An Exploration Of Christian Theology - By Don Thorsen

sophical questions of evidence, the individuation of
persons, and idolatry. Throughout these analyses there is
also a tenor of cultural critique as Steinbock criticises the
modern conception of the self and diagnoses the rejection of
vertical relations, which he calls idolatry, as the root of
much evil in late capitalist societies. So while the book dis-
plays academic rigor it is at the same time a plea for a
restored cultural sense of the vertical. Phenomenology and
Mysticism stands out as an original work in a genre too
often reduced to commentaries on classical figures. Stein-
bock is an acute phenomenologist in his own right, and this
work sets a new standard for the interaction between phe-
nomenology and theology/religious studies. While free of
obscurantist jargon, the book nonetheless requires some
background in philosophy and religious studies. Still, its
fresh approach and its original analyses should make it the
necessary point of reference for postgraduate students and
established scholars alike.
Andreas Nordlander
Lund University, Sweden
Theology
CONTROVERSIES IN FEMINIST THEOLOGY. By
Marcella Althaus-Reid and Lisa Isherwood. London: SCM
Press, 2007. Pp. vii +146. $26.99.
In this text, which appears in SCM Press’s Controver-
sies in Contextual Theology Series, the authors insist that
controversy demonstrates the inherently democratic nature
of feminist theology and continually pushes it toward new
ways of transgressing and transforming oppressive struc-
tures. Each chapter examines various feminist positions
with regard to a particular methodological or doctrinal issue:
gender and sexuality, feminist theological hermeneutics, the
Virgin Mary, Christology, life after death, and the future of
feminist theologies. While providing an overview of signifi-
cant feminist theological positions, the authors emphasize
approaches, like postcolonial and queer theologies, that
more radically challenge the sexual, metaphysical, and capi-
talist assumptions of Western theology. Both authors have
written extensively elsewhere on the need for Christian the-
ology to take seriously transgressive sexualities, and this is
the freshest insight that they bring to the discussions in this
text (see especially the chapters on gender and sexuality and
on Christology). It remains unclear, however, what audience
is best served by this text. There is little new here for the
reader who is well acquainted with feminist theologies, yet
the discussions of various thinkers assume this acquain-
tance, and are too brief to serve well as introductory sum-
maries. Moreover, the text would have embodied its
argument more fully, and demonstrated the stated aims of
the series more successfully, if the authors’ voices were
more distinct, thus performing the dialogically constructive
nature of controversy.
Elizabeth A. Webb
William Jewell College
IDOLATRY: FALSE WORSHIP IN THE BIBLE,
EARLY JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. Edited by
Stephen C. Barton. London and New York: T & T Clark, 2007.
Pp. x + 338. $150.00.
These twenty essays include an introduction (by the
editor) followed by two parts: idolatry in the Bible, early
Judaism, and early Christianity (ten essays); and idolatry,
Christian tradition, and the modern world (nine essays).
There are studies of broad biblical, historical, theological,
and sociological scope, as well as more focused
explorations—e.g., on the Golden Calf, Pseudo-Philo’s Bibli-
cal Antiquities, Josephus, the Roman Cult during the gover-
norship of Pilate, idol food in Paul, the Augustinian
distinction between use and enjoyment, Barth and the idola-
try of religion, Ellul and idolatry in the modern world,
Nicholas Lash on theology as idolatry-critique, commodifi-
cation and desire in capitalism, and others. A greater diver-
sity of views might have been desired. Yet, the fact that all
of the contributors hail from the United Kingdom—with half
of them on the faculty at Durham University, where these
essays were originally presented over the period of 2002 to
2004—may explain in part the surprising amount of cohe-
sion and evenness for such a collection. This cohesiveness,
along with the addition of a select bibliography on idolatry,
results in a helpful supplementary text for instructors teach-
ing on the subject.
Amos Yong
Regent University School of Divinity
TO THE JEW FIRST: THE CASE FOR JEWISH EVAN-
GELISM IN SCRIPTURE AND HISTORY. Edited by
Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel
Publications, 2008. Pp. 347. $16.99.
To the Jew First examines salient biblical, theological and
missiological issues surrounding the contentious topic of
Jewish evangelism. It is a collection of essays delivered by
Jewish and Christian leaders and scholars at two confer-
ences sponsored by Chosen People Ministries. The book is
intended to be used as a textbook and a resource for practi-
tioners. Part 1 emphasizes the biblical priority to witness
the gospel to the Jewish people and the consequent need
to cultivate relationships between Jews and Gentiles. The
middle section features soteriological and eschatological
topics that impinge upon the theme of this volume, warning
about the dangers of supercessionism and the added chal-
lenges of Jewish evangelism in a post-Holocaust era. Biblical
theology and Heschel are drawn upon here, without ignoring
some putative constructive features of the Reformed and
dispensational theological traditions. After a crystallization
of the lessons from the past, including the “enormous his-
torical baggage” that the church’s mission has meant for the
Jewish people, the main thrust of the missiological part of
the book explores practical ways to proclaim the gospel “to
the Jew first” today. While this book fills a gap in the litera-
ture, it appears that the eight years that elapsed between the
conferences and the publication of this book has resulted in
Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 35 • NUMBER 1 • MARCH 2009
34

the omission of one important perspective—viz., M. Kinzer’s
Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian
Engagement with the Jewish People (Brazos Press, 2005). Yet,
the proposals advanced by this collection can help the sup-
posed Gentile church recover its rich Hebraic heritage.
Kevin L. Spawn
INERRANCY AND THE SPIRITUAL FORMATION
OF YOUNGER EVANGELICALS. By Carlos R. Bovell.
Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2007. Pp. xi + 173.
Cloth $50.00; paper $22.95.
As the title indicates, Bovell is concerned for the spiri-
tual formation of the next generation of evangelical Chris-
tians. His concern comes from the fact that evangelical
leaders, institutions, and scholarly organizations like the
Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philo-
sophical Society continue to push the doctrine of inerrancy
as an absolutely necessary component of orthodoxy. The
commitment to inerrancy, says Bovell, handicaps the capac-
ity of young evangelicals to fully engage critical questions
regarding Scripture by placing them in an unnecessary and
awkward “all-or-none” position: either inerrancy is true or
Christianity is false. He recommends that the “dogmas of
inerrancy should only be promulgated if those bits and
pieces of historical and biblical data that do not necessarily
cohere with the inerrancy dogma are considered with integ-
rity and not explained away.” Written for Evangelical teach-
ers and leaders, Bovell’s book considers a very important
topic. There are an increasing number of evangelicals who,
for a variety of reasons, are raising similar points. The fun-
damental question in this debate—a matter Bovell mentions,
but does not discuss in sufficient depth—concerns the role of
control beliefs. If one starts with the findings of critical
biblical scholarship, then one is given a reason to move
away from a strict formulation of inerrancy. But if one
accepts the inerrancy of Scripture, then one has a reason to
distrust the “received findings” of critical scholarship.
Nonetheless, this is a very interesting volume. It is college-
level appropriate and is must-read for students at Evangeli-
cal seminaries.
James Beilby
Bethel University
EVERY CONGREGATION NEEDS A LITTLE CON-
FLICT. By George W. Bullard, Jr. St. Louis, MO: Chalice
Press, 2008. Pp. ix + 164. $19.99.
This book is part of a set of 16 volumes in the Columbia
Partnership Leadership Series from Chalice Press. The
author is a strategic coach for the Columbia Partnership that
works with congregations and denominational leaders to
strengthen local churches. The book’s format is designed
to be used as a discussion prompt for local congregations to
consider anew the role that conflict plays in congregational
life and the manner in which conflict can be positive if
properly understood, discussed, and managed. A typology of
conflict is described and used as a frame for the various
chapters. Specific types of conflict that are described using
practical, church-based examples include: those conflicts
that involve multiple solutions to a problem; disagreements
over multiple issues; competition that creates conflict; cre-
ating a “we” versus “they” approach to a conflict; using a
conflict to prompt a complete division within the church;
discrediting the opposition; and, at the worst level, destroy-
ing the opposition. Processes for engaging and resolving
conflicts are described although the author is clear that not
all conflicts can, or should be resolved to the satisfaction of
all parties. The role that denominational leadership must
play in certain types of conflicts is also made clear. This is an
intensely practical book with clear organization, steps, guid-
ance for coaches working with congregations, and questions
for participants who want to study this topic together within
a congregation.
Dennis W. Cheek
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
BEING CONSUMED: ECONOMICS AND CHRISTIAN
DESIRE. By William T. Cavanaugh. Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans, 2008. Pp. xii + 103. $12.00.
This is the third book—following Torture and Eucharist:
Theology, Politics and the Body of Christ (Blackwell, 1998)
and Theopolitical Imagination (T&T Clark, 2002)—by
Cavanaugh, who teaches theology at the University of St.
Thomas in Minnesota. Readers who have appreciated the
earlier books will note how the basic themes and proposals
previously articulated are applied in Being Consumed to the
global economy. Here, as before, Cavanaugh critically
engages modernity’s pretensions—e.g., about the state,
freedom, globalization, and now, the economy—and proposes
instead that central Christian practices, including liturgical
ones, provide the kind of formative antidote needed to resist
“the world” and to construct alternative ways of life. This
theological strategy helps Christians diagnose and live faith-
fully as Christians amidst the globalizing economy, the
(allegedly) free market, and the rise of consumerism.
Cavanaugh invites readers to think about the shape of
Christian desire and about alternative modes of production
vis-à-vis the market economy so that rather than “being
consumed” by the world, we might more discerningly
consume rightly as the fellowship of Jesus Christ. The result
is an ecclesiologically informed economics whose capacity to
transform our lives, if we would heed its various concrete
suggestions, should not be underestimated.
Amos Yong
FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY: LITERARY MEDI-
TATIONS ON SUFFERING, DEATH, AND NEW LIFE.
By David S. Cunningham. Louisville, KY: Westminster John
Knox Press, 2007. Pp. xvii + 188. $19.95.
35

Cunningham’s latest book exemplifies the extent to
which good, recent theology benefits from an interdis-
ciplinary method. It employs what he calls “imaginative
literature” to assist the reader in making personal existen-
tial sense out of the Christian wisdom disclosed in Holy
Week. The book’s three parts are structured around the
suffering (Thursday), death (Friday and Saturday), and
New Life (Sunday) Jesus Christ undergoes and through
which Christians might better understand their own expe-
riences of profound suffering, the “descent” of existential
moments of death and of biological deaths, and the “New
Life” they can be raised to in this life. Cunningham’s liter-
ary interlocutors help the reader in that sense-making
process, including Dostoevsky, T. S. Eliot, Shakespeare
(twice), I. Murdoch, G. M. Hopkins, E. Albee, R. Adams, and
J. Morley. Because it underscores the pastoral function of
Christian doctrine, the book will be an excellent resource
for preaching; because it stimulates conversation between
theology and literature (and learns constructively from it),
it will serve admirably in a wide range of university
courses; and because it models dialogue and interdiscipli-
narity, the book recommends itself to non-Christian audi-
ences as an example of how Christian thought can open up
toward the other in reciprocal illumination. Greater
mention might have been made to clarify the hermeneuti-
cal strategies and decisions by which these literary pieces
deepen the reader’s understanding of Christian narratives
that have their own norms and criteria of intelligibility.
This minor shortcoming subtracts little from the effect of
Cunningham’s wise literary imaginings vis-à-vis Easter
mysteries.
John N. Sheveland
Gonzaga University
JUSTICE: A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE. By Carol J.
Dempsey. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2008. Pp. viii + 135.
$19.99.
The author, an associate professor of biblical studies at
the University of Portland, reflects on justice as it described
and reflected on in the biblical witness. She finds that justice
in both the OT and NT requires a focus on compassion for all
creatures great and small, but especially the weak and vul-
nerable, liberally sprinkled with hospitality. Particular
attention is paid to how justice and liberation are attained
through violence (lex talionis, plagues, and views expressed
in the Bible toward various nations and peoples), the role
that a hospitality of heart tempered by justice can play, and
specific cases of justice as applied to women, children,
slaves, and beasts of burden. She concludes with two chap-
ters that take up issues of compassion and peace. Through-
out this small but insightful book, Dempsey draws upon the
biblical canonical tradition to both set the stage for a discus-
sion and to bolster her arguments. She finds a number of
cases where Hebraic thought diverges from the wider
Ancient Near Eastern approaches to justice, in most cases
favoring the oppressed and the weak against the strong and
powerful.
Dennis W. Cheek
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
HOLINESS AND MINISTRY: A BIBLICAL THEOL-
OGY OF ORDINATION. By Thomas B. Dozeman. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2008. Pp. 168. $68.00.
Dozeman’s book is a detailed study of the biblical
concept of ordination, especially the ordination of Moses in
the Hebrew Bible. The author analyzes biblical material on
Moses through historical, canonical, and source-critical
methods that show how different stories of call, authority,
and priestly roles reflected different trends within Judaism.
This work on Hebrew Scriptures is set into dialogue with his
work on Christian scriptures, to show how the early church
retained and transformed Jewish concepts of ordination. His
arguments and analysis of the continuity and discontinuity
in the concept of ordination in both the OT and NT is the
book’s major contribution. While the focusing on “ordina-
tion” seems at times a bit narrow, the book’s careful exegeti-
cal work makes it an insightful, and much needed
contribution to both ministry studies and biblical theology.
Moreover Dozeman shows that rigorous biblical scholarship
can be a resource for the life of faith and its practice.
Aaron Klink
Duke University
THEOLOGY AT THE EUCHARISTIC TABLE. By
Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B. Gracewing, UK: Gracewing Publish-
ing, 2005. $35.00.
Fr. Driscoll seeks to offer in his work more than
simply a historical exposition of Eucharistic practice and
theology, but rather a framework for doing the whole of
theological work. Having become aware “of the fact that
this power of the eucharist to shape my way of doing the-
ology was becoming an actual method,” Driscoll argues for
the Eucharistic rite as the foundation of a theological
method. With that in mind, Driscoll explores what this
might mean for the relationship between liturgy and doc-
trine, curriculum for teaching, and catechesis. A plethora of
work has been done in the last two decades toward the end
that Driscoll explores here, particularly on Eucharistic
method and liturgical theology. Driscoll’s work on the his-
torical connection between Eucharist and theology (chap-
ters 3-5) well supplements these efforts, as does his
chapters on Eucharist as fundamental theology (chapters
6-7). The abiding value of Driscoll’s work, however, is his
proposals for catechetical work and pedagogy, linking his
own proposals to patristic methodology. Most appropriate
for priests and pastors seeking to understand the power
and history of Eucharist, the work would be well suited to
supplement existing liturgical studies and pastoral work
courses.
Myles Werntz
Baylor University
36

THE RHETORIC OF ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO: DE
DOCTRINA CHRISTIANA & THE SEARCH FOR A
DISTINCTLY CHRISTIAN RHETORIC. Edited by
Richard Leo Enos and Roger Thompson. Studies in Rhetoric
and Religion 7. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2008.
Pp. xiii + 397. $44.95.
Analyses of St. Augustine the rhetorician and his
theory of rhetoric have spawned a veritable subfield of
inquiry down through the ages. This volume adds to the
prestige of this relatively new but rapidly growing book
series (which is in its third year) by focusing on Book IV of
Augustine’s De Doctrina Christiana (DDC). Its major accom-
plishments are the reprinting of the long unavailable but
yet rhetorically brilliant translation of the fourth book by
Sister Thérèse Sullivan, with Latin text and commentary as
well as her original front matter, and of seven of the most
important essays published between 1928 and 1996 on the
theory of rhetoric in DDC IV. Among the topics discussed
are Augustine on preaching, his theory of language, the
cohesiveness of the four books, and the relationship
between orality and literacy in Augustine and his age.
Other attractive features of the book include a detailed syn-
optic outline of the DDC, helpful introductory and conclud-
ing essays by members of the editorial team, and a select
bibliography. Aside of its obvious value as a text for courses
devoted to the interface of religion and rhetoric, this book
will also be relevant to those interested in retrieving Augus-
tinian perspectives toward a rhetorically robust but yet
theologically substantive via media between the Scylla of
sophism and the Charybdis of fideism imperiling studies in
the humanities in late modernity.
Amos Yong
CHRISTIAN WISDOM: DESIRNG GOD AND LEARN-
ING IN LOVE. By David F. Ford. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2007. Pp. xiv + 412. $31.99.
Cambridge theologian David Ford offers a complex,
rewarding tome that argues for a “wisdom” model of “doing”
theology and living before God in the modern world. Ford
roots this concept in the “cries” he identifies through
detailed exegesis of biblical texts, a practice that is too rare
in contemporary systemic theology. Ford places this model
in dialogue with the work of Irish poet Micheál O’Siadhaill as
he attempts to find a way to read Job as a Christian in a
post-Shoah world. After exploring Scripture he turns to the
role concepts of wisdom can play in both Christology and in
worship. From these theological models, Ford explores how
the life of wisdom is embodied in particular practices and
communities. His first example is the practice of “Scriptural
reasoning” which is interfaith dialogue about sacred texts, in
the contemporary university, and in the work of L’Arche
with the disabled. Despite Ford’s arguments for its impor-
tance, the chapter on the university seemed a bit out of place.
Still, this volume exemplifies what Ford’s readers have come
to expect from his work: scholarly erudition and spiritual
passion, deep engagement with the tradition in order to
empower faithful living in a complex world.
Aaron Klink
Duke University
ALWAYS BEING REFORMED: FAITH FOR A FRAG-
MENTED WORLD. By Shirley C. Guthrie. Louisville, KY:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. Pp. xxiv + 153. $24.95.
One of the most vexing problems facing Christian
theology today is what Moltmann has named the “identity-
involvement dilemma”. That is, how does theology demon-
strate its relevance to contemporary issues without losing its
basic identity? In his 1995 Warfield Lectures at Princeton
Theological Seminary, distinguished Presbyterian theologian
Shirley C. Guthrie argued that the Reformed confessional
tradition stands in a uniquely advantageous position to
respond to this dilemma because of its “religious relativism,”
that recognizes the need for continual reform of every human
statement of doctrine or form of organization according to the
revelation of the living, triune God. Guthrie goes on to define
each person of the Trinity in ways that are fresh and interest-
ing. He critiques classical Reformed teaching on the sover-
eignty of God, for example, in favor of an understanding of
God’s sovereignty, informed by Barth and Moltmann, that is
defined by the freedom to love and solidarity in suffering.
Drawing on Barth’s distinction between the gospel of Jesus
Christ and the Christian religion, Guthrie argues that focus on
the triune identity of Jesus Christ is the key to open and
truth-seeking dialogue with the world’s religions that will
overcome the problems with the approaches of exclusivism,
inclusivism, and pluralism. The three new essays added to the
second edition are each very interesting. D. Migliore’s careful
critique of the appropriate conditions under which the church
may be said to be an image of the Trinity is a corrective to
many other more speculative approaches to this topic. Inter-
esting, too, are Plantinga Pauw’s arguments for the need for
openness to what can be learned about God from other reli-
gions in mission work and from other cultures in theology as
representative of what Guthrie called a “worldly spirituality.”
Stroup’s critique of Guthrie’s own criticisms of the Reformed
(and Calvinist) understanding of divine sovereignty is a
model of how a tradition creatively develops.
Dawn DeVries
Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of
Christian Education
THE TRIUMPH OF GOD OVER EVIL: THEODICY
FOR A WORLD OF SUFFERING. By William Hasker.
Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology Series. Down-
er’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Academic, 2008. Pp. 228. $20.00.
In The Triumph of God over Evil, Christian philosopher
William Hasker provides a generally comprehensive treat-
ment of the problem of evil and a defense of free will (or
open) theism that is both coherent and eminently readable
despite the complexity of the issues with which he deals.
Particularly impressive is Hasker’s treatment of those
37

against whom he argues, including both classical and con-
temporary figures, whose ideas he treats with clarity and
respect. In this sense, this book also provides a helpful intro-
duction to the overall field of reflection on the problem of
evil, with one notable exception. Inexplicably, he barely
mentions process thought, which provides the chief alterna-
tive to open theism as a coherent theodicy that avoids the
pitfalls of more traditional theodicies while refusing to sur-
render belief in providential action altogether. Strangely,
Hasker also fails to provide a clear definition of Molinism, or
“divine middle knowledge,” a rather complex concept that
also plays a pivotal role in the development of his own view.
Otherwise, this is a strong book that deals effectively with
some old and thorny questions. Hasker handles these with a
deftness that is both pastorally sensitive and intellectually
rigorous: a rare but exemplary combination.
Mark H. Mann
Point Loma Nazarene University
THE RHYTHM OF DISCIPLESHIP. By Luther Ivory.
Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2008. Pp. x + 86, $14.95.
Like musicians in a jazz ensemble, whose freedom to
improvise is limited only by the single score they all play,
Christians will respond to the call of God in their lives dif-
ferently even while remaining within the common frame-
work of the church’s faith. Such is the basic claim of this
little book. The theme of call and response—which together
make up the “rhythm” of discipleship—remains somewhat
underdeveloped, as Ivory devotes most of his time to
making the case for an “engaged piety.” If God’s aim is to
transform the world, he says, the effort to make society
more equitable and just is a non-negotiable aspect of the
disciple’s response to his or her call; a purely private Chris-
tian faith is a misnomer. The central part of the book con-
sists of case studies of Amos, Jesus, Calvin and M. L. King
Jr., men whose lives, according to Ivory, combined a sense
of call with this mission to combat societal ills, often at
great personal risk. The chapter on Calvin is perhaps the
most interesting, not the least because he is the most unex-
pected of the four, though Ivory’s reflection on King’s sense
of vocation is also illuminating. The book might have ben-
efited from more practical suggestions for discerning one’s
call or cultivating the “engaged piety” Ivory describes. His
emphasis on diversity of response does not automatically
rule out such a primer—and it may be that uncertainty
among Christians about just how to become “transformers”
of society is as powerful an obstacle to their doing so as
simple apathy.
Jeffrey Vogel
Hampden-Sydney College
OUT OF EDEN: ADAM AND EVE AND THE
PROBLEM OF EVIL. By Paul W. Kahn. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 2007. Pp. vii + 232. $30.95.
Kahn’s Out of Eden is a post-Holocaust political theology
of modernity. Kahn takes issue with Arendt’s analysis of evil
as banal conformity to the thoughtlessness which prevails in
modern bureaucratic culture. Like Kant, Arendt understands
evil in association with the possibilities and limits of reason.
In contrast, the biblical meaning of “evil”—which Kahn
distinguishes radically from rational conceptions of
“injustice”—appears only within the Hebraic horizon of “the
sacred.” Why? Because “evil” is possible only within the
tension of a finite being conscious of its finitude and its own
infinite possibility as a being “in the image of God.” Further-
more, evil arises in association with the will as rebellion
against the shame of finitude and lust for exclusion and
murder, vehicles of self-affirmation against the threat of
death. As such, evil is the opposite, not of “reasonableness,”
but of love linked to faith in the politically redemptive power
of sacred sacrifice. Modern political liberalism eschews sac-
rifice as the end of politics to promote a technocratic labor
wherein sacrifice is overcome in what Kahn calls the “poli-
tics of well-being.” Liberal polities resort, nevertheless, to
the rhetoric of sacrifice in order to engage enemies—e.g., the
“suicide bomber”—who also perform acts of sacrifice. Kahn’s
subtle postmodern effort to distinguish redemptive acts of
sacrifice from murder recalls the work of Kierkegaard; many
readers, however, will question Kahn’s lack of interest in—or
suspicion of—the resources that philosophical reflection
upon law offers for thinking about politics, sacrifice, and
evil.
Gary Culpepper
Providence College
APOSTOLIC NETWORKS IN BRITAIN: NEW WAYS
OF BEING CHURCH. By William K. Kay. Studies in Evan-
gelical History and Thought. Waynesboro, VA: Paternoster,
2007. Pp. xxii + 377. £29.99.
Kay’s groundbreaking work provides a dozen case
studies of little-known charismatic ministries based in
Britain (e.g., Ichthus, Jesus Fellowship, Salt and Light) along
with better-known developments in the Pentecostal-
charismatic movement (e.g, the Vineyard churches). Though
a number of important works have been published on char-
ismatic Christianity in the UK, Kay’s book is the most com-
prehensive to date and it exhibits a skillful blending of
historical narrative, periodical research, oral interview, and
quantitative analysis. Despite the plurality of methods
employed, the components mesh, and the book sheds a clari-
fying light on many aspects of Evangelical and charismatic
Christianity in Britain from the 1960s to the early 2000s.
The “apostolic” networks presented here are an alternative
and challenge to traditional Protestant church structures
and ways of doing mission. The mission “from the top”
approach brings leaders into direct involvement in evange-
lism and church-planting. What is more, UK congregations
and foreign congregations are part of an enduring network,
so that there is no dichotomy between “domestic” and
“foreign” work and no “exit strategy” that severs the bonds
between churches in different global regions. From the
standpoint of ecclesiology and sociology, the apostolic net-
38

works are innovative and might have long-term significance
in twenty-first century Christianity. Kay’s work is essential
reading for those interested in Pentecostalism during the
late twentieth century and is highly recommended for schol-
ars of Christian mission and ecclesiology. The book is also a
reminder that Western Europe and Britain ought not to be
neglected in studies of global Pentecostalism.
Michael J. McClymond
Saint Louis University
GOD’S JUDGMENTS: INTERPRETING HISTORY
AND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. By Stephen J. Keillor.
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2007. Pp. 204.
$32.00.
God’s Judgments offers a theological interpretation of
American history couched in the doctrine of divine judgment.
Keillor is an independent historian and adjunct professor at
Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. His thesis, aimed at
an evangelical Christian audience, is that “we must return
(cautiously and accurately) to the concept of God’s judging
activity in history as central to Christianity.” Keillor captures
the reader’s interest by arguing that September 11 was God’s
judgment against the United States for its materialism, seduc-
tive immorality, and sponsorship of Islamic terrorism against
the Soviets in Afghanistan. Far more than blowback for
national missteps, September 11 constitutes a divine mishpat
(sifting) facing Americans with a choice “either to humble
ourselves under God’s hand or to exalt ourselves by denying
God could be judging us.” Keillor contends that because
America made the wrong choice, the nation stands in immi-
nent danger of further judgment. The upshot of God’s Judg-
ments is to show the way to avert “our generation’s impending
crisis.” Keillor’s argument is circuitous. He abruptly veers
from his analysis of September 11 and follows a meandering
stream of analysis from world view apologetics, divine judg-
ment in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, seminal events
in American history, to a protest against the shape of the
contemporary debate over human genetic engineering. It is
questionable whether Keillor succeeds in making his case for
the inclusion of his modernized jeremiad in public discourse
on the ethical issues of our day.
Eric N. Newberg
Southern Cross College
INTO THE SILENT LAND: A GUIDE TO THE CHRIS-
TIAN PRACTICE OF CONTEMPLATION. By Martin
Laird. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. x-154.
$18.95.
Laird’s work provides a helpful guide that maps the
pathless path to the silent homeland that is God. He argues
that the topography of this journey is liberating silence that
cultivates self-knowledge, detachment, healing, and compas-
sion. Laird’s effective interweaving of quotes from the diverse
Christian traditions demonstrates that the yearnings for the
silent homeland lie at the center of Christian spirituality. The
purpose of the book is “to offer guidance and encouragement
for increasing our familiarity with this homeland that
grounds our very selves.” Laird’s foundational assumption is
that union with God cannot be achieved but only realized
because God is the ground of our being. The book also teaches
practical skills, focusing on three components of contempla-
tive practice: posture, the use of a prayer word, and the
breath. Laird highlights potential pitfalls of spiritual practice
and provides metacritiques of spirituality: he cautions
against reducing contemplative practice into a spiritual tech-
nique, and he warns against linear notions of progress within
contemplative prayer. He rejects a contemplative process
that objectifies a constructed tyrant-God, and he dismantles a
cosmetic view of contemplation that removes woundedness
and struggle. Both theoretical and practical, Laird’s book is
valuable to a wide audience—students and teachers of spiri-
tuality alike—because it, in its complex simplicity, charts the
most difficult of all ways, the wayless way to nothingness.
Charlotte Radler
Loyola Marymount University
THE INVENTION OF SACRED TRADITION. Edited by
James R. Lewis and Olav Hammer. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2007. Pp. xi + 306. $95.00.
This book expands the type of inquiry begun by Hob-
sbawm and Ranger in their volume, The Invention of Tradi-
tion. Hammer and Lewis have collected fourteen essays on a
variety of traditions (Scientology, Mormonism, Judaism,
Zoroastrianism, Tibetan Buddhism, contemporary pagan-
ism, and many others), focusing on how agents in these
traditions authorize innovations in their own tradition by
spuriously attributing their innovations, for instance, to
their traditions’ founders. The first argues that L. Ron
Hubbard simply could not have written all of the texts attrib-
uted to him by the Church of Scientology, yet Scientologists
continue to attribute these texts to him because his figure is
the source of authority. In sum, “tradition . . . can be invoked
to gain legitimacy.” The best essays in the volume are the
ones that do not hesitate in their critical analysis. However,
a few essays (those on Mormonism and Tibetan Buddhism,
for example) that are agnostic about the practitioners’ claims
they analyze, which defeats the purpose of this type of criti-
cal inquiry (although the essay on Tibetan Buddhism consci-
entiously addresses this issue in a sophisticated way). In
addition, the essay on the Rosicrucian tradition seems
entirely out of place, as it fails to address the volume’s criti-
cal question. The overall quality of the other essays more
than compensates for these weaknesses.
Craig Martin
St. Thomas Aquinas College
A MOLINIST-ANABAPTIST SYSTEMATIC THEOL-
OGY. By Kirk R. MacGregor. Lanham, MD: University Press
of America, 2007. Pp. xiii + 350. $46.00.
According to MacGregor, today’s church needs “a potent
philosophical theology” to resolve “metaphysical dilemmas,”
and a biblical ecclesiology to stress discipleship. To provide
39

them he draws on these two very disparate movements. Yet
the title is misleading. “Systematic” refers not the book’s
scope, but to its method, which means being “grounded in
the timeless truths of Scripture” and furnishing “complete
answers to heretofore unresolved quandaries” between bib-
lical studies and many other disciplines. Molinism and Ana-
baptism occupy different portions of the book. After the first
chapter (of nine) introduces both movements, Molinism
appears mostly in chapters 2 and 3, providing interesting
alternatives to issues in evangelical “Openness Theology.”
Anabaptism emerges mostly in later chapters, on sacra-
ments and church discipline and on God’s nonviolent but
revolutionary Kingdom. Evangelical concerns occupy chap-
ters on inerrancy and on women in ministry. Among historic
and contemporary Anabaptist writers, MacGregor really
deals only with Hubmaier (1480?-1528), who, he claims,
held the same “libertarian” view of freedom as Molina
(although I question that). MacGregor seems to miss Hub-
maier’s crucial distinction between God’s hidden and
revealed wills. The first includes mysteries like predestina-
tion, which preoccupied Molina. But theology can only know
God’s revealed will, in Scripture and history. To peer into
God’s hidden will to ask whom God saves and condemns is to
follow the Serpent’s counsel to become like God. But by
including many divergent perspectives, Macgregor provides
creative discussion and novel solutions to various issues that
readers will find interesting.
Thomas Finger
Bethany Theological Seminary
ENGAGING THE DOCTRINE OF GOD: CONTEMPO-
RARY PROTESTANT PERSPECTIVES. Edited by Bruce
L. McCormack. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic/
Edinburgh: Rutherford House, 2008. Pp.271. N.P.
This collection of one sermon and ten essays by an all-
male cast of evangelical theologians focuses on the doctrine of
God. D. Wright’s sermon examines the image of Jesus Christ
as the slain lamb in the book of Revelation. Essays by NT
scholars N. T. Wright and D. A. Carson survey how New
Testament texts speak of God and the wrath of God. Essays by
P. Helm and O. Crisp examine Calvin’s and Jonathan
Edwards’s understanding of God. The next five reflect on
theological themes. J. Webster discusses God’s aseity. H.
Blocher criticizes Moltmann and Jüngel’s re-thinking the
being of God in light of the cross. P. Bertroud examines the
character of God as portrayed in several texts from the book of
Exodus. S. Williams discusses divine sovereignty in relation
to issues of theodicy. B. McCormack compares the under-
standing of God developed by Barth to that of classical and
open theists. D. McCleod discusses implications of the doc-
trine of God for pastoral care. How to understand divine
impassibility is a major theme of most of these essays. Some
will interest a broader community of scholars working on the
doctrine of God and be useful for seminary and graduate
courses. Reformed theologians in particular may find the
implicit debate between Helm and McCormack concerning
Calvin and Barth’s understandings of God thought provoking.
Don Schweitzer
St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon
THE DIVINE IMAGE: ENVISIONING THE INVIS-
IBLE GOD. By Ian A. McFarland. Minneapolis, MN: For-
tress Press, 2005. Pp. ix + 214. $20.00.
McFarland has written a superb piece of constructive
Christian theology that argues an original thesis as to how
Christians should understand what the “image of God”
means. McFarland believes that theologians have falsely
attempted to construe the meaning of the imago Dei in
anthropological terms, i.e., by identifying some aspect of or
faculty within the human being, such as reason or freedom,
that explains how humanity reflects the imprint of its divine
creator. By contrast, McFarland points out that Gen 1:27
does not say of human beings that they are the image of God,
but only that they are made in God’s image. This locus clas-
sicus is reinterpreted by McFarland to indicate the sorts of
things persons must do if they would know God. In place of
the standard view, McFarland develops a strictly Christologi-
cal interpretation of Jesus as the image of God. Basing
himself on Col 1:15, where it is stated that Jesus is “the
image of the invisible God,” McFarland says his book
attempts to make sense of “this paradoxical claim” that
asserts a visible manifestation of the utterly transcendent
creator. Far from contradicting God’s invisibility, “the char-
acter of God’s visibility in Christ actually serves as a persis-
tent reminder of divine transcendence in the face of fallen
humanity’s ever-present urge to contain God within the
limits of the visible.” This book should be in the collection of
every theological library and it would make an ideal text for
teaching systematic/constructive theology in seminary
courses. It is beautifully written and cogently argued from
biblical and traditional sources. Moreover, it creatively
engages issues facing the church today.
Paul E. Capetz
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
THEOLOGY: THE BASICS. By Alister E. McGrath.
Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2008 Second Edition. Pp. xxx-
vii + 215. $26.95.
Alister McGrath’s second edition of this easily accessible
college textbook is an expanded version of the popular 2004
volume. McGrath distills 2,000 years of Christian theology
into less than 250 pages of generously digestible ideas—and
herein lays the problem with the text. Consciously avoiding a
historical approach (in which he lumps together 1789 with
1968, incidentally) at the risk of a “superficial and unsatis-
factory” result, McGrath opts for a broad topical sketch of the
“history of a debate.” At what cost we should ask? McGrath
gives a certain emphasis on ideas over activity and generality
over particularity. Yes, he does provide a helpful glossary of
theologians mentioned in the text. Yet, even here we see how
his approach is “superficial and unsatisfactory.” Where is
40

Gutiérrez? Where is J. Cone? Where is R. R. Ruether? To his
credit, McGrath’s approach is creedal and biblical. The chap-
ters are lucid, engaging, and thought-provoking in so far as
they serve as gateways into a complex (if not at times convo-
luted) field of study. Each chapter ends with questions
designed to empower students to begin to think theologically
for themselves. Although McGrath acknowledges the severe
limitations of this short introduction in his final chapter, the
deficiencies he acknowledges do not touch the more funda-
mental problems that lie in plain view. Students who enter
University in 2008 as freshers were born in 1990—these are
thoroughly twenty-first century students. At the very least,
don’t they deserve a glossary with names that also include
theologians who speak to their time and their concerns? I for
one offer a resounding, Yes.
Reno Lauro
University of St. Andrews
THE OPEN SECRET: A NEW VISION FOR NATURAL
THEOLOGY. By Alister E. McGrath. Malden, MA: Black-
well, 2008. Pp. x + 372. $44.95.
McGrath’s book is a brilliant contemporary rethinking
of natural theology. The book combines arguments from con-
temporary neuroscience and postmodern theory to argue
that culture, theology, and biology shape how humans see
the natural world and should change the shape of natural
theology. Unlike earlier modern thinkers, we now know that
humans are incapable of “objectively observing nature,”
because nature does not disclose or speak any reality to
humans on its own. That approach distinguishes this work
from other recent books on natural law and natural theology.
McGrath argues that Christians cannot and should not
approach natural theology apart from the biblical and theo-
logical resources of Christian tradition, because these frame-
works help us to see nature in a way that bolsters Christian
faith. Seeing nature through Christian lenses does not prove
God’s existence, but allows nature to be seen in light of
God’s revelation, using biblical and theological categories as
interpretive frameworks. As we have come to expect from
McGrath, the book is historically well-researched, con-
versant with recent literature, theologically creative, and
carefully argued. It will certainly reshape contemporary dis-
cussions of natural theology and natural law.
Aaron Klink
Duke University
CONSUMING JESUS: BEYOND RACE AND CLASS
DIVISIONS IN A CONSUMER CHURCH. By Paul Louis
Metzger. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. x + 191.
$16.00.
This book addresses the role that a consumer culture
has had in shaping the American evangelical church. The
author writes from the perspective of his personal struggle
to cope with a kind of consumer religion that has been inter-
nalized by the church with crippling consequences. He con-
tends that a “consumerist free-market spirit disguises itself
as an angel of light, but cleverly shapes race and class divi-
sions” within the church. The influence of consumerism in
the American church reinforces both racial and class divi-
sions and distorts our view of Jesus and his calling to reach
others with selfless love. A “consumer trade triangle” of
consumerism, upward mobility, and homogeneity has
desensitized the church to the plight of those outside their
own social networks. The solution to this problem is for the
church to develop a sixth sense attuned to spotting and
overcoming these racial and class divisions and to produce
change through living a “love-transformed lifestyle.” The
book has an eye-opening effect on the reader, especially if
the reader is interested in developing a more multicultural
perspective on issues facing the American church. It offers a
unique voice to a church that is struggling to find answers
for growth and effective evangelism. While the book’s solu-
tions for the problem are a bit general and at times nonspe-
cific, its main value lies in acting as a catalyst for dialogue on
more specific solutions for the racial and class divisions that
war against a true unity in the American church.
James T. Flynn
Regent University
A BROAD PLACE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. By Jürgen
Moltmann. Translated by Margaret Kohl. Minneapolis, MN:
Fortress Press, 2008. Pp. xii + 406. $27.00.
For Moltmann the world is indeed “a broad place” (Ps.
31:8). This fascinating memoir, dedicated to his grandchil-
dren, debunks the picture of Moltmann as a typical prolific
scholar holed up in a lonely office grinding out books.
Twenty-seven chapters are divided into eight sections. The
first three (“Youth,” “Apprenticeship,” “Beginnings”) and
the last (“In the End—the Beginning”) are chronological. The
remaining four organize events thematically: “Theology of
Hope,” “Political Theology,” “In the Sign of the Cross to New
Trinitarian Thinking,” “Uncompleted Completions—The
Challenges of Life.” Style and content vary markedly, from
haunting stories of World War II to healing memories of
British POW camps to vigorous debate over “Theology of
Hope” to insightful commentary on current events to diaries
of travel with family and friends. It is remarkable how widely
Moltmann is known and appreciated, and one must marvel
at his gracious acceptance of invitations from little-known
Christian groups all over the world. He takes pains to name
and thank these numerous hosts. The account is appropri-
ately modest and generally compelling, revealing a complex
person willing to change his mind and capable of an enor-
mous range of human feeling. The shame and despair of the
war years are dispelled by hope born of gratitude and by
renewed appreciation of nature and joy of living he and
Elisabeth have discovered in retirement. Strangely missing
is sustained reflection on the influence of art, literature, and
music, yet the book is a wonderful read for anyone who
appreciates an interesting and compelling autobiography.
John C. Shelley
Furman University
41

FAITH COMES BY HEARING: A RESPONSE TO
INCLUSIVISM. Edited by Christopher W. Morgan and
Robert A. Peterson. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press
Academic, 2008. Pp. 270. $23.00.
This book is an apologia for conservative evangelical
exclusivism vis-à-vis evangelical inclusivism. Its apologetic
nature informs its content. The first two chapters define
the history and terms of the debate between exclusivists
and inclusivists. The five core chapters critique and
offer exclusivist—fairly traditional Reformed evangelical—
responses to what the editors identify as the key inclusivist
arguments: salvation is possible through a positive
response to general revelation; condemnation for those who
have never heard the Gospel contravenes God’s justice;
practitioners of other religions can be saved on the basis of
their tacit faith; the presence of “holy pagans” in Scripture
provides biblical warrant for inclusivism; and faith, not the
content of belief, counts for receiving salvation. Afterward,
Peterson surveys the debated biblical passages and con-
cludes that exclusivism has the exegetical upper hand. Two
chapters follow which maintain that only exclusivism sup-
ports a biblical view of the Gospel and concern for mission.
The editors’ final chapter introduces a discussion that
exempts infants and the “mentally challenged” from a
necessity of knowing the Gospel for salvation because they
are not privy to general revelation (rejection of which
damns others). Yet this apology is superfluous given the
traditional Reformed position defended elsewhere in the
book that suggests the salvation of sinners, which would
include infants and the mentally handicapped, depends on
their election instead. Still, this book can serve as an intro-
ductory textbook to exclusivism, even as supplementation
with an inclusivist text would be important for the other
side of the argument.
Steven M. Studebaker
McMaster Divinity College
THEOLOGY WITHOUT WORDS: THEOLOGY IN
THE DEAF COMMUNITY. By Wayne Morris. Aldershot:
Ashgate, 2008 Pp. xvi+180 $34.99.
Morris’ book is a valuable, well-researched com-
bination of theological analysis and ethnographic studies
and is an important contribution to the growing field
of theology and disability studies. Morris’s work begins
with his experiences in a deaf congregation in Birming-
ham, England and experiences with deaf Christians in Zim-
babwe. Morris explores how the use of sign language and
the difficulty of accessing written texts shapes how those
deaf from birth experience God as well as how those
methods of faith and theology challenge what constitutes a
“theologian”. While one can wonder how a study of multi-
ple deaf congregations would change his conclusions,
Morris is to be commended for showing how rigorous eth-
nography can inform constructive theological research.
This book is practical theology at its finest and can be read
profitably by theological scholars and church professionals
alike.
Aaron Klink
Duke University
TILLICHS FRÜHE CHRISTOLOGIE: EINE UNTER-
SUCHUNG ZU OFFENBARUNG UND GESCHICHTE
BEI TILLICH VOR DEM HINTERGRUND SEINER
SCHELLINGREZEPTION. By Georg Neugebaur. Theolo-
gische Bibliothek Töpelmann, 141. Berlin/New York: Walter
de Gruyter, 2007. Pp. 462. N.p.
For the early thought of Tillich, Christology is not just one
thematic consideration but the central question of theology
and the inherited problem of the relationship of history and
divine revelation. Neugebaur offers this significant study of
Tillich’s early Christology. This work belongs to the first rank
of Tillich studies because it carefully attends not only to a
genetic-historical view of Tillich’s writings from 1910-13, but
also develops at great length F. W. Schelling’s reflection on
Christology as the well from which Tillich’s writing sprung.
Taking its point of departure from the dynamic antipodes of
revelation and history in modern theology, Neugebaur dem-
onstrates that Tillich’s early Christology receives its decisive
shape in engagement with, among others, Schelling and Tro-
eltsch. This occurs even before his adoption of “Kairos” and
crisis to organize his theology. Of special importance is Neu-
gebaur’s demonstration that Tillich’s criticism of W. Her-
rmann’s Christology owes considerably more to Tillich’s
Schelling-reception and to Troeltsch. No more can one main-
tain that M. Kähler is the primary conversation partner for
Tillich’s Christology. Neugebaur provides important details
in Tillich’s early studies along with an appendix of unpub-
lished documents from that period of his life. These docu-
ments shed important light on Tillich’s early studies and his
formation as a theologian. Neugebaur further compares the
early Tillich with the later one of the Systematic Theology in
order to show the continuity of his thought. Most interest-
ingly, these, along with other early writings show that Till-
ich’s engagement with Troeltsch on the absoluteness of
Christianity has some continuity with the late Tillich’s
attempt to reorient his theology to religious pluralism. This
book is highly recommended for theologians, Tillich scholars,
and the libraries of research institutions and seminaries.
Gregory Walter
St. Olaf College
CATHOLIC THOUGHT SINCE THE ENLIGHTEN-
MENT: A SURVEY. By Aidan Nichols, OP. Gracewing, UK:
Gracewing Publishing, 1998. Pp. ix + 229. $24.95.
Aidan Nichols has long been one of the foremost com-
mentators on Catholic theology, providing helpful overviews
to novices and researchers alike to the landscape of modern
Catholicism. The volume at hand surveys the broad contours
of Catholic theology since the eighteenth century, moving
from the roots of the Enlightenment to the post-Vatican II era
of Balthasar and Lonergan. Divided into seven chapters, the
42

book moves systematically through the representative think-
ers of each era, offering concise introductions (two to three
pages) of the numerous figures in play within each of the
periods. Such an undertaking, however, is not without its
limitations. The length and tenor of the book lend it to use in
an introductory course on Catholic thought, but the various
chapters tend to focus on the nuances of a figure rather than
their place within a broader movement. The chapters, which
work through such broad areas as “Varieties of Reason”
(post-Enlightenment rationality) and “The Council and
Beyond” (post-Vatican II developments), while providing
helpful surface overviews to the nuances of an era, tend to dig
too deep in places at the expense of context for the overall
movement. If paired with a broader text on the history of the
church, however, Nichols’s volume will function as a fine
supplemental volume for a Catholic theology course.
Myles Werntz
Baylor University
THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIAN LEARNING: AN
EVANGELICAL AND CATHOLIC DIALOGUE. By
Mark A. Noll and James Turner. Edited by Thomas Albert
Howard. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2008. Pp. 144.
$16.99.
In The Future of Christian Learning: An Evangelical and
Catholic Dialogue, Noll and Turner relate the current inter-
play between evangelical and Catholic institutions of higher
education, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of
each as they identify promising areas for future collabora-
tion. Each author writes a primary essay and then a
response, with Turner taking the Catholic perspective. As
editor Howard points out, Noll takes a “diachronic approach”
that is sweeping and historic, while Turner a more “synchro-
nic approach,” focusing on contemporary developments.
Both men provide Catholic and evangelical teacher-scholars,
deans, provosts, presidents and trustees with useful insights
and provocative suggestions. Yet, Turner’s essay is more
sharply focused, as he distills relevant issues cogently: “The
leading Catholic universities occupy a niche” to which the
best evangelical schools aspire, but the “Darwinian ecology
of American higher education” prevents top-notch Catholic
schools from considering “substantial” collaboration with
evangelical schools. Turner also emphasizes that evangelical
schools lack the financial capacity required to support
“serious research.” Noll, though generally discursive, suc-
cessfully establishes that Catholics “need” evangelicals’
“personal engagement and commitment” (which Turner
describes as the “paucity of attention to lay formation” in
Catholic schools). Turner counters that Catholics’ liturgical
and intellectual traditions may enliven evangelical scholars
and students. The book’s cover photo of rows of empty desks
may serve as an ominous, unintended metaphor for the
future of Christian higher education if educators fail to heed
some of the text’s trenchant advice.
Carlos Campo
Regent University
REFORMED AND ALWAYS REFORMING: THE
POSTCONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO EVANGELI-
CAL THEOLOGY. By Roger E. Olson. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Academic, 2007. Pp. 247. $19.99.
Although the term “evangelical” has a long history of
being synonymous with “conservative,” R. Olson’s thesis in
this volume is that “it is possible to be more evangelical by
being less conservative.” Divided into seven chapters, Olson
outlines the “postconservative” vision of evangelical theol-
ogy that is more consistent with the Protestant principle,
reformata et semper reformanda: reformed and always
reforming. Contrasting the two alternative visions of theol-
ogy, postconservatives see the essence of Christianity as
spiritual experience and transformation more than intellec-
tual and doctrinal orthodoxy. Moreover, they regard the con-
structive task of theology as always incomplete and
doctrines as always open to revision and reconstruction.
Postconservatives also tend to embrace “soft” postmodern-
ism and postfoundationalist methodologies. Furthermore,
proponents of this theology highlight the primacy of the
narrative character of revelation over the propositional
aspect. Finally, while respecting orthodoxy, tradition is
always subordinated and opened to correction from Scrip-
ture in a way that is critical, generous, progressive, and
dispositional. Although a bit repetitive at times, Olson does
an excellent job of outlining the postconservative vision and
style of thinking. The book is written in accessible language,
and students, pastors, and laity will all find it to be an
extremely useful guide.
David S. Nah
Bethel Seminary
AN EMERGENT MANIFESTO OF HOPE. Edited by
Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books,
2007. Pp. 318. $19.99.
This is the first of a series of books to be published by
Baker Books in cooperation with Emergent Village. The
editors have brought together twenty-five essays loosely
joined by the theme of hope, seeking to present the emergent
movement as hopeful. The essays fall into five different cat-
egories: A People of Hope, Communities of Hope, A Hopeful
Faith, A Hopeful Way Forward, and Hopeful Activism. The
authors come from a variety of backgrounds, but all associate
themselves with the Emergent Movement. Their level of theo-
logical sophistication and biblical awareness is varied, result-
ing in a book of mixed value. The strength of this book is
hearing those in the movement speak in their own voices. For
many there is true compassion and concern as they seek to
find authentic ways of following Jesus in the present world.
They raise important questions for the church and the semi-
nary, and are not content with status quo methods and theol-
ogy. They seek to find new and more faithful expression for
what it means to be Christ followers in a complex and messy
world, and for this they are to be commended. The weakness
of the volume is the painful theological, biblical, and histori-
43

cal ignorance demonstrated by some of the writers. Some of
the perspectives are merely shallow, but others are wrong
and do violence to the teachings of Jesus and to historic
Christian understandings. In view of the book’s title, we must
hope that future books in the series will do better than this.
Perry Downs
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
THE FUTURE OF JUSTIFICATION: A RESPONSE TO
N. T. WRIGHT. By John Piper. Wheaton, IL: Crossway
Books, 2007. Pp. 239. $17.99.
Piper’s book is a very irenic and tightly-focused discus-
sion of N. T. Wright’s concept of justification as a future
event, the outcome determined by one’s works. Piper
responds to eight monographs and nine other works pub-
lished by Wright. Much of the book was developed in dia-
logue with Wright, although the dialogue itself is not
recorded. The result is a respectful and reasoned discussion
which does not make facile conclusions but examines
Wright’s work in order to determine what he means to say.
Piper concludes that justification as a forensic, imputed righ-
teousness is a better way to understand Paul. The book is
written for the educated lay person, but the critique has
sufficient depth that scholars will find it useful in examining
the question of the New Perspective on Paul as well as
Wright’s thesis.
James M. Henderson
Regent University
BRIDGES INSTEAD OF WALLS: CHRISTIAN–
MUSLIM INTERACTION IN DENMARK, INDONE-
SIA AND NIGERIA. Edited by Lissi Rasmussen.
Minneapolis, MN: Lutheran University Press, 2007. Pp. 226.
$20.00.
Tension between religious groups is a central character-
istic of contemporary global realities. The global, however, is
manifested in local contexts. This volume, produced by the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF), presents the findings of
an LWF study team commissioned to visit sites of conflict
between Christians and Muslims in Denmark, Indonesia,
and Nigeria between 2003 and 2005. The result is a fine
collection of contextualized reflections on Muslim–Christian
relations and analysis of how religion contributes to both
conflict and reconciliation. The first section of the book,
“Wall Structures,” relates accounts of tensions between
Christians and Muslims, including the Danish cartoon crisis
and conflict over applications of Shari’a; the second section,
“Bridge Models,” builds from practical, lived experiences of
interreligious engagement toward models that can be
applied in various contexts. Because it finds its foundation in
specific contexts rather than in overarching theory, the
volume can seem disjointed. It benefits, however, from a
clearly articulated methodology and an equally clear after-
word that seeks to identify overarching themes. Bridges
Instead of Walls is accessible to undergraduates but will also
equip graduate students with tangible, localized content for
the study of Muslim–Christian relations.
Robert O. Smith
Baylor University
“IN JESUS’ NAME”: THE HISTORY AND BELIEFS
OF ONENESS PENTECOSTALS. By David A. Reed.
Journal of Pentecostal Theology Supplement Series 31.
Blandford Forum, Dorset, UK: Deo Publishing, 2008.
Pp. xi + 394. £19.95.
This revision and expansion of Reed’s dissertation,
“Origins and Development of the Theology of Oneness Pente-
costalism in the United States” (Boston University, 1978), is
an update on the third stream of the modern Pentecostal
phenomenon. Rejecting the claim of heresy, a claim that
ignores the spiritual character of those it condemns, Reed
identifies the movement’s theology as an historic Christian
heterodoxy that deserves ongoing engagement from the
larger Christian community. After locating the origin of
Oneness Pentecostalism in its religious and social circum-
stances, Reed examines the soteriology of the four theological
pioneers, F. Ewart, G. T. Haywood, F. Small, and A. Urshan.
For Ewart and Small, Acts 2:38 represented full identification
with Christ. For Haywood and Urshan, Acts 2:38 was the new
birth. Reed sees the Oneness focus on the name of God as an
attempt to restore the Jewish Christianity of the earliest
Christian community, an emphasis weakened with the Gen-
tilization of Christianity. The reasons given to take Oneness
Pentecostalism seriously include 1) its global strength; 2) the
increasing favor it has gained in academia; 3) its spiritual
resonance with those outside the movement; and 4) the insti-
tutional and theological maturing of the movement.
Daniel L. Segraves
Urshan Graduate School of Theology
ARBEIT AM GOTTEBEGRIFF: BAND II: KLASSIKER
DER NEUZEIT. By Joachim Ringleben. Tübingen: Mohr
Sieback, 2005. Pp. 397. €59.00.
This volume of important essays on the concept of God in
theology contributes to both historical and systematic-
constructive research. Ringleben collects essays, most previ-
ously published, in several investigations in philosophical
and systematic theology. These essays treat subjects in J. G.
Hamann, Kierkegaard, Hegel, and Schleiermacher. All of
them take up some dimension of the concept of God, such as
the value of Hegel’s speculative proposition, language and
creation in Hamann, or a revaluation of Schleiermacher’s
concept of religion. A previous volume of this collection
examined Reformation and premodern problems for the idea
of God. As an appropriate successor to that first set of essays,
these essays extend Ringleben’s important contributions into
the modern era and prove valuable for theologians and stu-
dents of any of these figures. It is especially valuable for the
prominence in which it presents Hamann as a resource for
theological tasks alongside of incisive interpretations of work
central to the contemporary theological enterprise such as
44

Schleiermacher and Tillich. An essay describing Kierkeg-
aard’s use of Hamann is a vital contribution. This book is
written for theologians and historical theologians alike. It will
be useful to research libraries, seminaries, and scholars
engaged in conversation with modern European theology.
Gregory Walter
St. Olaf College
CHRIST AS MEDIATOR: A STUDY OF THE THE-
OLOGIES OF EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA, MARCEL-
LUS OF ANCYRA AND ATHANASIUS OF
ALEXANDRIA. By Jon M. Robertson. Oxford Theological
Monographs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Pp. xi + 249. $110.00.
Robertson’s monograph provides new insight into the
fourth-century debates over how one should understand the
Word as the mediator of God. The book begins with an exami-
nation of Origen’s views on mediation and then proceeds with
careful analyses of the perspectives of Eusebius, Marcellus,
and Athanasius. The chapters on Eusebius and Marcellus are
particularly illuminating. Robertson argues that, for Euse-
bius, the Word is able to mediate God to humanity because he
is a “third being” who is both similar and dissimilar to each.
He mediates by pointing humanity to God. Marcellus, accord-
ing to Robertson, envisions God as a single prosopon. The
Word exists as an expression of the Father, just as a human’s
word is an expression of the speaker. The Word mediates by
revealing the Father in Christ—who is a separate human
person inspired by both the Word and his own human ﬂesh.
Robertson’s chapter on Athanasius offers an interesting theo-
logical contrast; however, its truly original contributions to
scholarship are minimal. Nevertheless, Robertson’s volume
presents the diverse perspectives on divine mediation—on
how one sees the Father in the Son—from Origen to Athana-
sius with clarity and precision, making it a valuable resource
for graduate students and scholars alike.
Kevin Douglas Hill
Durham University
THOU WHO ART: THE CONCEPT OF THE PERSON-
ALITY OF GOD. By John A.T. Robinson. Introduction by
Archbishop Rowan Williams. London: Continuum, 2006.
Pp. 375. $39.95.
With this book John A.T. Robinson’s doctoral disserta-
tion on the personality of God from the 1940s becomes avail-
able for a wider public. Robinson, who decades later would
become famous for his essay Honest to God, here constructs
what he calls a biblical philosophy informed by the person-
alist tradition with its key representative Buber. The main
argument is that personality is inconceivable in isolation but
grows out of relationality, that divine personhood therefore
needs to be understood as intrinsically relational, and that
such a dynamic and biblical understanding has been
obscured by a static Aristotelean philosophical tradition
with its main expression in Thomist theology. Notwithstand-
ing whether this repeated polarization between Greek and
biblical thought would endure closer scrutiny, this work is a
passionate and very detailed investigation of the connec-
tions between human and divine personhood. Classical
teachings about God such as aseity, omnipotence, and
unchangeability are challenged from a relational point of
view and the complexities of the concept of “persona” in the
Trinitarian and Christological debates are highlighted.
Among the conclusions critical of the classical tradition, the
one on Trinitarian language deserves mention: Robinson
suggests “modes of loving” (instead of “persons”) as an
expression that comes nearest to what is required. Robin-
son’s work is an erudite argument for a loving and therefore
relational God. For all its erudition it is at times quite eclectic
and obscure, but there are also passages with the character
of devotional reading.
Michael Nausner
Theologisches Seminar Reutlingen, Germany
THE CONSOLATIONS OF THEOLOGY. Edited by Brian
S. Rosner. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1998. Pp. x + 160. $16.00.
As Rosner notes in his introduction, theology has often
found itself relegated to irrelevancy by contemporary society,
which see it as more interested with abstracted minutiae than
the affective life of concrete beings. This is to neglect,
however, the rich theological tradition of pastoral explora-
tions of the more turbulent themes of bodily life, such as
suffering, obsession, depression, and anger. In six chapters,
the contributors to this volume explore the classical writings
of Christian theology which deal directly with the depths of
tragic life. The volume is more than a pastoral tool, but a series
of thick explorations of what it means to think through human
experience theologically, on the terms of each of the thinkers
featured in this book. Each chapter begins with contemporary
cultural reﬂections on the topic at hand, followed by an
internal investigation of a thinker from the Christian tradi-
tion. Thus, Luther speaks forth on the contours of depression,
Kierkegaard lends us his wisdom on despair, and Bonhoeffer
speaks to the depths of tragedy. One of the only limitations of
the volume is its brevity, as one can only wonder what riches
would have been mined in further chapters. The volume’s
brevity is far outweighed, however by its accessibility both in
style and content, making it suitable for both popular reading
and for pastoral theology courses.
Myles Werntz
Baylor University
SAVING POWER: THEORIES OF ATONEMENT AND
FORMS OF THE CHURCH. By Peter Schmiechen. Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
2005. Pp. xi + 371. $38.00.
Though ecumenical councils have established key
norms for a range of issues in Christian theology, the doc-
trine of salvation—arguably the most important of them
all—has remained at the center of a vibrant, ongoing debate.
In Saving Power, Schmiechen lays out no less than ten
45

distinct theories of atonement, each with its own paradig-
matic spokesperson(s) in Christian history. Schmiechen’s
approach is basically pastoral in at least two ways: first, he
takes the diversity of atonement theology to be advised and
irreducible, mapping onto a corresponding diversity of
human needs for varieties of God’s “saving power,” and
second, he interprets each theory in light of its ecclesiologi-
cal implications for “the form of the church.” His readings
are at times idiosyncratic (For example, with mixed success,
he attempts to read Anselm’s proposal as having nothing at
all to do with punishment, but rather with the restoration of
creation), but overall, the book is a case study in critically
demonstrating both the wide plurality and the fundamen-
tally pastoral orientation of Christian thought.
Matthew Myer Boulton
Harvard Divinity School
GOD AND HUMAN DIGNITY. Edited by R. Kendall
Soulen and Linda Woodhead. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerd-
mans Publishing Co., 2006. Pp. xiv + 341.
This excellent collection of essays examines the concept
of human dignity and its relationship to God from the per-
spectives of biblical studies, systematic theology, Christian
ethics, and pastoral theology, and in light of questions
arising from globalization, technology and eugenics. Ques-
tions about human dignity arising from disability, aging and
death are also treated. The result is an extensive discussion
of the multi-faceted nature of human dignity, as it is
expressed and challenged in many different contexts. A con-
clusion common to most contributions is that the basis of
human dignity lies in humanity’s relationship to God. As a
“many-splendored thing,” human dignity has a challenging
complexity arising from God’s creative, sustaining and
saving activities. Dignity also has contextual dimensions
requiring attention to the historical, economic and cultural
facets of human life. The concept of the imago Dei is fre-
quently evoked in these essays, but never definitively
defined. One editor suggests that as human dignity is rooted
in humanity’s likeness to the divine, and as the divine eludes
final definition, that the same may be true of human dignity.
This book is an important resource for anyone studying theo-
logical anthropology, or dealing with related ethical issues. It
can be profitably read by both novice and advanced scholars.
Every seminary library should have it.
Don Schweitzer
St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon
CHRIST CRUCIFIED: A 21ST-CENTURY MISSIOL-
OGY OF THE CROSS. By Mark W. Thomsen. Minneapolis,
MN: Lutheran University Press, 2004. Pp. 121. $16.00.
This book argues that the symbol and reality of the
crucified Messiah Jesus must inform the church’s mode of
being in the world as a missionary community. Thomsen
knows that he is going against the grain in advocating this
case, but he does so convincingly. Two words can summarize
this excellent book—apologia crucis. In the introduction he
roots himself in the Lutheran heritage. Then, in five carefully
written chapters, Thomsen retrieves a contemporary gospel:
1) regarding the suffering and pain of God and the world; 2)
the need for a missiology of the cross; 3) showing that all this
can be done in ways sensitive to the reality and gifts of other
traditions and evolving new relationships between religious
traditions; 4) demonstrating that proclaiming a crucified
Christ is compatible with our interreligious situation; and 5)
opening up ways to preach the paradoxes and ironies of the
mystery of grace in the shadow of the cross. This book is a
valuable companion to D. Bosch’s Transforming Mission and
to S. Bevans’s and R. Schroeder’s Constants in Context. It
retrieves the singular importance of the cross as a revelation
of what is at stake in mission, a horizon that is not as promi-
nent in Catholic and mainline missiology as it deserves to be,
while avoiding the conceptual rigidities and fideism of very
conservative missiologies.
William R. Burrows
Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York
AN EXPLORATION OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY.
By Don Thorsen. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008.
Pp. xxii + 453. $34.95.
Thorsen is Professor of Theology in the Haggard School of
Theology at Azusa Pacific University. He contends that
because people are made in God’s image, it is imperative for
them to learn about God, as knowledge of God is critical for
their well-being. Unfortunately, however, beginning theology
students are often bewildered by the diversity of beliefs
within the Christian tradition. This textbook is accessible as
an introduction to Christian theology. While not intended to
be exhaustive, it does not avoid many profound and difficult
theological concepts and gives a cogent summary of Christian
doctrine. Moreover, it is explicitly ecumenical in that it pre-
sents prominent attempts by Christians to formulate Chris-
tian doctrine (including Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and
a variety of Protestant traditions). Although Thorsen does his
theology from a particular background (he was trained at
Asbury, Princeton, and Drew Universities, thus drawing from
Evangelical, Reformed, and Methodist perspectives), he pre-
sents Christianity in a manner that is fair to all sides. At the
end of each chapter, there are study questions, which serve to
engage the reader in further reflection. Although generally
laudable as an introductory text, I have one complaint: the
line art included throughout the book, while probably
intended to draw undergraduates into the material, may be
self-defeating in that it will distract some readers and even
actually turn off students seeking to move to adulthood.
Bradford McCall
Regent University
INTRODUCING ASIAN AMERICAN THEOLO-
GIANS. By Jonathan Y. Tan. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2008.
Pp xiv + 210. $24.00.
Jonathan Tan’s lucid introduction serves as a primer on
all things Asian-American-Christian (e.g., a chapter on Asian
46

immigration with histories of Chinese, Japanese, Korean
immigrations; summaries of Asian-American theologies and
theologians; a nice bevy of statistical tables, etc.). While all
this makes Tan’s book useful, its finest elements remain
largely undertheorized, and perhaps rightly so. Unlike its
black, liberation, and feminist predecessors, Asian-
American theology remains an identity politics ironically
lacking identity. To date, it boasts no defining voices or texts,
with no recognized schools of thought or influence. Much of
this has to do with the complex dynamics that make Asian-
American theologians hesitant to engage issues of race,
while those precious few who do, because of a guarded
black/white binary, tend to get ignored. Tan gives fantasti-
cally clear explications for such dynamics. While Tan’s text
purportedly makes no claims of its own, his survey surely
packs normative punch: how have traditions as rich, diverse,
and established as Asian-American theologies been ren-
dered invisible? If Asian Americans remain “forever foreign-
ers,” their gifts will continue untapped, always to be seen, if
at all, as peculiar assemblages of inclusive particularities.
Unfortunately the same patient hybridity that makes Asian-
American Christianity a genuine alternative to totalizing
whiteness also renders it sadly unnoticed. Tan’s book gets
about the task of remedying this.
Jonathan Tran
Baylor University
VIRTUE AND THE VOICE OF GOD: TOWARD THE-
OLOGY AS WISDOM. By Daniel J. Treier. Grand Rapids,
MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2006. Pp. xvi + 294. $30.00.
Treier’s work retrieves the pursuit of theology as
wisdom for the postmodern, scientific context by relating
the nature of theology to education and the interpretation of
scripture. Drawing from the cognitive-propositional
approach to knowledge as scientia, the experiential-
expressive approach to theology as habitus, the cultural-
linguistic approach of G. Lindbeck, and the canonical-
linguistic approach of K. Vanhoozer, Treier proposes that
the building blocks of theology lie in the retrieval of the
virtues of wisdom mapped out in the scriptures. The book
delineates this task by first raising the question of the
public authority of theological education, followed by the
notion of the performance of theology in conversation with
scripture, and completed by the integration of theological
interpretation in the academy. Treier’s reappraisal of the
sapiential tradition of theological discourse offers a rich
complement to Vanhoozer’s The Drama of Doctrine (2005),
yet is vulnerable to a similar criticism. Theology as perfor-
mance of the scriptures leaves little room for the unscripted
and unexpected experiences of God that did not find
entrance into the variety of canonical voices but nonethe-
less continue in the diverse stories of the faithful, some-
times outside traditional patterns of knowledge and
wisdom. The pneumatological dimension of wisdom has
little effect on Treier’s overall endeavor, which is surprising
in a project that could have benefited from an integration of
the Spirit-Sophia tradition. These concerns notwithstand-
ing, Treier’s densely argued and highly readable book pre-
sents an excellent invitation to others to join the discussion
on the construction of sound doctrine.
Wolfgang Vondey
Regent University
STATES OF EXILE: VISIONS OF DIASPORA,
WITNESS, AND RETURN. By Alain Epp Weaver. Poly-
glossia: Radical Reformation Theologies Series. Scottsdale,
PA, and Waterloo, ON: Herald Press, 2008. Pp. 215. $18.99.
Having served eleven years with the Mennonite
Central Committee in the Middle East, Weaver has written
a profoundly moving and challenging book. He brings into
conversation radically different voices like that of Edward
Said (and his exilic politics of land and return), D. Boyarin
(and his notion of diasporic states, which contests the
impossibility and impracticability of the boundaried, hege-
monic, and ethnocentric nationalisms in a postmodern
world), and John Howard Yoder (especially pushing Yoder’s
call for Christians to cease being in charge politically to the
point of being willing also to cease being in charge theo-
logically) in order to sketch a theology of binationalism in
which performance can make a difference in the Israeli–
Palestinian conflict. The basic thesis is that authentic
Christian and human identity is nurtured not by separating
from others (in the case of the Israeli–Palestinian situation,
the various two-state proposals) but through the hard work
of learning how to understand and appreciate neighborly
differences. Weaver’s is a post-Christendom vision of the
church as an exilic community that seeks the welfare of
others in her midst, while realizing amid living out this
mandate that Christ is the peace capable of tearing down
any wall between “us” and “them,” and that the Spirit is
able to transform both “us” and “them” through mutual
encounter. Abstract criticisms of States of Exile will pale
into insignificance in light of the revolutionary beliefs and
practices suggested therein.
Amos Yong
ATHANASIUS: A THEOLOGICAL INTRODUCTION.
By Thomas G. Weinandy. Great Theologians Series. Burling-
ton, VT: Ashgate, 2007. Pp. xii + 150. $29.95.
Although likely unintentional, Weinandy’s volume
proves to be an excellent companion to K. Anatolios’ recent
introduction to Athanasius in the Early Church Fathers
series. Whereas Anatolios presents a succinct and system-
atic account of Athanasius’ theology (before including new
translations of some of his writings), Weinandy offers a
slightly lengthier summary of Athanasius’ central works and
a balanced assessment of his theology’s merits and contem-
porary significance. Together the two volumes provide
students with an impressively clear and comprehensive
introduction to the Alexandrian bishop. The above being
noted, Weinandy’s volume is certainly commendable on its
47

own as well. His account of the issues surrounding Nicaea is
especially valuable, for he presents the council’s compli-
cated debates in a manner that is both approachable and
accurate. Indeed, throughout the book Weinandy’s writing is
carefully researched yet clear, and pedagogically motivated
yet free of oversimplifications. No student of Athanasius
should overlook this reliable guidebook to the little Alexan-
drian’s great life and works.
Kevin Hill
Durham University
NEW MONASTICISM: WHAT IT HAS TO SAY TO
TODAY’S CHURCH. By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.
Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2008. Pp. 147. $14.99.
In this book, J. Wilson-Hartgrove, a leader within the
new monastic movement and member of Rutba House com-
munity, considers what the new monasticism has to offer the
North American church. The new monasticism is a network
of Christian communities formed to enable their members to
live out an authentic Christian life by loving each other and
their neighbors. The premise of both the movement and this
book is that it is “hard to be a Christian in America.” In this
context, the new monasticism testifies to the necessity of
genuine Christian community: that God plans “to save the
world through a people.” In authentic Christian community,
Christians are able to relocate to abandoned places so as to
share in the life of people on the margins, to express gener-
osity in poverty, to love their enemies, and to exhibit grace to
each other and their neighbors. While some might be
tempted to think of the new monastics as a kind of spiritual
elite, Wilson-Hartgrove maintains that the new monasticism
needs the church and that it exists to serve the church.
Written for the lay reader, this book is a good introduction to
the new monasticism. Recommended for pastors, lay Chris-
tians, and libraries.
Glenn M. Harden
Baker College
WOLFHART PANNENBERG ON HUMAN DESTINY.
By Kam Ming Wong. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate, 2008. Pp. 177.
$99.95.
Wong has offered one of the first monographs on Pan-
nenberg’s doctrine of human destiny, a theme of no small
importance for a thinker so oriented towards eschatology.
After an overview of the argument and brief methodological
excursus, Wong treats Pannenberg’s view of the imago Dei
and human destiny with special (and insightful) reference to
Herder and supplements it with Christological justifications.
He then devotes a chapter each to the two fundamental con-
cepts of Pannenberg’s anthropology: openness to the world
as the basis of the image of God, and self-preservation as the
general anthropological analogue for the Christian idea of
sin. The reader will find in the final chapter one of the chief
contributions of the book, to bring Pannenberg’s oft-
neglected work on ethics into fuller connection with the
other themes in question and to point up unnoticed develop-
ments in his thought on these matters. However, Wong
appears somewhat confused as to the relation between the
fundamental and systematic moments in Pannenberg’s
method. Claiming that the argument of Pannenberg’s earlier
fundamental theological anthropology “failed to generate
much theological resonance” because it did not include
Christological content or a full treatment of sin (i.e., dog-
matic theology) is to gauge the function of the fundamental
theological task against the proper standard of systematic
theology in Pannenberg’s scheme. The blunting of Wong’s
critique, then, also limits the otherwise fine constructive
edge of his book.
Sean Hayden
Vanderbilt University
AIN’T TOO PROUD TO BEG: LIVING THROUGH
THE LORD’S PRAYER. By Telford Work. Grand Rapids,
MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007. Pp. xi + 252.
$16.00.
Work’s book offers an approach of “living through the
Lord’s Prayer” in which twenty-first century readers are
challenged to learn a prayerful way of life when they pray
theologically and theologically pray. He seeks to avoid pre-
conceived notions and gravitates to the Lord’s Prayer as
God’s way of transformative thinking. Even though he does
not approach the Lord’s Prayer from an exegetical stand-
point, his work reflects upon some of the issues that are
common both to the first and present century. Work
advances through the prayer under the separate petitions
and provides points of contact with distinct American chal-
lenges, e.g., patriotism, economics, and politics. He main-
tains a healthy balance without falling into the ditches of
Christian fundamentalism or liberalism, and radicalizes the
prayer’s message through various challenges that American
Christians have faced and now confront. The book is written
with passion and imagination, but could have been strength-
ened with clearer connections between the significance of
the Prayer then and now. For example, Work traces through
four schools of American self-understanding and politics in
America’s history, but yet does not make clear connections
between these approaches and the title of the chapter, “The
Presence of God.” Still, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg might serve as
interesting discussion points for readers who wish to pray
the Lord’s Prayer today.
J. Lyle Story
Ethics
FREEDOM IN RESPONSE: LUTHERAN ETHICS:
SOURCES AND CONTROVERSIES. By Oswald Bayer.
Translated by Jeffrey F. Cayzer. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2007. Pp. xi + 275. $99.00.
The essays in this volume constitute a deep reflection on
the implications of God’s promise of freedom for Christian
48

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