Interested in a book that presents the most comprehensive and best critique of the dispensationalist view. Any suggestions?

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Steven Bittle
Postulant
St. Michael's Church
Reformed Episcopal Church
OKC, OK

"Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum!"

Two books I know of that were very helpful in my understanding were Gerstner's "Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth", and Mathison's "Dispensationalism: Rightly Dividing the People of God?". Unfortunately Gerstner's book is out of print, though there are a number of used copies around.

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Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://semperubi.rtrc.net

"Many men, after a long conversion, see more of the workings of sin in their hearts than ever they did before or at their first conversion. Now, such men have not an increase of sin, but an increase of illumination and light" (Christopher Love)


Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

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Benjamin P. Glaser
Pittsburgh, PA,
Fairmount ARP Church
Candidate Under Care Pittsburgh Theological Seminary & Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary
"The benefit of deliverance becomes the more precious in the same proportion in which we are brought to apprehend the magnitude of the evil from which we have been rescued"
-- Zacharias Ursinus, Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism

House Divided by Bahnsen & Gentry. (PDF)


A Study of Dispensationalism by A. W. Pink (online)

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Chris Thomas | SBC-Founders | Fairbanks, AK

Q. How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?
A. Three, the first, how great my sins and miseries are, the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries, the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.

Blog: http://johngillisdead.blogspot.com/

I've read all the books listed thus far, and although they're all good in my estimation I would recommend without question "Dispensationalism Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow." It's out of print but it can be secured on line. The very good news is, I just found this link, which is most worthy of being bookmarked: http://jacksongrace.com/disp.htm

Klinians would do well to internalize the book!

Ron

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Ronald W. DiGiacomo / Ruling Elder
Christ Presbyterian Church (OPC)
Elkton, Maryland

http://reformedapologist.blogspot.com

Some informative critiques of dispensationalism I have on the shelf:

*Dispensationalism, Rightly Dividing the People of God? by Keith Mathison (P&R Publishing, 1995)

*Backgrounds to Dispensationalism by Clarence B. Bass (Baker Books, 1960)

*Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth by John Gerstner (Wolgemuth and Hyatt Publishers, 1991)

*Dispensationalism Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow by Curtis Crenshaw and Grover Gunn (Footstool Publications, 1995 revised edition). Note: The site listed above by Ron is by Grover Gunn (co-author of this book)

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Jim
1689 LBCF
Independent Bible Church
North Texas, USA

I found Vern Poythress's book Understanding Dispensationalism to be extremely helpful.

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Rev. Lane Keister
Teaching Elder, PCA, North Dakota (working out of bounds in a CRC and an RCA church)
http://greenbaggins.wordpress.com
http://brahmsgreenglove.blogspot.com
http://accenttranslation.blogspot.com
Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

One book I have found to be very useful is: Darby, Dualism, and the Decline of Dispensationalism by Ronald Henzel.

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Rev. Adam King
Minister in the RPCNA
Pastor-Elect awaiting installation at Trinity Reformed Church
Wichita, KS

The only problem with some of the older works is that they are not as relevant to current manifestations of Dispensationalism.

To get a read on current Dispensational thought, you might want to look at:

Progressive Dispensationalism by Blaising and Bock

The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism by Robert Saucy


I'm not sure who has really seriously addressed PD, though I suspect Vern Poythress may have some materials on it.

Also, what about Robert Reymond's New Systematic Theology?

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Charlie Johnson
Heritage Bible Church (non-denom)
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, student

This one gets two thumbs way up, imo!

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~James Helbert~, Wytheville, VA
Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church, RPCUS
TheBibleAlone.com / The Edinburgh Inn
"Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” - Zechariah 3:2

Henzel, in the afore-mentioned book does deal with Progressive Dispensationalism. He traces the way that dispensationalism has morphed from Darby through Scofield to Ryrie to its present "progressives".

Oh, Vern Poythress' Understanding Dispensationalists is probably not the most comprehensive critique, but I think he charitably and perceptively moves to the heart of the matter.

Poythress was my biggest influence moving away from Dispensationalism, since he kindly showed me where to look and what to consider.

George Ladd also helped me, with all of his work on already-not yet eschatology. I don't know that I was ready at that point to seriously consider those "allegorizing Amillennialists", but Ladd as a pre-mill showed me the flatness of the Dispensational understanding of the Kingdom.

Actually, the book that first moved me away from Dispensationalism was Charles Ryrie's Dispensationalism. Sometimes you just need to give people enough rope to hang themselves with.

That's interesting Dr. Crenshaw is now with the REC and teaches down at Cranmer House in Houston.

cool, thanks for the suggestions!!

I've not read the others, but Gerstner's book, while it has some good points, is a typical straw man discussion. A couple of the chapters are worth reading, but not worth the cost of the book.

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For the Glory of our King,
Joe Johnson
Slave of Christ, husband, father, Preacherboy at Cornerstone Community Church, Escanaba, MI. and TMS graduate. Personal website - SoundLife.org

I do not know, and I do not say, that a person cannot believe in Revelation and in evolution, too, for a man may believe that which is infinitely wise and also that which is only asinine. ~ CHS

Gerstner's little book "A Primer on Dispensationalism" and Poythress' Understanding Dispensationalists were instrumental in my "questioning" of Dispensationalism. It was Dispensationalism Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow by Curtis Crenshaw and Grover Gunn that "drove the final nail in the coffin!

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Sterling Harmon
Coventry, CT
PCA
Deacon
________________

"Whatever is laudable in our works proceeds from the grace of God."
-- John Calvin, Institutes III:xv.3.

"Our Lord God must be a good man, to be fond of worthless fellows. I cannot like them, and yet I, myself, am one."
-- Martin Luther, Table Talk

I've received some good feedback for my work titled Darby, Dualism, and the Decline of Dispensationalism, which can be obtained . I did not, however, intend for it to be a comprehensive critique, but rather one that focuses on the system's chief weakness: its inability to account for the applicability of the New Covenant prophecy to the current dispensation under the terms of its hermeneutical system.

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Ron Henzel
PCA
Cape Coral, FL

or anybody else, have we ever had a debate, or long discussions on the Dispy issue?

I grew out of it, reading Reformed materials, listening to White Horse Inn, and RC Sproul before I started on the PB, and the PB locked it down. But, I don't remember too many threads actually discussing the topic of Dispy in detail.

Are you Dispy Joe?

I'm assuming so, since Johnny Mac is, I'll be honest, since I respect Macarthur so much, every once in a while, I have doubts creep in, because he holds to it...but...I think that's his blind spot.

I'd love to see a little "debate" on it, from someone on the PB who still is Dispy.

Or is that off the "Reformed" topic list?

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WWW.SURFWRITERS.BLOGSPOT.COM
Trevor
Christian/Husband/Father/Writer/Teacher--
--In that order.
Bethany Church, Sierra Madre, CA.
God is my King
"You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmitive, and don't mess with Mr. in-between." Tony Bennett.