Book Review "God's Greater Glory"

Bruce Ware's "God's Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith" rightly exalts God where He should be and exposes the various weaknesses of many contemporary views of God. Theology Proper (the doctrine of God) is a long neglected area of study in the church. No one has been burdened by this more than Dr. Ware. With many in the church being "tossed to and fro" with every new trend, Ware builds back some much needed foundation.

The book uses technical language to lay forth it's arguments. If you haven't taken Systematic Theology in college or aren't familiar with the various theological works on the Doctrine of God (such as Berkhof or Frame) then this book may be a hard read. Ware has published two previous books entitled, "God's Lesser Glory" and "Their God is Too Small" more for the layperson--both are excellent introductions to the various topics on hand. I've had the pleasure of hearing much of this material in his Systematic Theology class at Southern Seminary and also at his Sunday school class at Clifton Baptist Church. "God's Greater Glory" is much more weightier than the previous two books. Read it with your Bible handy and a good Dictionary of Theological Terms and you'll do just fine.

The one thing that really sticks out about Ware when he both lectures and writes is his honesty. He isn't afraid to deal with the harder issues of Calvinistic Theology. More than any Calvinistic writer that I've read, Ware carefully lays out his arguments and doesn't steamroll over his opposition. There are hard issues for Calvinists to overcome and Ware deals with them exceptionally. These issues of theology aren't just high and lofty paradoxes that only intellectuals can comprehend. Rather, they are important for us all. What do you do when your spouse dies? When your kid dies? When you suffer through depression and heartache? These are the practical issues of life. If your view of God is warped then you won't be able to handle these realities of living in a fallen world.

Though I am still hesitant about some aspects of Calvinism, I have been thoroughly convinced that their Theology of Providence is right on the money. I have yet to see another form of theology that covers all of the issues and problems and shows clearly from scripture the solutions. It's one thing to argue philosophically about the Problem of Evil. But unless you go to the Scriptures and show your arguments there, it is all meaningless. Bravo to Ware!!

Four Stars (out of five)