A Little Book for New Theologians by Kelly Kapic Review
Let's assume you're new to theology, or you know someone who is. They want to read a book but don't know where to begin. You don't want to hand them a copy of John Owen's works; it would be much too difficult. So what would you recommend? This little book, A Little Book for New Theologians by Kelly M. Kapic, subtitled Why and How to Study Theology. It was assigned to me for a college class, and it's a really great resource for starting theologians.
The book and the author
It's only 121 pages, 126 with the indexes. A regular glued paperback, printed in the USA on recycled paper, if that's something you're into.
Kelly Kapic was born on November 27, 1972, and was 49 when I recorded this. He graduated from Wheaton College in 1995, earned his MDiv at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, and his PhD in systematic and historical theology at King's College, University of London. He's married to Tabitha, has a son and a daughter, and has taught at Covenant College since 2001, with courses including introduction to theology, the doctrine of God, Christology, the theology of John Owen, and theology and suffering. He's a Presbyterian theologian, author, professor and conference speaker.
What's in it
Two parts. Part one, Why Study Theology: Entering the Conversation; To Know and Enjoy God; Becoming Wise; and Theology as Pilgrimage. Part two, Characteristics of Faithful Theology and Theologians: the inseparability of life and theology; faithful reasoning; prayer and study; humility and repentance; suffering, justice and knowing God; tradition and community; and love of Scripture.
The chapters are short, right around ten pages each, so it's very readable.
Two features I love:
- Quotations in little gray boxes on the pages. They aren't pulled from the text itself (I strongly dislike it when books do that and you read the same line twice). They're relevant quotes from many solid, Reformed, biblical theologians. For a new theologian who doesn't know many theologians yet, they're a great starting place for further study.
- A massive Scripture index. It shows how much he interacts with Scripture. There's a reference on nearly every page.
A few things I marked
- His thesis: he has seen God use good theology to liberate lives, and people misuse theology resulting in abuse and hard hearts. He wrote this so students could read it near the beginning of their study, whether in a classroom or on their own.
- Knowledge in theology isn't merely cognitive, but personal. Lloyd-Jones has a whole chapter on true and false knowledge in The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors, and his point is the same: if it isn't applied to life, it's no help at all.
- The faith to receive and submit to God's revelation is the gift of God (p. 52). It isn't something you do of yourself. That's one way to keep yourself from pride, and Kapic keeps reminding you throughout: beware of pride. It's all of God's grace. As theologians we tend to forget that. I'm guilty of it myself.
- He says anyone who claims at the end of his days never to have changed his mind should be pitied rather than praised (p. 73). It's okay to change your mind. I've had to on a lot of things, and I'm still changing as I learn. Especially for new theologians in their "cage stage," it's important to remember that changing your mind isn't a sign of weakness, but of humility.
- In one of the gray boxes he quotes B. B. Warfield: love theology "because it is your meat and drink to know God." Seek after God for the sole purpose of seeking after God, not to be smart.
- The theologian always remains a sinner, completely dependent on grace (p. 78). As I've studied theology, I've grown to recognize sin in myself more and more. It stings. But that's the point: to realize your dependence on God and His grace and His Son.
- Genuine concern for theological truth brings concern for your neighbor, because the true God is known by love (p. 91). Theology isn't something to recite with your hoity-toity friends. It's a life.
- He quotes W. R. Inge: "He who marries the spirit of the age soon finds himself a widower." True theology isn't trendy. It's rooted and grounded in the Bible.
- Donald Bloesch once told him, when you look at a theology book, begin with the index and see how the author engages with Scripture (p. 109). So practical! I do the same: table of contents, then the index to see who they're quoting, then the Scripture index to see how they interact with Scripture.
- He closes by saying he doesn't write as someone who has arrived, but as one sojourner to another. That's all you can ever do as a theologian. You never know it all. But this book is a great place to begin the journey.
Are there better books on this topic?
For me, the book that started it all was Ryle's Thoughts for Young Men. But for beginning theologians, especially younger people, you want something small and approachable, not intimidating. I don't know of a better book for that purpose. And of course, the Bible is the starting place. Kapic says so too. You must begin there. This book helps you understand what you're reading.
Would I buy it?
Yes, if you're interested in theology and don't know much yet, or someone is asking you where to start.
One more thing: Kapic also wrote You're Only Human, and he signed a copy for me, which is special. But I don't think I'd recommend it. It was on my list to review, but after looking at the index and table of contents and skimming portions, I wasn't thrilled. It seemed like one of those trendy new theology books. I haven't read it, so take that only as a caution. This book, I highly recommend.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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