Roger E. Olson. The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform. IVP Academic, 1999. See here to purchase the book.
Roger E. Olson teaches theology at George W. Truett Theological
Seminary, which is at Baylor University. In this book, Olson tells the
story of Christian theology from the second through the twentieth
century.
The book is organized chronologically rather than topically, but
among the topics that it engages are: the tension between an emphasis on
grace in salvation and an emphasis on good works; Christological
debates about the relationship of the Son to the Father and the divine
and human nature within Christ; ecclesiastical evolution and disputes
over the primacy of the Bishop in Rome; monergism vs. synergism; the
presence of Christ in the sacraments; the tension between emphasizing
orthodoxy and emphasizing personal piety; the relationship between
Christian theology and philosophy and, later, modernism; and liberation
theology.
The book is very lucid. There were some thinkers whom I failed to
understand, such as those who posited that God’s existence was somehow
contingent on the world. Olson explained them as best as he could!
Overall, the book effectively broke down the thoughts of major Christian
theologians throughout history. Olson admits that this book is not a
comprehensive treatment, but it does provide the gist of what prominent
theologians have argued, and this can provide a crucial foundation and
context for further study.
Olson managed to phrase issues in a manner that I found clear. For
instance, I have wondered how exactly to define Nestorianism and to
differentiate it from what became orthodoxy. It says Jesus had a divine
and human nature. What’s wrong with that? But Olson explained that
Nestorianism presented two personages as present within Jesus: a divine
being and a human being. Another question that I have had concerns who
experiences prevenient grace, according to Arminianism. Is it only
those whom God chooses to woo, or is it everyone? Olson states that,
according to Arminianism, everyone does, on some level.
The book also conveys that there are nuances, without getting lost in
a mess of details. While it seems to acknowledge that a belief in
Jesus’ divinity goes back to the first century CE, it states that the
conception of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were different in the
Shepherd of Hermas and Athanasius’ writings than in what came out in
orthodox Trinitarianism.
Olson also corrects common misconceptions, as when he states that
deists believed in a God who could interfere in the cosmos. He also
addresses questions that some may be afraid to ask, thinking they are
dumb questions. For example, does Black Liberation Theology hold that
only black people will go to heaven after they die? Olson’s willingness
to engage this brings the book down to an accessible level.
Olson is not afraid to share his views, here and there. He
characterizes the Shepherd of Hermas as legalistic, seeing it as a
departure from Paul’s message of grace. He tends to root for the
orthodox Trinitarian side. He sees the Council of Orange as a mess when
it comes to the issue of predestination. He is skeptical about Process
Theology. While Olson is known as an Arminian theologian, he is not
particularly negative towards monergism in this book. Even when
discussing positions that he may not hold, he tries to get inside of the
heads of their adherents and convey their point of view, as when he
explains the development of liberal theology. At times, Olson discusses
the effects of past disputes on the present, as when he maintains that
the U.S. religious culture is privately pietist and publicly deist.
There were things that I learned in reading this book. For one,
Olson states that Celsus, against whom Origen argued, may have been
raised in a Christian household. Second, there was the issue of
nominalism. Nominalism believes in particulars, not categories. As
Olson explains, this has profound ramifications on Christian theology.
If there is no category of divinity, for example, what does that do to
the Trinitarian model in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
are one what and three whos? There is no longer a what called
divinity! There are only three distinct whos, and saying they are one
because they share a divine nature is precluded, under nominalism. Is
there such a thing as goodness? Olson shows that nominalism led to a
divine-command model of ethics: something is right simply because God
commands it, not because it is right in itself, according to some
category called “right.” According to Olson, such an idea influenced
Martin Luther. Olson explained nominalism well, but I have a hard time
believing that Luther rejected the idea that God is good.
This book covers a lot of territory, but in an accessible manner. It
is a go-to book, yet it is more than a reference book, as Olson
provides a compelling narrative and displays his love for the subject
matter. There are thinkers who are not treated in this book, such as
Tillich, but Olson has written another book about modern theology, which
I will read in the future.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My review is honest!