I have as of this date January 31, 2013 read this book, I am thinking about getting in on Kindle Fire.
Prolegomena is where you clear the deck on preliminary issues and show how you intend to set up a system of theology. It is what you say before you say anything about theology— in other words, a type of pre-theology, or a first theology. Topics dealt with here include defining theology, giving a definition of the gospel, stating the purposes and goals of theology, and outlining a theological method. + What exactly is theology? +
To put things simply, theology is the study of God. It comes from the word theos, which is Greek for "God," and from logos, which is Greek for "word." 8 It is the attempt to say something about God and God’s relationship to the world. It is thinking about faith from faith. In a sense, theology is very much akin to the study of philosophy, worldview, religion, ethics, or intellectual history; it is a descriptive survey of ideas and the impact of those ideas. But there are at least two key differences that distinguish theology from other intellectual disciplines like philosophy and religion.
The first difference is that theology is not the study of ideas about God; it is the study of the living God. Christian theology, then, is different from the study of seventeenth century French literature, ancient Greek religion, and medieval philosophers because the Christian claims that he or she is in personal contact with the subject of study.
It is one thing to discuss William Shakespeare in the classroom, but it would be quite another thing to do that if Shakespeare was standing in the classroom with you. Theology, then, is not an objective discipline (i.e., a detached study of an object) like the physical sciences, nor is it a descriptive discipline like the social sciences.
Theology is speaking about God while in the very presence of God. We are intimately engaged with the subject of our study. Second, theology is studied and performed in a community of faith. Theology is something that is learned, lived, sung, preached, and renewed through the dynamic interaction between God and his people.
Theology is the conversation that takes place between family members in the household of faith about what it means to behold and believe in God. Theology is the attempt to verbalize and to perform our relationship with God. Theology can be likened to the process of learning to take part in a divinely directed musical called "Godspell." 9 To do theology is to describe the God who acts, to be acted upon, and to become an actor in the divine drama of God’s plan to repossess the world for himself.
Evangelical theology, then, is the drama of gospelizing. By "gospelizing" I mean trying to become what the gospel intends believers to be: slaves of Christ, vessels of grace, agents of the kingdom, and a people worthy of God’s name. + Consequently, theology is the task for disciples of Jesus to begin excavating the manifold truth of the gospel and to start reflecting the spiritual realities that the gospel endeavors to cultivate in their own lives.
Bird, Michael F. (2013-10-29). Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction (Kindle Locations 455-515). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. $31.71 Kindle Edition
Evangelical Theology is a systematic theology written from the perspective of a biblical scholar. Michael F. Bird contends that the center, unity, and boundary of the evangelical faith is the evangel (= gospel), as opposed to things like justification by faith or inerrancy.
The evangel is the unifying thread in evangelical theology and the theological hermeneutic through which the various loci of theology need to be understood. Using the gospel as a theological leitmotif---an approach to Christian doctrine that begins with the gospel and sees each loci through the lens of the gospel---this text presents an authentically evangelical theology, as opposed to an ordinary systematic theology written by an evangelical theologian.
According to the author, theology is the drama of gospelizing---performing and living out the gospel in the theatre of Christian life. The text features tables, sidebars, and questions for discussion. The end of every part includes a 'What to Take Home' section that gives students a run-down on what they need to know. And since reading theology can often be dry and cerebral, the author applies his unique sense of humor in occasional 'Comic Belief' sections so that students may enjoy their learning experience through some theological humor added for good measure
The evangel is the unifying thread in evangelical theology and the theological hermeneutic through which the various loci of theology need to be understood. Using the gospel as a theological leitmotif---an approach to Christian doctrine that begins with the gospel and sees each loci through the lens of the gospel---this text presents an authentically evangelical theology, as opposed to an ordinary systematic theology written by an evangelical theologian.
According to the author, theology is the drama of gospelizing---performing and living out the gospel in the theatre of Christian life. The text features tables, sidebars, and questions for discussion. The end of every part includes a 'What to Take Home' section that gives students a run-down on what they need to know. And since reading theology can often be dry and cerebral, the author applies his unique sense of humor in occasional 'Comic Belief' sections so that students may enjoy their learning experience through some theological humor added for good measure
