“In my attempt to retrieve an old and ever-new dogma of the church in a fresh way I’ve sought to invite you to continue laboring, cherishing, and wondering about the classical doctrine of God.
There are treasures within the tradition, within Scripture, and within the life of the church awaiting us. These treasures are not merely abstract theoretical ideas to study as a scientist or physicist but spiritual food and nourishment to our souls.
They are a feast from which we delight in God and commune with the church catholic. They are resources that heighten the true sacrament of ecclesiastical communion with our Triune God and the church whom He purchased with His blood.
Therefore, I urge you to take up and read. Read Scripture. Read the tradition. Read, dare I say it, philosophy.
But don’t just read. Share your discoveries with others, and most important, allow the classical doctrine of God to fuel your worship within the church to the praise of our good God.
The classical doctrines are supposed to be gasoline for our experience of God. They are not merely academic tropes for debate or intellectual superiority. They are fire for the church’s confession of God as God.
The steadfastness of the immutable God is kindling for the word preached.
The unbreakable richness of the impassible God is firewood for the Christian life.
The nearness of the eternal God is tinder for the sacraments.
The generosity of the simple God is a blow torch for our union with Him.
Of course, each dogma is fuel for every aspect of the Christian life. But they each impel Christian faith and ecclesial worship.
Therefore, my hope and aim are that the introduction to these dogmas will be of great comfort, joy, and delight for you.”
—Jordan Steffaniak, Classical Theism: A Christian Introduction (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2026), 321-322.
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