CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY

THIRD EDITION

MILLARD J. ERICKSON

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 1983, 1998, 2013 by Millard Erickson

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakeracademic.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Erickson, Millard J.

Christian theology / Millard J. Erickson.—3rd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8010-3643-9 (cloth)

1. Theology, Doctrinal. I. Title.

BT75.3.E725 2013

230—dc23

2012042213

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations labeled NIV 1984 are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

To

Bernard Ramm (in memoriam),

my first theology professor;

William E. Hordern,

my doctoral mentor;

and Wolfhart Pannenberg,

my postdoctoral mentor.

Contents

Preface

Part 1: Studying God

1. What Is Theology?

2. The Possibility of Theology

3. The Method of Theology

4. Contextualizing Theology

5. Two Special Issues: Biblical Criticism and Theological Language

Part 2: Knowing God

6. God’s Universal Revelation

7. God’s Particular Revelation

8. The Preservation of the Revelation: Inspiration

9. The Dependability of God’s Word: Inerrancy

10. The Power of God’s Word: Authority

Part 3: What God Is Like

11. The Greatness of God

12. The Goodness of God

13. God’s Nearness and Distance: Immanence and Transcendence

14. God’s Three-in-Oneness: The Trinity

Part 4: What God Does

15. God’s Plan

16. God’s Originating Work: Creation

17. God’s Continuing Work: Providence

18. Evil and God’s World: A Special Problem

19. God’s Special Agents: Angels

Part 5: Humanity

20. Introduction to the Doctrine of Humanity

21. The Origin of Humanity

22. The Image of God in the Human

23. The Constitutional Nature of the Human

24. The Universality of Humanity

Part 6: Sin

25. The Nature of Sin

26. The Source of Sin

27. The Results of Sin

28. The Magnitude of Sin

29. The Social Dimension of Sin

Part 7: The Person of Christ

30. Contemporary Issues in Christological Method

31. The Deity of Christ

32. The Humanity of Christ

33. The Unity of the Person of Christ

34. The Virgin Birth

Part 8: The Work of Christ

35. Introduction to the Work of Christ

36. Theories of the Atonement

37. The Central Theme of the Atonement

38. The Extent of the Atonement...