Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Andy Naselli

Interview on Keswick Theology

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I recently answered these questions from Kevin DeYoung after he read my book on Keswick theology:

  1. Give us a brief history of the Keswick movement.
  2. Who were some of the significant people involved with Keswick, both those who influenced it and those influenced by it?
  3. I really like how you explain Keswick theology by going through a typical Keswick conference. Would you explain the conference and theology for us?
  4. What are the chief problems with the Keswick view of sanctification?
  5. Where do we still see Keswick’s influence today? Is their’s a common error that resurfaces often in the church? If so, what makes its so attractive?
  6. What projects are you currently working on, either for yourself or for Dr. Carson?

—from “Andy Naselli on Why ‘Let Go and Let God’ Is a Bad Idea”

Related: Let God and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

Update on 8/23/2017: My latest book attempts to survey and analyze “let go and let God” theology:

No Quick Fix

Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

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That’s the title of my first solo book.

The publisher is Lexham Press, which is a division of Faithlife. (Logos Bible Software is also a division of Faithlife.)

You can read the book’s front matter in this 31-page PDF, which includes twenty-one endorsements, the table of contents, Tom Schreiner’s foreword, and my preface.

From the preface:

This book’s thesis is simple: Keswick theology is not biblically sound. It demonstrates this by answering three basic questions:

  1. Where did Keswick theology come from (chap. 2)?
  2. What exactly is it (chap. 3)?
  3. And why is this second-blessing theology not a blessing (chap. 4)?

If you’ve encountered some aspect of second-blessing theology, you’ll be fascinated to see how it fits in the story in chapters 2–3. And you’ll be challenged to consider its serious flaws in chapter 4. My goal is not to make you an arrogant know-it-all who pugnaciously goes on a second-blessing witch-hunt. My goal is to edify you by warning and equipping you. I’ll consider this book a success if it helps you understand second-blessing theology better, see why it’s not a blessing at all, and follow a better—more biblical—way in your Christian walk.

Related:

  1. Keswick Theology (March 24, 2008)
  2. Other posts on Logos Bible Software
  3. Interview on Keswick Theology (with Kevin DeYoung)
  4. Endorsements
  5. Tom Schreiner’s Foreword
  6. Preface
  7. Lectures on Keswick Theology
  8. Interview on Keswick Theology (with Alex Chediak)
  9. Will your book be available in print?
  10. Four guest posts on Kevin DeYoung’s blog:
    1. Pietistic Goofiness
    2. What Do You Do When a Good Hymn Goes Bad?
    3. Two Clarifications about Keswick Theology
    4. Hannah Whitall Smith’s Unhappy Life
  11. Three Recent Interviews
  12. “Why ‘Let Go and Let God’ Is a Bad Idea,” Tabletalk (August 2011): 74–75.

Update on 8/23/2017: My latest book attempts to survey and analyze “let go and let God” theology more accessibly:

No Quick Fix

https://andynaselli.com/keswick-theology

The Glory of God

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Coming June 30, 2010:

Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, eds. The Glory of God. Theology in Community. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. 255 pp. [Amazon | WTS Books | Crossway]

I just surveyed it, and it looks excellent.

Contents

  • Introduction
  • 1. Stephen J. Nichols, “The Glory of God Present and Past”
  • 2. Tremper Longman III, “The Glory of God in the Old Testament”
  • 3. Richard R. Melick Jr., “The Glory of God in the Synoptic Gospels, Acts, and the General Epistles”
  • 4. Andreas J. Köstenberger, “The Glory of God in John’s Gospel and Revelation”
  • 5. Richard B. Gaffin Jr., “The Glory of God in Paul’s Epistles”
  • 6. Christopher W. Morgan, “Toward a Theology of the Glory of God”
  • 7. Bryan Chapell, “A Pastoral Theology of the Glory of God”
  • 8. J. Nelson Jennings, “A Missional Theology of the Glory of God”

Endorsements

“The glory of God, celebrated by angels, but often lost on the church today, is here restored to our vision. This is a serious engagement with biblical truth and it asks the reader to engage with it seriously, too. When we climb a mountain, we know that however long is the ascent, it is all made worthwhile by the view from the top. So it is here.”
—David F. Wells, Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

[Read more…] about The Glory of God

Should Pastors Get PhDs?

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John Piper answers that question in three and a half minutes (transcript | audio | video):

My initial response yesterday after reading and watching Piper’s answer was this:

I think I understand where Piper is coming from here, but it seems to me like he devalues his PhD without sufficient warrant. Did the PhD not help him hone his ability to think and communicate clearly and carefully?

I just read Dane Ortlund’s response to Piper’s answer. It’s excellent. (Dane just completed a PhD in New Testament at Wheaton under Doug Moo.)

Update: Just for the record, I certainly don’t think that all pastors should get PhDs. (But that’s not the point of this post. I am questioning whether we should devalue them so much.)

A False Dilemma

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I received the below comment a few minutes ago—on my thirtieth birthday—in response to my post three days ago entitled “Dissertation Defended.” It’s a good example of a false dilemma, also called a false disjunction or the fallacy of the excluded middle.

Unfortunately two Ph.D.s can hardly be said to serve God’s kingdom. Just think of the gospel ministry by-passed because of such esoteric work. I hope you’ll have more opportunity now to minister and evangelize while the night has not come and there’s still time to work for the Lord of the harvest.

Dissertation Abstract

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In my last post, “Dissertation Defended,” I wrote, “I’ll share the abstract in a forthcoming post.” Here it is:

Doctoral Student: Andrew David Naselli
Dissertation Mentor: D. A. Carson
Dissertation Title: Paul’s Use of Isaiah 40:13 and Job 41:3a (Eng. 41:11a) in Romans 11:34–35

This dissertation examines the use of Isa 40:13 and Job 41:3a (Eng. 41:11) in Rom 11:34–35. Its structure generally follows the six-step approach used in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (ed. G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007). It addresses

    1. the NT context of Rom 11:34–35 [ch. 2]
    2. the OT context of Isa 40:13 and Job 41:3a [chs. 3–4]
    3. textual issues in Isa 40:13, Job 41:3a, and Rom 11:34–35 [ch. 5]
    4. relevant uses of Isa 40:13 and Job 41:3a in Jewish literature [ch. 6]
    5. Paul’s hermeneutical warrant for using Isa 40:13 and Job 41:3a in Rom 11:34–35 [ch. 7]
    6. Paul’s theological use of Isa 40:13 and Job 41:3a in Rom 11:34–35 [ch. 8]

    It concludes that when Paul quotes Isa 40:13 and Job 41:3a, he includes their larger OT contexts, which reveal a remarkable typological connection between the two OT passages and the end of Romans 11. The three rhetorical questions in Rom 11:34–35 communicate three of God’s characteristics that correspond to his ways in salvation history, and each carries simple and profound theological implications. By quoting Isa 40:13 and Job 41:3a in Rom 11:34–35, Paul typologically connects Isaiah 40 and Job 38:1–42:6 with Romans 9–11 in order to exalt God’s incomprehensibility, wisdom, mercy, grace, patience, independence, and sovereignty.