought outlines the most basic, necessary principles of a Christian outlook on the world---principles without which no thinking can properly be viewed as Christian.

In this major revision and expansion of the classic 20th-Century Theology (1992), coauthored with Stanley J. Grenz, Roger Olson tells the full story of modern theology from Descartes to Caputo, from the Kantian revolution to postmodernism, now recast in terms of how theologians have accommodated or rejected modernity.

In his book, poised to become a standard historical theology textbook, Roger Olson takes us on a journey of events ranging from the apostolic fathers to the Reformation to the present.

To many Christians today theology means something alien, overly intellectual and unappealing. Even seminarians are known to balk at it. Yet theology - most simply, the knowledge of God - is essential to the life and health of the church. In Who Needs Theology? two theologians who care profoundly about the witness of ordinary Christians show what theology is, how every believer (earned degrees or not) is a theologian, what tools theology uses, and how lay - as well as professional - theologians can do better theology. This clear, eminently accessible book is ideal for students, church study groups and individual laypersons who want to enrich their discipleship through the riches of theology.

Liberal Christian theology permeates mainlines denominations and progressive circles of the church to this day. But what is liberal theology? What are progressive Christians progressing toward, and what are they leaving behind?In Against Liberal Theology, professor and theologian Roger E. Olson warns progressive and mainline Christians against passively accepting the ideas of liberal theology without thinking through the consequences. In doing so, he examines the basic beliefs of the Christian faith, the main ideas of liberal theology, the way today's mainline and progressive Christianity relates to classic liberalism, and how classic Christian faith and liberal Christianity connect and contradict. Following in the footsteps of Gresham Machen's now-classic Christianity and Liberalism 100 years ago, Olson worries that liberal Christianity may not be Christianity but a different religion altogether.After examining the origins of liberal theology in the nineteenth century, Olson examines how liberal theology views:Sources of truthThe BibleGodJesus ChristSalvationThe FutureGentle but direct, Olson provides an even-handed assessment and critique of the ideas of liberal theology and worries that liberal Christianity has strayed too far from the classic Christian orthodoxy of the fathers and creeds to be considered "e;Christian"e; at all.

The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology is a comprehensive critical survey of the main persons, events, controversies, concepts, and institutions of twentieth-century evangelical theology. It will introduce readers to and be a reference work for the study of evangelicalism's distinctive theological vision in its unity and diversity...

In this book, Roger Olson sets forth classical Arminian theology and addresses the myriad misunderstandings and misrepresentations of it through the ages. Irenic yet incisive, Olson argues that classical Arminian theology has a rightful place in the evangelical church because it maintains deep roots within Reformational theology, even though it maintains important differences from Calvinism. Myths addressed include:Myth 1: Arminian Theology Is the Opposite of Calvinist/Reformed TheologyMyth 2: A Hybrid of Calvinism and Arminianism Is PossibleMyth 3: Arminianism Is Not an Orthodox Evangelical OptionMyth 4: The Heart of Arminianism Is Belief in Free WillMyth 5: Arminian Theology Denies the Sovereignty of GodMyth 6: Arminianism Is a Human-Centered TheologyMyth 7: Arminianism Is Not a Theology of GraceMyth 8: Arminians Do Not Believe in PredestinationMyth 9: Arminian Theology Denies Justification by Grace Alone Through Faith AloneMyth 10: All Arminians Believe in the Governmental Theory of the Atonement

In The Mosaic of Christian Belief Roger E. Olson thematically traces the contours of Christian belief down through the ages, revealing a pattern of both unity and diversity. He finds a consensus of teaching that is both unitive and able to incorporate a faithful diversity when not forced into the molds of false either-or alternatives. The mosaic that emerges from Olson's work, now updated throughout and with a new chapter on the Holy Spirit, displays a mediating evangelical theology that is irenic in spirit and tone. Olson, writing with nonspecialists in mind, has masterfully sketched out the contours of the Great Tradition of the Christian faith with simplicity while avoiding oversimplification.

Many Christians' faith exists as a loose collection of unexamined cliches and slogans borrowed from songs, devotional books, sermon illustrations, and even the internet. Too often this belief system (if it can be called a "e;system"e;) lacks coherence and intelligibility; it can hardly be expressed, let alone defended, to others. The problem with folk religion is that it too easily withers under the onslaughts of secularism or seemingly reasonable answers provided by cults and new religions. Christianity has a long tradition of intellectual examination of other faiths and its own beliefs. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living; great Christian minds of all the ages have believed the unexamined faith is not worth believing. Reflective Christianity is Christian faith that has subjected itself to the rigorous questioning of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. It is mature Christian faith that goes on believing even as it questions what it believes. The goal of this book is not to destroy anyone's faith but to build it up by placing it on a firmer foundation of critical examination. Ten popular Christian cliches are subjected to critical inquiry and interrogated to discover whether they contain truth or are in error. In most cases the conclusion is-both. The aim is not to tear down straw men but to demonstrate a path toward stronger, more mature Christian belief.

Calvinist theology has been debated and promoted for centuries. But is it a theology that should last? Roger Olson suggests that "radical reformed theology," also known as "high federal Calvinism," holds an unwarranted place in our list of accepted theologies.