Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology

Rating:
Summary: What is Calvinism - or TULIP
Review: There may be no subject in Christiandom that is more misunderstood by the average church-goer than Calvinism or TULIP. It is sad to see so many who reject Calvinism based upon such wrong information. In this book, Dr. Sproul helps the reader understand the key issues of the Reformation and walks you through the so-called 5 points of Calvinism - Total Depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistable grace and Perseverence of the Saints. Dr. Sproul not only unfolds the historic meaning of these doctrines but explains how they have been misunderstood. This book is longer and more developed than his earlier "Chosen by God." In the earlier work he was dealing with election in particular. In this work he tackles a broader set of related issues. As always, Dr. Sproul is gracious and instructive even for those who disagree with him. The positions he rejects, he deals with Christian grace and love. He has the ability to instruct not only those how agree but also those who disagree. If you want to know the real meaning of Calvinsim or TULIP - regardless of your accepting it or not, you will profit from reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Very good book! Draws on history very well.
Review: This is a very good book in my opinion. R.C. Sproul does a very good job of giving a historical introduction of how Reformed Theology came to be what it is today, then he goes and tells you what Reformed Theology is. The second half of the book talks about TULIP, and explains every point very effectivelly in my opinion. Good book if you would like to know more about Reformed Theology and what it truly is.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Gift Book
Review: This is an excellent, clear explanation of Reformed Theology. I have purchased it for graduating high school seniors in hopes they will be grounded for college. I have heard from one family that the student read it, appreciated it, and passed it on to other family members. Understanding these essential, but rarely explained, truths is life-transforming.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to classical Reformed Theology
Review: This is my first reading of a book expounding upon the specifics of Reformed Theology, and also my first book by R.C. Sproul. I highly recommend both this book and his work in general. After realizing that I never really understood just what "Reformed Theology" really was, I decided to read this book to find out. It's split into two parts, the first covering the basics of Reformed Theology itself (Faith Alone, Covenant Theology, etc.) and the second covering the 5 Ponts (TULIP).

As entire volumes have been written about each topic he covers, this book is by no means exhaustive. Nor is it intended to be. I found his introduction to just about all the topics to be easy to read and very enlightening. Of all the chapters, the one covering Covenant Theology was the only one I thought was lacking in sufficient detail...I'm still not sure exactly what this encompasses, or how many covenants are in view (Sproul lists 3, many other sources only refer to 2).

I'm still not convinced of the correctness of Calvinsim (nor of any other specific system, for that matter). But one thing that became glaringly clear is that almost everything I thought I knew about it was really a misunderstanding, and that almost every argument I've ever read against Calvinism in fact distorts the real positions. I began by being steadfastly opposed to Calvinism...how could a just God pick and choose who's saved arbitrarily, etc. It's now much more agreeable to me, and that's largely due to this book. I'm investigating other sources now and continuing to learn.

I highly recommend the R.C. Sproul Digital Library, which I've ordered. It contains many of his books and audio/video lectures, all of which are excellent regardless of whether you agree with his conclusions. Go to www.ligonier.org to check out all his materials.