Month: November 2014

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Review of ‘God Loves Sex’ by Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III

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 Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III, God Loves Sex: An Honest Conversation about Sexual Desire and Holiness (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2014). Paperback / Kindle God Loves Sex is two books in one. The first is a theologically and psychologically informed exposition of the Song of Songs. Eschewing centuries of allegorical interpretation, Allender and Longman argue that the Song is “a collection of related erotic love poems that emphasizes the goodness of sex.” They work their way through the Song topically rather than sequentially, highlighting what the Song says about desire, beauty, sexual play, the struggle for intimacy, … Continue reading Review of ‘God Loves Sex’ by Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III

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Review of ‘From Every Tribe and Nation’ by Mark A. Noll

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Mark A. Noll, From Every Tribe and Nation: A Historian’s Discovery of the Global Christian Story (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014). Paperback / Kindle Mark A. Noll is a leading historian of American Christianity, an evangelical Christian, and a prolific author. From Every Tribe and Nation is a memoir of his evolution as a historian, with a particular focus on his growing belief that “full attention to the non-Western world had become essential for any responsible grasp of the history of Christianity.” Like all of Noll’s writings, its thoughts are lucid and graciously expressed, a tribute to Noll’s capacious … Continue reading Review of ‘From Every Tribe and Nation’ by Mark A. Noll

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Review of ‘The Seven Deadly Virtues,’ edited by Jonathan V. Last

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 Jonathan V. Last, ed., The Seven Deadly Virtues: 18 Conservative Writers on Why the Virtuous Life Is Funny as Hell (West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press, 2014). Hardcover / Kindle It is a vice to judge a book by its cover, but one that I’ll indulge in this instance. The book’s title and subtitle mislead. Its authors essay sixteen virtues, not seven (and none deadly), and while they do so hilariously, the funniness of the virtuous life is not the point of their essays. That said, The Seven Deadly Virtues is an insightful book, humorously written, and well worth reading. The … Continue reading Review of ‘The Seven Deadly Virtues,’ edited by Jonathan V. Last

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The 151st Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address

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On this date in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Union cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lincoln’s brief remarks followed the hours-long oration of Edward Everett, which has largely been forgotten. The Chicago Times editorialized embarrassment at Lincoln’s speech, but Everett himself felt that Lincoln had said more in two minutes than he had said in two hours. In less than 300 words, Lincoln surveyed America’s past founding and its then-present civil war, ending with the hope that its future would be characterized by a “new birth of freedom.” Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth … Continue reading The 151st Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address

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Review of ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls Today’ by James C. VanderKam

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 James C. VanderKam, The Dead Sea Scrolls Today, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010). Paperback / Kindle One of the greatest—if not the greatest—archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century was the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls opened new windows onto the world of Second Temple Judaism, especially the theology and practices of the Essene community. Unfortunately, they also spawned an entire industry of conspiracy thinking and pseudo-scholarship that distorts popular understanding of the scrolls even to the present day. The great merit of James C. VanderKam’s The Dead Sea Scrolls Today is that it lays out … Continue reading Review of ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls Today’ by James C. VanderKam