Contextualizing Cassian: Aristocrats, Asceticism, and Reformation in Fifth-Century Gaul Book

This book touts itself as competely objective theology, synthesizing each different theological study to draw their "integrated" conclusions. The process is informative - and most students of the Bible should utilize this method, but throughout the book one quickly understands that the authors are still filtering their assumptions and conclusions through their pre-existing beliefs and assumptions. Maintaining complete objectivity is nearly impossible to do, and I wish the authors would have made this clear from the outset. As a result, I nearly always skipped the Systematic Theology section, opting to read the Historical, Biblical, and Apologetic approaches only, doing my own Systematic synthesis.

I have found that it is definitely best to keep a notebook and pen handy while reading this book to write down moments of inspiraton and revelation as you come across them; there is so much information here, the things you learn or find imporant could be lost in the vastness of the book. The sheer number of epiphanies I have had reading this book could constitute a complete second book of its own!