Glenn Paauw, Saving the Bible from Ourselves: Learning to Read and Live the Bible Well (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2016). What is the Bible? What are we supposed to do with it? The standard way to answer these questions is to … Continue reading Review of ‘Saving the Bible from Ourselves’ by Glenn R. Paauw
Derek Cooper, Introduction to World Christian History (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016). Derek Cooper begins his Introduction to World Christian History with a thought-provoking quote: In just over 100 years, the map of world Christianity has changed almost out of recognition. In 1900, it is estimated that 70 percent of all Christians were to be found in Europe … whereas … by 2025 Africa and Latin America will be vying with one another to claim the most Christians, having about a quarter each of the world’s Christian population (p. 11, quoting Sebastian Kim and Kirsteen Kim, Christianity as a … Continue reading Review of ‘Introduction to World Christian History’ by Derek Cooper
Amy Simpson, Anxious: Choosing Faith in a World of Worry (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2014). Paperback / Kindle Tune in to the evening news, and you are likely to hear stories that cause fear and anxiety to well up within you. America’s struggling economy, the Ebola pandemic, radical Islamic terrorism. Or perhaps you don’t watch the evening news but still find yourself anxious about your spouse, your children, your job, your life. Then you read Amy Simpson’s new book. It says: “a lifestyle of worry is incompatible with a life of faith.” And you think to yourself, Is this … Continue reading Review of ‘Anxious: Choosing Faith in a World of Worry’ by Amy Simpson
Tidball, Derek, and Dianne Tidball. 2012. The Message of Women: Creation, Grace and Gender. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. Few topics roil the evangelical waters as much as the role(s) of women. On one side are complementarians, who affirm the spiritual equality of men and women but deny that this results in the equal calling of both sexes to leadership roles in church and society. On the other side are egalitarians, who both equality of spirit and of role. Although both sides employ social science arguments in an ancillary manner, their primary arguments are scriptural. Both sides agree that ancient … Continue reading Biblical Egalitarianism: A Review of ‘The Message of Women’ by Derek and Dianne Tidball
Richards, E. Randolph, and Brandon J. O’Brien. 2012. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books. Who we are affects how we read the Bible, and culture shapes who we are to a significant degree. For example, a married, middle-aged man from Springfield, Missouri, interprets the Bible differently than an unmarried, teenage girl from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. This doesn’t mean that Scripture has no correct interpretation. It does mean, however, that we shouldn’t assume ours is it. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien identifies nine … Continue reading How Culture (Mis)Shapes Interpretation: A Review of ‘Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes’
Nicholas Perrin and Richard B. Hays, Jesus, Paul and the People of God: A Theological Dialogue with N. T. Wright (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011). $24.00, 294 pages. Jesus, Paul and the People of God publishes the papers presented at the nineteenth annual Wheaton Theology Conference, hosted by Wheaton College on April 16–17, 2010. It doubles as a Festschrift of sorts for N. T. “Tom” Wright, whose books—whether academic or popular—alternatively influence and infuriate their readers, especially their evangelical readers. Its authors, though sometimes critical of Wright’s theology, are also personal friends. The book, like the conference, examined Wright’s … Continue reading A Festschrift of Sorts for N.T. Wright by Critics Who Are Also Friends
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