Book Reviews
Book Review: Killing Calvinism
Some books elicit interest due to their subject matter. Others do so because of their literary quality. For me, the title Killing Calvinism (Cruciform Press, 2012) was enough to arrest my attention. As a Baptist pastor with strong convictions about the doctrine of salvation, new books on theological systems frequently pique my interest. Regardless of our spiritual sensibilities about “systems,” we all tend to have them. Written by Greg Dutcher, this book is ironically about the problems these systems can create when they’re not anchored...
read moreFinding God (ed. John Mulder)
Many believers are moved by hearing other Christians share accounts of their conversion experiences. In fact, one of the hallmarks of evangelical identity has been what historian David Bebbington calls “conversionism.” [1] He’s right—we believe that lives should be transformed through the new birth, otherwise called regeneration. Of course, not all experiences are equal. The conversion experience that most Baptists think of has its roots in Jesus’ words to Nicodemus: “born again.” While the specifics of the Holy Spirit’s work in conversion...
read moreExistential Reasons for Belief in God (Clifford Williams)
by Jared Martin Existential Needs (chapter 1-3) The thesis of Clifford Williams’ book, Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires and Emotions for Faith, is that the best way to acquire and maintain faith in God is through reason and need [1]. Faith may be based on either reason or need, but one without the other will ultimately be found lacking. As Williams puts it, “Need without reason is blind, but reason without need is sterile” [2]. He thinks this dichotomy is a mistake. Both need and reason are crucial...
read moreIs God a Moral Monster? (Paul Copan)
Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011). 252 pp. $14.99 paperback. review by Kevin Williford Among the challenges facing the church today is the attack on the Christian faith posed by what is commonly called the “New Atheists.” What distinguishes the New Atheists from those in previous generations is their militancy and efforts to popularize atheism. The primary mode of attack is to use the Old Testament (“OT”) stories to accuse God of being irrational and immoral. Paul Copan wrote...
read moreTransformed By God: New Covenant Life and Ministry (David Peterson)
Review by Dustin Walters Most evangelical Christians understand that true change only occurs as a result of heart transformation by Jesus Christ. A biblical understanding of New Covenant life and ministry is likewise concerned with this heart transformation. In Transformed by God: New Covenant Life and Ministry (IVP, 2012), David Peterson asserts that the New Covenant offers a “spiritual, moral, and physical” change. Peterson served as Oak Hill Theological College’s Principal in London from 1996 to 2007. While there, he also lectured in...
read moreA Little Book for New Theologians (Kelly Kapic)
In 2012 I intended to write an essay commemorating the 50th anniversary of a useful little book that many young theologians don’t read anymore: Helmut Thielicke’s A Little Exercise for Young Theologians. Published originally in 1959, the English edition hit shelves in 1962. It quickly became a useful primer in helping students to reflect on the nature of theological study. A number of remarks from Thielicke still resonate today: Speaking figuratively, the study of theology often produces overgrown youths whose internal organs have not...
read moreBook Review of “A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers” (D. A. Carson)
By Michael Locklear When you see the book title, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, you may ask, “Is this just another book on prayer—and limited to the prayers of the apostle Paul at that? Should I take the time to even read this book?” To that, I answer no and yes. In one sense, this is not just another book on prayer. In fact, Carson confesses “how little… biblical material on prayer” his short book actually covers [1]. He does not consider other prayers preserved in God’s Word, such as those in the Psalms, from our Christ, and many others....
read moreThe Explicit Gospel (Matt Chandler)
Review By Cody Balfour The American Church is quickly spreading a gospel, but is it really the Gospel? First Corinthians 15:1-4 clearly states what the Gospel is: Christ crucified, buried, and resurrected. Despite this, many churches are drifting away from that crucial message. And increasingly, they fail to identify the Gospel as God Himself—a rather bold, but nevertheless biblical, message. Matt Chandler has addressed this very issue in his new book, The Explicit Gospel (2012). Chandler is the pastor at The Village Church in Dallas, Texas....
read moreThe Ethical Vision of Clint Eastwood (Sara Vaux)
Review by Jared Austin While many films Hollywood produces excel aesthetically, most are full of postmodern secularism and lack common ground with the Christian viewer. Conversely, directors such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and the Coen brothers make films many Christians have analyzed because of their religious themes which inform and shape public thought. Another such director is the iconic Clint Eastwood. In her book The Ethical Vision of Clint Eastwood (Eerdmans, 2011), Sara Vaux celebrates Eastwood’s work as a director and...
read moreBiology of Sin (Matthew Stanford)
I quit a pack-a-day smoking addiction several years ago. I brought my problem before God with fasting and prayer, and relied on Him heavily for the first excruciating weeks and months. I am quite certain that my success is owed to Christ’s power in me. Strangely, however, the second most helpful source of encouragement and strength came in a small pamphlet on how to quit smoking packaged with my nicotine patches. The pamphlet very succinctly explained what was going to happen in my brain and body over the next few months, such as the feeling...
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