The Territories of Science and Religion by Peter Harrison, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015, 320 pages. The battle between Science and Religion has been presented to the wider public as a struggle between reason and superstition. In the present intellectual climate, where the ghosts of logical positivism have been far from exorcised from the corridors of scientific thinking, any countering of the reigning attitude is most welcome. The volume under review is an absorbing historical account of the way …
Category: Book Reviews
Tough Questions about God and His Actions in the Old Testament by Walter C. Kaiser, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2015, 176 pages, pbk God Almighty will always have to suffer the inquisitions of his rebellious creatures, at least until He sorts out the waywardness epidemic of creaturely independence which is the bequest of the presence of sin. It won’t do to answer these jibes with “God can do anything He likes”, we must be prepared to educate unbelievers about the justice …
Review of, A Commentary on the Manuscripts and Text of the New Testament, by Philip Wesley Comfort, Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2015, 443 pages, hardback, $29.99 Philip Wesley Comfort is well known to students of the text of the New Testament. He has produced some informative works on the subject such as Early Manuscripts and Modern Translations of the New Testament, and Encountering the Manuscripts. Both productions, as well as the one under review, are marked with a clarity of …
Review of Understanding Prophecy: A Biblical-Theological Approach, by Alan S. Bandy and Benjamin L. Merkle, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2015, 264 pages, paperback N.B. This review is from the perspective of someone who is less than an enthusiastic supporter of symbolical cum typological interpretations of the Bible, so it will be mainly critical. However, for those in-tune with the approach of the writers, the book can be recommended as a good explication of the redemptive-historical method. This new book on prophecy …
Review of James S. Spiegel, The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief, Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2010, 141 pages James Spiegel’s books are usually worth a gander because he writes about important but often neglected subjects. Witness his books on Hypocrisy and Providence. This book makes a helpful contribution to the usual run of apologetics resources by looking at some intriguing facts surrounding how atheists are made. Some atheists, of course, make the claim that atheism is the …
Gary V. Smith, Interpreting the Prophetic Books: An Exegetical Handbook, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2014, pbk, 214 pages. This book by a recognized expert on the Prophetic literature serves as a competent introduction to the topic. It is well arranged and readable. The beginning grad student is always kept in mind. Smith includes useful information even for those familiar with the field. The first chapter covers style, genre and parallelism, etc. The author’s illustrations of parallelism in the Prophets is well …
Part One God is not, in any of the great theistic traditions, merely some rational agent, external to the order of the physical universe, who imposes some kind of design upon an otherwise inert and mindless material order. He is not some discrete being somewhere out there, floating in the great beyond, who fashions nature in accordance with rational laws upon which he is dependent. Notice that Hart has in mind the general consensus among theistic religions about God, not …
Review of Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology, by Andreas J. Kostenberger & Richard D. Patterson, Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, hdbk, 891 pp This large volume has already positioned itself as a premier textbook for hermeneutics for evangelicals. The authors; one an OT commentator, and one a NT commentator, have put a lot of thought into their production. The publisher has produced an attractive, well planned volume. But why buy this book over …
Gary V. Smith, Interpreting the Prophetic Books: An Exegetical Handbook, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2014, pbk, 214 pages. This book by a recognized expert on the Prophetic literature serves as a competent introduction to the topic. It is well arranged and readable. The beginning grad student is always kept in mind. Smith includes useful information even for those familiar with the field. The first chapter covers style, genre and parallelism, etc. The author’s illustrations of parallelism in the Prophets is …
A review of David Bentley Hart, The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss, Yale University Press, 2013, 376 pages, paperback. Among the most learned and entertaining, if not sometimes infuriating writers on the theological scene today is David Bentley Hart. He is the author of such notable books as The Doors of the Sea, The Beauty of the Infinite, and Atheist Delusions. Alongside this is his impressive portfolio of articles (in particular for First Things). His ‘Christ or Nothing’, ‘Laughter …
