Any chart, course notes, or handouts I create flow from a normative dispensational, moderate Calvinist, Chaferian, classical/cumulative apologetic position. And though I make no apologies for my theological position, I do appreciate and learn from others who hold differing views; learning is pleasurable. My pursuit of Systematic Theology is critical to biblical thinking because it helps protect my exegesis, considers the whole of Scripture, and serves as the vital basis for a worldview that interacts with multifarious ideas in Western thought and culture.
Though you are welcome to download any document on this page, please do not change, add, or modify if you intend to use my name as its source (you are welcome to correct any grammatical or spelling mistakes) FYI: Some charts are in Clarisworks. Thus, you must have Clarisworks to properly view them.
If you are not familiar with Systematic Theology I would recommend purchasing Charles C. Ryrie's Basic Theology, Paul Enns, Moody Handbook of Theology, and Robert P. Lightner's,Handbook on Evangelical Theology. If you desire more substantive works, consider purchasing Lewis S. Chafer's Systematic Theology (my favorite), Norman Geisler's Systematic Theology (apologetic emphasis), Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, Charles Hodge'sSystematic Theology (Reformed; postmillennial) and Millard Erickson's Systematic Theology (Baptist). Reference tools I would encourage you to purchase include ISBE, i.e., TheInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia; 4 vol. set); the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter Elwell; H. Wayne House, Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine. Check out http://www.cbd.com/ for great prices.
If you are interested in studying theology and you live in the Greater Houston Area, consider attending the College of Biblical Studies: http://www.cbshouston.edu/. If you desire to pursue graduate work in theology (and you live in Houston) Dallas Theological Seminary now offers both a M.A. and a Th.M at the Houston extension. Contact http://www.dts.edu/ for details. If you can't attend Dallas Seminary because of job situation, location, or ministry, check out Baptist Bible Seminary in Clark Summit, Pennsylvania. If you are interested in theology with an apologetic emphasis, Southern Evangelical Seminary,http://www.ses.edu/, offers an excellent correspondence program. They also offer a D.Min and Ph.D. program in apologetics. If you are interested in attending a Southern Baptist seminary such as the one in Ft. Worth or in Houston (where I have taught adjunct), then consider www.swbts.edu.
Finally, students often ask me who are some of my favorite systematic theologians: In alphabetical order they include John Calvin, Lewis S. Chafer, Jonathan Edwards, Millard Erickson, Norman Geisler, Charles Hodge, Robert P. Lightner, J. Dwight Pentecost, Charles C. Ryrie, Francis A. Schaeffer, John F. Walvoord, and B.B. Warfield. I would by any and all of their works. To be sure, Dr. Chafer's Systematic Theology has had the greatest influence on my life theologically. But Drs. Lightner, Pentecost, and Walvoord themselves have impacted my biblical worldview. I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend Dallas Theological Seminary and see these systematic theologians be used by God in my life. How I appreciate their faithfulness to the Lord, years of labor in God's Word, and going beyond the "call of duty" to equip students like me to "proclaim the Bible as it is to people as they are." Contacthttp://www.cbd.com/ for a listing of their books.
