Dead Sea Scrolls
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 53, No. 1 – Fall 2010
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Ron Highfield. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. 467 pages. Paperback, $30.00.
How would a Stone-Campbellite with neo-orthodox leanings who teaches at Pepperdine construct a theology of God within the parameters of his tradition? The answer is the valuable doxological theology, Great Is the Lord. Do not be fooled by the book’s subtitle; this is not a theology of the praise of God. Rather, Highfield bases his work on the refreshing rule, “Good theology makes you want to praise God, and bad theology makes you want to jump off a bridge” (58). In Great Is the Lord, he summarizes the biblical and historically orthodox teachings about God for the purpose of inspiring worship. Campbellite biblicism may be expected, but Highfield’s aligning of himself with the historic church (vis-à-vis the contemporary academy) may not be.
Highfield offers two primary parts with a minor third on ethics. The first is about knowing God, including the sources of knowledge of God, the philosophical importance of God’s existence, and the fundamental importance of God as Trinity. The second is about the attributes of God, including love, righteousness, grace, freedom, eternity, and so on. Importantly, Highfield does not separate God from his attributes: God is not “just.” God is “justice.” Each individual section includes an overview of the biblical teachings on the subject and then fuses them into a short theology of the subject that leans heavily on the teachings of the historic church. He tries to use language that a more casual reader would understand and also to be succinct enough not to lose those readers. These are valuable techniques that occasionally prevent him from being as clear as needed.
The book is marked by three primary characteristics. First, Highfield constantly turns his insights to praise of God and he genuinely desires that his readers do the same. For example, he writes, “His knowledge is an aspect of his power, and his power is an aspect of his love. And his love is most worthy of praise” (313). Second, Highfield roots everything he says in the doctrine of the Trinity. For example, love is the “free, total, and unconditional self-giving, -receiving, and -returning that constitute the eternal life of the Trinity” (167). Third, Highfield does not prioritize God’s attributes. God’s glory is not a super-attribute; God does not love because it brings Him glory, God’s mercy does not interfere with His righteousness or holiness, God’s patience does not limit His freedom in any way (and neither does human freedom), and so on.
Highfield’s perspective may create concerns for some readers in a few places, but hopefully that will not detract from their opinion of the book. First, he bases his entire theology on the doctrine of divine simplicity, defending himself very well. Second, he works backwards from contemporary English to biblical theology. In other words, he defines terms such as immutability and knowledge in modern language, then fits the biblical data into those definitions. Third, he considers sin to be ignorance rather than rebellion, a rather soft definition by many standards. Finally, he leans very heavily on Barth, but this does not seem to extend to his doctrine of revelation. These are real concerns, but the book can be appreciated even through them.
