At the Helwys Society Forum we firmly believe that theology is for all of life. Leroy Forlines’s Biblical Ethics deftly explains how the four basic relationships (man with God, man with man, man with creation, and man with himself) are governed by the four basic values (holiness, love, wisdom, and ideals), bringing our entire life experience under God’s direction. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that many of our Winter 2016 book recommendations concern theology and its implications for various aspects of living.
On the other hand, we also try to suggest books that work backwards toward theology. That is to say, we want to recommend works that engender theological reflection by appealing to our imaginations. As Roger Scruton discloses, “I have come to see more clearly that the positions that naturally appeal to me in aesthetics also suggest a theological elaboration.”[1] Works of beauty that arrest our souls, speaking wordlessly to them, allow us to grasp and approach theological discussion with a more embodied and energetic disposition.
Both types of work are essential. Artists who never “dismiss the subject of art,” lawyers who are incapable of playing with their children, and pastors dispassionate about enjoying a good tale are not “ordinary men.”[2] They are consumed with only one aspect of life and become empty husks. Instead, what we need are artists who are good business men, lawyers who are committed husbands and fathers, and pastors with healthy imaginations. Only as ordinary men and women with full lives can we fulfill our responsibilities with verve and vigor.[3]
Hopefully these recommendations will encourage us to expand our reading selections for the coming year so that we engage theology from both directions. Please feel free to leave your own recommendations in our comment section. We’re always interested to hear what others are reading.
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Thomas Bergler, From Here to Maturity: Overcoming the Juvenilization of American Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014), 192 pages.
Over the last several years, many books have explored the nature of youth culture and offered new paradigms for considering what effective student ministry looks like in the local church. Thomas Bergler’s work has been among the more thoughtful voices in this conversation. From Here to Maturity is a more practical, follow-up volume to his 2013 title The Juvenilization of American Christianity in which he explored a phenomena called “juvenilization.” He describes juvenilization as a process by which adolescence is not only extended, but celebrated and in turn orients the nature of youth ministry in the church.
In response to questions about how to stem the tide against such problems, Bergler offers thoughtful reflection on the nature of spiritual maturity and our Biblical calling to fulfill it. He then suggests how churches can help foster maturity not only in youth, but especially in adults who will consequently be better able to guide children’s spiritual growth. Drawing on the work of Dallas Willard and recent research, Bergler sketches out some helpful considerations for churches as they evaluate their existing ministry philosophy and practices. For more information on Bergler’s research and insights, readers can revisit Chris Talbot’s interview with him from March 2014. Church leaders of many kinds, including parents and those who work with students, would benefit from this book perhaps even more than Bergler’s first book.
—Recommended by W. Jackson Watts
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Rosaria Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into the Christian Faith (Pittsburg: Crown and Covenant Publications, 2012), 154 pages.
Previously the Helwys Society Forum reviewed The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield. I hadn’t read it at the time, but in recent months, I decided to see what all of the attention was about. I now see the appeal and recommend it to you.
Before her conversion to Christianity, Rosaria Butterfield was a feminist, lesbian, tenured, English professor at a large university. This book tells that story. One of its most valuable features is the insight it offers into the minds of people who describe themselves in this way, and in thinking about how to minister to them. While stinging at times for those who have grown up in church, Butterfield’s testimony is nevertheless insightful and helpful. The topic of homosexuality, though difficult, is one with which the American church must learn to deal in a Biblical and loving manner. This book is especially helpful along those lines. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 6, “And such were some of you [homosexuals]; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). This redemptive spirit also fills the pages of The Secret Thoughts.
In addition, this book addresses questions of worship, ministry, adoption (not unlike Russell Moore’s Adopted for Life), and homeschooling. Especially for anyone interested in understanding better the mindset of and ministering to homosexuals, I highly recommend this book.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . . and Yourself (Chicago: Moody, 2009), 232 pages.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, helping the poor and needy is emphasized: “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, And He will repay him for his good deed” (Prov. 19:17); and, “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Mt. 5:42).
Yet in the modern church, those who often articulate this message are those who are more liberal theologically and/or politically. Thankfully, Corbett and Fikkert’s When Helping Hurts emphasizes these themes without falling into liberalism. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 emphasizes a solid, theological foundation for helping people, in which the authors explore four “foundational” or “key” relationships necessary for understanding poverty. These relationships are very reminiscent of F. Leroy Forlines, and could be seen as implicitly building upon the paradigm he offers. Part 2 offers general principles for helping people, and Part 3 suggests practical strategies.
Unlike other volumes highlighting similar themes, these authors do not overly rely on governmental programs, but are more interested in everyday, down-to-earth, sustainable solutions. For anyone interested in ministering to and helping the poor, this book is an informative and helpful read. I recommend it for church leaders especially.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson, The Pastor Theologian: Resurrection an Ancient Vision (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), 192 pages.
Recently, we have witnessed a renewal of interest in the conceptual and practical relationship between pastoral ministry and theological scholarship. Two key works released in 2015 considered this relationship, including Hiestand and Wilson’s excellent book. In The Pastor Theologian, they contend that an ancient vision of pastors as the principal contributors to the church-at-large’s theology was eclipsed during the Enlightenment. Here they offer reasons for this change, and explain how this important vision can be recaptured. They helpfully account for the proper relationship between the local church and theological study in the academy, and show how serious pastors can reclaim the important role that was once more common in the early church.
I strongly recommend this book to all would-be theologians, and especially for pastors who may feel they have been forced to make a false choice between pastoring a church and “doing theology.”
—Recommended by W. Jackson Watts
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Sally Lloyd-Jones & Jago, The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name (Grand Rapids: ZonderKidz, 2007), 352 pages.
My wife and I received this book upon the birth of our son and have been reading it to him ever since. Lloyd-Jones takes select passages from Scripture and paraphrases them in a way that points all the stories of Scripture to Christ. While this book is obviously written to children, it is a great example that Christocentric writing can be done in a simple, clear way. I encourage any youth or children’s pastor struggling with how to teach rich biblical narratives in an accessible way to pick this book up. Even for the seasoned saint, it will be a beautiful reminder of Who the Bible is really about.
—Recommended by Christopher Talbot
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Thomas S. Kidd and Barry Hankins, Baptists In America: A History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 252 pages.
From the early beginnings in Providence, Rhode Island in 1638, to the inerrancy controversies in the mid-to-late twentieth century, Baptists have influenced American history. In Baptists in America, Thomas Kidd and Barry Hankins write “to tell the story of Baptist growth and battles through the centuries from the founding of England’s colonies to contemporary America.”[4] Kidd and Hankins understand the significant role that Baptists continue play in global history. However, in this text they focus their attention on Baptists’ part in the story of American religious and cultural history. With no “theological or political ax to grind,” Kidd and Hankins lay out for their readers the tension between American’s intense religiosity and its pioneering secularism. This is a great read for those interested in Baptist history and the influence Baptists have had on American history.
—Recommended by Zachery Maloney
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Kevin M. Kruse, One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America (New York: Basic Books, 2015), 384 pages.
Kevin Kruse is right. Many of America’s sacred Christian symbols and practices are relatively new inventions. Neither the Ten Commandments posted in government buildings, nor the national prayer breakfast, nor “In God We Trust” printed on U.S. currency was instituted by America’s Founding Fathers. It’s a mistake for Christians to act as if they were. But Kruse seems to be arguing in this work that the notion of America as a Christian nation is a recent invention when it simply is not.
What is somewhat of a recent invention (within the last seventy-five years or so) is the idea that America is an Evangelical Christian nation. Some of America’s early leaders did believe in an all-powerful God, maybe even the God of the Bible. However, it should not frighten Evangelicals that they would not have been fit to pastor our churches or teach our Sunday school classes. Kruse’s research on the origins of some our most sacred symbols is very helpful, but his argument is overstated. From the early American Puritans, through the Founding Fathers, to Abraham Lincoln, American leaders have exhorted Americans to seek God in prayer for strength and guidance. In this way, America may not have always been a conservative Evangelical nation, but it has in many ways always been a “Christian nation.”
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Gordon Leff, The Dissolution of the Medieval Outlook: An Essay on the Intellectual and Spiritual Change in the Fourteenth Century (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1976), 147 pages.
Many of my favorite books—including those by Francis Schaeffer, Leroy Forlines, C.S. Lewis, and G.K. Chesterton—discuss the effects of philosophical changes on our lives. They are intentionally broad in their treatment outlining the major shifts and developments in our history. However, it is also good to dig down into the guts of their arguments to understand better their conclusions. The Dissolution of the Medieval Outlook is precisely that kind of work.
Leff, a former medieval historian at the University of York, offers a detailed but blessedly manageable window into the key philosophical developments of the 14th century. He argues that the introduction of Aristotle’s works into 13th century Europe started a process of redefinition that provided the necessary building blocks for modernity. I have qualms with Leff’s final conclusion that William of Ockham (d. 1349) bears the brunt of the responsibility for these changes. However, I did find his focused treatment of this vital turning point very helpful for getting a handle on names and their attending philosophical contributions.
—Recommended by Phillip Morgan
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A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner (1928, reprint New York: Puffin Books, 1992), 180 pages.
Any pediatrician will tell you that one of the most important things you can do for your child is to read aloud to them. Since the birth of my and Megan’s son in 2013 I have revisited many children’s books from my past. Some that I remembered reading to my younger sisters or hearing my mother read to me turned out to be really empty or worse, full of modernist and post-modernist assumptions about the world. However, others have retained their worth and even grown in my estimation.
A.A. Milne’s books about a young boy’s stuffed animals and their many adventures continue to provide wonderful literature for young minds. The House at Pooh Corner is one work from this collection and offers an array of exciting stories, including the finding of Eeyore’s house, the coming of Tigger to the Hundred Acre Wood, and a heroically sacrificial act by Piglet. As the main character, Winnie-the-Pooh provides loads of humble wit and insight.
Milne’s work is children’s literature at its best. His world is properly peopled with kind but flawed characters who constantly fall prey to their own imperfections. Relationships are fraught with tensions that must be honored and at times require the arbitration of the young boy, Christopher Robin. Though Milne’s characters and plots resonate with the truth of things, I find his writing particularly invigorating. Many children’s books speak down to children, assuming they cannot understand complex sentences, plots, or ideas. Thankfully Milne does none of that. His writing demands readers’ full attention (both adult and child), rewarding them with delight, laughter, and even tears, but never doing the work for them. The House at Pooh Corner is an excellent read at any age, but especially valuable to those with children in their lives.
—Recommended by Phillip Morgan
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Richard Phillips, Philip Ryken, and Mark Dever, The Church: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2004), 146 pages.
Free Will Baptists are sometimes apprehensive about anything concerning creeds, let alone ones talking about being “catholic”. Thus, when the Apostle’s Creed expresses the four marks of the church as being (1) one, (2) holy, (3) catholic and (4) apostolic, we can be a little skittish as Protestants. Yet precisely as Protestants we can subscribe to these four distinguishing characteristics of the church. Written by two Presbyterians and a Baptist, The Church seeks to give readers a quick primer on why each of these marks still applies to us today. With a prologue and epilogue, and a chapter addressing each mark, this book provides a survey on how contemporary, evangelical Christians can still subscribe to this age-old creed.
—Recommended by Christopher Talbot
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Matthew Avery Sutton, American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 2014), 480 pages.
Sutton’s American Apocalypse is a fascinating study of the role of apocalypticism—or the American obsession with eschatology and the eminent return of Christ—in shaping American politics and culture for the last 100 years. Sutton links the rise of American apocalypticism to the rise of historic fundamentalism in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but he doesn’t stop there. He traces apocalyptic claims through their various manifestations across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. For example, he traces the argument that God directly judges America for its political and social decisions, and relents in response to national repentance up through the ministry of Billy Graham and into the present. According to Sutton, fundamentalists viewed all social and political decisions as a cosmic battle between good and evil, thereby inviting either the blessing or judgment of God. Sutton notes that the neo-evangelicals, such as Carl Henry, tried to orient their work around Biblical, social, and political action rather than bare political apocalypticism.
There is much to be praised in Sutton’s work, and many of his conclusions seem to be strongly supported by ample historical data. I also think he’s correct in noting that many current evangelicals and fundamentalists view the world and politics in an apocalyptic framework. However, there is a sense in which Sutton’s thesis is not as startling as it seems at first. If one were simply to say that American Christians view all of life within the framework of Christ’s eminent return, that claim would be less than striking. But Sutton is saying more than that, and his argument deserves to be heard and considered.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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David VanDrunen, Bioethics and the Christian Life: A Guide to Making Difficult Decisions (Wheaton: Crossway, 2009), 247 pages.
In a world filled with sin, Christian ethics can become unpredictable, with positions becoming irrelevant as soon as they are broadcast. No handbook can anticipate the plethora of ethical issues that present themselves. Bioethics and the Christian Life, by David VanDrunen, understands this dilemma and helps to train Christians how to think well about moral living. VanDrunen states his purpose in writing this book saying, “Christians need not only the courage to do what they know is right but also the insight and wisdom to figure out what is right in the first place.”[5] Indeed, Scripture not only provides the “whys” of life, but also authoritative guidance on the “hows” of life.
With this purpose in mind, VanDrunen begins by laying the theological and ethical foundation for thinking well about Christian bioethics. The book includes careful attention to participation in health-care systems, Christian virtues, and doctrines of divine providence, human nature, suffering, death, and resurrection. After VanDrunen lays the foundation, attention is given to how theology and ethics come into play in moral decision-making. Focus is directed towards ethical issues in the beginning of life, marriage, and procreation. The book concludes with a focus on end-of-life concerns with a helpful discussion on the distinction between killing and letting die. For those interested in bioethical debates, I highly recommend this book.
—Recommended by Zachery Maloney
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[1] Roger Scruton, The Soul of the World (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), vii.
[2] G.K. Chesterton, “On the Wit of Whistler” in Heretics (1905, reprint Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc., 2006), 131.
[3] Chesterton, “On the Wit of Whistler,” 131, 132.
[4] Thomas S. Kidd and Barry Hankins, Baptists In America: A History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), x.
[5] David VanDrunen, Bioethics and the Christian Life: A Guide to Making Difficult Decisions (Wheaton: Crossway, 2009), 13.
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