Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispensationalism
This is a hard book, not in the sense of theological difficulty, but in that it hits hard against a theological system that in all probability is the majority report among current American evangelicals. Gerstner does not have a reputation for dueling with gentility; he asks no quarter and gives none. Yet Gerstner is not interested in substituting vitriolic polemic for hard debate. Rather, he is convinced that nothing less than the gospel is at stake here, and hence it is not a time for pussyfooting timidity. As a debater Gerstner is steeped in the tradition of Paul, Luther, Calvin, and Edwards where the issues are of such importance that it is imperative that those who go to the mat are dealt with not as weaker brothers, but as able-bodied, indeed, formidable opponents. In this sense the book is hard and not for the weak-minded. As a world-class historian, Gerstner has done his homework. The book is a result of years of careful and painstaking research. Gerstner has examined in the minutest detail the works of the most important historic dispensational theologians. He has canvassed scholarly journals and Ph.D. dissertations. He has been in repeated dialogue and debate with contemporary dispensational scholars. The current publication is the crystallized essence of over one thousand typescript pages of Gerstner s research and conclusions. My hope is that this book will spark earnest debate. Recent years have witnessed cordial and helpful dialogue between Reformed theologians and dispensational theologians. In that dialogue much has been accomplished. This book will escalate the debate. It will surely generate heat. My hope is that in the heat there will be light, and that in mature debate our understanding of the gospel will be sharpened and not obscured. --R.C. Sproul, Ligonier MinistriesIn this book a clear-headed classical Calvinist challenges contemporary Dispensational theology. With skill and thorough knowledge he maps the geography of the gulf that lies between the two positions, and invites the reader to agree that Dispensationalism is seriously astray. All readers will be grateful to the author for clarifying the issues more precisely than any previous book has done. --J.I. Packer