Theology Carlo, I.A. \"Toward an Evangelical Global

Theology

Carlo, I.A. "Toward An Evangelical Global Theology Amidst World Christianity." Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Bakke Graduate University, Seattle, WA, 2009.

Once the reader moves beyond the messy, shallow writing in Carlo's "Toward An Evangelical Global Theology Amidst World Christianity," a few gems of research emerge. The problem is how hard it is to find those specks of value in this terribly written doctoral dissertation. The muddled and oblique writing aside, there is little of postgraduate substance in "Toward An Evangelical Global Theology Amidst World Christianity." The dissertation is full of faults, and it is difficult to distill what the writer is trying to say. The dissertation reads like a high school research report peppered with occasional doctoral tidbits.

Thankfully, the end of the first page offers an outline of what the writer intends to discuss. The author sets forth to describe the meaning and definition of theology; the place of culture in theology; and the "extent of theology and the theologian in theology," (Carlo 2). The latter of the three intents encapsulates the poor quality of writing generally exhibited throughout this dissertation. What does "the extent of theology…in theology" mean? What does the "extent of…the theologian in theology mean?" The author fails to clarify this, the overall purpose of the research, or lack thereof.

The dissertation itself does not even seem meaningful. The author is in part attempting to justify "doing theology." Hasn't that been done over and over again? It is also unclear what the author is adding to theological discourse or to the religious studies discipline. This is a graduate dissertation that reads like an undergraduate report at best. Phrases like "the extent of theology and the theologian in theology" is only one part of the clumsy mess that Carlo's work unfortunately becomes. The dissertation sadly makes the reader wonder how the author was admitted into theological seminary to begin with. The basic definition of theology offered on page two is something a high school student might offer.

To give the author the benefit of the doubt, some deconstructionism of theology might be useful. It might be useful if the author intends to take the deconstruction somewhere. Yet Carlo never reaches a place of poignant inquiry. For example, several of the quotes on page 3 have no bearing on the scholarly discipline of theology -- such as John 1:14.

One of the most glaring problems with Carlos' work is the lack of definition for evangelical theology. The author seems to be coming from an evangelical paradigm, and mentions evangelism several times, but fails to clarify this bias or point-of-view. What does he/she mean by "evangelical theology"? Furthermore, what does "looking within" mean, on page 4.