Saturday, November 26, 2005

Book Bonanza

This is one of the books I got for free at a publisher's reception. John Armonstrong sees this book as an important attempt to see both the human and divine facets of biblical revelatioon in thier apporpriate fullness. He generally praises the book in his review and laments the treatment it's recieved in Reformed circles. For those who may be interested, Joel Garver also wrote a review here.










This is another give-away title I picked up at the conference. It looks to be typical of Packer's sanctified optimism, and for that reason alone promises to be a refreshing read. You can read David Neff's write-up on it from Christianity Today.










Richard Horsley's work on Paul and Empire make this a tantalizing complement to Thiselton and Fee as I preach through this epistle. Horsley sees the Corinthian Christian community as an alternative polis and highlights the political nature of Paul's gospel.










I'm looking forward to reading some comments on Romans outside the New Perspective axis of controversy. Keck's apocalyptic reading of Paul and commitment to let Romans stand on it's own (instead of smashing it together with Galatians) will make this a fun read for my Sunday School preparation.










Tom Wright whimsically commented about the horrible title afforded this treatment biblical authoirty, along with the random picture slapped on the front cover. Yet the depiction of Jesus on the front of Wright's treatment of the Bible's authority seems appropriate, since he strenuously argues for biblical revelation's dependence upon God's own authority exercised in Jesus. Here's a taste of Wright's thinking about the matter from Vox Evangelica.










I've immensely enjoyed the other volumes of The Scripture and Hermeneutics Series, and this one looks paritcularly good with contributors like Gerald Bray, Chris Wright, James Dunn, John Webster and Charles Scobie. If Dunn's contribution is any indication of this volume's quality, I can't wait to dig in! There's a brief revew for your consideration at Beginning With Moses blog.










Since the whole point of the series is to engender deeper understanding of the biblical text it's fitting that they focus an entire volume around the actual work of interpretation. Reading Luke, the latest offering in the series, features some first rate contributions from Anthony Thiselton, Joel Green, David Wenham, I. Howard Marshall and Max Turner. In addition to theological interpretation and issues of language, an entire division of the book is given to issues of historical reception of the Gospel.










One of the most enjoyable sessions I attended was the panel review of this new reference volume from Baker. The criticisms included a lack of attention to historical critical issues and a leaning toward the Reformed Anglo-American contributions to the topic; but these criticisms aside, it looks like a truly majestic piece of work, and I've been looking forward to its publication for a year now. I've already perused a few articles and have enjoyed it immensely as a bedside "readers digest" of diverse theological interest. With the conference discount, this is the best 25 dollars I've spent in a while!










I heard John Milbank speak at SBL and I have no idea what he's talking about. I've had my interest in Radical Orthodoxy piqued by reading Hauerwas and Yoder, but thus far I've never encountered its British roots. In attempting to read this book on the plane back to Idaho I felt as though i'd been dropped into the middle of a debate I didn't understand. All that to say I think I may pick up Smith's other volume on the topic to get some idea as to what's going on, but until then I'll have to take this one slow with a broadband connection close by so that I can look up all of the unfamiliar nomenclature.










I've already read much of this book and was enthralled by the colorful and coherent picture Hays paints here. Using the categories of community, cross and new creation Hays masterfully draws a unified thread from the tapestry of New Testament witnesses. For a less than glowing appraisal, see Dale Martin's review; but for a more evenhanded treatment, see Mark Goodacre and Gilbert Meilaender.

5 comments:

SB said...

good books did you ever go to Pasadena to some of the used book stores down there?

nice job engaging Phil

I think years of a "corner on truth" mentality can provoke readers to be a tad smarmy in response.

Obviously we have to be careful to be gracious and I think your posts on his site generally are on the mark. The "smarminess" is a similar tone to his own and is the difference between admonition and encouragement in my opinion. It works like a little chump slap rather than a massage.

I think this can actually be helpful in provoking a realization that TMS et al. has some need for sharpening its model. Too many people get on that site and massage the host and the ones that dont generally are discounted as liberals.

Chris Tilling said...

This is a fantastic row of short book 'reviews'! I found this all the more useful given the various links, so many thanks.

Chris

Sharad Yadav said...

Thanks Scotty - I've never trekked Pasadena for the used book scene, probably because I'm broke most of the time! As for my comments on Phil's site, I know I can be a bit barbed some times - but it's only because I think Phil can take it. I think if I were to be too cuddly it'd actually disgust him MORE than I probably already do! It's funny; there's something about the guy that I like - but I'm not sure what it is! I'm never sure why I'm back on his webpage when I'm commenting, but I find myself doing it anyway. Maybe it's because I think he'd really have something to say if he heard from someone other than the 'massagers' and softball league. Anyway, thanks for your admonition!

Chris,

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I'll have to do more of them like it!

Sled Dog said...

Hey, Blue...

I like Scotty's sentiments, and agree with yours as well.

Sadly, I never sense any teachability in all the I've read on Phil's site. It appears he has a set theological mindset and is intent on protecting it - at any cost.

I remember I had a greek prof who shared how the more he studied God's Word, the more he grew in his theology. He admitted that as he worked through the text, sometimes he made significant shifts in his thinking. I so respected him for being open to God showing him a clearer picture of truth.

Sharad Yadav said...

Thanks so much, Sled. I feel the same way about Phil, though I'm sure that there are people that he does listen to; I'm just not one of them! Although it is sad that there are only a small, select few individuals that may be able to affect his thinking, I'm sure there's someone in his life that has earned enough credibility in his mind to sharpen him. I love hearing about men like your Greek prof and am so pleased that he'd be so dogged in his pursuit of God, and have been thankful for people like that being placed in my life. Thanks again for stopping by!