Book Reviews
Transformed By God: New Covenant Life and Ministry (David Peterson)
Review by Dustin Walters Most evangelical Christians understand that true change only occurs as a result of heart transformation by Jesus Christ. A biblical understanding of New Covenant life and ministry is likewise concerned with this heart transformation. In Transformed by God: New Covenant Life and Ministry (IVP, 2012), David Peterson asserts that the New Covenant offers a “spiritual, moral, and physical” change. Peterson served as Oak Hill Theological College’s Principal in London from 1996 to 2007. While there, he also lectured in...
read moreA Little Book for New Theologians (Kelly Kapic)
In 2012 I intended to write an essay commemorating the 50th anniversary of a useful little book that many young theologians don’t read anymore: Helmut Thielicke’s A Little Exercise for Young Theologians. Published originally in 1959, the English edition hit shelves in 1962. It quickly became a useful primer in helping students to reflect on the nature of theological study. A number of remarks from Thielicke still resonate today: Speaking figuratively, the study of theology often produces overgrown youths whose internal organs have not...
read moreBook Review of “A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers” (D. A. Carson)
By Michael Locklear When you see the book title, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, you may ask, “Is this just another book on prayer—and limited to the prayers of the apostle Paul at that? Should I take the time to even read this book?” To that, I answer no and yes. In one sense, this is not just another book on prayer. In fact, Carson confesses “how little… biblical material on prayer” his short book actually covers [1]. He does not consider other prayers preserved in God’s Word, such as those in the Psalms, from our Christ, and many others....
read moreThe Explicit Gospel (Matt Chandler)
Review By Cody Balfour The American Church is quickly spreading a gospel, but is it really the Gospel? First Corinthians 15:1-4 clearly states what the Gospel is: Christ crucified, buried, and resurrected. Despite this, many churches are drifting away from that crucial message. And increasingly, they fail to identify the Gospel as God Himself—a rather bold, but nevertheless biblical, message. Matt Chandler has addressed this very issue in his new book, The Explicit Gospel (2012). Chandler is the pastor at The Village Church in Dallas, Texas....
read moreThe Ethical Vision of Clint Eastwood (Sara Vaux)
Review by Jared Austin While many films Hollywood produces excel aesthetically, most are full of postmodern secularism and lack common ground with the Christian viewer. Conversely, directors such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and the Coen brothers make films many Christians have analyzed because of their religious themes which inform and shape public thought. Another such director is the iconic Clint Eastwood. In her book The Ethical Vision of Clint Eastwood (Eerdmans, 2011), Sara Vaux celebrates Eastwood’s work as a director and...
read moreBiology of Sin (Matthew Stanford)
I quit a pack-a-day smoking addiction several years ago. I brought my problem before God with fasting and prayer, and relied on Him heavily for the first excruciating weeks and months. I am quite certain that my success is owed to Christ’s power in me. Strangely, however, the second most helpful source of encouragement and strength came in a small pamphlet on how to quit smoking packaged with my nicotine patches. The pamphlet very succinctly explained what was going to happen in my brain and body over the next few months, such as the feeling...
read morePresence, Power, and Promise (eds. David G. Firth and Paul D. Wegner)
FIRTH, David G. Firth and Paul D. Wegner, eds., Presence, Power and Promise: The Role of the Spirit of God in the Old Testament, Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011, 415 pp. $24.00 paperback, ISBN 978-0-8308-3975-5. Review by Kevin Williford Throughout the church’s history, Christians have often found it difficult to relate to the Old Testament (“OT”). On the one hand, some write off the Old Testament as being, well, the “Old” Testament, and view it as having little relevance to them, or as having been replaced by the “New” Testament...
read morePerspectives on Tithing (ed. David Croteau)
Review by Craig Batts “When evangelicals in the United States, living in the most prosperous global economy, still give less than 3 percent of their income to Christian causes – something is wrong with our understanding of God’s mandate for generous giving!” [1] These words are the first to greet the reader upon opening the cover of one of the latest books in the Broadman & Holman Perspectives series. Jeff Iorg’s endorsement would probably draw little argument from the majority of pastors in today’s materialistic culture. Few issues have...
read moreIntentional Integrity: Ten Life Strategies for Wholeness from the Book of Job (Dr. Garnett Reid)
“‘Don’t the Bible say we must love everybody?’ ’O, the Bible! To be sure, it says a great many things; but, then, nobody thinks of doing them,’” responds Henrique to young Eva in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s highly influential novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin [1]. Unfortunately in contemporary times, an ambiguous dichotomy has been drawn between theology and practical Christian living. Though there is obvious knowledge of theological issues among many believers, there is also an obvious void of real-life transformation. Current books even reflect and...
read moreMobilizing Hope: A Review
Review by Matthew Bracey Compassion. Love. Justice. Hope. These have become buzzwords in recent history for a brighter future and better tomorrow. Generational studies even reveal that the late Generation X and Millennial generations care in particular for the marginalized and the oppressed [1]. Yet as Christians, the question we must ask ourselves is where we fit into this growing trend. In Mobilizing Hope, Adam Taylor offers an answer. He proposes that believers are called to extend radical, Christ-like love to the undesirables and sinful...
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