Books in Review: Essentials of Christian Theology

​I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I chose this book. When I chose it from a list of non-fiction books I could review, this one sounded the most interesting. While I haven’t read a theological book like this in some time, this ended up being a great refresher on many central and important doctrines of the faith. While it was fairly dense given the subject matter, the subjects addressed were covered well, making it a great tool for someone who is looking to learn more about theology. I am now grateful to have this resource as part of my personal library ~ Bethel

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​In their book Essentials of Christian Theology, editors Nathan Holsteen and Michael Svigel walk Christians through the foundational teachings and doctrines of the Christian faith, as well as how these doctrines apply to our lives today. Addressing concepts such as the Trinity, humanity’s relationship to sin, and God’s saving grace, each topic is broken down into practical sections, including “Passages to Ponder,” “Realities to Remember,” “Errors to Avoid,” and “Lessons to Live.” Coming from a systematic theological perspective, this book works hard to present the different theological views presented from a balanced view that doesn’t declare one view to be right over another. It also holds fast to the truth of gospel and emphasizes doctrines on which most Protestant Christian would agree. Beyond the work of just sharing theological truth, each chapter also includes a section of practical ways that we as Christians should be living our lives in light of the truth of that given doctrine. With the inclusion of a list of resources for continuing study, this book would be a great starting point for anyone that wants to get serious about understanding the teachings and logic behind their why they believe what they believe. As long as you are ready for deeper study, I highly recommend this book.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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Personal Rating. This is a great theological resource for those starting out. My only criticism of the book is that it is kind of dense, covering a lot of information in a small space. However, I understand why this is and feel that they covered the subjects well. I personally think this book could have benefitted from breaking each of the previously mentioned sections into subchapters, as that would help make the reading of this material feel less dense and make it easier to reference later. But this is just a personal opinion. Other than this, I would highly recommend this book