Know the Truth
There are many books outlining Christian theology, including In Understanding Be Men, which was reviewed in our last issue. Another one of the best available is Know the Truth by Bruce Milne. This book covers all the basic areas of Christian theology under seven headings.
- The Final Authority in Matters of Faith
- The Doctrine of God
- Mankind and Sin
- The Person and Work of Christ
- The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
- The Church
- The Last Things
This work of theology comes from an Evangelical perspective. This is made clear from the first section in which the Bible is clearly seen to be the basis of all authority–obviously an important starting point.
Although it is only a relatively short book, the text is thick with biblical references. Each section is succinctly written. One of its strengths is the way in which the various topics are dealt with in a balanced way. No part of the theology is emphasised to the neglect of another part.
Know the Truth contains a number of features common to systematic theologies of this kind:
- There are scripture references summarised at the end of each section under specific topics.
- A detailed bibliography of further works to read is given in each section.
- There is a comprehensive index of subjects at the back.
- There are two additional helpful features of this particular work:
- Discussion or ‘further thought’ questions are listed at the end of each subsection. These questions assist the reader to think about the implications of what has been read.
- As each of the seven major topic areas are concluded, there is a separate area of study under the heading ‘Application’. Under this heading, the author lays down ways in which the theory can be put into practice in our lives and in the lives of those that we may teach. For instance, at the end of the section ‘Mankind and Sin’ there is a note about purpose in which he says, “God created all things for a purpose. We are therefore constituted as purposive beings designed to seek in all things God’s glory, our neighbour’s good and our own self realisation under God.”
This is a book well worth study and an excellent resource for those preparing talks on theological topics.
