A Short Systematic Theology by Paul F.M. Zahl

A Short Systematic Theology Reviews

• 
  Steve Irby

  I just finished "A Short Systematic Theology," by Paul F.M. Zahl, 2000.
  
  The index intrigued me because it appeared so christocentric. This work comes to us in three chapters: the subject of theology, God who is speaking as subject; the content of theology, the organizing principle, the atonement of Christ; the method of theology, the intellectual freedom to criticize the text. These three chapters are composed of a total of 25 thesis.
  
  Ch. 1:
  His opening is blunt and very christocentric: there is no proof for the existence of God therefore we must begin with Jesus:
  
  "Christ proves to be the 'I' of the conversation between God and human natures," p 7.
  
  This is a bottom up theology grounded first in human experience rather than speculation. Where other STs will address the attributes of God in a mixture of philosophy and scripture Zahl begins with Jesus.
  
  He calls human history a closed system so he sounds a little process until he affirms the preexistance and incarnation. So it's closed except that one time?
  
  So what makes the historical Jesus unique? Zahl zeros in on the three Novums only seen in Jesus: he places himself equal to or greater than the lawgiver Moses; Jesus' attitude towards the Sabbath, that it was for humanity and not the other way around; and that Jesus upended the purity laws. If you're a Jew living 2000 years ago this guy got your attention because of these specific things. Now, what do you do with Him?
  
  Not keeping a clean flow through this thin and very good ST. Sorry. Here's one I thought very good. When speaking of the presence of Christ among our various traditions one has the Roman option of Christ as objectively present in the eucharistic and the baptismal waters. Protestantism laughs as they do the exact same thing claiming Christ as objectively present in the word of scripture (mentioned later would be the third option for His presence as in icons in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and fourth the presence of Christ in the Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal view):
  
  "Both historic streams of objectification, the Roman Catholic and the Protestant, are attempts to recieve the resurrection," p 28.
  
  That made me stop and think for a while. It makes so much sense that when a tradition sees the presence of Christ in a thing or place it will form its culture around that place or thing. This helps understand different traditions. In the end, after speaking to the presence of Christ in these four places or items Zahl throws them all out saying that God has only ever been objectively present in Jesus and that was for some thirty years and it can't be repeated. We are offered an eschatological approach where Christ is present in the future: He is coming. And in His present absence He is proclaimed in the love we show others.
  
  It was good to see Zahl state that Jesus is the first point of theology and Satan is the second.
  
  Ch.2:
  "That Christ died for our sins" is the starting point at theological reflection about Him. Atonement is the cornerstone of theology because it is the worst and best thing that could have happened. But to state that we must first state the human condition that made the atonement necessary and good. Humanity are sinful: a desire to serve self and as one serving self one is rebelling against God. Sin is self Justification, the act of securing and defending one's self worth over all others. To Zahl the content of theology is substitutionary atonement. Now what he does is after touching atonement he covers the incarnation: here is the work for you, a death for you, now who is it who could enact it?--Very God, just as in Mark when it is asked "who can forgive sin but God alone?"
  
  Working his theology from the bottom up has atonement (who but God can forgive sin?) Preceed the incarnation (God with us) which begs us to ask who is God? The next thesis is the Trinity. The first major aspect we see when developing the doctrine of the Trinity in this Christocentric way is that God is passable: God looks just like Jesus and Jesus hurt, He cried, He shows us the reality of God in His anguish. The atonement implies the incarnation implies the Trinity implies the suffering God.
  
  Ch. 3:
  Here out main walk-away is that covered by the blood (His substitution for us) leads us to a liberty in Him. We are free because of Him and this freedom isn't license but love; we now are different because of His love for us and ours for Him.
  
  An excellent christocentric ST.
  
  #SystematicTheology #PaulFMZahl #Zahl #Episcopal #Anglican #Christocentric
• 
  Christopher Antonetti

  Paul Zahl encapsulates in a short and readable book everything that attracted me to, and later repelled me from, Reformed theology. His theology is explicitly centered on Christ and the atonement. Often quoting Luther, he emphasizes the liberty of free grace without disconnecting it from Christ's substitutionary work (as many modern authors are wont to do). This is quite excellent.
  
  However, PZ does not stick with Luther when it comes to means of grace, denying that Christ is in Word and Sacrament. As he is an Episcopalian, I don't expect that he would completely accept Lutheran sacramental teaching, but he seems to dismiss the subject without Biblical or historical examination.
  
  The combination of these two points leads to a great message of atonement that has no way of objectively reaching me. For Zahl, Christ is present only in "works of love," so any assurance becomes inward-looking. PZ is great at making the reader think, with quotes from pop culture and theologians from every strain and sect. His soteriology is solid, and this book can bring comfort to those new to Reformation theology, although I find Lutheran writers much better.
• 
  Jared Jones

  Loved this book. It's short and accessible, and it is an intriguing approach to systematic theology. Sometimes it felt like ideas needed to be a little more fleshed out, but part of that is due to the author attempting to keep the book short. The brevity of the book forces you to think through the things he's saying a lot more than you would if he spent 300 pages saying the same thing.
• 
  BJ

  One of the best things about Paul Zahl is the way he speaks theologically in refreshing and concrete ways.
  He doesn’t consistently resort to metaphysical abstraction and even slips in his Zahline pop culture references. More theologians should write like he does.
  
  His clarity on the empirically verifiable predicament of sinners and the radical freedom the gracious substitution of Jesus Christ brings to them sparkles.
  
  However, there are too many other theological problems for me to recommend it for wide reading.