Books by Roger E. Olson

Clear-eyed and foundational, Roger Olson's The Essentials of Christian Thought outlines the most basic, necessary principles of a Christian outlook on the world---principles without which no thinking can properly be viewed as Christian.

Liberal Christian theology permeates mainlines denominations and progressive circles of the church to this day. But what is liberal theology? What are progressive Christians progressing toward, and what are they leaving behind?In Against Liberal Theology, professor and theologian Roger E. Olson warns progressive and mainline Christians against passively accepting the ideas of liberal theology without thinking through the consequences. In doing so, he examines the basic beliefs of the Christian faith, the main ideas of liberal theology, the way today's mainline and progressive Christianity relates to classic liberalism, and how classic Christian faith and liberal Christianity connect and contradict. Following in the footsteps of Gresham Machen's now-classic Christianity and Liberalism 100 years ago, Olson worries that liberal Christianity may not be Christianity but a different religion altogether.After examining the origins of liberal theology in the nineteenth century, Olson examines how liberal theology views:Sources of truthThe BibleGodJesus ChristSalvationThe FutureGentle but direct, Olson provides an even-handed assessment and critique of the ideas of liberal theology and worries that liberal Christianity has strayed too far from the classic Christian orthodoxy of the fathers and creeds to be considered "e;Christian"e; at all.

The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology is a comprehensive critical survey of the main persons, events, controversies, concepts, and institutions of twentieth-century evangelical theology. It will introduce readers to and be a reference work for the study of evangelicalism's distinctive theological vision in its unity and diversity...

Many Christians' faith exists as a loose collection of unexamined cliches and slogans borrowed from songs, devotional books, sermon illustrations, and even the internet. Too often this belief system (if it can be called a "e;system"e;) lacks coherence and intelligibility; it can hardly be expressed, let alone defended, to others. The problem with folk religion is that it too easily withers under the onslaughts of secularism or seemingly reasonable answers provided by cults and new religions. Christianity has a long tradition of intellectual examination of other faiths and its own beliefs. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living; great Christian minds of all the ages have believed the unexamined faith is not worth believing. Reflective Christianity is Christian faith that has subjected itself to the rigorous questioning of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. It is mature Christian faith that goes on believing even as it questions what it believes. The goal of this book is not to destroy anyone's faith but to build it up by placing it on a firmer foundation of critical examination. Ten popular Christian cliches are subjected to critical inquiry and interrogated to discover whether they contain truth or are in error. In most cases the conclusion is-both. The aim is not to tear down straw men but to demonstrate a path toward stronger, more mature Christian belief.