50 Core Truths - A Review

Gregg R. Allison. 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2018. 448 pp. $19.36.

 

We do not often find a book that does something that other books are not also doing. This is especially true in the world of systematic theology. But Gregg Allison has given us something fairly unique in 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith.

 

What makes this book different is not that it covers a variety of important theological truths. What makes it unique is that it prepares us to teach these truths to people in our churches. Allison did not intend to give us another twelve-hundred-page theology textbook or another abridged version of such a work. Instead, Allison gives us a teaching tool that is designed to prepare pastors, Sunday School teachers, and small group leaders to help learners make their way through the key truths of the Christian faith. This book is a springboard for teaching, not an attempt to be the end of any discussion.

 

In each chapter of the book, Allison introduces an important doctrine and gives a brief explanation of the concept. If there are differing views on the doctrine among orthodox believers, Allison offers explanations from each point of view. The author also gives his readers examples of major errors that Christians and cults sometimes fall into. He shares with readers ways to live out important truths of the doctrine in their lives, giving us practical implications of some pretty big truths. And Allison presents, in each chapter, an outline of how to teach the doctrine to others along with resources for further study.

 

What is best about this book is its potential to be useful to a great variety of folks. If you want to get a basic understanding of the issues being discussed in a particular doctrine, this book is for you. If you want to know how to communicate the components of a particular doctrine to others in an understandable way, this book is for you.

 

If you are looking for a book that solves for you the debated topics among evangelicals, this book is not for you. Allison will help you to see how different Christians make cases for issues such as baptism, charismatic gifts, election, or end times. But the author will, in the end, instruct you to teach the doctrine in accord with your church’s official stance.

 

I believe that Gregg Allison has done the church a service by writing50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith. This book is easy-to-read, easy-to-understand, easy-to-use, and sure to be helpful to those who want to learn or teach doctrine. I would recommend this to pastors, small group leaders, and students. It is a useful resource to pull off your shelf if you need a quick summary of a doctrine, arguments surrounding that doctrine, and further resources. The fact that Allison has given useful teaching outlines for each doctrine means that this book contains at least 50 solid small group sessions or discipleship classes.

 

** I received a free copy of this work from the publisher in exchange for writing an posting an honest review.