Books

How Did 16th and 17th Reformed Theologians Interact with Post-Reformation Roman Catholics?

January 24, 2021 by wagraham Leave a Comment

In Beyond Dordt and De Auxiliis, a number of Reformed and Catholic scholars discuss, as the subtitle notes, The Dynamics of Protestant and Catholic Soteriology in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.

While it may be tempting to assume that Reformed and Roman Catholic theology completely drifted apart after the Reformation and Council of Trent, Beyond Dordt puts that assumption to rest. Each chapter in the work uncovers the complex relationship between Reformed and Roman Catholic debate during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. And the conclusion is that the Reformed and Roman Catholics knew each other’s works, interacted with each other, and often did so for polemical and non-polemical reasons. [Read more…] about How Did 16th and 17th Reformed Theologians Interact with Post-Reformation Roman Catholics?

Reviewing Michael Foley’s New Translation of Augustine’s “Against the Academics” and “On the Happy Life”

January 12, 2021 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Michael Foley’s new translations of Augustine’s Against the Academics and On the Happy Life are brilliant. Every feature that I want in a translation appears here. [Read more…] about Reviewing Michael Foley’s New Translation of Augustine’s “Against the Academics” and “On the Happy Life”

Review: Brian Tabb’s “All Things New”

October 29, 2020 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Brain Tabb’s All Things New aims to provide a biblical-theological commentary on the book of Revelation. While overall quite successful, one design choice frustrated me and (I suspect) will also frustrate other readers. All Things New reads like a commentary but does not comment on the text in sequence. For that reason, it may annoy those who want to see Tabb’s interpretation of a specific passage since such comments are not always easy to locate.

That said, despite this flaw or design choice, Tabb’s work ably and clearly interprets the book of Revelation, while paying attention to biblical and theological themes throughout. Tabb sees Revelation as the climax of biblical prophecy (following Bauckham somewhat, see p. 24), which finds its end in Christ’s reign (2). He calls his perspective on Revelation a redemptive-historical idealism (10). In this way, he takes an eclectic approach to Revelation (9). [Read more…] about Review: Brian Tabb’s “All Things New”

How Important Is Union with Christ for Living the Christian Life? Answer: It Is Everything (review of Macaskill’s “Living in Union with Christ”)

September 27, 2020 by wagraham 4 Comments

Every pastor, student, and Christian should read Grant Macaskill’s Living in Union with Christ. Macaskill lucidly argues for the importance of being in Christ for the Christian life. Any account, he avers, that does not begin with “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives within me” (Gal 2:20) amounts to a species of legalism because it assumes that “I” (the agent) have accomplished something apart from Christ. [Read more…] about How Important Is Union with Christ for Living the Christian Life? Answer: It Is Everything (review of Macaskill’s “Living in Union with Christ”)

Review of Constructing Paul by Luke Timothy Johnson

September 11, 2020 by wagraham 1 Comment

Luke Timothy Johnson wrote Constructing Paul with the expertise of one who has spent much of his life studying Paul and his world. In this first of two volumes, Johnson lays out his vision for constructing Paul.

Johnson explains, “In this work I propose a third sort of construction, not of the life and thought of the ‘historical Paul,’ nor Paul’s thought as understood or used by later ecclesiastical commentators and theologians, but of the elements required for a responsible reading of the letters ascribed to Paul in the New Testament canon” (12–13).

He continues: “The essays in this first volume undertake an assessment of all the elements needed for a reader to do serious study of these letters” (13).

In essence, volume one provides the framework to hear Paul’s voice, which Johnson hopes to convey (or hear) in the second volume (15). The first volume of Constructing Paul thus provides the scaffolding to undertake serious study of Paul’s letters, which Johnson will illustrate in volume 2.

How Did Paul Write His Letters? (Or Why His Letters Don’t Have Emotional Flourishes that Get Away from Him)

September 8, 2020 by wagraham 1 Comment

Sometimes we read Paul and think, “Wow, his emotional intensity here really tells me how he feels” or “wow, he got lost in his argument due to his zealousness.” In fact, neither of these observations can be true.

We cannot psychoanalyze Paul nor gain insight into his emotional life in such a direct way. We cannot do so partly because of the nature of letter writing and because of Paul’s own testimony. These preclude us from making such judgments when we read him.

Paul could not have written letters with emotional flourish (at least not in a modern sense) for the following reasons: