Israel Anderson says:

Anyone that knows anything about Mark Driscoll should know that he's the last person on the planet they should be getting ANY information about God from, unless you wish to believe the same heresy he preaches. #

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Terry Delaney says:

Unlike most systematic theology books (Doctrine is most certainly a systematic theology book), the authors chose to start with the Trinity. Most systematics begin with the Bible since all of the material must come from the Bible. Once the doctrine of the Bible has been established, then most authors move to God and break that section down into the many facets that define God including the doctrine of the Trinity.

Again, most systematic theologies take a logical, compartmental approach to laying out their discussion and teachings. Interestingly enough, Driscoll and Breshears have approached their systematic in a far more biblical manner. They begin with the Trinity because that is where the Bible begins. “In the beginning God” (Elohim which is a plural form of El) immediately introduces the reader of the Bible to a Triune God.

Next, the authors tackle the Bible as God’s revelation to man and then move on to the rest of their doctrines as they occur in the Bible. As you look at the list above once more, you will see how this order plays out in both the Bible and in Doctrine. This is to be commended and helps the reader to remain within the framework of the Bible itself as God’s plan of salvation plays out from Genesis to Revelation.

Another element found in Doctrine is one of an apologetic nature. This perspective allows Driscoll and Breshears to argue for or against commonly held misconceptions of these essential doctrines. Unfortunately, the authors become tepid on some issues. For example, they walk a very fine line when it comes to the doctrine of Creation. They do not take a stand but only state that it is acceptable to believe one of a few different understandings. What you believe and understand about Genesis 1 and 2 will greatly determine your understanding of the rest of the Scriptures.

In most other instances, they offer reasons as to why believing certain heretical understandings of these doctrines is wrong and a denial of Christ. In many cases, they do come down and state that one must believe in _____________ if they are to be a Christian.


The audio book was nice. It was read at a pace that was both fast enough to keep your interest and slow enough to allow you to think about what was being said. There were a few sections where the cut/paste on the digital recording fell short of christianaudio’s usual superb standards.

What I most liked about the audiobook is that you can actually listen to a systematic theology and enjoy doing so! The audiobook is ideal for that Christian who is busy with work or raising children and does not have the time to read a book about Christian doctrines. For those seeking a deeper understanding of theology, Doctrine has quickly become one of the best places to begin insofar as audiobooks are concerned.

With the publishing of Doctrine by Mark Driscoll has suddenly made systematic theology both acceptable and cool. That excites me. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to begin to plumb the depths of God and what He has revealed to us through His word, the Bible. The additional audiobook makes this a double feature worth owning. #

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Travis Peterson says:

Theology matters, and greatly so. Churches that have lost their hold on the truths of the faith are destined to drift into destructive errors or to simply become social clubs with a religious overtone. This is why books like Mark Driscoll’s Doctrine are so important.

What I Liked

Perhaps the best thing about Doctrine is that Driscoll took the time to write it. It is good for churches to see their leadership caring about the teaching of the Scripture in more than a simplistic or superstitious sense. Driscoll does his best to address important issues of the faith in a serious way—his trademark sarcasm is simply not present in this work.

Many of the chapters of this book are worthy of applause. Driscoll handles some heavy topics such as the trinity (chapter 1), the cross and atonement (chapter 8), and the church (chapter 11) with a great deal of insight. In most of these chapters, Driscoll addresses the issues with a nice balance of complexity on the one hand and explanation, simplicity, and application on the other.

What I Did Not Like

There are a few places where discerning Christians will have some questions for Driscoll as they work their way through Doctrine. In some of these cases, the issues may be quite secondary. In others, however, it appears that Driscoll makes some fairly dangerous statements.

The most serious error in this book comes early, in the chapter on divine Revelation (chapter 2). In explaining that general revelation will not bring a person enough knowledge of God to save their souls, Driscoll asserts that in countries closed to missionaries, God might send dreams, visions, or even angels to the lost to bring them the good news of Jesus Christ. Though I have no doubt that such stories have indeed been told, and perhaps by those whom Driscoll trusts, this is a direct contradiction of Romans 10:13-ff. In that passage of perfectly-inspired holy Scripture, God tells us that people will not be saved without a preacher, and the clear understanding of that passage is that the preacher will be one of God’s children, a human preacher or missionary, not an angelic messenger. Besides coming from outside of the Scripture, this issue matters, because if Christians believe that God might save others without human contact through personal communication or written word (including the Bible), this will do harm to the missionary Endeavour.

There are at least two other areas where I found myself concerned about the content of this work. I found myself uncomfortable with Driscoll’s openness to an old-earth creation story in chapter 3. I believe in a literal six day creation, and while I will not make this a first-level issue, I fear that old earth theories play fast and loose with the interpretation of Scripture. Also, again in chapter 2, Driscoll leans in a more charismatic understanding of revelation than I am comfortable with. I believe that a closed cannon of Scripture does not leave the door open to divine revelation in the form of predictive prophecy; Driscoll disagrees.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Overall, I am grateful to Mark Driscoll for the work that he has done in writing this very accessible systematic theology. Works like this need to be written, and well-known figures in evangelicalism need to show that such things are important. There are certainly areas where I could caution readers to read with discernment and even to reject Driscoll’s conclusions, but such areas are not enough to make me recommend not reading the book as a whole. I have no doubt that my own point-of-view still needs much work before I understand all of what God wants me to grasp doctrinally, and thus I have much grace for a brother in Christ who is doing the work in a far more expansive way than I. So, my recommendation: Read Doctrine, but read it carefully—as you should any book you pick up or download.
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