Doctrine is central to Christian discipleship and maturity. Unfortunately, it is often sidelined in churches' teaching ministry as irrelevant or impractical. Countering this, leading church historian Douglas Sweeney defines doctrine as church teaching intended for the shaping of daily faith and practice.
The Substance of Our Faith addresses introductory issues in the study and application of historical doctrine, incorporating a unique global and catholic perspective. It addresses the Spirit's role in the rise of doctrine in the early church, the authority of Scripture and tradition in the development of doctrine, the challenges of doing global historical theology, the nature and purpose of doctrine, and implications for teaching the faith today. Specifically, Sweeney advocates that those who teach the Christian faith in all churches do so in communion with the saints who have come before. A future volume by the author will narrate the actual history of doctrinal teaching around the world.
By:
Douglas A. Sweeney
Imprint: Baker Academic, Div of Baker Publishing Group
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 302g
ISBN: 9780801048463
ISBN 10: 080104846X
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 21 November 2023
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified
"1. Jesus' Promise of the Spirit Kerygma, Rules of Faith, Canons of Scripture, and the Spirit Interpreting the Word by the Spirit with the Church Listening to the Spirit in an Era of Improvement The Spirit-Bound Body of Christ as ""Pillar"" and ""Bulwark"" of Christian Teaching 2. From Every Tribe and Language Modern Missions, Western Power, and the Rise of ""the Global South"" But the Church Has Always Been Global The Promise and the Peril of Postcolonial Christian Teaching Teaching the Christian Faith across Both Time and Space 3. Doctrine as Church Teaching for the Shaping of Faith and Practice What Is Christian Doctrine? How Is Doctrine Devised? Should Doctrine Ever Be Revised? How So? And by Whom? Why Does Any of This Matter? 4. Teaching in, with, and under the Christian Church ""Constructive Theology"" and Its Liberating Pedagogy ""Retrieval Theology"" and Its Classical Instruction Ressourcement Revisited ""Free Church Theologies"" in Search of Deeper Roots Late-Modern Work on the Concept of Tradition Thinking in, with, and under the Christian Church Conclusion Index"
Douglas A. Sweeney (PhD, Vanderbilt University) is dean and professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books on the history of Christian doctrine, early modern Protestant history, American church history, Christology, and global evangelicalism and is a highly respected Jonathan Edwards scholar.
