I mentioned a while back that I’ve been reading through Rob Plummer’s new hermeneutics primer 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible. It has been an excellent read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a smart, introductory-level text on biblical interpretation. I’ll wager it’s the only hermeneutics book in history with endorsements as illustrious and varied as Darrell Bock, Kevin Vanhoozer, and Jerry Vines. Don’t let the title fool you though. This is not a book of 40 random questions thrown together haphazardly. The book has four parts treating the following topics: (1) text, canon, and translation, (2) interpretation and meaning, (3) biblical genres, and (4) issues in…
-
-
DeYoung Reviews “Radicalâ€
The Gospel Coalition has published an interesting exchange between Kevin DeYoung and David Platt about Platt’s new book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. DeYoung provides a critical review of the book, and then Platt follows with his response. Here’s an excerpt to give you an idea of DeYoung’s approach:
-
Tim Challies Embraces the Greatest Disappointment in All of Human History
When the iPad first came out, Tim Challies gave it a scathing review, calling it “the greatest disappointment in all of human history.” Well, that was then, and this is now. In that earlier review, Challies said that the Kindle did one thing, and it did it better than the iPad. In his latest review, he compares the Kindle with the iPad and says that he will be using the iPad from now on to read books. I think his change of heart is due in no small part to the Kindle for iPad app. Watch the video above, and see if you are ready to drink the Kool-aid too.…
-
The Good News We Almost Forgot
I’ve been enjoying Kevin DeYoung’s popular introduction and commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism. The book is titled The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism, and it is a gem. After a brief introduction, the book is divided into fifty-two chapters, corresponding to the Catechism’s own weekly schedule for mastering its 129 questions and answers. Each chapter begins with that week’s Questions and Answers from the Catechism and then is followed by DeYoung’s brief commentary on that reading. The last chapter is followed by a warm-hearted epilogue, calling on Christians to love theology and experience—i.e., to reject the false dichotomy between the “head” and…
-
Review of “In the Land of Believers”
[PDF version of the following review.] Gina Welch’s In the Land of Believers: An Outsider’s Extraordinary Journey into the Heart of the Evangelical Church is the narrative of the author’s two-year sojourn in the late Jerry Falwell’s Thomas Road Baptist Church (TRBC) in Lynchburg, Virginia. As a life-long liberal atheist, Welch had always regarded evangelicals with an elitist contempt. Uncomfortable with her disdain, she goes undercover and joins the church in order to find out what evangelicals are really like. At the outset of her project, Welch observes miles of ideological distance between her and the subjects of her study. With respect to Jerry Falwell, she writes, “I considered him…
-
Beauty Will Rise at Thanksgiving
Rose Kennedy buried four of her own children–all of whom met tragic ends. Her oldest son Joe was killed in action in World War 2. Her daughter Kathleen died in a plane crash in Europe. Her sons John and Bobby died by the assassin’s bullet. At the end of her life she wrote this: “It has been said that time heals all wounds. I don’t agree. The wounds remain. Time—the mind, protecting its sanity—covers them with some scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.” I have never known that kind of grief. It is hard to imagine. And I would not dare gainsay her experience. Nevertheless,…
-
A Must-Read: Adopted for Life by Russell Moore
If you haven’t done so already, you need to buy and read Russell Moore’s new book Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches. Not only is this book is a real page-turner, it also makes a compelling case for the cultivation of an adoption culture within churches for the sake of gospel witness. Moore writes, “The gospel of Jesus Christ means our families and churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans close to home and around the world. . . Adoption is about an entire culture within our churches, a culture that sees adoption as part of our Great Commission…
-
Family Worship by Don Whitney
It’s only 63 pages long, but Don Whitney’s Family Worship: In the Bible, in History & in Your Home is a great little book. The book is aimed at Fathers primarily, but it also has a target on any believer that is the spiritual leader of their home. The basic thesis of the book is that Christian families should be worshiping together on a daily basis. Every family, Whitney argues, should set aside time to read the Bible, pray, and sing together. Citing a Barna study, Whitney laments that many Christian parents rely upon their church almost exclusively for the discipleship of their children. Whitney writes:
-
Beckwith’s Book and the ETS Amendment
Francis Beckwith’s new book Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic has just been released. The new book traces his journey back to Roman Catholicism, and the last chapter deals directly with his membership in the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). Beckwith was the President of the ETS when he decided to return to the Roman Catholic Church. Beckwith said then and he contends now that he can still sign the ETS’s doctrinal statement in good conscience. He writes, “On May 5, 2007, I resigned as president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and two days later I resigned my membership, one I held for over twenty years. . .…
-
Schreiner Critiques McKnight’s “The Blue Parakeet”
A couple of weeks ago Tom Schreiner contacted The Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood (for which I am the editor) and expressed interest in writing a review of Scot McKnight’s new book The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible. We were delighted to let him write the review for us and plan on publishing the review in the Spring 2009 issue of the journal. In advance of its publication in JBMW, the review essay will appear next week on the Gender Blog of the Council for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood. I interviewed Tom last week for a new podcast that we have launched at Boyce College (where…