Faith Speaking Understanding, Performing the Drama of Doctrine by Kevin J. Vanhoozer
In 2005 highly regarded theologian Kevin Vanhoozer wrote an intense scholarly tome entitled The Drama of Doctrine. The present volume was written to make his unique approach to the understanding of Scripture, which he calls theodrama, more assessable to pastors and serious lay students of the Bible. But make no mistake; this work is a […]
The Gospel of the Lord, How the Early Church Wrote the Story of Jesus by Michael F. Bird
Michael Bird, lecturer in theology at Ridley Melbourne Mission and Ministry College in Australia, has written this work to address “the questions of how the Gospels came to be, what kinds of literature they are, and how they relate to Christian discourse about God…[and] to explore how the Gospels were shaped by the Christian movement […]
For the Glory of God, Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship, by Daniel I. Block
Reading For the Glory of God had the feel of sitting at the feet of a learned professor as he pours out a lifetime of study of the Scriptures. The book provides insightful understanding concerning many biblical matters but is primarily focused on tracing the theme of worship throughout the Bible. Block states his thesis […]
A Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Gutiérrez
Originally written in 1971, this revised edition contains a new introduction, in addition to the original, and the reworking of portions of the first edition. While many similar ideals had been circulating prior to its publication, and were expressed in the Vatican II Council documents (1965) and the Medellin Conference (1968), A Theology of Liberation […]
The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
In typical Yancey fashion the author uses his journalistic skills to question and dig deeper into a subject that perplexes him. This time it is Jesus. He is convinced that his fundamentalist upbringing clouds the real Jesus in his thinking. Over and over he makes derogatory comments about his boyhood church and hot beds of […]
Generous Justice, How God’s Grace Makes Us Just by Timothy Keller
In Generous Justice Timothy Keller is making a case for social justice as it relates to the corporate church and to individual Christians. Each chapter begins with a call to justice from the Bible which shows the foundation of a just, generous human community (see p. xvi) followed by the author’s biblical and philosophical defense […]
Liberation Theology by Emilio A. Núñez C.
This book deals with the biblical, theological and sociological issues concerning liberation theology (p. 12). Liberation theology is a new way of doing theology (pp. 8, 17, 35, 74, 81, 122-124, 131-171), born out of the Latin American social context. It discards capitalism (pp. 29-31, 56-57, 95, 119, 156-157, 215), is a theology of action […]
Simply Good News, Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good by N. T. Wright
Christianity Today proclaims N. T. Wright to be the most prolific biblical scholar in a generation. Some say he is the most important apologist since C. S. Lewis (on the dust cover). If so, then whether you agree with him or not, what Wright says carries considerable weight. In Simply Good News Wright is defining […]
The Sacred Text, Biblical Authority in Nineteenth-Century America by Ronald F. Satta
It is commonly taught in evangelical scholarship that the doctrine of inerrancy was invented and developed by A. A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield in 1881 with publication of their paper “Inspiration” (see pp. XI, 33). Ronald Satta proves in this small work that such was not the case—that, in fact, conservative theologians going back […]
The Holy Spirit by A. W. Pink
A. W. Pink lived from 1886 to 1952 and wrote numerous books including The Holy Spirit. It has been critiqued and reviewed by numerous people and therefore warrants no extensive review from me at this time. A few comments will suffice. Of a positive nature, Pink expounds on many marvelous truths related to the Holy […]