Complimentary Book Offer…

As many of you know already, my most recent book is The Essentials of Christian Thought: Seeing Reality through the Biblical Story. My original title for the project was “Narrative Biblical Metaphysics,” but, of course, the publisher (Zondervan), knew better and gave it the more attractive title. The book is available on Amazon and from the publisher and through all retail book outlets.

The purpose of the book is to inform not-yet-fully-informed Christians (and other interested persons) about the IMPLIED, IMPLICIT metaphysic of the Bible.

Philosopher-mathematician Alfred North Whitehead famously said that while Buddhism is a metaphysic searching for a religion, Christianity is a religion searching for a metaphysic. Throughout the centuries of Christianity Christian philosophers and theologians have “latched onto” many different philosophies and metaphysics to “explain” Christianity–assuming that the Bible itself does not have one.

I argue (in this book) that the Bible does have an implicit, implied metaphysic and that, while extra-biblical philosophies can be helpful for theology, Christianity does not need to borrow one wholesale BEFORE considering the one assumed by the biblical authors.

The book ends with an Appendix about the integration of Christian faith with academic disciplines taught in Christian colleges and universities.

Another way of thinking of the purpose of the book itself is that it attempts to explain what the “faith” part of “faith-learning integration” is.

IF you are a teacher of Christian thought (philosophy, theology) in a Christian high school, college, university or seminary in the United States and would consider adopting this book as a textbook for a course you teach, the publisher is willing to send you an examination copy. I am willing to send you a complimentary copy–until mine are nearly gone. (I just received two boxes of them.) I am also willing to send a complimentary copy to administrators of Christian institutions of higher learning who would consider using it for faculty development (e.g., retreat or workshop about faith-learning integration).

However, if you want such, you need to give me your name, title and address (at your institution) and the name of the course in which you might use the book as a required or supplementary textbook.

Also, and finally, you will need to send me a check for the postage. I believe it will be $4.00 give or take a few cents. (This includes the cost of a book mailer.) Please make your check made out to Roger E. Olson (be sure to spell my name correctly!) and send it to me at:

Roger E. Olson, Truett Theological Seminary, One Bear Place, #97126, Waco, TX 76798-7126 . Please include your business card with your contact information.

I will only be able to honor about twenty such requests. When that many have been received and honored I will notify people here (to stop sending me requests and checks). I will destroy all checks that I am unable to use–once the twenty books have been used up–and notify you by e-mail of that.

I cannot send any books to addresses outside the U.S.

Please do not post anything here about this offer.

Roger E. Olson