Category: InterVarsity Press

Book Briefs: “Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos”

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Science and Faith are at a crossroads in today’s world. The new atheists like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Stephen Hawking are pushing the conclusion that Science rules out Faith. No need to believe in a “God of the gaps” anymore. Everything can be explained by Science.

Christians can seem to corroborate this view by disputing the widely held claims of Science and clinging stubbornly to a young earth based on their interpretation of the first book of the Bible. Case in point. You either take Science, or you hold to your Faith.

Increasingly, evangelical Christians are moving away from an “anti-Science” approach (which itself largely stems from the 1961 book The Genesis Flood by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris), and embracing an “old-earth creationist” approach which has an affinity with evangelical positions held widely from the 18th through early 20th Centuries. Two of the most influential Christian organizations which respect Science and hold to an old earth, yet also stand against the new atheism and its denial of a Creator, are Reasons to Believe (RTB) and BioLogos.

The main difference between the two is RTB’s denial of evolution as the mechanism by which God created animals and man. Instead RTB believes in a series of special creative acts throughout Earth’s long history. BioLogos on the other hand, sees evolution as testament to God’s handiwork and not at all antithetical to a belief in human exceptionalism and humanity’s creation in the Image of God. Their approach is termed evolutionary creation.

Such is not a small difference, but over the past several years representatives from both of these organizations have met routinely to dialogue and better understand their respective positions. This book is one of the results of that ongoing interaction. The moderators for their meetings have been professors at a number of Southern Baptist institutions, who mostly represent a young earth approach. Each chapter in the book starts with one of the Southern Baptist moderators presenting the stage for that chapter’s topic and asking questions of both organizations.

Rather than being a typical “two views” book, the use of moderators keeps the tone gracious and the result is an introduction to the views of both organizations on a host of important topics related to the intersection of Science and Faith generally, and on the evidences for evolution in particular. Key topics covered include how each group explains natural evil and death predating “the Fall”, what range of options concerning Adam and Eve are viable positions for each group, what role does natural theology play, how does the Bible inform their scientific positions, how is the fossil evidence for evolution and particularly the hominids best explained, and how does genetics support each group’s position.

This book delivered a fantastic introduction to each organization and points the way forward for further research. It will introduce people to viable evangelical positions and raise questions and evidences that the reader may not have thought of before. It is a technical book, and there will be sections over the head of the average reader, but for the most part the moderators do a good job of keeping things grounded.

For those who hold to a young-earth, there is not much in this volume that directly addresses the evidences for an old-earth and why each organization holds to that understanding, even though one or two of the moderators seem to ask for some of this. Instead both groups agree and move on to the areas where they disagree. In a few of the chapters, there are points I would have raised for or against a given position that don’t arise. I am surprised, for instance, that the fusing of two chromosomes found in chimpanzees into a single chromosome found in humans is not brought up (as potential evidence for evolution to be dealt with) in the chapter on genetics. That being said, I learned a lot more about genetics than I had previously, and that illustrates the only real problem I have with this book: there is so much more that could be said in any of these chapters! But all things considered, the editors do a great job of including as much content as they do and still keeping the book readable.

Above all, this book does a great job illustrating how Christians can and should interaction on such issues. The gracious spirit and charitable dialogue found here should be an example for all of us as we think through how best to comprehend the data that Science continues to bring forth in light of the bedrock reality of the Authority of Scripture. This book goes along way toward lighting the way for those who seek to embrace both Science and Faith, and at the very least it advances the discussion in meaningful ways.

Blurbs:
“This conversation is definitely worth listening to! The book is deeply satisfying, with knowledgeable and articulate advocates of differing positions expounding on areas of disagreement clearly as well as respectfully. At the same time, it is deeply unsatisfying, but in a good way: I found my own assumptions challenged, my horizons stretched. I think differently after reading it. An excellent job by all participants, moderators included.”
—C. John “Jack” Collins, professor of Old Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis

“This Reasons to Believe and BioLogos conversation is highly commendable, and it’s important for a number of reasons. First, its tone is irenic, gracious, and humble. Second, its participants trust the Christian integrity of the other conversation partners. Third, it takes the authority of Scripture seriously as participants grapple with the implications of biblical interpretation in light of scientific discovery. Fourth, the Southern Baptist theologians serving as moderators are effective in guiding and focusing the conversation as they call for clarification and further elaboration from both sides. Finally, this conversation takes for granted the strong evidence for an ancient earth, allowing the discussion to push past the young-earth versus old-earth debate to far more pressing issues needing attention within the Christian community”
—Paul Copan, professor and Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University, coeditor of The Dictionary of Christianity and Science

“Origins, particularly human origins, continues to be a controversial issue among evangelical Protestants. In Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation?, the organizations BioLogos and Reasons to Believe model a respectful interchange of ideas in spite of their significant differences. The result is an intelligent and illuminating discussion of this crucial and timely topic.”
—Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

Where to Buy:
Pick up a copy of this book at any of the following online retailers: Amazon, ChristianBook.com, or direct from IVP.

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by IVP Academic. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.

Book Briefs: “Reformation Readings of Paul” edited by Michael Allen and Jonathan A. Linebaugh

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Reformation Readings of Paul edited by Michael Allen and Jonathan LinebaughToday is Reformation Day. 498 years ago today, October 31, Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenburg. And the rest is history!

Luther’s theology was born out of a careful interaction with the text of Scripture. Indeed the reading of Scripture played a prominent role in Luther’s conversion and that of many other reformers. Luther’s revelation from his reading of Romans 1:16 is commonly known. Another reformer in England, shares a similar account of his own conversion from reading a passage also written by the Apostle Paul.

Thomas Bilney, who in 1519 obtained an edition of Desiderius Erasmus’s translation of the Bible in order to savor the eloquence of the Latin only to

chance upon this sentence of St. Paul… in 1 Tim 1:15 “It is a true saying and worthy of all men to be embraced, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief and principal.” This one sentence, through God’s instruction… working inwardly in my heart, did so gladden it–which before was wounded by the awareness of my sins almost to the point of desperation–that immediately I felt a marvelous inner peace, so much so that my bruised bones leapt for joy.”

[quote from John Fox’s Actes and Monuments, in Reformation Readings of Paul, p. 15]

This refreshing reminder of the power of Scripture is included in the introduction to a new book exploring the Reformer’s interpretive readings of Paul. Pauline scholarship today is largely skeptical of Luther’s interpretation of Paul. Protestantism in general does not follow all of Luther’s doctrines. We do credit him with the recovery of the gospel of grace, however. Luther’s exact definition of justification, however, is under criticism today by Pauline scholars. Yet more often than not, it is the legacy of Luther rather than Luther’s own interpretations that is disputed. The same can be said of other Reformers as well.

Did Luther really reimagine Paul and make Galatians speak to 16th century problems? Did Calvin read his Reformation era realities back into the Pauline texts he unpacked? Some Pauline scholars would make us think so.

In Reformation Readings of Paul: Explorations in History and Exegesis (IVP, 2015), editors Michael Allen and Jonathan A. Linebaugh take the time to bring the Reformers to life as readers of Paul. The book brings a fresh look at the exegetical readings of Luther and other Reformers, showcases the historical and theological background of their era, and then seeks to bring these insights into conversation with current Pauline studies. This approach “invite(s) the reformers back into the discussion about Paul’s texts and the theology they articulated as a reading of those texts” and is especially helpful given the relative “absence of detailed engagement with the exegesis and theology of the reformers” in contemporary circles (p. 13).

This book may not present a view that all Protestants will agree with, but it will bring us back to engagement with the Reformers. We will learn how Luther read Galatians, and how Romans shaped Philipp Melanchthon’s theology. Martin Bucer and Ephesians, the Corinthian Epistles and John Calvin and finally the Letters of Paul and Thomas Cranmer more generally. In addition to the editors, the following authors contribute to the book: David C. Fink, John M. G. Barclay, Robert Kolb, Mark Seifrid, Brian Lugioyo, Wesley Hill, Dane C. Ortlund, Ashley Null and Gerald Bray.

This volume promises to be an intriguing read and may be worth checking out this Reformation Day. I want to share the takeaway from the introduction:

For the reformers, Scripture is the “living and active” Word… and is therefore less an object for us to interpret than it is the sound of the speaking God who interprets us. Understood this way, Scripture is God speaking, reading is listening, and helpful commentary is simply that which helps us hear. That, in the end, is the criterion the reformers would asked to be judged by: having heard them read Paul, are our ears more open to the gospel he proclaimed–the gospel the reformers, like Paul, were “unashamed” of because they, like Paul, confessed it to be “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16 KJV)? (p. 19)

Purchase a copy of this book at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, or direct from IVP.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

“God Dwells Among Us: Expanding Eden to the Ends of the Earth” by G.K. Beale and Mitchell Kim

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

God Dwells Among UsChristians who love the Bible, should love biblical theology. More than any other discipline, biblical theology has the power to take the student on an exciting journey into the overall meaning of the biblical text. Early on in my study of biblical theology, I was told about the transformative power of one particular book and one particular biblical theme. That book was The Temple and the Church’s Mission by G.K. Beale (IVP). Eventually I read through that book and now agree with all the praise that was heaped upon it.

Beale’s work on the temple, showing how that theme is developed from Eden all the way to the New Jerusalem, can be truly transformative. Beale is not the only scholar to uncover this biblical theme, but his book perhaps more than any other, has advanced our understanding of all that is meant by God’s pledge to dwell with man in a visible temple.

The one drawback to Beale’s earlier title was that it was quite difficult to work through. Beale is exhaustive in his treatment of primary and secondary literature. He builds cases for each of the NT allusions he finds to OT passages. He interacts with the second temple Judaistic writings in his effort to understand what the people of the Bible’s day would have thought when they heard various images and themes about the temple. All of that reads more like a theological tome than a helpful and practical book for church use.

Finally, Beale has updated his original book and simplified it. Many thanks are due Mitchell Kim, a pastor who has used Beale’s material and also developed his own on the same theological topic. Together (and with the help of IVP) they have created a readable, shorter version of Beale’s original title, and even advanced beyond that book with more fully developed application of this theme for practical church ministry.

This new work, God Dwells Among Us: Expanding Eden to the Ends of the Earth by G.K. Beale and Mitchell Kim (IVP), is going to be my go-to book to give people interested in biblical theology. It applies biblical theology for the church and will be useful for lay teachers, pastors and Bible students everywhere.

God Dwells Among Us is well written, clear and concise. It provides numerous applications, and takes the time to show how the interpreters arrive at their conclusions. The book does not directly take on dispensationalism, but does explain certain assumptions which may provide a reason as to why many modern Christians have not seen the full nature of the temple theme as applicable to Church today. This volume also doesn’t tackle all the questions posed in the bigger work. It doesn’t directly deal with Ezekiel’s temple all that much, and it doesn’t major on ancient cosmology as a way of understanding the Eden = Temple image. You will have to get the larger work for those questions.

The book includes a helpful discussion on typology and is much more fully developed, pastorally, than the older work. I appreciate too, that the punchline and the take-home application, are not saved for the end, but over and over throughout the book applications are made to the NT understanding of the OT teaching on the Temple and how this applies to us today.

I highly recommend this book. This is a must read theology book for everyone!

Book Trailer:

To learn more about the book, view this brief video of Greg Beale talking about this book.

Pick up a copy of this book at any of the following online retailers: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon, ChristianBook.com, or direct from IVP.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by InterVarsity Press. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

Book Briefs: “The First Thanksgiving” by Robert Tracy McKenzie

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

The First Thanksgiving by Robert Tracy McKenzieEvery year around Thanksgiving, I enjoy reflecting on the Pilgrims, their Mayflower voyage and that first Thanksgiving back in 1621. Being a descendant of no less a figure than John Alden (the one who stole Miles Standish’s girl, Priscilla Mullins) only encourages my Thanksgiving reverie. This year, I enjoyed finishing a first-rate historical survey of that special Pilgrim holiday. The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us About Loving God and Learning from History by Robert Tracy McKenzie (IVP, 2013), is a book I thoroughly enjoyed but one that challenged me to reexamine the historical record and the reasons why I love to reflect on my Puritanical roots.

McKenzie takes the occasion of writing a book on the first thanksgiving, to remind his Christian audience about the role history should play in our faith. He covers the nuts and bolts of historical research while he’s at it. Now, he does tip some sacred cows. He points out how we have scant records of the actual first thanksgiving, and demurs that it wasn’t the first thanksgiving in any true sense — at least four other public occasions of thanksgiving in America (the French Huguenots on Florida’s shores in 1565 being the earliest) have greater claim to that honor. Intriguingly “Plymouth Rock” was born from second-hand recollections of an original Pilgrim some 100 years or more after their landing. And more importantly, American history didn’t instill the Pilgrims’ autumnal feast with national importance for several hundred years. It was left for Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the first American President to directly connect the national observance of Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims of Plymouth and their historic feast.

The book is not a direct assault on Christian values, by any stretch, however. McKenzie, a head of the history department at Wheaton College, wants us to remember the real first thanksgiving and do the hard work of looking at the actual past and judging what we can learn from our experience of it. He cautions us against twisting the Pilgrim’s “buckle shoes” any which way — supporting our every opinion. Their story should not be a touchstone that we use to win battles of public opinion. Rather, we should learn from their example of heart-felt faith, fierce courage, and providential blessing as we continue to live out our faith in the public sphere.

This book will dispel some myths: the first thanksgiving was likely not thought of as a “day of Thanksgiving” by the Pilgrims themselves. Their first official day for Thanksgiving came two years later after an incredible answer to prayer where God brought colony-saving rain on the exact day set aside as a “day of fasting.” But McKenzie doesn’t set the record straight just to be a good historian. His book aims to inculcate a fuller appreciation for the real Pilgrims. We will not agree with all of the Pilgrim’s idiosyncrasies (most of us enjoy celebrating Christmas, for instance). And some of what the Pilgrims have come to stand for has less to do with their real beliefs than it does those of their heirs. Still, there is much to learn and appreciate in the real Pilgrims. Listening to their true story will challenge our affirmation of a consumerism-driven society and call us to live godly lives in this present world.

I know that Thanksgiving has passed already this year. But if you find some extra time in and around Christmas, perhaps you should pick up this title and reacquaint yourself with the story of those brave Pilgrims who followed God’s call and found themselves on the other side of the world. You will enjoy the book and profit from it, I’m sure.

Pick up a copy of this book at any of the following online retailers: Amazon, ChristianBook.com, or direct from IVP.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by InterVarsity Press. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.

Commentary Roundup: “Mark (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)” by Ronald Kernaghan

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Commentary Roundup posts are a series of short reviews or overviews of Bible commentaries. I’m working my way through a variety of commentaries, new and old, and hope to highlight helpful resources for my readers.

I begin what I hope will be an every-other-week series of “Commentary Roundup” reviews, with The IVP New Testament Commentary Series. I’ll be focusing on the Mark volume.

Book Details:
• Author: Ronald J. Kernaghan
• Series Editor: Grant R. Osborne
• Consulting Editors: D. Stuart Briscoe and Haddon Robinson
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press (2007)
• Format: softcover
• Page Count: 351
• ISBN#: 9780830840021
• List Price: $18.00
• Rating: Recommended

Series Description:
The IVP New Testament Commentary Series aims to “move from the text to its contemporary relevance and application.” Contributors are a “unique blend of scholars and pastors who share a passion for faithful exegesis and a deep concern for the church,” and although they come from “a wide range of theological traditions” they are united by a “common commitment to the authority of Scripture.” The base text is the NIV (1984).

Structure:
The book has a general preface, explaining the series; and an author’s preface, explaining why he wanted to write this volume on Mark. An introduction covers the author, audience, date, setting and other matters. While the introduction provides a simple outline, in the text that outline is not necessarily stressed. The outline headings are bolded, and there is a brief discussion of a paragraph or two at the start of each of the six major divisions of the book. Beyond that, the commentary moves right along almost like you are reading a book rather than working through a technical commentary. In line with this approach, the Scriptural text is not included in the commentary.

One more note on structure, the commentary ends at Mark 16:8. A short appendix is provided that explains the questions surrounding the longer ending of Mark, but no comments on that text (16:9-20) are included. This follows the prevailing opinion of conservative evangelical scholarship.

Features:
I have found that at least in Mark, this commentary series majors more on contemporary application and theological themes, than a detailed exegesis. This volume has a warm conversational tone and each section begins with a helpful illustration to draw the reader in. An eye is kept firmly on the use of the book to aid its readers in delivering sermons, and this may well come through the influence of the series’ consulting editors: D. Stuart Briscoe and Haddon Robinson, both notable preachers. Footnotes, when they are included (which is not often), are simplified and not very technical in nature. They do provide additional detail however, that will help in exegeting the passage.

Excerpt:
The following excerpt comes from his comments on Mark 2:13-17.

Furthermore, if we examine the three stories of the leper, the paralytic, and the tax collectors and sinners together, we can discern a very interesting progression. In his encounter with the leper [1:40-45] Jesus healed a disease. When the paralytic was lowered through the roof [2:1-12], Jesus first pronounced his sins forgiven and then healed his body. Here [2:13-17] we find Jesus keeping company with sinners and speaking as a doctor. These three events lead us from the physical realm where Jesus’ power to heal can be seen to the spiritual domain where his authority is more difficult to verify. Mark shows Jesus treating the most deplorable disease, leprosy, and the most deplorable social sin, the calculating greed of people who profit from the oppression of their own kind.

In this brief series of events Mark has recreated a moving exposition of Jesus’ preaching. As Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God, he healed the worst of diseases, opened a new avenue of forgiveness and gathered together a fellowship of people whom the religious elite considered incorrigible and perhaps irredeemable. The Pharisees expected sinners to be destroyed when the kingdom of God came, but Jesus did not show the slightest interest in pronouncing judgment upon the unclean, the irreligious or the morally bankrupt. His intention was clear. He had come to heal and restore. Inviting tax collectors and sinners to accompany his preaching tour through Galilee was a sign that he had a very different idea about the kingdom of God. These three stories leave the reader with the single impression that Jesus came to make people whole. (pg. 62)

Evaluation:
The publisher’s description of this volume states that “Ronald Kernaghan invites readers into a fascinating exploration of Mark’s Gospel as a parable, an open-ended story that invites us on a lifelong journey of discipleship.” And indeed the stress in this commentary is on the personal and contemporary application of Gospel truth. This is a very readable commentary, but at times the author’s effort to apply the message distracts from the reader’s goal to discern the meaning of the text. While this book is not as straightforward in unpacking the text as other commentaries, it invariably uncovers some angle of the text or some theological theme that makes the text’s message all the more compelling.

The simplicity of the approach of this commentary makes it ideal for lay readers who are aiming to apply Scripture more than uncover every last nuance hidden in the text. And pastors seeking to preach the text will appreciate the abundance of illustrations and the often poignant application of the text to contemporary times. This book deserves to be consulted by anyone teaching the book of Mark and would make a fine addition to any pastor’s library.

About the Author:
Ronald J. Kernaghan (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is Director of Presbyterian Ministries and assistant professor of Presbyterian ministries and pastoral theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Previously he served on the staff of several different Presbyterian churches in Southern California.

Where to Buy:
  • Amazon
  • Christianbook.com
  • Direct from IVP

You can also get the entire series through a subscription discount via IVP. You can also sample the IVP New Testament Commentary Series through the free BibleGateway App (for Apple, Android and Kindle Fire).

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by InterVarsity Press. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.