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Category: Book Reviews

  • A Guide to Biblical Commentaries and Reference Works

    I am frequently asked about book recommendations. Mostly these are for friends who want to read a good theology book or two. Occasionally I am asked about commentaries by the more adventurous readers (and you can read a response to that here). If you’re not aware (and even if you are), there are a plethora…

  • Christological Anthropology In Historical Perspective

    An increasingly common mode of theology is retrieval. Maybe that’s not the right way to phrase it, but the idea is that we aren’t the first people to ask theological questions. Just maybe some important voices from the past can shed light on our contemporary questions. If one is merely explaining what the past voices…

  • Pictures at a Theological Exhibition: Scenes of the Church’s Worship, Witness and Wisdom

    Few theologians are doing more to revitalize theology in content and form than Kevin Vanhoozer. While I think I would recommend pretty much all of his books, his most recent Pictures at a Theological Exhibition: Scenes of the Church’s Worship, Witness and Wisdom, might be the best for getting acquainted with his thought. As a…

  • New from IVP Academic: Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture

    Recently, IVP Academic has stepped up their series game. In the past they’ve released the Christian Worldview Integration series, Contours in Christian Theology, and several commentary series. They continue to publish titles in the New Studies in Biblical Theology series, as well as the Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology series. Now, they’ve added the Studies…

  • The Soul of Shame: Retelling The Stories We Believe About Ourselves

    We all have a story. One thing all of stories unfortunately have in common is incidents of shame. To one degree or another, shame becomes part of virtually all of our stories. For some, it is not an incidental detail in a larger story but the bulk of the story itself. Along these lines, Curt…

  • Kierkegaard: Christian Missionary to Christians

    Christians have had an interest in western philosophy for pretty much as long as both existed. If you’re late to the game, you’d probably be surprised that many philosophers, at least post-Augustine, would have considered themselves Christians. The Enlightenment kind of gradually ruined that, but not before some significant thinkers emerged. One of those was…

  • Calling on The Name of The Lord: A Biblical Theology of Prayer

    It is a truth universally acknowledged that a new title in the New Studies in Biblical Theology series is in want of a place on my bookshelf. On first glance, today might seem better suited for a different kind of post. But, as I read recent events, it’s a call to start taking prayer seriously.…

  • One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics

    Few things are more American than working when you’re supposed to rest. So, here I am writing this book review on the Fourth of July. But, I guess it’s ok because it’s for Bruce Ashford and Chris Pappalardo’s One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics. At least I can be patriotic, especially since…

  • Theological Theology: Essays in Honour of John Webster

    As a general rule, I enjoying reading through, or at least collecting festschriften. If that’s a new word to you (and even if it’s not), I am speaking about a collection of essays presented to a scholar on some significant occasion. This might be a retirement, a special birthday, or a special conference. At any…

  • A Theology in Outline: Can These Bones Live?

    Have you ever wondered what it might be like to take an intro to theology class with Robert Jenson? To be honest the thought hadn’t crossed my mind before I requested a review copy of his latest book A Theology in Outline: Can These Bones Live? I was just curious about how it was as…