"An introduction that aims to initiate" is how Hendrikus Berkhof describes this book, in which he provides beginning students and interested general readers with a concise guide to what to expect -- and what not to expect -- in the field of dogmatics.
Berkhof begins by defining dogma and dogmatics, and sets dogmatics in its context within the perspectives of faith and science, and in time and space. He then describes the foundations of dogmatics -- that is, the framework within which dogmatics should be studied. Material dogmatics -- the building on that foundation -- is usually divided into several parts (God, Christ, Israel, the Holy Spirit, and other themes), which Berkhof examines individually in the book's final section.
In a day when Christians see a need to produce and study explanations of their faith, Berkhof has provided a useful tool to enable them to understand what dogmatics really is, so that they can then account for their faith in a systematic, thorough, and understandable way.
Berkhof begins by defining dogma and dogmatics, and sets dogmatics in its context within the perspectives of faith and science, and in time and space. He then describes the foundations of dogmatics -- that is, the framework within which dogmatics should be studied. Material dogmatics -- the building on that foundation -- is usually divided into several parts (God, Christ, Israel, the Holy Spirit, and other themes), which Berkhof examines individually in the book's final section.
In a day when Christians see a need to produce and study explanations of their faith, Berkhof has provided a useful tool to enable them to understand what dogmatics really is, so that they can then account for their faith in a systematic, thorough, and understandable way.
