Christianity 101

Rating:
Summary: Good Intro to Basic Theology
Review: Dr. Bilezikian's introduction to basic Christian doctrine is a wonderful distillation of eight basic doctrines of the Church. The book is very easy to read, does not get bogged down in technical debate and does not add endless Scripture references that add little to the point in question. Starting with the doctrine of Revelation, working through each person of the trinity, the church and end times. Bilezikian shows that he has thought through the issues with the question of the average layperson in mind. Bilezikian's chapter on the church is nothing if not inspiring and his chapter on End Times adds a nice touch to a beleaguered area of theology.

I did find some blemishes in the work. At times, Bilezikian jumps to conclusions that are not supported by his argumentation. For instance, on page 16, he makes the claim: "Since the truth of the Old Testament is partial and incomplete, the Old Testament cannot have the final word on any aspect of revelation, unless it is confirmed as such in the New Testament." That is a pretty hard pill to swallow, particularly when one remembers that 2 Tim 3:16 originally referred to the Hebrew Scriptures! More than once, I found myself asking "why" or saying "so what?" after he made some disconnected bold claim (see pp. 156, 183, 201, etc.). His section on predestination was weak in its argumentation, for anyone who has actually studied the issue. Bilezikian argues for corporate election and a self-limitation of God's foreknowledge not unlike the open-theists. It is an interesting argument, but it would have been more helpful to show the reader its weaknesses as well as its strengths. There were a couple of typos in the book ("gopsel" on p.153 etc.) but none were serious. The only major editing flaw was the omission of the discussion questions for chapter 7 (church). I emailed Zondervan about this and a day later the questions were in my inbox -- I was impressed.

Enough nit-picking, all in all, this is a great introductory text with "small-group" or "freshman" written all over it. If you want some basic doctrine in an accessible style, Christianity 101 is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Good Intro to Basic Theology
Review: Dr. Bilezikian's introduction to basic Christian doctrine is a wonderful distillation of eight basic doctrines of the Church. The book is very easy to read, does not get bogged down in technical debate and does not add endless Scripture references that add little to the point in question. Starting with the doctrine of Revelation, working through each person of the trinity, the church and end times. Bilezikian shows that he has thought through the issues with the question of the average layperson in mind. Bilezikian's chapter on the church is nothing if not inspiring and his chapter on End Times adds a nice touch to a beleaguered area of theology.

I did find some blemishes in the work. At times, Bilezikian jumps to conclusions that are not supported by his argumentation. For instance, on page 16, he makes the claim: "Since the truth of the Old Testament is partial and incomplete, the Old Testament cannot have the final word on any aspect of revelation, unless it is confirmed as such in the New Testament." That is a pretty hard pill to swallow, particularly when one remembers that 2 Tim 3:16 originally referred to the Hebrew Scriptures! More than once, I found myself asking "why" or saying "so what?" after he made some disconnected bold claim (see pp. 156, 183, 201, etc.). His section on predestination was weak in its argumentation, for anyone who has actually studied the issue. Bilezikian argues for corporate election and a self-limitation of God's foreknowledge not unlike the open-theists. It is an interesting argument, but it would have been more helpful to show the reader its weaknesses as well as its strengths. There were a couple of typos in the book ("gopsel" on p.153 etc.) but none were serious. The only major editing flaw was the omission of the discussion questions for chapter 7 (church). I emailed Zondervan about this and a day later the questions were in my inbox -- I was impressed.

Enough nit-picking, all in all, this is a great introductory text with "small-group" or "freshman" written all over it. If you want some basic doctrine in an accessible style, Christianity 101 is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: A nice, organized book
Review: I checked Christianity 101 out of our local library because it was one of the few books in the "Christianity" section that was not heretical. I expected the same old poorly laid out rehashing of doctrine in a sedative format. I figured it was worth a try though. I was suprised. It seems that someone duped our humanist local library into actually buying a useful book! The author makes these eight doctrines come alive. I recommend this book to those new Christians who want to build a solid foundation for their faith as well as all those seeking out the truths of Christianity.

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad book, but there are better!
Review: I found Christianity 101 to be rather a tedious reading book written from a clearly neo-evangelical perspective. Provided that one affirms that position, he or she may find this book useful. Perhaps my principal concern is that this book was written for the newer Christian who may not be aware of other positions. Bilezikian often argues in such a manner that the reader would assume his perspective is unassailable, when in fact he simply fails to note arguments to the contrary. This tendency is particularly noticeable in his dealings with eschatology. In this regard, the widely held conservative envangelical position is dealt with in an almost disdainful manner.

In sum, there are other books available which are more academically neutral (and, I would say, honest).

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad book, but there are better!
Review: I found Christianity 101 to be rather a tedious reading book written from a clearly neo-evangelical perspective. Provided that one affirms that position, he or she may find this book useful. Perhaps my principal concern is that this book was written for the newer Christian who may not be aware of other positions. Bilezikian often argues in such a manner that the reader would assume his perspective is unassailable, when in fact he simply fails to note arguments to the contrary. This tendency is particularly noticeable in his dealings with eschatology. In this regard, the widely held conservative envangelical position is dealt with in an almost disdainful manner.

In sum, there are other books available which are more academically neutral (and, I would say, honest).

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Lay Level Systematic Theology
Review: It is a rare thing for a theologian to take systematic theology and make it accessible on a lay level. Considering that most systematic theologies go into multiple volumes or exeed 800 pages, I think that Bilezikian did a good job here. Yes, he had to leave out some of the fine points, nuances, and richness of Christian theology but he hit all of the critical points very well. As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, some of his arguments are not so well put together but I do not think that this factor is enough to invalidate the work.

All in all, a good lay level text that would be helpful for anyone engaging in discipleship.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Lay Level Systematic Theology
Review: It is a rare thing for a theologian to take systematic theology and make it accessible on a lay level. Considering that most systematic theologies go into multiple volumes or exeed 800 pages, I think that Bilezikian did a good job here. Yes, he had to leave out some of the fine points, nuances, and richness of Christian theology but he hit all of the critical points very well. As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, some of his arguments are not so well put together but I do not think that this factor is enough to invalidate the work.

All in all, a good lay level text that would be helpful for anyone engaging in discipleship.