Gary Shultz reviews Matthew D. Kim’s Preaching to People in Pain.
The End of Interpretation: Reclaiming the Priority of Ecclesial Exegesis | R. R. Reno
God, Race, and History: Liberating Providence | Matt R. Jantzen
Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church | Katelyn Beaty
Participation and Atonement: An Analytic and Constructive Account | Oliver D. Crisp
Augustine's Preached Theology: Living as the Body of Christ
Rethinking the Atonement: New Perspectives on Jesus's Death, Resurrection, and Ascension | David Moffitt
Three Books on Marriage | Driscoll; Keller; and Tripp
The Song of Solomon | Douglas Sean O'Donnell
Biblical Reasoning: Christological and Trinitarian Rules for Exegesis | R. B. Jamieson and Tyler Wittman
With this work Jamieson and Wittman help answer the question concerning the relationship between exegesis and theology. They demonstrate, through careful exegesis, that the conclusions of systematic theology are not some superstructure forced upon the witness of Scripture, but are in fact the very foundation which provides it’s coherence.
The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, Volume 1 | Michel Foucault
In the world after Foucault, believers might seize the possibilities for loving, humble ministry that does not treat same-sex temptation as any more identity-defining than other Biblically prohibited desires and, in the process, present a more winsomely Christ-like witness.
Can a “Biblical” Script Turn Toxic? A Review of Nancy Pearcey’s The Toxic War on Masculinity
In The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes, best-selling author and apologist Nancy Pearcey traces the American cultural crisis of masculinity to the secularization of Western society since the Industrial Revolution––and offers what she sees as the biblical solution to the problem. Pearcey’s treatment of masculinity weaves together many theological, sociological, exegetical, and historical threads. And while the scope and ambition of the project is impressive, the results are mixed.
The Cross in Context: Reconsidering Biblical Metaphors for Atonement | Brad Vaughn
In this work, Jackson W.—a pseudonym—seeks to demonstrate the way metaphors used to articulate atonement theology often conflate the biblical data. After defending the assumption that both the biblical horizon and our own are contextualized, the author performs a detailed analysis of atonement in the OT in its relationship to the purity laws and observes that atonement affects a variety of objects, ranging from people to things like the altar. Key to the argument being advanced, though, is that atonement is not always achieved with the death of an animal but can also be achieved through compensatory gifts (like jewelry in Num 31:48–5). When describing the general purpose for sacrifices, the author summarizes them by saying they “enable people to draw near to God” (p. 66) and achieve this effect “by vindicating God’s honor” (p. 88, italics removed).
Pastoral Theology in the Baptist Tradition | R. Robert Creech
In Pastoral Theology in the Baptist Tradition, Robert Creech explores the traditional loci of pastoral ministry in Baptist thought and history. From call to ministry to leadership dynamics, Creech carefully assesses how Baptists have understood the role and function of the pastor. Creech argues that Baptist pastoral theology is most concerned about what Scripture says on specific pastoral functions. Thus, the book explores the Baptist approach of “this is that,” grounding pastoral practice in clear biblical precedence. Baptist theologians and pastors will directly benefit from this work, yet concerned with the office of pastor, models of pastoral theology, and considering leadership in ecclesiastical traditions should value Creech and his work in this volume.
Christian Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Systematic | Adam Harwood
Adam Harwood has been a theology faculty member of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for nearly a decade. This volume seems to be the fruit of those years of training men and women for ministry, and is aimed at graduate and upper-level undergraduate students (xxii).
The Bible in the Early Church | Justo L. González
Most pastors and seminarians are familiar with Gonzalez’s work on church history. His two-volume The Story of Christianity serves as the standard historical text in first year history courses in addition to offering one the best pathways into church history for a general audience. Gonzalez’s work is standard reading for good reason. He has the rare ability to synthesize deep scholarly knowledge and present it in a way that is readable for eighteen-year-olds. He does this, moreover, while still offering enough substance to be informative for seasoned students of theology.
Augustine and Tradition: Influences, Contexts, Legacy
The premise of this work is that although the Old Testament “provides the basic grammar for the church’s confession on creation, providence, figuration, the nature of biblical inspiration, authorship, Trinity, Christology, soteriology, and ecclesiology”—in short, for Christian faith and practice—its witness has been neglected in the modern period, leading to a variety of problems within the Christian church (pp. 1-2).
Figural Readings of the Old Testament: Theology and Practice | Don Collett
The premise of this work is that although the Old Testament “provides the basic grammar for the church’s confession on creation, providence, figuration, the nature of biblical inspiration, authorship, Trinity, Christology, soteriology, and ecclesiology”—in short, for Christian faith and practice—its witness has been neglected in the modern period, leading to a variety of problems within the Christian church (pp. 1-2).
Christ and Calamity: Grace & Gratitude in the Darkest Valley | Harold L. Senkbeil
Perhaps the greatest success of Alan Jacobs’s biography of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is his own facility with the English language. Thomas Cranmer’s masterpiece rivals Shakespeare in beauty and influence. Few contemporary authors do justice to this work, however, not for lack of expertise, but for lack of ability in the language Cranmer himself mastered. Jacobs succeeds where many others have failed. And thank goodness. This is a delightful book. Beginning with Cranmer in his library at Croydon, Jacobs weaves a compelling tale that carries us through nearly five centuries of turbulent history and sends us around the globe into a communion of nearly 80 million Christians worldwide.
The Book of Common Prayer: A Biography | Alan Jacobs
Perhaps the greatest success of Alan Jacobs’s biography of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is his own facility with the English language. Thomas Cranmer’s masterpiece rivals Shakespeare in beauty and influence. Few contemporary authors do justice to this work, however, not for lack of expertise, but for lack of ability in the language Cranmer himself mastered. Jacobs succeeds where many others have failed. And thank goodness. This is a delightful book. Beginning with Cranmer in his library at Croydon, Jacobs weaves a compelling tale that carries us through nearly five centuries of turbulent history and sends us around the globe into a communion of nearly 80 million Christians worldwide.
