Alister McGrath, The Passionate Intellect

I loved this book. Alister McGrath is one of the most distinguished scholars in the evangelical world. He spent 25 years teaching historical and systematic theology at Oxford University and is now head of the Centre for Theology, Religion & Culture at King's College, London. He also holds Doctorates from Oxford in both historical theology and molecular biophysics. And he has also written broadly at both an academic and more popular level, focusing especially on historical theology, the interplay of science and theology, and most recently of a Christian response to the New Atheism of Richard Dawkins and others. This all means he is ideally placed to comment in this present book on the importance of theological thinking and the importance of careful consciousness of the traditions of the past as living voices for the church today. The first half of the book is a series of investigations into the sources and methods of theology and an application of these methods to a couple of important theological questions--the role of ambiguity in faith, a Christian understanding of nature, and the role of apologetics and its relation to theology. The second half of the book is a series of essays engaging with important issues in our current culture from a historically oriented theological perspective. These essays focus on two main issues, the proper relation between science and theology and the (closely related) possibility of a robust Christian response to the new athiesm of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens. And it is here that this book especially shines. McGrath's readable and lucid descriptions of how science and theology may be fruitfully related are outstanding and point in far more fruitful directions than are often assumed to be possible when the relationship is thought to be one of conflict instead of "reasonance" as McGrath describes it.

This book is a series of lectures given in 2008-9. This gives them a timely feel, as he addresses contemporary issues, and it also give the book a nice conversational and approachable tone. But, unlike many volumes of lectures, these have been been carefully reworked so they cohere nicely and smoothly and are well-annotated with relevant citations. This book demonstrates again McGrath's amazingly wide reading across historical and contemporary theology, philosophy, the natural sciences, sociology and literature, though he wears this learning lightly. His prose is always clear, and he makes his points efficiently. In all, I really loved this book. It was enjoyable to read and reinvigorated my passion for theology, even as it presented helpful directions for cultural engagement in our postmodern and post-Christian world.

Glen Packiam, Lucky

In Lucky, Glenn Packiam, a pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs and a songwriter, takes a fresh look at the good news of the coming of God's kingdom through an exploration of the four beatitudes of Luke 6. His reflection, as the title makes plain, centers around rethinking the familiar (and probably too-familiar) term "blessed," instead asserting that those to whom the kingdom comes are "lucky" (he gets some impetus for this move from Eugene Peterson's effective use of the term in the Message). He nuances the term nicely, to point out that though it may have the connotations of a random chance occurrence, it also caries the sense in modern usage of one who is fortunate, one for whom good things have happened. And it makes for a powerful restatement of the beatitudes that helps to convey their sense.

So what is the sense of the beatitudes? Packiam briefly explores some of the historical approaches to what this list signifies, but spends the bulk of his time crafting an approach to the four beatitudes in Luke that focuses both on the sense in which Jesus is declaring that the unlikely and unlucky people described by them (the poor, the hungry, the mourning, the rejected) have become lucky precisely in the fact that the kingdom has come, and in the sense in which this goes beyond just the physical conditions described to the conditions of heart that these conditions may help to create. That means he constantly keeps his exposition tied to the historical setting of Jesus' address even as he allows for a fuller spiritualized sense that doesn't leave behind the concrete setting but works it out more fully.

I really enjoyed Packiam's approach to the beatitudes, and I think it does a great job of giving a readable and informed approach to this well-known but often-misunderstood passage of Scripture. He uses the metaphor of "luck" to great effect to explore the nature of the kingdom of God and its application in our lives, both as recipients of this overwhelming luck and as bearers of God's luck to an unlucky world. I have come to recognize afresh that I am lucky because of God's great work in Jesus Christ, and further, that I'm called to participate in spreading that luck to the world. I expect I will refer back to this book frequently when thinking about the kingdom of God or the beatitudes, and I also think the metaphor of "luck" is pregnant with possibilities for translating the Christian message to an unlucky world.

Thanks to Amazon's Vine Program and the publisher for the review copy.

E-readers, note-taking, and why I'm still a non-adopter

Over at Jesus Creed, Scot McKnight discusses a report of a University of Washington study regarding e-readers and higher education. One of the big results of the study is basically to show that an e-reader like a Kindle as some setbacks for study and learning. I found this article enlightening because it more or less reinforces my main reluctance to make the transition to e-books. I love to underline and mark up book as I read, and in fact that's one of the key ways I learn. Being able to flip through a chapter I'm in the middle of and scan the underlined or annotated sections helps me pick up an argument when I come back to a book, and being able to review all of these markings when I'm done reading helps me to review a book adequately. That's not even to mention the usefulness of these markings and annotations months or years later when I'm looking for an citation or a thought from a past reading. And I know that there are some bookmarking and notetaking capabilities built into most e-readers. But they can't replace underlining, marginal notes, arrows, etc. So, so far, I'm a non-adopter. And there are other reasons I'm not adopting on top of the mark-up reasons. One, my life doesn't need any more screen time, it needs less. Two, I love books, the feel of the binding, the turn of the pages, the movement of the bookmark through the book. And I love libraries! A kindle or nook on a shelf doesn't call to mind great ideas, exciting stories, or unexplored countries like a room full of beautiful bindings. And last, there is cost. I'm not interested in shelling out a rather sizable sum just for a reader, before paying for books, which I then only license instead of own. Instead I pinch pennies and buy used books.

The one way I can see using an e-reader is basically like a mass-market paperback, a way to read fiction that is purely for fun. But it's a pretty expensive vehicle for that. I'm still intrigued by e-readers, and watch the technology and its effect on the publishing industry with interest, but I'm not much closer to making the leap myself.

Carlson and Longman, Science, Creation and the Bible

In this brief and general-reader-friendly book, physicist Richard Carlson and Biblical Studies professor Tremper Longman III undertake an attempt at a solution to the perceived conflict between the Genesis creation accounts and modern science. They advocate a reconciliation between the two disciplines, and they do this by making the following argument (their thesis statement, which appears on page 14):

The first two chapters of Genesis, which accurately present two accounts of creation in terms of ancient Hebrew scientific observations and heir historical understanding, are neither historical nor literal in the twenty-first-century literal sense. Instead, the underlying message of these chapters applies for all time and constitutes a complete statement of the worldview of the Hebrew people in the ancient Near East. They accurately understood the universe in terms of why God created it but not how in the modern scientific and historical sense. This worldview, markedly different from those of their pagan neighbors articulates the principles underlying their understanding of the relation of God to the universe, their relation to the true God, and their relation to each other and to the created order.

This book has a number of strengths, as the authors seek to make their case for this thesis. The principle strength is that it distills a lot of technical and academic thinking and writing into a very readable presentation that introduces some of these concepts and arguments to people who aren't otherwise familiar with them. For instance, the writers use some of John Polkinghorne's work to present a vision of the relationship between science and theology that goes beyond the popular conflict motif to a much more nuanced understanding of two disciplines with different spheres of study and different aims. The second major discussion that lays the groundwork for their thesis surrounds biblical hermeneutics, that is, how we read the Bible. Here again the authors present in simple terms an approach to reading the Bible that pushes people to be self-conscious in how they are interpreting the Bible and opens up the question of genre, the more of less formal conventions that guided both author and audience in understanding the type of text being presented. They discuss at length an incarnational model for understanding the Bible as both a divine and a human book. They also push for the category of myth as being helpful when looking to Genesis 1 and 2 and make a case from some contemporary authors such as C. S. Lewis for the usefulness and legitimacy of Christian myth.

The authors then move on to a reading of the major creation texts in the Old and New Testaments, preparing the way for a careful reading of Genesis 1 and 2 to investigate its place in the canon, its teaching, and its context in the ancient Near East. They assert that Genesis 1 and 2 should be read as a worldview statement for the ancient Hebrews, a statement that is made in a two-layered story, one layer being that of a story of the experiences and understandings of the ancient Hebrews, and a second layer consisting of the theological story they wanted to convey. It is the second, theological layer that is important for us today. They also point out both the similarities and the difference between the two Genesis accounts, concluding that the differences cue us in that these stories aren't meant to be read literally, since the author left in what would otherwise be viewed as conflicting details.

I have many reasons to commend this book. It is readable, and it helps to get people thinking in a critical way about what is perceived as a major conflict for Christians today between science and the Bible. I think many of their ideas are very helpful, and I do think that reading Genesis 1 and 2 against the back drop of the ancient Near East gives much greater understanding of these passages than a surface reading by someone in the twenty-first century alone could. I am also in agreement with the basic outline of the relationship they sketch between science and theology and hope this popular-level treatment brings that understanding to a wider audience. There were, I thought, a few weaknesses in the book. For me the largest one was the lack of useful summaries at the end of the two chapters investigating the creation texts in the NT and OT outside of Genesis 1 and 2. I thought these were interesting chapters, but they didn't seem to add much to the argument. Or, at least, their place went largely unstated beyond a few allusions. I also thought they ignored one of the most important "losses" as they term it, if their non-literal approach to Genesis 1 and 2 is adopted, namely the question of the historicity of Adam and Eve and the implications of that discussion for our understanding of humanity, the image of God, and the origin and character of sin. Although it is a complicated question, its exclusion seems a glaring omission (though it could be argued that it is technically outside their scope in focusing on Genesis 1 and 2, but Genesis 2 and 3 clearly for a unit of story, so decisions about one would likely have implications for understanding the other).

In conclusion, I hope many people read this book, and I do happily recommend it. There are pieces that could have been stronger, but it is overall a very clear statement of a better way of thinking about science and the Bible than the conflict model, and it helpful points Christians in a better direction.

Mark Yarhouse, Homosexuality and the Christian

Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy.

In this book that reflects many years of dedicated thought, counseling, and discussion, psychologist Mark Yarhouse steps right into the controversial waters of a Christian response to homosexuality. In it, he approaches the issue from a number of different angle. The first point in his discussion is a brief survey of the biblical evidence, which includes a helpful discussion of how not to misuse it, and he also helpfully contextualizes the discussion of Scripture in a wider discussion of sources of theology (covering the traditional quadrilateral of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience), which helps to make readers aware of how they are approaching this difficult issue and also helps people to understand how others are approaching it. I think this is a helpful move, which helps people to be aware of how others are approaching these controversial questions, and helps us to appreciate the type of reasoning they are using instead of simply dismissing them. And I think this move of driving toward listening and understanding as a key component of dialogue is indicative of Yarhouse's book, which demonstrates that type of sympathetic listening and determination not to jump too quickly to facile conclusions.

The chapter that I think was for me the most helpful is his second chapter, where he looks at sexual identity. He advocates a three-tiered understanding of homosexuality: attraction, orientation, identity. The level of attraction is purely descriptive, people experience same-sex attraction. The second level, homosexual orientation, takes a step beyond attraction to a declaration of a settled pattern of attraction. The third level, gay identity, extends beyond either of the first two largely descriptive categories to a statement of identity formed around the sexual orientation, a self-attribution of who a person is that now integrates and endorses the sexual attractions. In our culture, there is a "gay script," as he describes it, that seeks to draw people from the first tier, attraction, through the second and into the third tier, all the while seeking to show that they aren't really tiers at all but one integrated whole. This script is based on the ideal of "self-actualization" and discovery. Yarhouse, on the other hand, posits the possibility of another more traditionally Christian script, which he describes as "Identity 'In Christ.'" He details this script as follows:

-Same-sex attraction does not signal a categorical distinction among types of persons, but is one of many human experiences that are "not the way it's supposed to be."
-Same-sex attractions may be part of your experience, but they are not the defining element of your identity.
-You can choose to integrate your experiences of attraction to the same sex into a gay identity.
-On the other hand, you can choose to center your identity around other aspects of your experience, including your biological sex, gender identity, and so on.
-The most compelling aspect of personhood for the Christian is one's identity in Christ, a central and defining aspect of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. (p. 51)

It is this alternative script that forms the basis for his prescribed response.

Yarhouse, as a practicing psychologist and professor of psychology, is well qualified to speak to the medical issues surrounding the discussion of sexual orientation, and his brief chapter detailing some of the important research demonstrates again that he resists facile conclusions but instead allows sometimes complex data to bring him to nuanced statements. As he discusses what causes homosexuality, he concludes that it likely has many causes, which are weighted differently in different people, and that we must be careful not to blame a person who is experiencing same-sex attraction as though they have chosen to experience it. His discussion of orientation change is likewise nuanced, as he endorses the fact that change can occur, but also cautions that only some people experience change, and most of those are only an incremental change as opposed to a complete reversal.

These chapters form the foundation of the book, and lay the groundwork for the real practical discussions that follow. The second part of the book investigates how to respond to a adolescent child, adult child, or spouse who is dealing with this issue. In the third part, he turns the focus on the church's response. I won't detail these here because my review is already longer than I had intended, but I will simply state that he uses the groundwork he has laid to good effect as he helps Christians to look at this issue from a somewhat different, and I believe helpful, perspective. I do not hesitate in recommending this book. I think he strikes a very warm and irenic tone, even as he seeks to correct people on both poles in this often acrimonious debate. Instead, he puts a very human face on the issues, interspersing his discussion with anecdotes from his own practice and people he has encountered over the years. In the end, I think the question that forms the title for his discussion of the church's response, "Whose people are we talking about?" puts things just the right way, and his answer is emphatically that Christians who struggle with homosexuality are "our people," people who need our support and encouragement as we all the while acknowledge to being fellow travelers on the road to Christlikeness. This doesn't mean compromise of biblical standards of sexuality, but it does mean a different approach toward those who are sincerely struggling. In all, I found this book a great resource, and I have gained a broader and more nuanced perspective that will be beneficial going forward.

Uncorrected proofs . . . cool.

I have recently been invited by Amazon to participate in their Vine reviewers program, which means they allow me to select books and other products through their review program. I was happy to see Jeff Shaara's The Final Storm come up for review. I just read his WWII trilogy (The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II, The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II, No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II) last summer and really enjoyed them, so this sequal volume dealing with the final stages of the war in the Pacific really piqued my interest. But when it arrived in the mail, I was even more excited: uncorrected proofs.

The book doesn't actually release until May 17, so I get to read it a month and a half before it's even available. Now I've been in the book business for years, so it's not like I've never held uncorrected proofs in my hands, but I guess, being a book person, book stuff amuses me. So here's to enjoying the small pleasures of life.

Recovering the Scandal of the Cross, 2nd ed.

IVP Academic has announced that Mark Baker and Joel Green are releasing a second edition of their relatively controversial Recovering the Scandal of the Cross (link to the first edition here) this coming September. This is one of the books that has sought to broaden the evangelical understanding of atonement, and it has been met with a good bit of resistance. It will be interesting to see what they have to say a little more than ten years after the release of the first edition. You can also get a feel for Joel Green's approach to atonement in The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views.

Ben Witherington, Roman Numerals

Roman numerals is the second Art West adventure from Ben and Ann Witherington. Ben is a prolific and widely respected biblical scholar who has written widely in new testament history, exegesis and theology. Ann is his biology-professor wife. And together they have crafted this series of adventure mysteries. In this second installment, Art West finds himself investigating a major antiquities heist, and he is later abducted by an Islamic group that wants to silence his christian witness. The books are relatively well written, and have lots of action as well as some interesting characters. Much of the action takes place in Jerusalem and in archaeological sites in its surrounding hills, and the Witheringtons show sensativity to the complex historical, cultural, and theological situation there. Also a major theme in this book was Art's ficticious investigations into the presence and extent of the emperor cult in the first century, and especially in Palestine. this theme especially is helped by a brief author's note at the end of the book that details which archeological finds and ancient artifacts were real and which were ficticuous. I won't ruin the plot by outlining it here, but there is enough action woven together with thoughtful and authentic historical detail to make these great books, especially for people with interest in Biblical history and archaeology, and not to mention an ability to explore the content and implications of Christian faith. I look forward to reading the third installment.