Basic Christian Doctrine: A Summary of Christian Faith: Catholic, Protestant, and Reformed

John Leith was a mainline Presbyterian minister and professor of theology from the 1940s through the 1990s. His career was marked by steadfast commitments to both a "critical orthodoxy" and a sense of social justice (he was an early and vocal supporter of civil rights and women's ordination) that were considered liberal at the beginning of his career, but by the 1990s appeared conservative to many within PCUSA academic circles. This book is not quite a systematic theology but it is a thoughtful and well crafted formulation of Leith's "critically orthodox" view of Christian doctrine. This view is irenic, open to critical and secular thought, but retains the creedal basics of traditional Christianity. This is a valuable perspective nowadays, when many Christian thinkers on both the right and the left insist that such a view of Christianity is incompatible with traditional belief in the deity of Christ and a high view of the authority of scripture. However, Leith's views aren't remarkable simply because they reflect this unfortunately rare perspective. Leith also wrote well and thought deeply and honestly. His views are informed by wide reading and solid scholarship. This is a convincing and a worthwhile statement of the Christian faith by a pastor and scholar who represented the best of mainline thought. I first read this book as a relatively new Christian who was puzzled about which denomination niche suited me. Leith's intellectual stature and spiritual depth convinced me that the mainline Christianity in which I was brought up remained worthwhile, even though his views would be rejected by many leaders in todays mainline denominations.

If one is looking for a Reformed theology book that is very pastoral and compassionate in spirit then this book is it. Another bonus is that the book is easy to read so that lay people will find no trouble understanding what Leith is trying to say. In fact, this book can be a good resource for churches to use if they are doing a series on Bible doctrines. Leith deals with the standard topics of systematic theology (prolegomena to eschatology) in just over 300 pages. Thus, it is not a hefty systematic theology book. The overall perspective given is Reformed, though a bit of neo-orthodoxy can be found in bits and pieces (especially when Leith discusses theological method and bibliology). However, when one reads the sections on God, providence, Christ, the atonement, the Holy Spirit, election, justification, sanctification, and perseverance Leith is quite conservative and evangelical in his conclusions. I was also encouraged to see that Leith put a very high focus on Christ. Though there are some questionable points in Leith's theology his love for Christ and his concern for the church comes out quite clearly in the pages. I recommend this book for both seminary student and lay person.