Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Systematic Theology

The Case for Congregationalism

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LeemanThis is the most thoughtful and persuasive case for congregationalism that I know of:

Jonathan Leeman. Don’t Fire Your Church Members: The Case for Congregationalism. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2016.

What distinguishes different views on how to govern the church is who has final authority:

  1. the bishop (Episcopalian)
  2. the presbytery (Presbyterian)
  3. the elders (elder-rule)
  4. the congregation (congregational)

While godly, mature Christians disagree on which model is most biblical, I think the most biblical polity is elder-led and congregation-ruled. That model is very different from a modern democracy in which leaders represent the people and the people make demands on the leaders with the threat that they will vote them out of office; it is more like a combination of three models: [Read more…] about The Case for Congregationalism

A New Massive Book on the Bible’s Authority

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enduringThis book officially releases today:

D. A. Carson, ed. The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016.

It’s massive. And it was an honor to contribute 44 of its 1240 pages. (More on that below.)

Here is a nearly 18-minute interview with Carson about the book:

Carson explains in the preface (p. xvi), [Read more…] about A New Massive Book on the Bible’s Authority

What about Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty

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freeThis book releases next week:

Scott Christensen. What about Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2016.

My endorsement:

Many think that free will is the silver-bullet answer to some of theology’s most difficult questions. But do we have a free will?

Short answer: It depends on what you mean by free.

Long answer: Read this book. [Read more…] about What about Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty

John Frame’s Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief

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apologeticsThe second edition of my favorite book on apologetics released last year:

John M. Frame. Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief. Edited by Joseph E. Torres. 2nd ed. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2015.  

This 78-page PDF sample includes the front matter, introduction, and chapter 1.

Check out these two interviews:

  1. Justin Taylor interviews John Frame
  2. Fred Zaspel interviews John Frame

And here are John Frame’s top five books on apologetics (HT: Ivan Mesa’s TGC interview):

  1. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
  2. Cornelius Van Til, Christian Apologetics
  3. Tim Keller, The Reason for God
  4. Vern Poythress, Redeeming Science
  5. William Edgar and Scott Oliphint, eds., Apologetics Past and Present (vol. 1 | vol. 2)

The Ology: A New Systematic Theology for Kids

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the_ology_bookThis new systematic theology for kids just released:

Marty Machowski. The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New.   Illustrated by Andy McGuire. Greensboro, NC: New Growth, 2015. 257 pp. 9-page sample PDF.

You can read 16 endorsements here.

Here’s mine: “This well-illustrated book clearly and logically introduces theology for children.” [Read more…] about The Ology: A New Systematic Theology for Kids

One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life

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In 2008 I live-blogged a debate at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School between (a) Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem and (b) Tom McCall and Keith Yandell. They debated this question: “Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?”

TrinityThis week Crossway is releasing a book on that issue:

Bruce A. Ware and John Starke, eds. One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015.

This 49-page sample PDF includes the front matter and Wayne Grudem’s opening chapter.

Phil Gons and I coauthored chapter 9: “An Examination of Three Recent Philosophical Arguments against Hierarchy in the Immanent Trinity” (pp. 197–215).

Update on 5/22/2015: Crossway gave me permission to share a PDF of the Gons-Naselli chapter.

Update on 2/6/2019: In this panel on the Triune God, I state that I do not hold to EFS (but neither do I think it is heresy).

Sam Storms’s Tough Topics 2: Biblical Answers to 25 Challenging Questions

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stormsSam Storms has a sequel to his first Tough Topics book:

Sam Storms. Tough Topics 2: Biblical Answers to 25 Challenging Questions. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2015.

My endorsement:

Each controversial question Sam Storms poses could be the subject of an entire book, but he manages to give thoughtful brief answers that aren’t superficial. As a model pastor-theologian, he answers with clarity, wisdom, and grace.

These are the 25 questions: [Read more…] about Sam Storms’s Tough Topics 2: Biblical Answers to 25 Challenging Questions

Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: 3 Views

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atonementMy most recent book, another debate-book, just released:

Andrew David Naselli and Mark A. Snoeberger, eds. Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: 3 Views. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2015.  

31-page sample PDF (front matter + introduction)

I explain more about the book in this 5-minute video:

This book presents a point-counterpoint exchange concerning God’s intention in sending Christ to die on the cross. All of the contributors recognize a substitutionary element in the atoning work of Christ, but they disagree over the nature and objects of that substitution. [Read more…] about Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: 3 Views