6
Feb
2010

The Progress of Doctrine

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06 Feb 2010

If you have never read T. D. Bernard’s The Progress of Doctrine you really must do so as soon as possible. It is a treasure chest of rich theological exposition with regard to the development of doctrine in the New Testament. It is a New Testament introduction of sorts. This work was highly commended by Reformed Presbyterian ministers at the time of its release, though Bernard was himself an Anglican minister.

About Post Author

Nick Batzig is the senior pastor of Church Creek PCA in Charleston, SC and an associate editor for Ligonier Ministries. Prior to serving at Church Creek, Nick was a pastor at Wayside PCA on Signal Mountain, TN. Formerly, Nick served as the founding pastor of New Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Richmond Hill, GA and as the editor of Reformation21 and the Christward Collective--sites of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. He frequently writes for Tabletalk Magazine, Reformation 21, He Reads Truth, and the Christward Collective. Nick was also the host of East of Eden, a podcast devoted to the Biblical and Systematic Theology of Jonathan Edwards. You can friend him on Facebook here and follow him on Twitter @nick_batzig

2 Responses

  1. Layton Talbert
    Reply

    Someone alerted me to your recent post on Bernard’s Progress of Doctrine. I warmly concur. I’m grateful for its recent republications by Univ. of Mich. Library (2005) and Kessinger (2007); I recommend Kessinger’s hardcover for its sturdy stock (for highlighting) and wide margins (for notes). It is one of my required texts (along with a contemporary NTT, currently Frank Thielman’s) for my graduate-level NT Theology course at Bob Jones University & Seminary. My students are required to read the entire book and outline each lecture (along with a great deal more work!), and most of them love it despite the somewhat dated language.
    Amid a profusion of sophisticated treatments of the theology of the NT (at least twenty major works on NT theology have surfaced in the last decade alone), some may be tempted to dismiss Bernard’s approach and treatment as simplistic. But such a judgment only signifies short-sighted chronological snobbery. Bernard’s big-picture grasp of how the NT functions pedagogically is unmatched. His lectures flicker with flashes of brilliant insight. Even the key text selected for each lecture displays remarkable perception. Above all, few modern theological works breathe the rich devotional air that animates Bernard’s lectures. Through his knowledge of the Scriptures, Bernard has entered not only into the mind of God but the heart of God. It’s a treasure and a classic that deserves a rereading at least every 5 years to reorient the reader to the whole NT forest lest one lose his bearings among the individual trees.

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