Bourdieu on Religion. Imposing Faith and Legitimacy

Persons consists of a series of highly significantarticles by top-notch Christian philosophers on what con-stitutes a person and the significance of some of these dis-tinctions for theological discussions. The essays are,without exception, important additions to contemporarydiscussions of personhood that take Christian theism seri-ously, and are therefore of potential interest to any philoso-pher or theologian. Zimmerman’s excellent introductionnot only defines the debate for the uninitiated, it also pro-vides a history of how (analytic) philosophy and theologycame to be so separated, and a plea for reopening the con-versation. While an estimable goal, and on a topic ofobvious interest to theologians and informed Christians,this book is unlikely to provide such a starting point pre-cisely because its essays engage current philosophicaldebate, most often in the terms of analytic philosophy.Some of the authors are better at defining their terms andproviding a less technical discussion (Adams on idealism,Plantinga on dualism, and Leftow on the Trinity, forexample), but all of the articles are conducted in the lan-guage of analytic philosophy, and the uninitiated may havetrouble accurately perceiving the relationships among theessays. While of potential interest to any intelligent Chris-tians, the most likely audience is other Christian philoso-phers, though anyone willing to seriously engage theseessays will find the excursion well worth the effort.

Jonathan Sands WiseBaylor University

THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO EARLYMODERN PHILOSOPHY. Edited by Donald Rutherford.New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. xv + 421.$90.00.

This Companion provides an informative synopsis ofthe major philosophical threads of the period, and wouldprove beneficial for novices as well as the more advanced.The articles trace major themes of the period not onlythrough the moderns, but also through their philosophicalpredecessors, both ancient and medieval. Also included arebrief biographies and an extensive bibliography. The statedgoals of the Companion are to “provide a comprehensiveintroduction to central topics” and “to acquaint the readerwith the most important developments” so as to “point theway toward more advanced studies in the field.” The Com-panion accomplishes the latter admirably. The articles areaccessible to any philosopher, but are carefully researchedand of sufficient depth to serve as a basis for more rigorousresearch in these areas. The one disappointment is thatthere seemed to be no consensus as to what figures areencompassed by the early modern period. Though theintroductions maintain a study of Montaigne through Kant,many of the contributors engaged no one after Leibniz,leaving Berkeley, Hume, and Kant underrepresented for avolume touting a “comprehensive introduction.” Beyondthis concern, the Companion is a concise, erudite introduc-tion to many of the important themes and figures and

serves as an excellent starting point for study of thisperiod.

C. M. LorkowskiPurdue University

WAS JESUS GOD? By Richard Swinburne. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 2008. Pp. vi + 175. $24.95.

After The Existence of God and Is There a God?, Swin-burne now assumes that the truth of theism is moderatelyprobable and argues that, if God exists, he is very likely theChristian God. Part One offers a priori arguments for thecentral theological claims of Christianity: God is triune,would incarnate to share in our sufferings and teach us howto live morally good lives, and atone for sins and thus makeavailable the gift of heaven. Part Two argues that these con-clusions, in conjunction with a posteriori historical evi-dences, namely, records of the life and resurrection of Jesusand the teachings of the Church, show that it is very likelythat Jesus is God. However, aspects of his approach are prob-lematic. Swinburne argues that, necessarily, a perfectlyloving being manifests perfect love toward another perfectlyloving being. Consequently, the Father exists if and only ifthe Son exists. Since perfect love requires perfectly coopera-tive activity, and because such activity must be shared witha third equal, the Holy Spirit, too, necessarily exists. Nomore than three divine persons necessarily exist, he argues,because additional persons would not add a new kind of goodstate. These are deep waters. Can we successfully tread thema priori? Swinburne’s case for Jesus’ deity is strong, but doesthe gift of heaven require Christianity’s teachings on atone-ment? The a priori status of his claims is controversial; dis-agreements may weaken the value of a posteriori evidences.Surely, Was Jesus God? is a well-argued, rewarding text thatdeserves thoughtful consideration.

Erik BaldwinPurdue University

TheologyTHE DECLINE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN THEOL-OGY: FROM BIBLICAL FAITH TO CULTURAL CAP-TIVITY. By Thabiti M. Anyabwile. Downer’s Grove, IL: IVPAcademic, 2007. Pp. 255. $20.00.

The argument in this book is deeply flawed methodologi-cally since the author depends on the fact that some promi-nent African-American Christians during the early colonialera were Calvinists to conclude that Reformed orthodoxy isthe proper measure for the rest of the African Americantradition (from Pentecostals to contemporary Black theology).This is like saying that since the original pilgrims wereReformed Puritans, and the Reformed theological point ofview is no longer the dominant one in the contemporarylandscape, we might as well talk about “the decline of Ameri-can theology”! Of course, we have heard folk like David Wellsmake such arguments over the last twenty years, but the

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difference is that Wells has always been an apologist for theReformed tradition whereas Anyabwile is just now enteringinto the discussion of African-American theology and thisgroup of churches has never been monolithically Reformed,at least not in the last 200-plus years. Also methodologicallyproblematic is Anyabwile’s selective reading of the slavematerial, his assessments of various black church traditionspast and present, and his theological attempts to correlateReformed orthodoxy with African-American hermeneuticalintuitions. While Anyabwile’s commitment to the Reformedtradition can be applauded, he should have instead written asequel to Anthony Carter’s On Being Black and Reformed: ANew Perspective on the African American Christian Experience(P & R Publishing, 2003) rather than trying to argue that alldevelopments in the African-American tradition away fromits Reformed “beginnings” (loosely understood) constitutes adecline.

Amos YongRegent University School of Divinity

TRANSFIGURING CAPITALISM: AN ENQUIRYINTO RELIGION AND GLOBAL CHANGE. By JohnAtherton. London: SCM Press, 2008. Pp. x + 342. $50.00.

Atherton’s main concern is to persuade overly zealoussecularists of the contributions religion makes to globalchange, while also persuading anti-secularists of the value ofsecular arts and sciences for human well-being. He promotesindividual and communal “faithful capital” as a necessity inthe global economy, but argues that what is best about anyparticular religious tradition is precisely its ability to strikea chord with that which is essentially and universallyhuman. The narratives and practices of both economics andreligion need each other, a hybrid approach for which hefinds support in the happiness literature of positive psychol-ogy. He chooses Jesus’ Transfiguration as core narrative—a“gift” from Christianity to all humanity—because of its three-fold affirmation of the material, the traditional, and the trans-cendent (none of which is exclusively Christian). The threadof Atherton’s argument is not always as clear as academicsare conditioned to expect, but this results from his desire notto reduce “a complex in complexities” beyond what it canendure. Those with an interest in economic-religious dialogwill find this a worthwhile read.

Kathryn D. BlanchardAlma College

GODLESS: HOW AN EVANGELICAL PREACHERBECAME ONE OF AMERICA’S LEADING ATHE-ISTS. By Dan Barker. Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2008.Pp. xv + 374. $14.95.

Barker’s book advertises itself as a fascinating memoirand a handbook for debunking theism. It is divided into foursections. In the first, Barker describes his life as an evangeli-cal minister and his subsequent “de-conversion” to atheism.The second and third sections detail his reasons for rejectingtheism and Christianity, respectively. The fourth section

chronicles his life as a prominent and socially active atheistand functions as an extended argument for the claim thatatheists can have meaningful lives. Section one, the mostinteresting by far, offers a rare autobiographical sketch ofde-conversion. It’s an intriguing read. Sections two and threetogether are the “handbook” of atheistic argumentation. Anda handbook this is. Very little is original. Very little is devel-oped in much detail. But very little of the standard atheisticline is left out. The arguments of section two, in particular,exhibit far less care than one might hope for—even from ahandbook. Barker argues, for example, that because sciencelimits itself to the natural and theism implies the supernatu-ral, science is inconsistent with theism. But by this samereasoning (and ignoring Barker’s implausibly narrow con-ception of science) cartography is inconsistent with theismsince it limits itself to maps and God is not a map. As a“fascinating memoir” the book is a success. One only wishesthat more of it were given over to this project. As a “hand-book” what it lacks in originality and rigor it perhaps makesup for in comprehensiveness.

Gregg Ten ElshofBiola University

VISIONS OF AGAPÉ: PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILI-TIES IN HUMAN AND DIVINE LOVE. Edited by CraigA. Boyd. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2008. Pp. xi + 151. $99.95.

Boyd, who teaches philosophy and directs faith integra-tion at Azusa Pacific University, here models the work of faithintegration by bringing together eight other scholars from avariety of disciplines (philosophy, bioethics, psychology, etc.)and ecumenical traditions (Anabaptist, Christian Reformed,Nazarene, etc.) to explore the meaning of love. The essaysbring a range of perspectives, themes, and voices—includingclassical trinitarian, pentecostal, feminist, nonviolence,Kierkegaard (especially the Danish theologian’s Works ofLove), disability (as manifest in L’Arche, an internationalorganization of communities devoted to the caring of peoplewith intellectual disabilities), Anselm, and open and rela-tional theism—into mutual conversation. Because there arefew (if any) weak links as the reader moves from each chapterto the next (unlike many edited volumes), what emerges is aconvergence of insights, arguments, and exploratory hypoth-eses that advances the interdisciplinary discussion on theol-ogy of love. The world needs more love, and Visions of Agapéat least illuminates why this is so and how that might berealized. If the price of the book prohibits scholars fromgetting their personal copy, they should at least recommendthe book to their university, college, or seminary library.


THAT ALL MAY BELIEVE: A THEOLOGY OF THEGOSPEL AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH. By Carl E.Braaten. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans PublishingCompany, 2008. Pp. vii + 188. $20.00.


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The title contains the book’s proposition, written by aLutheran scholar-theologian, influenced by Tillich, forpersons interested in an urgent recovery of the church’smission driven by eschatological hope. The book calls for asincere ecumenical movement of vision, dialog, and actionthat integrates a fragmented church, while settling themost profound dispute over the metaphysics of Jesus’ res-urrection because it is the basis of the mission of Chris-tianity, where the possibility of hope and salvation rests.The author’s threefold focus includes the Lutheran andCatholic argument as a microcosm of the larger church’screedal disputes and the ongoing mission of the presentchurch, the contradictions of pluralism and subsets of post-modernism, and oppositions of the church’s mission withthe inevitability of martyrdom. Yet the book omits victim-ized and exploited groups’ unique perspectives on evil,leaving the issue of experience unresolved, resulting in anevaluation of the major twentieth-century movementswithin Christianity that overlooks Liberation Theology andits by-products at their best as supportive of classicaltheology with its expansion of the meaning of sin andsalvation.

Michael D. RoysterHouston Graduate School of Theology

THE MESSIAH FORMERLY KNOWN AS JESUS:DISPATCHES FROM THE INTERSECTION OFCHRISTIANITY AND POP CULTURE. By Tom Breen.Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2008. Pp. xii + 217.$16.95.

This book is satirical. Every page has numerous attemptsat humor, many of which are actually funny. But there are alsoother attempts at humor that seem pointless and, at times,mildly offensive. Breen playfully criticizes academia everychance he gets, calling scholars clueless killjoys, so-calledexperts, buzzkills, boring, and irrelevant. He writes: “I didn’tneed to go to graduate school to get some paper degree inuseless, arcane subjects like ‘Church History’ or ‘SacredTheology’ or ‘English’ ” because “[t]he Internet was my rodand staff.” Armed with Google and with Wikipedia, Breen is avirtual expert on any given topic—just ask him. The chiefcontribution of this book is that it demonstrates that Chris-tianity has always had a relationship with popular culture.The notion that Christianity only recently became “tainted”by popular culture is simply incorrect. Christianity hasalways been influenced by culture, but Christianity hasalways influenced culture as well. This is not a particularlynew insight (see, e.g., H. Richard Niebuhr’s Christ andCulture), but what is new is Breen’s immersion in the vocabu-lary of contemporary American popular culture, especially asreflected in Protestant churches. I would recommend thisbook to youth leaders who are interested in learning moreabout Christianity.

Nathan CarlinHouston, Texas

THE VOCATION OF THE CHILD. Edited by PatrickMcKinley Brennan. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. EerdmansPublishing Co., 2008. Pp. xvi + 445. $36.00.

The organizing theme of this fine collection of essays isthat children have a calling in a fractured world. Though theauthors (composed of approximately equal numbers of theo-logians and legal scholars) share interest in children’s advo-cacy with others who stress children’s rights and duties,they claim there are limits to an exclusively rights-basedapproach. The idea of children’s vocation, they claim, offersa corrective to the status of children as “junior rightsbearers” and allows children to emerge as fuller participantsin the human community. Beyond this agreement, however,the authors vary widely in their conclusions and areas offocus. The subjects covered are broad and include: play,work, baptism, children’s education, sin, innocence, andparent–child relations and responsibilities. Two essaysstand out for this reviewer as particularly interesting andsuggestive. The first is a survey of historic “householdmanuals” by J. Witte, Jr. and H. Good that depicts the foun-dation of the child’s vocation as loving God, communicatedin “a direct and loving line” between parents and children.The authors recover much contemporary wisdom from aseemingly unlikely source. The second is B. Miller-McLemore’s poignant essay on the gradual disappearance ofchores in children’s lives and a theological rationale for theirrecovery, emphasizing the “intrinsic worth of domestic workwhen understood as part of one’s vocation” and the justdivision of labor within the family. Written primarily forscholars, this volume also has potential for seminary orcollege courses addressing families and children.

David H. JensenAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

GOD AND GRACE OF BODY: SACRAMENT INORDINARY. By David Brown. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress, 2007. Pp. xii + 446. $75.00.

In this thought-provoking book, David Brown offers asequel to his God and Enchantment of Place. Both are con-cerned with human experience and the experience of God,though the first book deals with space and the sequel dealswith the body. Brown’s point is to make a case for the legiti-macy of human experience in theological thinking. He real-izes that philosophers and theologians often object to takinghuman experience seriously because, we are told, “A Godwho transcends every human conception cannot possibly beencountered in this way.” However, Brown replies, “The factthat God in his totality cannot be experienced does not entailthat the divine may not be experienced in any part.” And soBrown is arguing against the rigid distinction between thesacred and the secular, as he argues that “all the worldshould be seen as sacramental.” Here Brown discusses awhole range of so-called secular experiences as they mightpertain to knowledge of God, such as human attractiveness,dancing, eating, the opera, and Led Zeppelin. The strength ofthe volume is its eclectic nature, making it a very interesting


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read. One problem with the book is that it reads more likea collection of essays on a similar topic rather than a mono-graph. Highly recommended for those interested in theologyand the body.

Nathan CarlinRice University

EQUALITY AND THE FAMILY: A FUNDAMENTAL,PRACTICAL THEOLOGY OF CHILDREN,MOTHERS, AND FATHERS IN MODERN SOCIET-IES. By Don S. Browning. Grand Rapids, MI: William B.Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007. Pp. xi + 416. $34.00.

This volume fulfills two purposes: 1) to introduce readersto a model of practical theological research that Browning hasadvocated over many decades; and 2) to introduce readers tohis seminal reflections on “critical familism.” Though each ofthe 21 essays has appeared previously, together they repre-sent the ferment of decades of innovative research. Brown-ing’s method includes four steps: 1) concrete contemporaryquestions, 2) historical theological investigation, 3) system-atic theological reflection on the interpretive process, and 4)“strategic practical theological reflection about ways toproceed with concrete and faithful action in the future.” Thismethod situates systematic theology not as a first step topractical inquiry, but as a middle step that is continuallyrevisited. Browning’s critical familism avoids the traditionalgender roles vouched by the Christian right as well as familialpluralism that views all family arrangements as equally ben-eficial. The essays demonstrate a consistent concern withjustice in the family, children’s flourishing, and egalitariangender relations as well as concrete proposals for economicand social policy, such as a 60-hour workweek for coupleswith children. Though the essays fail to address someimportant contemporary questions—such as same-sexmarriage—they offer thoughtful accounts and proposals forfamilies and societies in these changing times. The book willserve both as a textbook for practical theology and as aresource for courses and research on theology and families.


BACK TO REVELATION-INSPIRATION: SEARCH-ING FOR THE COGNITIVE FOUNDATION OFCHRISTIAN THEOLOGY IN A POSTMODERNWORLD. By Fernando L. Canale. Lanham, MD: UniversityPress of America, 2001. Pp. xii + 173. $47.50.

The nature of revelation, inspiration, and their inter-connection has long intrigued theologians. From aphilosophical-theological perspective, the basic question is:How can the infinite condescend to self-reveal to the finite?From an epistemological perspective, the perplexing ques-tion is: How can divine truth be expressed in historicallyconditioned human language? As the author points out, “clas-sical” models of revelation-inspiration have proved unsatis-factory insofar as they categorize revelation as intellectualdisclosure and inspiration as divine dictation. In contrast,

“liberal” models have also proved insufficient insofar as theyconsider revelation as existential non-cognitive encountersand inspiration as human religious imagination. As a correc-tive, the author proposes an “historical cognitive” model thatviews revelation as “the communication of knowledge fromGod to humankind through the prophet,” and inspiration as“the historic-linguistic process by means of which the cogni-tive contents generated by the divine-human process ofrevelation were put into writing.” Although this genericdescription is acceptable enough, the explanation of the his-torical cognitive model provides more questions thananswers. For example, the author repeatedly framesrevelation-inspiration according to the principle of solaScriptura, but never critiques this principle. In sum,although well researched and affording a number of valuableinsights, this book is unfortunately clouded by its author’saversion to theological pluralism and historical-criticalhermeneutics.

John T. FordThe Catholic University of America

THE CHURCH AND CLIMATE CHANGE. By ErnstConradie. Signs of the Times, 1. Pietermaritzburg, SouthAfrica: Cluster Publications, 2008. Pp. vii + 104. R50.00.

Works of environmental theology often primarilyinvestigate how faith contributes to environmental prob-lems. Thus the number of recent books that examine Chris-tianity and climate change is not surprising. Conradiedifferentiates his work by concentrating on what theunique contribution of the Christian community might be.He spends little time on scientific matters and insteadstarts with a definition of the meaning of church (based onthe work of Dirk Smit). The next chapters focus on con-sumerism and the church’s response. This discussionargues that consumerism and climate change are spiritualand religious problems, not simply economic or ecologicalones. The final two chapters discuss different theologicalconceptions useful for addressing climate change; in par-ticular, the idea of confessing guilt is explored. Conradie’sbook stands out for a few reasons. First, his short book ismeant for a wider audience than that of other recent books.This means this book would be an excellent choice forchurch study groups and undergraduate students, althoughit holds insights for specialists as well. Second, Conradiewrites out of (and mostly for) the South African context.Through the richness of this background he makes animportant contribution; for example, his discussion of con-fessing guilt illuminates the parallels between apartheidand climate change. Showing the church’s response toclimate change in light of both confessing guilt and theTruth and Reconciliation Commission, Conradie showssome new and important resources for a theologicalengagement with environmental problems.

Forrest ClingermanOhio Northern University


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ONE WORLD, MANY NEIGHBORS: A CHRISTIANPERSPECTIVE ON WORLDVIEWS. By Perry C.Cotham. Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press,2008. Pp. 268. $19.95.

Personal worldviews are fluid. When healthy, individu-als continually re-shape not only their own ideas and values,but are also reshaped by those whose backgrounds aredifferent from their own. Similarly, bodies of belief do notremain static, but reflect the times. Cotham proceeds on theassumption that positive and rich insights may be gleanedthrough interaction between various philosophical and faithtraditions. He offers brief but fair synopses of world religionssuch as Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism, as well as currentarticulations of pantheism and reincarnation. For the likesof Socrates, Buddha, Mohammed, Lao-Tzu, Confucius, andGandhi, Cotham follows a brief life and religious/philosophical history with parallels and differences to Chris-tianity and ends by way of a devotional reflection and prayer.Cotham writes for the general to moderately informedreader; thus, a chapter on myth, symbols, rites, ceremonies,and sacred texts introduces general similarities (and differ-ences) used for formation of ideology and praxis. Finally,Cotham does not shy away from blindspots that reinforcehonor and service to God through excessive martyrologicalexpression as in the Crusades under the banner of Christian-ity or September 11 under Islamic extremists. Cothamrefrains from a combative “us versus them” approach;instead, he implores Christians to live as followers of Jesuswith sensitivity and humility. This work would serve as afine textbook for courses such as introduction to worldreligions/Christianity, and worldview exploration for anundergraduate confessional environment. A final biblio-graphic essay provides primary and secondary resources forfurther reading.

Martin William MittelstadtEvangel University

DIVINITY AND HUMANITY: THE INCARNATIONRECONSIDERED. By Oliver D. Crisp. Current Issues inTheology. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.Pp. xiv + 187. Cloth, $80; paper, $27.99.

“Removal of the Incarnation from Christology is likeremoval of the heart from a living human being.” So saysCrisp at the outset of his defense of Chalcedon’s Two-NaturesChristology. The book offers an interesting philosophical-theological examination of perichoresis and hypostaticunion (chapter one), Christ’s humanity and fallenness (chap-ters two through four), ending with critiques of kenosis(chapter five) and John Hick’s Christology (chapter six).Crisp makes an admirable attempt to defend classical theol-ogy using philosophical concepts of the time, but ironicallyends up offering a very non-Chalcedonian Three-Natureshypothesis: Christ is Word + human body-soul, with thehuman nature a “concrete particular.” Although his argu-ment is carefully developed and fairly clearly presented,there are issues which distract the reader. Crisp claims, for

instance, that Maximus Confessor (d. 662 CE) was presentat Third Constantinople, held 680-681 CE. He glosses overimportant aspects of opposing arguments, as in chapterone’s analysis of Lutheran thought. He criticizes nineteenth-century liberal theology’s Christ—“a mere man”—seeminglyunaware of how similar his difference-in-degree-not-kindChristology and Schleiermacher’s God-consciousness(neither mentioned nor referenced) are: “Christ’s conscious-ness of the (penetrative) presence of God would appear tohave been significantly greater than most human beings.”The argument against John Hick’s Christology in chapter sixwould have been stronger had Crisp grappled with historicalinformation rather than avoiding it through a straw manattack on historical-critical scholarship instead. All thingsconsidered, the book would be useful in graduate study ofmodern defenses of Chalcedonian Christology.

Charlene P. E. BurnsUniversity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

40-DAY JOURNEY WITH JULIAN OF NORWICH. ByLisa E. Dahill. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2008. Pp. 109.$12.99.

This is a good book for beginners to Julian of Norwich.Not much is known about Julian. In 1373, while close todeath, Julian received sixteen visions (also called showings).She recovered from her illness and wrote for the next twentyyears. Julian’s optimism is amazing in an era that was cruel,bitter, and violent. While reading Julian can be overwhelm-ing, this book has small passages that can be rewarding.Readers new to Julian may find this structure helpful.“Psalm Fragments” and other biblical verses complementeach selection. This reviewer found the selections of “Ques-tions to Ponder” and “Journaling Reflections” especiallystimulating. As a monk dedicated to a life of prayer, I appre-ciated suggestions for “Prayers of Hope and Healing” and“Prayer for Today.” Traveling with a person over a period oftime, one may begin to share ideas, feelings, and experi-ences that might not be communicated otherwise. The meta-phor of journey is appropriate for this book that givesreaders the opportunity to travel with a powerful but gentlewoman of long ago. Dahill does admirable work in creating adevotional environment for self-revelation for readers ofJulian of Norwich.

Barnabas Leben, OJNThe Order of Julian of Norwich

A PLACE AT THE TABLE: GEORGE ELDON LADDAND THE REHABILITATION OF EVANGELICALSCHOLARSHIP IN AMERICA. By John A. D’Elia. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2008. Pp. xi + 263. $45.00.

This full-length biographical account of New Testamentscholar George Eldon Ladd provides a somber glimpse intothe mid-twentieth century evangelical movement. Utilizingpapers, correspondence and interviews, D’Elia tells anengaging story of a psychologically fragile man whose desireto (single-handedly) put evangelical scholarship on the map


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of the wider academy became an obsession that led to unfor-tunate personal and professional consequences. D’Elia’sinviting prose portrays Ladd as a tragic hero who never fullyachieved this goal despite persistent efforts. While D’Eliaaccomplishes his purpose, “to examine the motivation forGeorge Ladd’s contribution to evangelical scholarship,”some of the implications he draws in the conclusion willbe debated. Ladd’s methodology and “technical virtuosity” iscredited as providing his writings durability not accordedhis more speculative counterparts (e.g., Edward JohnCarnell). This claim raises a question regarding the relativemerits of theological methodologies, but perhaps the morepertinent discussion involves the purpose of theology itself.Which “public” should theologians have in the forefront oftheir mind: the academy or the church? Ladd was convincedthat the health of the evangelical church depended on itsemergence from sectarian anti-intellectualism. Whileunderstandable, his longing for the academy’s criticalacceptance—whatever the cost—could be questioned.Although biographies should not be reduced to lessons, thisnarrative will provide impetus for discussions around theidentity of evangelical theology—past, present, and future.Anyone wishing to understand modern evangelical scholar-ship and its variegated relationship to the mainline academyought to read this book.

Kyle A. RobertsBethel Seminary

THE YOUNG BULTMANN: CONTEXT FOR HISUNDERSTANDING OF GOD, 1884-1925. By WilliamD. Dennison. New York: Peter Lang, 2008. Pp. xiii + 245.$72.95.

Although organized around the central issue of Bult-mann’s ideas on God (and especially Bultmann’s 1917sermon on his understanding of God as “wholly other”),Dennison’s book treats much more than this. He shows thatBultmann’s Lutheran neo-Kantianism was a consistent foun-dation for Bultmann’s views of biblical hermeneutics,culture, ecclesiology, history, and philosophy as well as the-ology. This book truly is an indispensable guide for Bult-mann’s early thought. However, it also is very valuable forresearch on Bultmann’s thought in general and his reso-nance with, and distinctiveness from, the scholars andmovements of this time. With over sixty pages of notes andbibliography, a name index, as well as a subject index, thisbook makes for a research tool. Dennison’s thoroughresearch and documentation (of both German and Englishprimary and secondary sources) on the philosophical andtheological shaping of Bultmann’s early thought are thebook’s outstanding contributions to scholarship. However,the book will please any reader who is interested in Bult-mann or in early twentieth-century German thought morebroadly, regardless of that reader’s prior knowledge. Denni-son’s writing is clear, straightforward, and appealing. Asthe book went to press, Dennison learned of two primarysource articles from 1913 and discovered three additional

supporting topics. Dennison plans to include these in thebook’s second printing.

William E. AbshireBridgewater College

THE LOGIC OF INCARNATION: JAMES K. A.SMITH’S CRITIQUE OF POSTMODERN RELIGION.Edited by Neal DeRoo and Brian Lightbody. Eugene, OR:Pickwick Books, 2009. Pp. xxvii + 223. $28.00.

This collection of essays, the result of a conference atBrock University devoted to a discussion of James K. A.Smith’s ideas, is a testimony to the provocative and stimu-lating work of the Calvin College philosopher. Not yet 40 atthe time of publication of this book, Smith has already pub-lished five major and highly-acclaimed books, besideshaving edited and translated other volumes and writteninnumerable essays and articles in peer-reviewed journalsand other venues. What is interesting and valuable aboutSmith’s work, however, is what this volume’s twelvecontributors—who derive from a broad range of philosophic,ecclesial, and wider religious backgrounds—focus on: hisbringing postmodern continental philosophy together withdiscussions at the interface of the emerging church, the newcatholicity, and the ancient-future ekklesia projects. Thethree sections of essays thus engage Smith’s reading of post-modern philosophy (especially Derrida), explore the newshape of his emerging ecclesiological reflections, and inter-act critically with his proposals. These are bookended bySmith’s introductory essay summarizing his “logic of incar-nation” and a response to his interlocutors that is illuminat-ing not only in terms of the answers he provides but also interms of his mode of thinking. The Logic of Incarnation thusprovides an entrée to the first decade of Smith’s philosophi-cal and theological writings, and leaves readers with signifi-cant anticipations about how his oeuvre as a public andphilosophical theologian will unfold next.


PHENOMENOLOGY AND ESCHATOLOGY: NOTYET IN THE NOW. Edited by Neal DeRoo and John Pan-teleimon Manoussakis. Ashgate New Critical Thinking inReligion, Theology and Biblical Studies Series. Burlington,VT: Ashgate, 2009. Pp. xi + 216. $99.95.

Despite D. Janicaud’s complaint about the theologicalturn occurring in phenomenology, in the last decade severalinteresting contributions to philosophical theology havecome from phenomenologists. This volume is an addition tothat body of writing. The philosophers here approach a theo-logical topic—eschatology—in light of the works of Husserl,Heidegger, Levinas, M. Henry, and others. A few contribu-tors remark on this seemingly strange topic: What would anexploration of “the things themselves”—particularly as theyare manifest in the present—have to do with what is not yetmanifest, the “last things”? It turns out, quite a bit. Foremost,both areas raise the question of how we experience and


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understand the human relationship with time. This bookbegins with two of its strongest essays, both of which look athow we understand the future in the present: Lacoste offersa phenomenology of anticipation, C. Romano explores a phe-nomenology of awaiting. Later sections of the book explorehow phenomenology contributes to eschatology, as well ashow eschatology might influence phenomenology. A finalsection offers three essays concerned with specific philoso-phers (Heidegger and Henry). Some of these essays might beapplicable to non-Christian religious thought, but most areoriented toward Christian theology. Although one or twoessays seem out of place, overall this collection is a thought-provoking and worthwhile example of how phenomenologyintersects with theological concerns.


THEOLOGY OF ANTICIPATION: A CONSTRUCTIVESTUDY OF C. S. PEIRCE. By Anette Ejsing. PrincetonTheological Monograph Series, 66. Eugene, OR: PickwickPublications, 2007. Pp. xii + 178. $22.00.

This first book by Ejsing, a Danish native, is a majoraccomplishment in providing a more rigorous philosophicalfoundation for hope in general, and Christian hope morespecifically. Ejsing draws from C. S. Peirce’s theory of abduc-tion (hypothesis formation) and situates that theory withinhis wider architectonic system as a whole (including hisprimordial categories, metaphysics, epistemology, and semi-otic theory) and vis-à-vis his sources (Kant, Hegel, and thelater Schelling in particular). This lays the groundwork forseeing how the hope of patient waiting actively regulateshuman praxis; for understanding that hope as willed activityis based on promise while it is also drawn toward suchby anticipation; and for viewing the interconnectednessbetween hope, meaning, and reality as a whole (each ofwhich are dynamic yet converging, thus providing in the“end” a theodicy and an explanation for suffering). Theresults both complement and extend contemporary Peirceanphilosophy of religion proposals (Michael Raposa’s Peirceantheosemiotic and Robert Corrington’s Peircean-inspired the-ology of divine possibilities) and revive and reinvigorate thepromise of the theologies of hope (especially Wolfhart Pan-nenberg’s theological metaphysics of prolepsis, with whichEjsing interacts substantially) that have emerged in the pastgeneration but have languished of late. In sum, Ejsing’s The-ology of Anticipation confirms the promise of the recent theo-logical turn to the future but does do precisely through aphilosophically robust substantiation of human anticipationregarding the hoped-for things to come.


THE PORTAL OF BEAUTY: TOWARDS A THEOL-OGY OF AESTHETICS. By Bruno Forte. Translated byDavid Glenday and Paul McPartlan. Grand Rapids, MI:William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008. Pp. 121.$30.00.

Forte hopes to reclaim beauty from its marginalizationrelative to philosophical priorities of sublimity and diversityby highlighting its central role throughout the developmentof Christian theology. The first six chapters summarize thetheological aesthetics of Augustine, Aquinas, Kierkegaard,Dostoevsky, Balthasar, and Evdokimov. Particularly stun-ning is Forte’s narration of these works as an ongoing dialog.For example, while Augustine, in Greek style, envisionedforms as coming from and returning to God by means ofattraction, Aquinas interjects the tragedy of the cross, whichcomplexifies beauty. Further, while Augustine and Aquinasview the path of beauty as leading inexorably to the One,Kierkegaard (the lone Protestant) envisioned the limits ofbeauty as prompting a leap to ethical and religious exist-ence. Remaining theologians are similarly juxtaposed inresponse to one another. In the final three chapters, theauthor examines beauty in music, cinema and poetry in lightof theological aesthetics, focusing on “the mysterious bonduniting beauty to the ultimate, silent threshold, where morethan ever we find ourselves invited to pass from one side tothe other, and at last there opens before us the door of Beautyitself.” Reading theological aesthetics can be challenging,yet Forte offers this accessible (sacrificing only an appropri-ate amount of complexity) primer to a topic that growsincreasingly important as postmoderns seek authority thatdoes not deal in foundations or centers.

David F. WhiteAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS: THE CHURCHAS A HUMAN COMMUNITY. By James M. Gustafson.Library of Theological Ethics. Louisville, KY: WestminsterJohn Knox Press, 2009. Pp. xix + 141. $24.95.

This reissue of Gustafson’s first book, originally pub-lished in 1961, is a most welcome addition to the Library ofTheological Ethics series, which strives to make the classictexts in the field readily available to new generations ofteachers and students. In this seminal work, Gustafsonemploys sociological categories to illuminate the nature ofthe church as a human community and institution. Withoutseeking to be reductive, Gustafson believes that understand-ing the church in naturalistic terms can correct exaggeratedtheological views of its distinctiveness. In the new prefacewritten for this edition, Gustafson attributes his interest insociology of religion to the fact that, growing up as the son ofSwedish immigrants in an ethnically diverse town, he earlyobserved the correlations between ethnic-national back-ground and religion: Poles and Italians were Catholicswhereas Swedes were Lutherans! Looking back upon hiscareer since then, he notes how “the use of nontheologicalliterature and concepts to interpret religious and theologicalphenomena became a continuing theme” in subsequent pub-lications. Though the book is not a doctrinal essay in ecclesi-ology, Gustafson’s sociological perspective is intended toassist theological reflection upon the church and its ministryin becoming more sophisticated, more realistic, and more


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self-critical. The book is thus as timely today as it was almostfifty years ago.

Paul E. CapetzUnited Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

FUNDAMENTALISM AND EVANGELICALS. ByHarriet A. Harris. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.Pp. xi + 384. $43.95.

Harris’s Fundamentalism and Evangelicals—which basi-cally reprints the original edition published in 1998—is amust-read compendium on the study of evangelical herme-neutics. She critically examines philosophical trends,controversies, and approaches to scripture underlyingtwentieth-century fundamentalism, neo-evangelicalism,and contemporary evangelicalism in North America andBritain. The controversies investigated include thefundamentalist-modernist debate, dispensationalism, andthe Dooyeweerdian-Van Til methodology that have influ-enced the Kuyperian-Warfieldian tension between the evi-dentialist and presuppositionalist approaches to scriptureand theology. The philosophical and hermeneutical trendsanalyzed include German critical philosophies, empiricalrationalism, Scottish common sense philosophy, criticalrealism, Gadamerian hermeneutics, and phenomenologicalhermeneutics. Harris concludes that fundamentalists are“primitivists . . . , hierarchical, authoritarians, and biblicallynaïve.” Fundamentalists bypass and reject modern theoriesof interpretations because biblical revelation is understoodvia the media of an inductive-deductive approach, andbecause they hold to an unfaltering hermeneutic of honoringthe earliest years of Christian beliefs and practices. For Harris(as for James Barr), neo-evangelicals are thus biased in theirscholarly inquiries, with the result that their approachmirrors fundamentalistic tendencies. This is evident whenneo-evangelicals resist modern historical-critical challenges,and when they assert reason over feelings against the empha-sis on experience in charismatic Christianity. Harris’sprobing analysis of the ideological trends that shape herme-neutics and theology in the twentieth century distinguishesthis project from prevailing literature on evangelical herme-neutics. It may be read as an attempt to rethink hermeneuticscoherently against the backdrop of emerging fundamental-isms in a broader inter-religious context.

Timothy Lim T. N.Regent University School of Divinity

ON BEING THE CHURCH: REVISIONING BAPTISTIDENTITY. By Brian Haymes, Ruth Gouldbourne, andAnthony R. Cross. Foreword by Paul S. Fiddes. Studies inBaptist History and Thought, 21. Milton Keynes, UK: Pater-noster Press, 2008. Pp. xvi + 217. $27.00.

As part of a constructive series on rethinking Baptistidentity/ecclesiology, the titles of the eight chapters echotypical themes in Baptist ecclesiology: “The People of God,”“Authority,” “Baptism,” “Discipleship,” “Lord’s Supper,”“Ministry,” “One Church, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic,”

and “Institution and Organization.” Haymes, Gouldbourne,and Cross demonstrate intricate understanding of tradi-tional (conservative) Baptist beliefs and convictions. Thecritiques of the history of discords in Baptist thought (chap-ters one through four) is particularly arresting: bothBaptists’ and ecumenical sensitivities are interrogated. Theresult is an enriched Baptist traditioning with suggestionsfor other Christian groups. High church sacramentality jux-taposed with Baptists’ non-sacramental views of baptismand the Lord’s Supper leads to a proposal towards a“Baptist Sacramentalism” (which has already beenexplored in other volumes in this series). Provocative ques-tions on Baptist distinctives include Baptist conceptions ofclosed membership and re-baptism, memorialistic under-standings of Lord’s Supper (pace trans-and/or con-substantiation), and the democratic and/or majority votingsystem of church governance. The overall thrust of thevolume suggests that the keystone of autonomous Chris-tians and autonomous churches defy an ecclesiologyresting on the doctrine of the Tri-unity of God. The foot-notes will help researchers unfamiliar with tensions inBaptist history and thought. On Being the Church comple-ments other notable studies in Baptist theology that haveappeared over the last twenty or so years. It may be read asa confessional ecclesiology engaged in inter- and intra-ecumenical dialogue for the sake of deepening the Baptisttheological tradition.


NAKED FAITH: THE MYSTICAL THEOLOGY OFPHOEBE PALMER. By Elaine A. Heath. Eugene, OR: Pick-wick Publications, 2009. Pp. 124. $17.00.

Heath begins this monograph by searching for a way torevitalize the declining mainline churches and in doing soshe finds a source of hope through the renewal of PhoebePalmer’s methodology. The theme that Heath posits recog-nizes classical patristic three-step mysticism (purgation,illumination, and union) repackaged in Palmer’sterms—consecration, faith, and testimony. Heath explainsPalmer’s three essential points: first, a total consecrationthat places “all on the altar”; second, a whole-hearted trust inthe promises of the Bible that has a “naked faith in the nakedword of God”; and third, speaking a clear word of testimonythat declares what God has done. Palmer’s notable “altartheology” looks to Christ as the sacrifice, the priest, and thealtar (Hebrews 13). Heath proposes that renewed practice ofPalmer’s theology will reverse the exodus of young peoplefrom declining churches and she hints at a “new monasti-cism” to revitalize these churches. This book restates theforemost points of Palmer’s theology in every chapter, whichbecomes a bit redundant; nevertheless, this communicatesHeath’s argument effectively. The readers comprehendPalmer’s adaptation of Wesley’s doctrine of sanctification,whereby she stresses that the evidence for sanctification isfully satisfied by the “naked word”—the promises of scrip-


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ture. Heath’s argument emphasizes Palmer’s determinationto practice the presence of God in “every moment of everyday, empowered by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.” Theparadox is stunning, for in disavowing mysticism, Palmerembraces classical Christian mysticism.

John R. MillerRegent University

KENOSIS AND PRIESTHOOD: TOWARDS A PROT-ESTANT RE-EVALUATION OF THE ORDAINEDMINISTRY. By T. D. Herbert. Paternoster TheologicalMonographs. Colorado Springs, CO: Paternoster, 2008. Pp.xxii + 299. $38.00.

T. D. Herbert’s book, a revision of his dissertation atManchester University, explores the role of kenosis for thepriesthood of the ordained, bringing Barth, von Balthasar,and Moltmann into this conversation. He considers the nine-teenth century accounts of kenosis to be flawed due to theirexclusively christological focus. His understanding ofkenosis for the priesthood includes: a “trinitarian frame-work”; a “critically realistic representation of the divine-human encounter”; and, “participation,” whereby themovement of kenosis is from God to humanity, underscoringGod’s sovereign grace. In keeping with the Protestantemphasis on the authority of scripture, Herbert examines avariety of passages relevant to the priesthood such as Phil-ippians, 1 Peter 2:4-10, and Hebrews. He affirms that thepriesthood of the ordained is neither inherited through apos-tolic lineage nor effects reconciliation between God andhumanity; rather, the priesthood “represents the possibilityof the divine-human encounter,” whereby the leading ofworship (i.e., presiding over the Eucharist by the priest) isthe grateful response to the prior proclaimed Word of God.Since the activity of the priest is a grateful response, it is nota propitiatory act. This work is a welcome study into how thechurch understands ministry theologically. Too often worksrelated to ministry focus on methods, while this work rightlyseeks to articulate a vision for the ordained ministry basedon theology. It is a rich and challenging resource for thosestudying at the graduate level.

Josh P. S. SamuelMcMaster Divinity College

THE EUCHARIST AND ECUMENISM: LET US KEEPTHE FEAST. By George Hunsinger. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 2008. Pp. x + 350. Cloth, $81.00; paper,$28.00.

Hunsinger tackles painful debates surrounding Eucha-ristic celebration and paves pathways of ecclesial conver-gence that help to cultivate the indicative of fellowship(koinonia) to which Christians—including theologians andChurch bodies—are called. Eschewing “enclave theology” forits hegemonic and factional liabilities, Hunsinger offers an“ecumenical theology” of the Eucharist attentive to threeclassically divisive issues and one lacuna: “real presence”(featuring Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Vermigli), “Eucharistic

sacrifice” (Aquinas, Trent, Girard), “ordained ministry”(John Paul II, Torrance), as well as the “social ethics” attend-ing Eucharistic participation. In each case, ecumenical the-ology is sensitive to its own need for conversion and thus“earns the right to speak only by listening, and listens muchmore than it speaks.” It promotes the visible unity of the“Nicene churches” even as their distinctions are preserved.Preservation of unity-in-distinction is possible with therecognition that “all traditions need to subjectthemselves—through self-examination, dialogue, and prayer,under the sovereignty of the Word of God in the power of theSpirit—to the admonitions of others, and so ponder what theyare called to learn from the Spirit’s operation in traditionsnot their own.” At once firmly grounded, deeply charitable,and conciliatory (see Hunsinger’s discussion of the Catholicnotion of defectus with respect to Protestant ordained minis-try), the book embodies the ecumenical sensitivity, honesty,and finesse capable of enacting a more visible unity amongChristians than is currently enjoyed. Critical reading foradvanced undergraduate, seminary, and graduate programs.

John ShevelandGonzaga University

KIERKEGAARD: HISTORY AND ETERNAL HAPPI-NESS. By Vivaldi Jean-Marie. Lanham, MD: UniversityPress of America, 2008. Pp. ix + 132. $23.00.

This book presents a fairly straightforward reading ofKierkegaard’s Philosophical Fragments and ConcludingUnscientific Postscript. Jean-Marie provides a light contextu-alization of the arguments of these difficult works, clarifyingKierkegaard’s engagement with German Idealism and spe-cifically with Lessing, Kant and Hegel. He defends theautonomy of Climacus’ project in relation to Kierkegaard’sphilosophical sources, arguing that Climacus engages thesesources critically rather than uncritically and that the twobooks are consistently critical of Hegel’s work. The mostsubstantive and informative sections of the book have to dowith Climacus’ conflicted relationship to Lessing. Engage-ment with secondary literature is minimal. The book will beuseful for novice readers of Kierkegaard, although gram-matical and typographical errors detract from its clarity.

Andrew DoleAmherst College

COUNTER-CULTURAL COMMUNITIES: BAPTISTICLIFE IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY EUROPE. Edited byKeith G. Jones and Ian M. Randall. Studies in Baptist Historyand Thought, 32. Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster, 2008.Pp. xvi. + 366. $46.00.

This book’s six essays were originally presented as mas-ter’s degree dissertations at the International Baptist Theo-logical Seminary (in the Czech Republic). Four chronicle thestruggles of Baptist communities facing opposition and per-secution in Eastern European societies under communistrule. One probes the theological tensions around the issue ofPentecostal understandings of Spirit-baptism within the


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Finnish Baptist Union. The final essay explores the life andthought of Bruderhof member Hans Meier. The authors haveengaged in groundbreaking research, drawing upon primarysources such as archives, documents, and records of Baptistcongregations and organizations, many of which have onlyrecently become accessible. This strength is also a weak-ness, as at points the essays are tedious, with pages ofnames, dates, places, facts, and statistics. Further, with theexception of the final essay, which employs James McClen-don’s conception of theology as biography, the consciousutilization of any theoretical framework as a tool of analysisis lacking. Yet the reader’s patience will be rewarded asthese are extraordinarily valuable accounts and interpreta-tions of Baptist life in relation to their social, political, andhistorical contexts. The Baptist movement at its best haslong been characterized by the recognition that commitmentto Christ means conflict with this world’s ruling powers, whooften demand ultimate allegiance. These essays tell storiesof costly Christian faithfulness all Baptists should appreci-ate. This book will provide a foundation for future research ofBaptist life in Eastern Europe and should be included in thelibrary of every Baptist institution of higher education.

Richard CraneMessiah College

SCHLEIERMACHER’S PREACHING, DOGMATICS,AND BIBLICAL CRITICISM: THE INTERPRETA-TION OF JESUS CHRIST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN.By Catherine L. Kelsey. Princeton Theological MonographSeries, 68. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2007. Pp. xii + 188.$23.00.

This brief but dense book focuses on Schleiermacher’streatment of the Gospel of John in three contexts: selectedsermons, the Christian Faith (and Brief Outline), and the lec-tures on the life of Jesus. Kelsey’s aim is to probe the inter-relationship between Schleiermacher’s work in these threecontexts, and in particular to investigate the importance ofhis activity as a preacher for his academic work. She identi-fies three presuppositions that Schleiermacher brought tohis reading of John: 1) that it is apparent to those who comeinto contact with Jesus that he is the Redeemer, 2) thatredemption takes place apart from the death and resurrec-tion of Jesus, and 3) that redemption is associated with incor-poration into Christian community. Kelsey hypothesizesthat Schleiermacher regarded a particular form of Christianreligious experience as an illuminating analog to the perfectGod-consciousness of Christ: roughly, the experience ofbeing an “open channel of grace,” forgetful of self, in theevent of preaching or free prayer. In the final chapters sheably defends Schleiermacher against charges that his Chris-tology was simply Johannine or that it was “unhistorical.”The book provides a very helpful historical introduction toSchleiermacher’s activities as a preacher and an appendixthat indexes a substantial part of the corpus of Schleierma-cher’s sermons on the Gospel of John. The book will be useful

for advanced students of Schleiermacher’s theology andpreaching.

Andrew DoleAmherst College

THEOLOGY AND THE QUEST FOR TRUTH: HIS-TORICAL AND SYSTEMATIC-THEOLOGICALSTUDIES. Edited by M. Lamberights, L. Boeve, T. Merrigan,in collaboration with D. Claes. Bibliotheca EphemeridumTheolgicarum Lovaniensium Series, CCII. Leuven: LeuvenUniversity Press, 2006. Pp. x + 294. $80.00.

This five-year Leuven project presented in fifteen essays(besides introduction and conclusion) investigates thenature and the method of determining theological truth fromhistorical, systematic, and theological perspectives. Allessays underscore how the particular is necessary for dis-covering theological truth. Seven essays stand out as propos-als for understanding and/or overcoming the modern/postmodern dilemma for discerning truth. First, Augustine’sresponse to Manicheanism led Western Christianity to takethe Bible as “sine qua non of the tradition” for ascertainingorthodoxy. Second, Alasdair MacIntyre’s epistemology inrelations to narrative ontotheology demonstrates howtradition/context plays a role in the tension between univer-sality and particularity. Third, Schelling and Baader’s cri-tique of modern philosophy against German Idealism isoffered as a solution to overcome the totalistic-relativisticimpasse. Truth is the “totality of reality,” the interconnectionof being and reason. Fourth, “The Clash between (Jesuit)recontextualization and (Dominican) retrocontextualizationin the French-speaking Polemic of 1946-47 highlights perilsto avoid.” Fifth, Schillebeeckx’s personal practice of faith(orthopraxis) is presented as a supplementary criterionfor testing orthodoxy. Sixth, “Religious Experience: FromProcess to Product” shows the continuity of antiquity, medi-eval, and postmodern conception of truth as experiential andmore than the cognitive encounter of God. Finally, “GianniVattimo’s Concept of Truth and its Consequences for Chris-tianity” offers a careful argument for the necessity of post-modernity without falling into relativism, reductionism, andfundamentalism as society transitions into a “religious turn”in the quest for truth. A worthy publication on ontotheology!

Timothy Lim T. N.Regent University, School of Divinity

GOD DOES NOT . . . ENTERTAIN, PLAY “MATCH-MAKER,” HURRY, DEMAND BLOOD, CURE EVERYILLNESS. Edited by D. Brent Laytham. Grand Rapids, MI:Brazos Press, 2009. Pp. 160. $17.99.

Laytham guides this theological conversation to coun-teract what he believes are misconceptions about God. Thefive subjects listed in the book title summarize the content ofits chapters. Each chapter is an essay that can stand alone,because each endeavors to dismantle a popular and mis-taken belief on the action, person, or sovereignty of God. Theauthors present a collaborative effort as they offer a popular


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perspective of an open theology and/or free-will theism,which challenges the theological determinist position. Eachauthor utilizes contemporary illustrations, expressions, andpop-theological misunderstandings to argue a well-reasonedand scripturally proof-texted hypothesis. Ultimately,Laytham seeks to demonstrate to his readers how to applytheological language correctly when endeavoring to perceivethe activity of God in everyday life. He guides the readerthrough the “hard theological work on the question of whatGod does and does not do” in daily and mundane activities,from making traffic lights turn green, scoring touchdowns,or finding the perfect spouse. In this regard, Laytham uti-lizes the logical argument of modernity to present a post-modern theological hypothesis. In turn, each authorcontributes a methodological dismantling of popularized“God said, God did, or God worked miraculously” mysticism,by guiding the reader to a rational theological understand-ing. Laytham argues in his conclusion for the right under-standing of Trinitarian “doing” in the ordinary events of life.

John R. MillerRegent University

THE LEGACY OF BILLY GRAHAM: CRITICALREFLECTIONS ON AMERICA’S GREATEST EVAN-GELIST. Edited by Michael G. Long. Louisville, KY: West-minster John Knox Press, 2008. Pp. xiv + 229. $19.95.

This volume is a collection of essays written by pro-gressive Christian theologians and church historians whoevaluate the life and witness of Billy Graham as America’sgreatest evangelist. Most of the authors accept DavidSturm’s attempt to define Graham as a conversionist evan-gelist who believed that most social and economic issues canbe significantly resolved through revivalist services andchurch involvement. The progressive theologians respondby emphasizing a prophetic model that more intentionallydesires significant social and economic structural reforms.The authors honor Graham’s commitments to preach thegood news, refuse to accept the politics of the new religiousright, encourage civil rights through the desegregation of hisministry, recognize the need for nuclear arms control, andprovide national healing in the post 9/11 era. However,much time is spent criticizing Graham’s attitudes towardwomen’s equality, support for the Vietnam War, politicalendorsement of President Nixon, lack of commitment to eco-nomic justice, and rejection of homosexuality. Still, amongthe highlights are helpful essays that compare and contrastthe life and witness of Billy Graham with Reinhold Niebuhrand Martin Luther King, and Harvey Cox’s suggestion thatGraham championed an ecumenical evangelicalism thatperhaps encouraged the rise of a new progressive evangeli-cal community. At times the book may be more useful inunderstanding progressive Christianity than in providingeffective insights into Graham’s ministry.

G. W. CarlsonBethel University

SPIRIT’S GIFT: THE METAPHYSICAL INSIGHT OFCLAUDE BRUAIRE. By Antonio López, F.S.C.B. Washing-ton, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2006.Pp. xii + 262. $69.95.

Claude Bruaire (1932-1986), a lifelong Roman Catholic,studied philosophy at the Sorbonne and then taught at theUniversity of Tours and the Sorbonne. He was a prolificwriter, with at least ten books on a wide range of topics inmetaphysics, philosophical theology, and philosophy of reli-gion to his credit over the last twenty or so years of his life,as well as countless numbers of articles and essays duringthis same period. Although little known in the Anglo-speaking world (as none of his major works have been trans-lated into English), the publication of Father López’s Spirit’sGift may signal a wider recognition and reception of Bru-aire’s work. López has not only deftly summarized Bruaire’soeuvre but also provided a systematic interpretation of itsmajor breakthroughs, captured in the Bruairean neologismontodologie (ontodology). Spirit’s Gift unpacks this ontod-ological idea, the gist of which involves a Christian (i.e.,derived from the Christian revelation) reinterpretation oftheological anthropology and ultimate reality in terms of thegift, beginning with the trinitarian gift that is God, whichincludes the humanity that is received and unfolded asgift. Along the way, López delineates where Bruaire drawsfrom but also diverges from his primary sources ofinspiration—including Aquinas, Hegel, and Schelling, amongothers—frequently registering his own insights, especially inthe footnotes. The result is a major contribution that needs tobe consulted by those engaged with contemporary discus-sions in the philosophy and theology of the gift.


THROUGH THE YEAR WITH MARTIN LUTHER: ASELECTION OF SERMONS CELEBRATING THEFEASTS AND SEASONS OF THE CHRISTIAN YEAR.By Martin Luther. Edited by Suzanne Tilton. Translated byJohn Nicholas Lenker et al. Preface by Evelyn Bence.Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2007. Pp. 463.$19.95.

This volume comprises 28 sermons by Martin Luther,drawn from an eight-volume 1908 translation of hissermons, selected to follow the half of the church year fromAdvent through Trinity Sunday. A table of contents includesthe church year location for each sermon, a title summary,and citation of the biblical passage. This outline makes upnearly the entire editorial apparatus of the volume. Whilethe book includes a preface (not noted in the table of con-tents), this preface includes no citations of the primary andsecondary sources it quotes; even its authorship by devo-tional writer Evelyn Bence is hidden, appearing only on thefinal page of the volume. The editor, similarly, is named onlyon the typesetting page, and the preface provides no insightinto criteria by which these sermons were chosen. The mostglaring omission, however, is that of context. The preface


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briefly mentions the 1522 Wartburg Postil, though not thefact that only some of the sermons published here derivefrom this source, and we learn nothing of the situation noreven the year in which any of the other sermons werewritten; they appear here as if ungrounded in Luther’s life orhistorical context. Neither this volume nor the previousedition from which these sermons were chosen providesreference to any other scholarly edition of Luther’s works forreaders interested in such questions of context. The transla-tion is competent but (not surprisingly, given its originalpublication in 1908) includes pervasive masculine refer-ences to both human beings and God. Such shortcomings area pity, since a new inclusive-language translation of theselively sermons could have provided a genuine contributionto those who desire a deeper introduction to Luther’s pasto-ral heart. Suitable for devotional or church library use, withthe reservations noted. Not recommended for academiclibraries.

Lisa E. DahillTrinity Lutheran Seminary

THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO PAUL TILLICH.Edited by Russell Re Manning. Cambridge Companions toReligion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.Pp. xxv + 322. $29.99.

Tillich is a significant influence behind a number ofmovements in contemporary theology, yet few would callthemselves pure “Tillichians.” As a result, critical works onTillich’s theology are not as frequent as one would expect.The present volume is a welcome addition to scholarlyappraisals of Tillich. Importantly, this book includes essaysfrom many scholars of a new generation from North Americaand Europe. Also of note is the carefulness that many of theauthors use to approach Tillich’s early German writings.This book is well organized into three sections. The firstsection includes essays on the main elements of Tillich’sthought, including essays on God, Christology, the Spirit, themeaning of systematic theology, faith, and the relationshipbetween Tillich’s collections of sermons and his scholarlywork. The book turns to the theology of culture in the secondsection, both in broad outline and in light of particulardimensions of culture (e.g., art, politics). The third sectionexplains how Tillich was “at the boundaries” by examiningthe interaction between his thought and other areas of study:natural science, psychology, Buddhism, feminism, and post-modern theology. Because many of the essays present spe-cific elements of Tillich’s thought in a balanced and clearway, this book could serve as a text in advanced classes. Fortheologians this offers an excellent snapshot of the recentwork being done on Tillich’s thought.


THE HOLINESS MANIFESTO. Edited by Kevin W.Mannoia and Don Thorsen. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,2008. Pp. viii + 249. $20.00.

From 2003 to 2006 the Wesleyan Holiness StudyProject—a group of leading theologians, ministers andchurch officials from a variety of Wesleyan Holinesschurches—came together to celebrate their common heritageand explore possibilities for articulating a common sense ofmission. The result was a short document titled The HolinessManifesto. This book outlines the biblical, historical andtheological background for this manifesto as well asextended reflection on its practical applications for Christianministry. The authors’ central conviction is that the call to adeeper Christian life—the true heart of Christian holinessand a thread woven into the fabric of the entire church andits history and not merely those churches identified as Wes-leyan Holiness—is one that desperately needs to be reclaimedand rearticulated for the revitalization of the church andsalvation of the world. Central to this is awareness that themessage of biblical holiness has both personal and socialdimensions, that God calls us to be transformed by his graceand thereby to be grace-filled participants in the transforma-tion of the world. Significantly, appropriately answeringGod’s call includes pursuit of social justice, peace, and rec-onciliation as well as the healing and care of all of creation.This book succeeds in avoiding the uneven style of manybooks authored by both scholars and non-academics andultimately provides a rich and substantial contribution todiscussions about the nature of the Christian gospel and howthe church should live out and communicate the gospel inthe world today.

Mark MannPoint Loma Nazarene University

WAYWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS: FREEING THEGOSPEL FROM POLITICAL CAPTIVITY. By CharlesMarsh. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Pp. vii + 243.$14.95.

Marsh’s work is a timely discussion of how Christiansshould live in the political landscape of the twenty-firstcentury. Marsh suggests that the Christian gospel has beenpoliticized in the hands of American political and evangeli-cal leaders. Such politicization not only emasculates thegospel but also engenders terrible injustices. For Marsh,the politicized gospel is due to American ChristianExceptionalism—a doctrine blending Christian triumphalismwith American hegemony, thus resulting in the view thatAmerica and the American church are God’s vice-regents.The solution Marsh advances is a call to individual and cor-porate repentance and a theology of silence, simplicity, andcontemplation of Christ and the scriptures. Building on Bon-hoeffer and others, Marsh makes a reasoned plea for theimportance of going back to the fundamentals of loving Godand His word, a task upon which Christians can truly serveGod and the nations. At times, Marsh over-generalizes thecomplex politics of the new century. He raises the specterthat in a globalized world America and American evangeli-cals must be accountable to the “global test,” i.e., how theiractions affect others in the world. Unfortunately Marsh fails


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to demand this same accountability of others outside of theUnited States and places this “global test” above scriptureitself, leaving one to wonder whether Christians are to beaccountable to the scriptures or to an ever-changing conceptof the global. Yet, overall, Marsh’s book is a welcome addi-tion to the conversation regarding the relationship betweenChristianity and politics.

Gerson Moreno-RianoRegent University

THE CHRISTIAN VISION OF GOD. By Alister McGrath.Truth and the Christian Imagination. Minneapolis, MN:Fortress Press, 2008. Pp. vii + 87; illustrations. $15.00.

McGrath’s meditative book, illustrated with fine artpaintings, treats large theological questions in a series ofseven small essays. Each essay uses a work of art, the Bible,and devotional texts to explore Christian ideas about God.For instance, the essay on the Holy Spirit contains a full-pageillustration of Morazzone’s painting Pentecost and quotesDryden’s translation of the ancient hymn Veni Creator Spiri-tus. McGrath’s purpose is to reflect on traditional Christianunderstandings about God, including the idea of God as apersonal God who enters into relationships with people andthe idea of God as Trinity. Each essay concludes with a briefprayer encapsulating the theme of the essay. In this book,God is not subjected to philosophical scrutiny, but describedbased on Christian experience. McGrath has not written ascholarly book making technical arguments. This is a bookin which complex Christian ideas are asserted rather thanargued for. McGrath uses his knowledge of the Christiantradition, especially its traditions of spirituality, to paint aportrait of the Christian view of God that appeals to thehuman imagination and posits God as the loving mysteryundergirding the world.

Timothy LincolnAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

BODIES IN SOCIETY: ESSAYS ON CHRISTIANITYIN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE. By Margaret R. Miles.Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2008. Pp. xiv + 227. $27.00.

The majority of these twenty-one essays first appearedin print between 1984 and 1997, with only two publishedafter 2000. Miles’ collection thus offers insight into howtheological questions regarding gender, embodiment, socialmarginalization, and violence developed through theseyears—questions with which she and many of us continue tograpple. Miles tackles these questions by grounding herreflection in experiences as diverse as reading Augustine’sConfessions, visiting Disneyworld, cultivating childhood fun-damentalist faith, serving as Dean of the GTU, and watchingmovies such as Jesus of Montreal and My Dinner with André.In particular, her essays on theological education narratehelpful examples and analysis for conversations about diver-sity, curriculum and pedagogy. While many of the pop-culture artifacts she engages are unlikely to resonate withyounger readers, the methods she uses to do so would equip

students reading this text with the tools to engage their ownmilieus. While the fact that the essays were not explicitlyedited for this particular volume means that ideas, narra-tives and theoretical points are often repeated, this alsomeans that each essay stands alone for individual assign-ment within a course.

Natalie Wigg-StevensonVanderbilt Divinity School

ETHNOGRAPHY AS A PASTORAL PRACTICE: ANINTRODUCTION. By Mary Clark Moschella. Cleveland:Pilgrim Press, 2008. Pp. xvii + 270. $30.00.

This is a pastorally sensitive guide to ethnographic workin religious communities, primary intended for religiousleaders who are undertaking, or seek to undertake, ethno-graphic work in their places of service. The book addressesstandard ethical issues applicable to human-subjectsresearch, such as confidentiality and consent and providesthoughtful exploration of practical and ethical concernsabout individuals who are in both pastoral and researchroles. Unlike many other books on ethnography, this bookframes the practice as a pastoral one that can inform andtransform religious leaders, their ministry, and their com-munities. There is an abundance of helpful informationabout gaining consent, material gathering and organizationof such material, and how to formulate (and re-formulate)research questions and methods including actual tables,charts, and graphs. Most of its illustrations are examples aredrawn from pastors and their congregations. The bookinsightfully integrates classic understandings with contem-porary calls for reflexive research and helpful discussions ofthe promise and possibility of technologies such as video andsound recording. This thoughtful, honest, and helpful bookhonestly explores the perils and possibilities confrontingthose who try to do ethnography with those whom they serveas a pastor and guide: one which draws on the author’sexperiences as a pastor and ethnographer.

Aaron KlinkDuke University

CHRISTIANITY ENCOUNTERING WORLD RELI-GIONS: THE PRACTICE OF MISSION IN THETWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. By Terry Muck and FrancesS. Adeney. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.Pp. 407. $26.99.

What David Bosch’s magnum opus, TransformingMission, did for theology of mission, Muck and Adeney’sChristianity Encountering World Religions is destined to do forChristian mission in a religiously plural world: literally takethe discussion to another level for the next generation! Theauthors bring years of scholarly work on interreligiousencounter and of teaching missiology in seminary contextsto bear on writing this biblically faithful, practically insight-ful, and theologically sophisticated textbook. Theologiansand missiologists alike will be challenged theologically(their notion of “giftive mission” seeks to rethink Christian


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mission at its most foundational theological level), epistemo-logically (e.g., a careful explication in almost 100 pagesabout how the call to authentic contextualization requiresa strategic “bracketing” of convictions in order to enterinto—incarnationally, even—and then seriously engageanother religio-cultural world), and at the level of missionpraxis (eleven core missionary practices are commended,each theologically funded, but also brilliantly designed tocarve out a via media between hostile competition againstreligious others or mere cooperation with them). This bookwill challenge both progressives and liberals on the left andtraditional evangelicals on the right, even as it infuses newlife in surprising ways to Christian mission in the religiouslyplural world of the twenty-first century. More importantly,Muck and Adeney present an evangelical mission convertedby in depth encounters with religious others even as it bearsmore faithful witness to the gospel. This book cannot berecommended more highly!


CHRIST AND THE DECREE: CHRISTOLOGY ANDPREDESTINATION IN REFORMED THEOLOGYFROM CALVIN TO PERKINS. By Richard A. Muller.Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008. Pp. xiv + 240.$29.99.

Muller assesses the Calvin versus Calvinism distinctionso prevalent in historical theological scholarship producedin the decades leading up to this book’s initial publication in1986. More specifically, Muller argues that Reformed ortho-doxy departed not from Calvin’s Christocentric soteriologybut instead sought merely to formalize it doctrinally througha more scholastic methodology. Reformed orthodox theolo-gians, Muller demonstrates, were not concerned merelywith deducing a theological system—including theirChristology—from the doctrine of predestination but insteadsaw the decree within the larger framework of the doctrineof salvation. In support of his thesis Muller surveys thewritings of Calvin and his contemporaries Bullinger, Muscu-lus, and Vermigli, as well as those who were a part of the“second codification” of Reformed theology, including Beza,Ursinus, Zanchi, Polanus, and Perkins. This reprinting isaccompanied by a new preface from the author in whichMuller provides his readers with insights as to how he wouldwrite the book differently today, including employing a dif-ferent methodology, though his conclusions would be essen-tially the same. Muller appeals to his readers to approach thepresent volume’s argument through the lens of some of hislater scholarship on Reformed orthodoxy and not vice versa.This lucidly argued, densely end-noted volume should bequite helpful reading for anyone seeking to understand moreclearly the development of Reformed orthodoxy and thedebate over Calvin and the Calvinists.

Robert E. SagersThe Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

GIFTED RESPONSE: THE TRIUNE GOD AS THECAUSATIVE AGENCY OF OUR RESPONSIVEWORSHIP. By Dennis Ngien. Milton Keynes: PaternosterPress, 2008. Pp. xvii + 182. $29.99.

Ngien is a historical theologian with expertise in medi-eval and Reformation periods, and here applies his trade todeveloping a trinitarian theology of worship by bringingtogether five major voices from the Christian tradition. ThusBasil’s De Spiritu Sancto defends the Spirit as deserving ofworship even while the same Spirit enables and perfectshuman worship. Then Anselm’s ontological argument pro-vides the necessary reason for worship precisely by definingdeity superlatively. Bernard of Clairvaux’s eighty-sixsermons on the Song of Solomon subsequently shows howhuman beings worship through participation in the trinitar-ian love of God. The final two chapters discuss, respectively,Luther’s theologia crucis to show how humans can respondin worship only because of God’s initiating enablement, andCalvin’s Institutes to unearth clues to the dynamic of trini-tarian worship: to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.Throughout, Ngien is in command of both primary and rel-evant secondary literatures, writes lucidly, remains withinthe compass of his project, and achieves his purpose of expli-cating the theme running through these five theologians,that “worship is God’s gift, in which we participate.” Thisbook will be of interest not only to those who are drawn tothe major figures with whom Ngien deals, but also to trini-tarian theologians, theologians of worship, and historicaltheologians. Perhaps most importantly, I recommend GiftedResponse to those committed to the practice of Christianworship because it will inspire worship in the company ofthe saints such as those discussed in the book.


TILLICH: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED. ByAndrew O’Neill. New York: T & T Clark, 2008. Pp. vii + 164.$24.95.

O’Neill’s introduction to Paul Tillich’s thought offers avaluable overview of Tillich’s three-volume Systematic Theol-ogy, with special attention to his underlying principles oftheonomy, Protestant principle, and symbol as well as pos-sible connections to the systems of Schelling and Hegel.O’Neill organizes his analysis in terms of principles andmethod (Part I), the theological content of the three volumes:Being and God, Existence and the Christ, and the SpiritualPresence and Trinitarian Thinking (Part II), and philosophi-cal concepts and critical reception (Part III). Throughout,O’Neill highlights the systematic layers of Tillich’s thought,frequently showing interconnections among the threevolumes as well as with other of Tillich’s writings. O’Neillalso addresses some key critiques of Tillich’s last system,sometimes agreeing and other times answering these.Because of his interest in relationships to Schelling’s andHegel’s systems, O’Neill gives more weight to the process ofessentialization than Tillich does (except for a section in the


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third volume). He frequently notes the experiential founda-tions of Tillich’s ontological theology but needs to provideexamples from Tillich’s life. Still, this book satisfies thepurpose of the Guide for the Perplexed series by clearlydelineating the overall structure and central arguments inTillich’s system. It condenses without oversimplifying Tilli-ch’s arguments and should be helpful to students with inter-ests in philosophy and/or theology.

Mary Ann StengerUniversity of Louisville

THE LOGIC OF THE HEART: AUGUSTINE, PASCAL,AND THE RATIONALITY OF FAITH. By James R.Peters. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009. Pp. 300.$32.00.

Peters, who teaches philosophy at the University of theSouth, has provided a coherent theistic apologetic againstmodernist rationalism, Humean skepticism, and radical post-modernism by drawing on, weaving together, and buildingupon Augustine’s fides quaerens intellectum and Pascal’s pas-sional reason. His approach is winsome, providing charitablereadings of his foils—especially Hume, but also the usualpostmodern suspects like Derrida, Rorty, etc.—even whileconfronting squarely the major challenges to theistic faithfrom these interlocutors. Along the way, Pascal’s famoussaying that “the heart has reasons of which reason knowsnothing” is explicated, revealing the dialectical thinking inthe Pascalian “system” as well as the teleological dynamics ofits theological anthropology in order to show how faith isrational (rather than merely fideistic) even if also beyondreason. My one gripe is that Peters only delivers on half theexpectations raised: the suggestion on the first page that thebook will provide resources to deal with “the challenges ofpostmodern accounts of religious pluralism and metaphysi-cal skepticism” overshoots since the entire argument focuseson the latter set of problems and says little, if anything, aboutthe former (particularly the questions raised by Asian reli-gious and philosophical traditions). Still, those seeking aclear articulation of the rationality—understood in its broad-est and most robust sense—of Christian faith will gain muchfrom reading this book.


HIDDEN HOLINESS. By Michael Plekon. Notre Dame, IN:University of Notre Dame Press, 2009. Pp. viii + 212. $25.00.

Plekon argues that lives of traditional Eastern Orthodoxsaints are too perfect to inspire emulation by ordinary Chris-tians. In order to counter that trend, he searches for a newmodel of sainthood by exploring the biographies of promi-nent contemporary Christians such as Thomas Merton,Simone Weil, Paul Evdokimov, and lesser known persons,such as Native Alaskan Olga Michael. These individualsmade the holy visible to others amid modern life’s complex-ity. None was a “remote” monastic. Each struggled withimperfection—divorce, addiction, broken vows, and

cynicism—but were still seen as holy figures. Plekon arguesthat these imperfect lives still powerfully reveal God’s graceand love, and display elements of holiness in ordinary life. Atthe core of this book is a strong argument that holiness canbe revealed by the faithful living of ordinary people in theworld. In so doing, it offers a powerful and practical model ofChristian life, making this a thought-provoking work onhagiography, ethics, and spirituality.


HERESIES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM: WHY ITMATTERS WHAT CHRISTIANS BELIEVE. Edited byBen Quash and Michael Ward. Peabody, MA: HendricksonPublishers, Inc., 2007. Pp. xi + 148. Paper, $16.95.

This overview of specific heresies includes discussion ofkey related scriptures, orthodox positions, and contempo-rary application of these debates. Heresies focused on theperson of Christ (part one) are Arianism, Docetism, Nestori-anism, Eutychianism, Adoptionism, and Theopaschitism.The balanced presentations of these show both the plausibil-ity of the wrong view as well as the theological justificationsfor the orthodox view of Jesus Christ as fully divine and fullyhuman, one person (not with a split identity, not a hybrid,but unified), with God the Son suffering in his humanity, notin his impassible divine nature. Part two covers heresies ofthe Church and Christian living, specifically Marcionism,Donatism, Pelagianism, Gnosticism, and the heresy of theFree Spirit, and ends with the orthodoxy of biblical trinitari-anism. The sermons in this part warn against claims thatChristians have all the answers, are perfect, can be savedthrough works, or have a special spiritual knowledge orspecial presence of God’s Spirit replacing their human will.The goal throughout is a balanced approach that resistserrors and embraces truths from the right and the left,working against hypocrisy and idolatry and connectingorthodoxy to orthopraxy. This clearly written, accessibleoverview of heresies and orthodoxy could be useful incourses introducing Christian doctrines and in church laydiscussion groups.


BOURDIEU ON RELIGION: IMPOSING FAITH ANDLEGITIMACY. By Terry Rey. London: Equinox, 2007.Pp. xii + 181. Cloth, $65.00; paper, $24.95.

Part of Key Thinkers in the Study of Religion, a seriesdesigned for undergraduate and introductory graduatecourses, Rey’s book is appropriate to the latter context, butsomewhat specialized for most undergraduate curricula. Itis most useful as an overview for researchers of PierreBourdieu’s theory and its applications to studying reli-gions. Rey successfully reviews a range of Bourdieu’s writ-ings (including untranslated pieces), traces influences onthese of seminal theorists of religion, reviews extendedapplications by scholars of religion of Bourdieu’s concepts,


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and assesses various of his theory’s criticisms. Whileclearly written, the book is marred by spelling errors(including three different misspellings of “Bourdieuian”)and some incorrect uses of words (e.g., “sites” for “cites” on150, note 6). The chief substantive weakness is a mischar-acterization of Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital.Rather than defining this as a resource generated whenother forms of capital are (mis)recognized as legitimate ornatural possessions of social agents, Rey treats it as a labelfor immaterial species of capital. This results in a contra-diction in his glossary, where cultural capital is defined as“either material or symbolic” cultural possessions, and yetsymbolic capital is defined, incorrectly, as “any form ofcapital . . . that is not material; e.g., cultural capital, reli-gious capital” (154, 156). Overall, however, this volumeprovides a helpful and unique resource.

Kevin J. WannerWestern Michigan University

REVITALIZING THEOLOGICAL EPISTEMOLOGY:HOLISTIC EVANGELICAL APPRAOCHES TO THEKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. By Steven B. Sherman. PrincetonTheological Monograph Series, 83. Eugene, OR: PickwickPublications, 2008. Pp. xv + 270, $32.00.

Sherman’s study of contemporary evangelicalapproaches to the knowledge of God within the field of epis-temology is a project of “ontological realism” in “epistemo-logical humility.” This investigation of the “postconservativeevangelical” ethos reflects on the epistemological challengesof conceiving theological truth in the biblical, modern, andpostmodern contexts. The journey of Clark Pinnock is exam-ined as an example of a postconservative evangelical’ssearch for theological truth. The demise of classical founda-tionalism and the distress with Old Princeton theologicalapproaches (e.g., by Hodge) in the light of postmodern epis-temological shifts drive the quest for a more holisticapproach beyond rationalism, inerrancy, academic-centered,and boundary-set doctrinal conceptions of truth. Shermanexamines the viability of alternative nonfoundationalistepistemologies after Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investiga-tions and the “linguistic turn” such as soft foundationalism,coherentism, pragmatism, fideism, and holism. He alsoexplores recent calls for a return to history, the embrace ofnarrative theology, embodied communitarian apologetics,and the re-appropriation of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral bymeans of a social epistemology (these proposals by StanleyGrenz, Robert Webber, and Kevin Vanhoozer). A positivecritique of Lesslie Newbigin’s missional-cultural-ecumenicalparadigm in juxtaposition with postconservative thought isoffered as a stepping stone for a constructive approach toreinvigorating the quest for the knowledge of God. Revitaliz-ing Theological Epistemology provides an excellent resourcefor appreciating the postmodern shifts and their impact onevangelical theology.


AN ESCHATOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: A REVI-SIONIST CHRISTIAN ESCHATOLOGY IN THELIGHT OF DAVID TRACY’S THEOLOGICALPROJECT. By John M. Shields. American UniversityStudies Series VII, Theology and Religion 274. New York:Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 2008. Pp. ix +192. $67.95.

Shields’ point of departure is the fact that since thenineteenth century, eschatology has become a “stormcenter” that has reconfigured the topoi of theology. The prob-lematic, in his estimation, is that this reconfigurationhas proceeded primarily along systematic lines, too oftenyielding “supernatural geographies” that are mystifyingand existentially non-compelling for postmodernity. Shield’srevisionary alternative to this approach is the exercise of the“eschatological imagination,” which he defines as a rhetoricof virtue that moves beyond abstract speculation by persua-sively positing preferred methods of acting “into” the future.He finds this revisionism exemplified in Tracy’s work, anddevotes chapters 2 through 4 of his book to constructivelymining support for his project from Blessed Rage for Order,The Analogical Imagination, and Plurality and Ambiguity,respectively. Shield’s closing chapter restates and consoli-dates his overall thesis. While perhaps too readily abandon-ing the importance of the speculative task of fundamentaltheology, Shields does underscore an important approachto doing theology in the “interruptive” interstices of plural-ism and ambiguity in which Tracy specializes. Students willfind a handy overview of Tracy’s oeuvre here. In addition,Shield’s first chapter, “The Contours of ContemporaryEschatological Reflection,” presents a useful resource forresearchers.

Horace Horton-ParkerRegent University School of Divinity

THE HOLY SPIRIT. By F. LeRon Shults and Andrea Holl-ingsworth. Guides to Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: William B.Eerdmans, 2008. Pp. vii + 156. $16.00.

The Holy Spirit provides an overview of the “academicrevival of interest” in the Holy Spirit by examiningtrends—historical and contemporary—in the development ofpneumatology. Following a short introduction, Shults andHollingsworth have divided the book into two sections. Thefirst section, “Interpreting the Transforming Experience ofthe Holy Spirit,” provides an overview of pneumatology,beginning with early Christianity in the second century andcontinuing into the late modern period. Contextual factors,like dominant schools of philosophy and theological contro-versies, are given significant attention. The second section,“English-Language Resources on the Holy Spirit,” providesan annotated bibliography of over 160 works that have mademajor contributions to pneumatology. Some of the worksthat were briefly addressed in the first section are given amore detailed analysis, and summaries of many new worksare introduced as well. Finally, the authors identify threemajor shifts in pneumatological thought: 1) a challenge ofthe dichotomy between matter and spirit as distinct sub-


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stances; 2) changing concepts of person; and 3) the emer-gence of the concept of force. These provide the basis fortheir suggestions regarding the future of pneumatology. Onestrength of The Holy Spirit is the diversity of traditions that itaddresses, including Roman Catholicism, Eastern Ortho-doxy, Pentecostalism, feminist perspectives, liberation the-ology, and numerous strands of Protestantism. Overall, theauthors treat the broad topic of pneumatology in a clear andconcise manner, and consequently, this book promises to bea valuable reference for students and seasoned scholarsalike.

David BradnickRegent University School of Divinity

POLITICS OF FEAR, PRACTICES OF HOPE. By StefanSkrimshire. New York: Continuum, 2008. Pp. vii + 200.$129.00.

Skrimshire explores why visions of a hopeful future arevital to social change movements and how various theologi-cal visions of the future promote or hinder those visions andmovements. He argues that vague crisis states such as thewar on terrorism, with uncertain enemies and no clearvision of a “win,” create anxiety and fear, allowing govern-ments to manufacture consent for unpopular policies thatpromise freedom in an undetermined future. This fear andanxiety causes people to focus on the present circumstancesrather than analyze the future. The book also argues thatcapitalist economics create a “politics of spectacle” thathinders substantive debates, deferring talk of the future intoconsumption of the moment. Skrimshire argues that hopeand fantasy are different, and that apocalyptic visions lead toquietism while more hopeful eschatologies lead to produc-tive change. The book concludes by arguing that religiousvisions can create and sustain positive social change. Skrim-shire’s erudite combination of critical theory, theology, andanalysis of current events deftly weaves difficult and diversematerials into a thoughtful, coherent, and insightful work.


RELIGION IN A GLOBALISED AGE: TRANSFERSAND TRANSFORMATIONS, INTEGRATION ANDRESISTANCE. Edited by Sturla J. Stålsett. Oslo: NovusPress, 2008. Pp. 193. NOK 275.00.

This edited work is one of three books to emerge from aresearch program at the University of Oslo. Assuming broaddefinitions for the concepts “religion” and “globalization,”the position of this collection is that “a contextually rootedand case-oriented approach is necessary” to understand theinterconnection of the terms. Many of the essays are theo-logical, while others use historical and social scientificapproaches. Each essay focuses on a particular manifesta-tion of how religion (predominantly Christianity) interactswith global culture: for example, early Norwegian mission-aries in China, Charismatic churches in Brazil, indigenousart in Norway and Australia, and theologians in the former

East Germany. Also included are essays on teaching toler-ance and solidarity in Palestine and Egypt, economics andliberation thought in Latin America, and the role of womenin leadership positions in South East Asia. The work iscapped by an essay by Werner Jeanrond on how Christianperspectives of love might assist in transformation of a glo-balizing world, together with an afterward by Hans Küng onthe need for a global ethic. By eschewing the creation of alarger theory of globalization, as well as by offering severaldifferent European voices on the impacts of globalization onreligion (and vice versa), this book is of interest to scholars.Several of its authors are theologically and ethically ori-ented, and this work does not seek to offer a broad overviewto sociological trends or demographics.


KIERKEGAARD’S INTERNATIONAL RECEPTION:NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE. Edited by JonStewart. Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception andResources, Vol. 8, Tome I. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009.Pp. xviii + 491. $124.95.

This book continues the Søren Kierkegaard ResearchCentre’s series, Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Receptionand Resources. The series is the most important singlecollection of secondary literature on Kierkegaard to be pub-lished in recent years and it is possibly the most importantever published. The particular contribution of this book is totrace the history of Kierkegaard’s reception in Northern andWestern Europe, providing an invaluable overview of thehistory of scholarship in those countries that were amongthe first and most important to receive the philosopher.While not every chapter will be found relevant for the Anglo-phone world, George Pattison’s chapter on Kierkegaard’sreception in Great Britain is particularly relevant for it, withthe chapters on Germany, France, and Denmark providingadditional useful background. Generally, the various chap-ters maintain the helpful distinction between Kierkegaard’stheological and philosophical receptions, which can varyconsiderably. Many European movements either feelKierkegaard’s influence or, indeed, co-opt him for their pur-poses, and this book traces Kierkegaard’s effect on suchdiverse movements as dialectical theology, philosophy ofreligion, the liberal Protestant tradition, existentialism, andpost-structuralism. The book is not appropriate for an intro-ductory class on Kierkegaard, but it would be a usefulsupplement for a more specialized Kierkegaard class. As anaid to Kierkegaard research, nothing as comprehensive canbe found in a single volume.

Will WilliamsBaylor University

HUMAN NATURE, HUMAN EVIL, AND RELIGION:ERNEST BECKER AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. ByJarvis Streeter. Lanham, MD: University Press of America,2009. Pp xiv + 196. $30.00.


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Believing that theologians have overlooked the contri-butions of Becker, Streeter has written this book in an effortto promote greater theological engagement with Becker’sthought. Becker was especially interested in evil and saw hisown achievement as integrating scientific and religiousunderstandings regarding its origin and amelioration.Streeter carefully explains Becker’s early and maturethought regarding the social, cultural, and psychologicalorigins of evil and compares it with traditional and modernChristian theology. Streeter finds much in common betweenBecker and those theologians who understand human sin tobe freely chosen and yet inevitable due to social and per-sonal factors. Similarly, the Christian solution to theproblem of sin and evil—that is, faith in God—aligns closelywith Becker’s hope that by centering themselves in theDivine, people would be able to find freedom and meaning intheir lives. According to Becker, religion is far better thanscience in helping people to overcome their fear of death,which lies at the root of human evil. While theologiansshould not accept Becker’s insights uncritically, they none-theless merit further attention, and to this end, Streeter’spurpose in writing has been achieved. Recommended forseminary and university libraries and theologians with aninterest in cultural anthropology and psychology.

Glenn M. HardenBaker College

SEEKING GOD’S FACE: FAITH IN AN AGE OF PER-PLEXITY. By Notto R. Thelle. Translated by Brian McNeil.New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2008. Pp. vi + 144.$14.95.

In this collection of essays, Norwegian theologian NottoThelle employs scriptural imagery and stories to probe thesearch for divine providence in a postmodern “age of perplex-ity.” Pastorally attuned as well as mindful of contemporarytheology’s pressing theological shifts (e.g., feminist and lib-erationist), Thelle offers reflections that are at once poetic andcritical. He notably does not shy away from the ambiguities ofcreation and life, instead offering that God-in-Christ’s cease-less encounter with the world robustly addresses those veryambiguities. Most remarkable is Thelle’s artful weaving ofbiblical narratives from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testa-ment. In taking two stories that are not usually paired—suchas Song of Songs and the woman who anoints Jesus—he opensup fresh perspectives on how people come face to face withone another and with God in ways that redeem, heal, andvivify. A specialist in interreligious dialogue, Thelle presentsa classically Christian (i.e, Jesus-centered) account of faithwhile drawing upon the wisdom of other sacred traditions,notably Buddhism and Hinduism, though his critique ofcertain contemporary spiritual practices is uncriticallygrounded in facile stereotypes. A rich devotional and preach-ing resource, the volume is appropriate for clergy, general layreadership, and seminary courses in spirituality.

Krista E. HughesHanover College

THE GREAT EMERGENCE: HOW CHRISTIANITY ISCHANGING AND WHY. By Phyllis Tickle. Grand Rapids,MI: Baker Books, 2008. Pp. 172. $17.99.

Looking for an explanation for the phenomenon ofemergent/emerging Christianity, Tickle presents a sweep-ing historical overview. She assumes that Christianityrenews itself in 500-year cycles: in the sixth century itemerged as monastic Christianity, which saved civilization;in the eleventh century as Latin Christianity; and in thesixteenth century as Protestant Christianity. Using theevents leading to the Great Reformation as a model, sheinterprets the major social and cultural changes of the twen-tieth as preludes to the Great Emergence of the twenty-firstcentury, an event that, according to Tickle, will define Chris-tianity for the next 500 years. The book is a very engagingread: there’s something tremendously persuasive about asweeping statement like this. The main weakness, however,is the provincialism of Tickle’s thesis: she focuses on what ishappening in the United States and deliberately ignores thefact that the central developments of the new emergingChristianity are not happening within but outside WesternChristianity, in the churches of Latin America, Asia, andespecially Africa. An interpretation of the Great Emergencenot as a North American but as a global event would dojustice to the outspoken global character of emergent/emerging Christianity. Hopefully this book will stimulatefurther reflection specifically on this issue.

Henk van den BoschJusto Mwale Theological University College, Lusaka,

Zambia

TRANSFORMATION AFTER LAUSANNE: RADICALEVANGELICAL MISSION IN GLOBAL-LOCAL PER-SPECTIVE. By Al Tizon. Regnum Studies in Mission.Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2008. Pp xvii + 281.$36.00.

In this volume Al Tizon traces the journey of evangelicalapproaches to mission as purely “salvation of individualsouls” to its integrated understanding as bringing societaland spiritual transformation. The book’s central argumentadvances the view that Lausanne ’74 and Wheaton ’83marked turning points in evangelical attitudes spurred on byan evangelical agenda seeking a much more holistic under-standing of Christian witness and salvation. Such “missiol-ogy as transformation” is a core theme throughout the book,which Tizon interfaces with issues of culture, economics,holistic mission, and the power of the Holy Spirit in mission.The transformational motif is teased out further in subse-quent sections and chapters from a global dimension, a localdimension, and the possibility of a “glocal” dimension for thetwenty first century. The book is successful in its goal ofrepudiating the dichotomy between evangelism and socialconcern, thus broadening the scope of God’s salvific work inthe world. Yet the book also seems to have overplayed thecontribution of Lausanne and Wheaton over against “trans-formation” being stirred by local and national socio-political


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crises within the many conflict zones in the developingworld, which are hot beds of Pentecostalism and evangeli-calism. That being said, the book is a welcome addition to thecontextualization debate, which is rarely argued from anevangelical perspective.

Clifton ClarkeRegent University

INTRODUCING THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONOF SCRIPTURE: RECOVERING A CHRISTIANPRACTICE. By Daniel J. Treier. Grand Rapids, MI: BakerAcademic, 2008. Pp. 221. $17.99.

In this reader-friendly volume, Daniel Treier exploreshow theological reading of scripture reverses the European,modern, historical-critical method. This paradigmatic shift isnoted as having roots in Karl Barth, Brevard Childs, DavidKelsey, George Lindbeck, Mark Noll, and Matthew Levering.Part 1 traces theological hermeneutics as a rekindling of themedieval church’s way of reading scripture in four senses:pietistic, christological, canonical, and for its applicability toChristian living. Interpretation is authenticated doctrinallyin accordance with the “Rules of Faith.” Interpretation alsoentails listening to the “Community of the Spirit,” and thechurch is scripture’s interpretative community. Treierplaces Lindbeck’s The Nature of Doctrine and Stanley Hauer-was on the communal character of Christianity in dialogwith Stephen Fowl’s Engaging Scripture to support this pro-posal. In Part 2, Treier traces how biblical theology as adiscipline overcomes the problems of reading the Old andNew Testaments. He then investigates the modern-postmodern debate on general hermeneutics for readingscripture with other texts: the discovery of meaning viahistory, author, and texts as proposed by Martin Heidegger,Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jürgen Habermas, Paul Ricoeur, E. D.Hirsch, Werner Jeanrond, Jens Zimmermann, Anthony This-elton, and Kevin Vanhoozer. Yet Treier fails to explore howthe Bible is read with other sacred texts. Following PhilipJenkins’s The Next Christendom, Treier explains how Chris-tianity in the Global South impacts biblical-theologicalhermeneutics, but he regrettably collapses the Global Southwith Pentecostalism, and fails to adumbrate the significanceof a diverse Christianity for enriching the “Western” aca-demic reading of scripture.


THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL: A. B. SIMPSON, THELATE FOURFOLD GOSPEL, AND LATENINETEENTH-CENTURY EVANGELICAL THEOL-OGY. By Bernie A. Van De Walle. Eugene, OR: PickwickPublications. 2009. Pp. xvii + 196. $25.00.

Van De Walle’s book is essential reading for understand-ing the development of the Fourfold Gospel—Christ theSavior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King—within thecontext of late nineteenth-century evangelical theology.Albert Benjamin Simpson—missional innovator, preacher,

teacher, publisher and founder of the Christian and Mission-ary Alliance—serves as a backdrop to a discussion regardingthe development of each component of the Four Fold Gospel.Integrated into this discussion is an exploration of how Sim-pson’s own theological perspectives both contributed to andwere informed by his background in the Presbyterian, Wes-leyan, Holiness, and Keswick movements, and his relation-ships with revivalists such as Arthur Tappan Pierson,Adoniram Judson Gordon, and Dwight Lyman Moody. VanDe Walle presents Simpson as being in sync with contempo-rary theological perspectives regarding the Four Fold Gospelwhile formulating his own theological distinctives. Founda-tional to the soteriological chapter is the contribution ofAmerican revivalism and the debates involving the role ofatonement and freewill. The sanctification, divine healing,and eschatological sections include well-developed compara-tive analyses of the theological positions of Pierson, Gordon,Moody, and Simpson. An intriguing part of the discussion ofsanctification is whether the end result is a Wesleyan orKeswickian Simpson. The eschatological chapter, “Christ theComing King,” while tracing the growing dominance ofpremillennialism in American evangelical thought, wouldhave benefitted from a fuller treatment of dispensationalism.Van De Walle’s book provides an excellent historical contextfor understanding the development of the Four Fold Gospeland Simpson’s life and ministry.

Abraham Antonio RuelasPatten University

INVOCATION AND ASSENT: THE MAKING ANDREMAKING OF TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY. By JasonE. Vickers. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008. Pp. xx + 215.$28.00.

So much of contemporary theology assumes that onegets from Augustine to Barth, Derrida, Sarah Coakley, andZizek in a direct, unmediated ressourcement. With the emer-gence of la nouvelle théologie in Catholicism, Radical Ortho-doxy in the Anglo-Catholic camp, and the popularity ofChurch Fathers—Eastern and Western—there is a tendency toemphasize the place of patristics for contemporary theologi-cal reflection, thereby exacerbating the problem Vickersseeks to remedy. Vickers rightly identifies the early modernperiod, particularly England—often regarded as a theologicalhinterland vis-à-vis Germany—in the mid- to late-seventeenthcentury as a key locus of crucial theological debates, withfar-reaching ramifications. He offers a lucid analysis of theimpact of the solipsistic emphasis on sola scriptura as thenecessary and sufficient condition for theological orthodoxy,as early modern English Protestants gave up on analogiafidei with its concomitant commitment to theologicaltradition—both formally and materially—in their battleagainst the Socinians and anti-trinitarians. Intriguingly,Vickers asserts, without a clearer nuance, that seventeenth-century Anglicans—lumping together William Laud, WilliamChillingworth, the Cambridge Platonists, and theLatitudinarians—were committed to the notion of Scripture


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as the Protestant rule of faith, which seems a historicallyflat-footed statement. Nonetheless, Invocation and Assentprovides ample material for historians of early modernEngland to learn, and for contemporary theologians to becorrected on their strange omission of this key transitionalperiod.

Paul C.H. LimVanderbilt University

REVITALIZING PRACTICE: COLLABORATIVEMODELS FOR THEOLOGICAL FACULTIES. Edited byMalcolm L. Warford. Essays by Joseph A. Bessler, Peter T.Cha, Mary E. Hess, and Timothy C. Tennent. New York: PeterLang, 2008. Pp. vii + 147. $34.95.

Edited by the director of the Lexington Seminar, aproject connecting theological teaching and church ministryas supported by a Lilly Endowment, this work is a treasure-trove of innovative thinking and praxis for today’s theologi-cal educators. Written to assist theological faculties engagecritical issues, the authors raise common challenges that allseminaries face related to formation, diversity, technology,cultural relevance, assessment, and institutional identity.Four intentional strategies catalyze a strategic dialog on howtheological educators might respond. First, Bessler presentsan approach to institutional learning called the “NewEcology Model,” based on environmental challenges such aschanging culture and dwindling applicant pools and revenuesources. Second, Cha offers an “Improvisation Model,”responding to the increasing heterogeneity of seminarystudents and their formational needs through a listening/reflective approach. Third, Hess provides a positivistic“Appreciative Inquiry Model” to assess learning practices,predicated on faculty listening to one another and discerningwhat students, congregations, and their own institutionalhistories are saying through repeated themes. Fourth,Tennent addresses the relevance gap between teaching andministry through a proposed “World Café Model,” whichconsiders the impact of globalization upon pedagogy. Allfour perspectives contribute valuable insights in this must-read book for all theological deans and faculty, and under-score that unless approaches to theological educationchange, we will continue to “prepare students for churchesthat do not exist.”

Diane J. ChandlerRegent University

THEOLOGY IN THE SERVICE OF THE CHURCH:ESSAYS IN HONOR OF JOSEPH D. SMALL 3RD.Edited by Charles A. Wiley, Sheldon W. Sorge, Barry A.Ensign-George, and Chip Andrus. Louisville, KY: GenevaPress, 2008. Pp. xxi + 167. $19.95.

Many festschrifts offer little more than paeans andretrospective glances of an author’s writings. This one,however, gathers succinct, original essays grouped underthree broad themes that characterize Small’s work: theologi-cal integrity, liturgical leadership, and ecumenical and inter-

faith engagement. Two struck this reviewer as particularlyinteresting. M. Moore-Keish offers a striking re-examinationof Christian baptism. As a mother wondering whether anoveremphasis on baptism as death and rebirth might be“unduly dismissive of the first birth,” she situates a renewedunderstanding of baptism within the wider context of cre-ation. In this read, “birth grounds the image of baptism asnew birth; new birth also points back and illumines God’sgrace in the event of actual birth.” The volume’s concludingessay by Rabbi B. Cytron examines the Aleynu, the prayerthat closes Jewish worship services throughout the world. Inparticular, Cytron examines differing interpretations andtranslations of the prayer that contrast Israel with thenations. The result is a lively example of how prayer affectsbelief and practice and how practice and belief informprayer. Though this reviewer wonders why four editors werenecessary for a relatively short book, the volume providessubstantial nourishment for theologians interested in thenature of theological claims, liturgy, and ecumenical andinterfaith engagement. Because they are written in an acces-sible manner, the volume will interest students in Reformedseminaries and discussion groups in the Reformed churchesas well.


THEOLOGIAE FACULTAS: RAHMENBEDIN-GUNGEN, AKTEURE UND WISSENSCHAFT-SORGANISATION PROTESTANTISCHERUNIVERSITÄTSTHEOLOGIE IN TÜBINGEN, JENA,ERLANGEN UND BERLIN 1850-1870. By JohannesWischmeyer. Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte, 108. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2008. Pp. vii + 473; tables,charts. $137.00.

In this thoroughly researched and well-written volumeWischmeyer analyzes changes in the “framing conditions”of theological production at four Protestant theological fac-ulties in Germany over a twenty year period falling betweenthe failed revolution of 1848 and the establishment of theGerman Reich. These conditions include, at the institutionallevel, the gradual prevalence of a binary seminar model ofdisciplinary organization that distinguishes between theo-retical (historical and philological) and practical (catecheti-cal and homiletic) pursuits. Wischmeyer documents theprofessionalization of academic theology during this rela-tively neglected period as reflected in the standardization ofacademic qualifications, the establishment of journals asso-ciated with distinct schools of thought, and the adoption of arigorous research ethic that came increasingly to inform theself-understanding of academic theologians as members ofthe Bildungsbürgertum during a period of dramatic growthand specialization in the German universities. The careers of86 theologians (including Dozenten) at four theologically andregionally distinct universities are compared according to37 criteria, ranging from date and place of birth to place ofstudy, degrees conferred, course offerings, style of thought,


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and type of religiosity. This book is most likely to interestthose who already possess extensive familiarity withnineteenth-century Protestant theology, since, althoughWischmeyer provides a wealth of information about theliterary endeavors, professional prospects, ecclesiasticalcommitments and political affiliations of various liberal,neo-confessional and mediating theologians, the ideas thatdistinguish these theological approaches are not themselvesdiscussed at length. Wischmeyer’s study itself exemplifiesthe theological professionalism whose provenance it traces.

Todd GoochEastern Kentucky University

GRACE IN PRACTICE: A THEOLOGY OF EVERY-DAY LIFE. By Paul F. M. Zahl. Grand Rapids, MI: William B.Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007. Pp. xi + 267. $18.00.

“The law crushes the human spirit; grace lifts it.” Zahlargues this thesis in relation to theology (anthropology, sote-riology, Christology, and Trinity); relationships in varioustypes of families; human efforts in society (politics, war andpeace, criminal justice, social class, and shopping malls);challenges in church life (internal politics, preaching, pasto-ral care, and prayer); and application to “everything” (remov-ing walls separating church and world). He connects law tojudgment, negation, and the impossibility of fulfilling the law.Zahl understands grace as undeserved or unconditional love,emphasizing the lover’s action as one-way love, not depen-dent on the qualities of the recipient. In the first half of thebook, Zahl grounds his argument with discussion of scriptureand theological doctrines; in the remainder of the book heapplies these through anecdotes from everyday life and filmsthat range from the mundane to weighty issues. For Zahl, inall human defeats (always related to law) and in the totalhuman defeat on the cross, hope comes (and can only come)from “Outside,” from divine action and intervention ratherthan human action. Yet this book-length sermon is a humanaction and implies actions (even if only internal changes); laygroups might find that it stimulates debate.


THE MONSTROSITY OF CHRIST: PARADOX ORDIALECTIC? By Slavoj Zizek and John Milbank. Edited byCreston Davis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009. Pp. 305.$27.95.

This “dialog” between Slavoj Zizek, a radical materialistLacanian, and John Milbank, one the leaders of “RadicalOrthodoxy,” demonstrates the theoretically and theologi-cally dense style both authors are well known for. Theexchange compares radically different proposals aboutmetaphysics and Marxist materialism vs. the enchantmentof the everyday that radical orthodoxy espouses. Further-more each appeals to reason and experience to argue whyeach school is closer to the Gospel’s message. The terms ofthe debate between these two radically different theologiansare clearly contrasted on occasion, especially on the role of

God in enchanting (or not) the operation of the world. Giventhe amount of time each thinker spends correcting or refut-ing the other’s interpretation of his argument, one is leftwondering how clearly each author felt his points wereaddressed. Certainly one would have hoped for more directengagement between the authors on specific matters, butoverall this dense exploration of theology and Christology bytwo important intellectual figures offers many ideas towrestle with, assuming, of course, that one reads it slowlyenough to understand its deliberately obscure prose.


EthicsTHE LONG TRUCE: HOW TOLERATION MADE THEWORLD SAFE FOR POWER AND PROFIT. By A. J.Conyers. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009.Pp. xiv + 266. $29.95.

Conyers’s book launches an engaging assault on one ofthe great sacred cows of modern political science and reli-gious studies, the doctrine of toleration. By means of aneminently readable treatment of key figures in the history ofits development in the modern West, such as ThomasHobbes, Pierre Bayle, John Locke, and John Stuart Mill,Conyers shows that what we know as tolerance today did notarise out of a concern to protect minority and dissentingvoices in the public square. Rather, he argues, the moderndoctrine emerged as part of a centuries-long effort to estab-lish and extend the power of the state by creating a “bi-polarsociety,” that is, a society in which the individual standsisolated, naked, alone before the all-encompassing power ofthe nation-state, without the mediating, protective cover ofother social groupings, especially the church. Conyers’sargument, however, comes with a twist, for he does not wishto discard toleration but recover it in what he identifies as itsearliest and authentic form—the patient engagement withothers in a context of humility and trust for the sake oftogether discerning common goods and meanings thatcreate and sustain community. Although the connectionbetween toleration and modern economy does not receivethe attention the subtitle leads one to expect, this is a pro-vocative work that ought to be read widely by undergradu-ates as well as graduate students in ethics and politicalscience, not only for the genealogy of toleration that it offersbut also for its constructive proposal.

Daniel M. Bell, Jr.Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary

CATHOLIC MORAL THEOLOGY IN THE UNITEDSTATES: A HISTORY. By Charles E. Curran. Washington,DC: Georgetown University Press, 2008. Pp. xi + 353. Cloth,$59.95; paper, $26.95.

The sheer breadth of this historical survey of Catholicmoral theology in the United States would be daunting to any


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Bourdieu on Religion. Imposing Faith and Legitimacy

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