SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Vol. 1
Grounded in Holy Scripture and understood in the light of the Church
By Douglas F. Kelly. Mentor. 620 pages. £22.99
ISBN 978-1-84550-386-4
Systematic theologies are not for everyone, for they are not bedtime reading. The market is students, ministers and the proverbial ‘intelligent, well-read layperson’. A number of evangelical systematic theologies have appeared in recent years, often resembling the curate’s egg — good in parts. The translation of Bavinck is a major event but we still need a consistently reliable recent theology. Douglas Kelly gives strong indication that his may be the one for which we’re waiting.
This is the fruit of decades of research, thought and teaching. Kelly’s procedure is entirely sound; Scripture is his basis, the primary authority, but he engages throughout with the past teaching of the church. In this, he follows in the footsteps of Calvin and the Westminster Assembly. His breadth of coverage is wide. As he states, he is ‘gladly appropriating crucial insights … of the whole people of God over the last two thousand years — Eastern Orthodox, Western Catholic, and Reformed Protestant — as they sought to explicate and live out the foundational truths of the inspired Word of God’ (p.10). This reach is typical of the classical and historical Reformed tradition. Moreover, Kelly’s work is greatly enriched by the extent of his omnivorous reading, ranging well beyond theology into literature and philosophy.
