The Center for Classical Theology
Introduction: Pathologies of the Modern (Christian) Mind

Chapter 1: Reformation Protestantism and Early Church Theology
Chapter 2: The Confessional Significance of Nicene Christianity
Chapter 3: Ecumenical Implications
Chapter 4: Classical Theology and Pastoral Application
Chapter 5: Classical Theology and Worship

Conclusion

“Many recent works have attempted to recover and clarify historic Christian teaching on the triune God. Trueman’s work follows the best of these with remarkable force and clarity, but his little book does much more. Not only does he review the history and contours of our doctrine of God, he also shows how these central truths address some of the fundamental questions of modern life. This is a useful, pastorally sensitive book—highly recommended.”
Jonathan Master , President, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

“Many Christians sense that we need deeper roots but aren’t sure where to begin. In this concise and lucid book, Carl Trueman opens the door to the riches of classical theology in a way that is both accessible and deeply nourishing. A timely invitation to recover the wisdom of the past for the health of the church today.”
Gavin Ortlund, President, Truth Unites; Theologian in Residence, Immanuel Nashville, Tennessee; Visiting Professor of Historical Theology, Phoenix Seminary

“This eminently readable book makes a trenchant and convincing case for the vital importance of classical Trinitarian and Christological thought for Christian faithfulness in teaching, in expressions of catholicity, and in worship in the modern day. I cannot recommend it being read and put into practice too highly.”
Michael A. G. Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“This short book offers a measured but comprehensive explanation of why the classical theology of the church is so necessary for theological thought today. Trueman takes us through the arguments for a truly biblical approach and shows that this is what the great theologians of the past aimed for—and to a large extent achieved. Anyone considering theological study should consider the position so clearly outlined here and take it on board as a basic guide to this most exciting and important of subjects.”
Gerald Bray, Research Professor, Beeson Divinity School

“In an age when the new and the novel are constantly prioritized, the past is treated as something unworthy of our attention. Too often the church’s approach to theology and its mission is no different. Several of Carl Trueman’s books push against this trend, showing the value of learning from Christians of the past. Classical Theology for the Modern Mind is a brief, rich, and accessible exposition of some key aspects of the church’s reflections on the gospel from church history. Trueman shows the keen relevance of such teaching not only for what we believe about Scripture, God, and the like but also for contemporary worship and pastoral care.”
Brian S. Rosner, Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Director of Research, Ridley College; author, How to Find Yourself: Why Looking Inward is Not the Answer

“Carl Trueman has done the church a genuine service in writing this compact and penetrating volume. With his characteristic wit and clarity, he diagnoses the pathologies that have left modern evangelicalism theologically impoverished. Trueman identifies the sources of this impoverishment in antihistorical bias, therapeutic pragmatism, and radical biblicism. Trueman’s answer is to recover classical theology, which is not merely an academic exercise but a confessional obligation: Those who subscribe to the Westminster Confession or the Thirty-Nine Articles are already committed to Nicene Trinitarianism and a doctrine of God rooted in classical theology whether they realize it or not. Trueman demonstrates with persuasive force that the Protestant Reformers were not innovators breaking from the past but careful stewards of a rich tradition stretching from the patristic to the medieval era. To appreciate Reformed theology, then, is to appreciate and increasingly understand the foundation it is built on. Pastors, seminarians, and thoughtful laypeople will find here both a diagnosis of why so much of contemporary worship and theology seems shallow and a compelling invitation to drink from deeper wells.”
D. Blair Smith, President and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte