Theology, Where Art Thou?

In response to Christianity Today's list of the 50 most influential books in evangelicalism over the last 50 years, Philip Ryken asks Where, O Where Has Theology Gone? and makes a troubling prognosis:

There are plenty of experiential biographies, lots of "practical" books for family life and church management, but almost nothing in theology. The notable exceptions, of course, are Tozer, Piper, Stott, and in a way, Schaeffer. We could perhaps include a title that certainly should have made the list: Jerry Bridges' The Pursuit of Holiness. But where are all the books on the incarnation and the atonement?


Too often, the previous generation of evangelicals assumed its theology rather than defended it, especially in more recent decades. If history holds true, the coming generation will be the one that forgets the theology its fathers and mothers loosely accepted but did not inculcate.

CT's managing editor, Mark Galli, offers some explanation for the titles that made the list in the comments section of his personal blog (HT: Justin Taylor).