There is no shortage of on-going conversations in the fields of theology and biblical studies. While going to seminary would help you get a good lay of the land, not everyone can or needs to do that. For most people willing to commit to doing some reading, you can find a volume in Zondervan’s Counterpoints series to introduce you to an on-going discussion. Thanks to Zondervan, I was able to do that with these volumes.
Two Views on Homosexuality, The Bible, and The Church
The title of this volume is a little deceptive. Not in a nefarious sense, but in that it masks that there are actually four contributors. While there are two views, affirming and traditional, there is a biblical scholar and theologian who represent each view:
- William Loader (Affirming biblical scholar)
- Megan K. DeFranza (Affirming theologian)
- Wesley Hill (Traditional biblical scholar)
- Stephen R. Holmes (Traditional theologian)
In a fairly weak move for anyone who subscribes to biblical authority, Loader gives the affirming case away in his essay. He essentially acknowledges that Paul would not affirm homosexual behavior, but that we’ve moved beyond the Apostle’s view (conclusion from pp 42-48). If the scholar who has done the most extensive work on sexuality in the ancient world agrees with the traditional understanding of the text of Scripture, then one can see the issue isn’t so much what Scripture says, but about how we choose to apply it today.
Along those lines, it is hard to evade the fact that one of the contributors, Wesley Hill, is actually gay. He also argues for a traditional view of the matter, and is personally committed to living in light of that. He is one of the more thoughtful and helpful voices in this discussion in the church today, and I’m glad he was included here. His essay and responses are worth the price of the book. His position is I think the most correct and viable approach to the issue today, and I’d commend his other writings to you.
Four Views on Christianity and Philosophy
Christian theology and philosophy have always had an interesting relationship. This is no doubt due to Greek Philosophy’s initial impetus of asking the big questions about existence, knowledge, and the good life without reference to divine revelation. Also, given that “philosophy” can either refer to a method or the fruit of study, things are often quite complicated.
In this volume, the four contributors offer expositions of different models for understanding the relationship. They are:
- Conflict: Philosophy Trumps Christianity (Graham Oppy)
- Covenant: Christianity Trumps Philosophy (K. Scott Oliphint)
- Convergence: Philosophy Confirms Christianity (Timothy McGrew)
- Conformation: Philosophy Reconceived under Christianity (Paul K. Moser)
As you can see, there is very little ground between the first two contributors. Oppy is a metaphysical naturalist who considers naturalism superior to Christianity as a worldview. Oliphint will have none of that. However, I think that last model is probably the best for conceiving of the relationship, although as is often the case, I don’t fully side with any view. However, this book is a good step toward coming to an understanding of how to integrate philosophy (as a discipline) into a Christian worldview.
Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design
I’ve written about this volume in two posts elsewhere (here and here). I’ll try to not retread that ground, but quickly the views here are:
- Young Earth Creationism (Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis)
- Old Earth (Progressive) Creationism (Hugh Ross, Reasons to Believe)
- Evolutionary Creation (Deborah B. Haarsma, BioLogos)
- Intelligent Design (Stephen C. Meyer, The Discovery Institute)
In many ways, this volume is an accomplishment. Each of the four contributors is the head of their respective organizations. Getting them together in one volume deserves an editorial high five! The result is a great improvement on the previous edition in this series.
The downside, as noted in the introduction, is that none of the contributors has professional theological or exegetical training. Ham barely has training in science (he is the lone contributor without a Ph.D), while Meyer is a philosopher and historian of science. Haarsma is a physicist and Ross is an astronomer. I say all of this to illustrate that in a book about creation, and evolution, and intelligent design, none of the contributors are either biologists or biblical scholars. To the degree that one is familiar with either of those fields, you’ll be left wanting more after reading the views. However, this is a great book for getting a lay of the major views of the land.
Four Views on The Church’s Mission
As more and more people enter the social justice conversation (online and elsewhere), it is important to clarify what is the church’s mission. The contributors in this volume are:
- Jonathan Leeman (Soteriological Mission)
- Christopher J. H. Wright (Participatory Mission)
- John R. Franke (Contextual Mission)
- Peter Leithart (Sacramental Mission)
Leeman represents what might be thought of as the traditional view that the church’s main mission is to make disciples. Wright argues that the church is meant to participate in the on-going work of God, which lends itself to more of a focus on social justice. Without necessarily negating concerns of the previous two views, Franke’s view centers on how the context shapes the mission, making it vary from place to place. Finally, Leithart argues that the mission of the church flows out of the sacramental life of believers in the church. In his understanding, this entails a more politcial and ecumenical pursuit.
Leeman’s nuanced traditional view is probably the best, but as with most volumes in this series, you’ll benefit from reading the other viewpoints in conversation. There is perhaps a case to be made that they are all correct to an extent, but the emphasis that is accented determines ones denominational preference.
This volume is a second edition of an earlier release in the counterpoints series. Originally, I believe it was a two view book, but now the options have been expanded and include:
- Eternal Conscious Torment (Denny Burk)
- Terminal Punishment (John G. Stackhouse Jr.)
- Universalism (Robin A. Parry)
- Purgatory (Jerry L. Walls)
If you cannot tell from the jargon, Burk is arguing for the traditional view, and Stackhouse is arguing for annihilationism. Walls argues that purgatory is for further sanctification for believers before heaven. Those not fully sanctified in this life will be purified before the next. While Walls tries to avoid it, I think this creates problems for the atonement, and doesn’t fit comfortably with the Protestant tradition.
I am in the process of re-thinking this issue as a whole, and this book is a valuable resource toward that end. I don’t think universalism is plausible, however, it is actually more plausible for a Calvinist because the total number of elect people could be all humanity. Oliver Crisp explores that line of thinking in another work I’ll tell you about sometime. In the end, I’m trying to make the best sense of biblical passages in line with the confessions, and stripped of ideas about the afterlife that might come literature rather than exegesis and theology.