Books

Review of Truth We Can Touch by Tim Chester

February 23, 2020 by wagraham 1 Comment

Tim Chester has skillfully written a short book on how baptism and communion should shape our lives. His easy communication style makes Truth We Can Touch accessible to a large audience—even to those who do not often read theological books.

In this sense, the book could easily help churches teach their congregations the meaning of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. It could also be a textbook at the college level. I recommend the work to anyone interested in the topic—I had only some minor quibbles with the work. [Read more…] about Review of Truth We Can Touch by Tim Chester

How Did Early Christians Understand “The Works of the Law” (A review of Matthew J. Thomas’s “Paul’s ‘Works of the Law'”)

February 17, 2020 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Matthew J. Thomas contributes to an ongoing discussion that surrounds the meaning of “the works of the law” in Paul’s writings. Thomas demonstrates how early Christians understood Paul through the reception of the apostle’s teaching in the second century. It is obvious that the apostolic teaching would have an immediate effect on Christians who presumably understand what Paul meant when he spoke to them. Not only that, but they also lived in a similar word with a shared culture.

Thomas quotes Lewis in this regard:

“The idea that any man or writer should be opaque to those who lived in the same culture, spoke the same language, shared the same habitual imagery and unconscious assumptions, and yet be transparent to those who have none of these advantages, is in my opinion preposterous. There is an a priori improbability in it which almost no argument and no evidence could counterbalance” (209, citing “Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism” in Lewis 1977).

This seems to be an imminently sane conclusion. And Thomas pursues this line of thought throughout his work, Paul’s ‘Works of the Law’ in the Perspective of Second Century Reception. His study concludes that second century Christians understood Paul’s works of the law along similar lines to the new perspective(s) on Paul rather than the old perspective (i.e., the 16th century reformed view). [Read more…] about How Did Early Christians Understand “The Works of the Law” (A review of Matthew J. Thomas’s “Paul’s ‘Works of the Law’”)

Review of Sergii Bulgakov’s The Apocalypse of John

January 19, 2020 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Sergii Bulgakov (1871–1944) wrote The Apocalypse of John during the German occupation of France in World War II. And so having fled Russia during the Bolshevik persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922, Bulgakov once again experienced the fires of persecution. As his colleagues entered into concentration camps, he taught the book of Revelation to students who recount his intense focus in these latter years of his life. He would not emerge from the war alive, dying in July 1944 of a stroke. [Read more…] about Review of Sergii Bulgakov’s The Apocalypse of John

Does God Have Emotions like Us? (Review: Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God’s Emotions and Suffering)

December 6, 2019 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Robert Matz and A. Chadwick Thornhill have edited a volume on the doctrine of impassibility. In the book, four authors argue for God’s impassibility or its opposite: God’s passibility. Each of the four authors situates the doctrine of (im)passibility along biblical lines, which has the benefit of clarifying the relationship between doctrine and Scripture. At the same time, the editorial restrictions for this volume prevent it from being a smashing success. [Read more…] about Does God Have Emotions like Us? (Review: Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God’s Emotions and Suffering)

The Perfection of the Human Being (review of John Behr’s John the Theologian & His Pachal Gospel)

November 30, 2019 by wagraham Leave a Comment

When John connects the Word in John 1 to the words of creation in Genesis 1, John Behr sees the completion of the project of God—the creation of the human being. The perfection of the human being happens not as we might expect but in the Passion of Christ which includes not just the cross but the entire scope of the gospel story.

To reach his conclusion, Behr joins the horizons of history, reception history (later interpretation), and phenomenology (specifically, of Michel Henry). While he may not explicitly state it, Behr throughout synthesizes the various horizons to make a case for the revelation of Jesus, the Word of God, at the cross. And through his life-giving flesh offered at the cross, we become sons of God, living human beings.

Does he succeed in making his case? In many ways, he does since his goal partly means accurately reporting early Christian interpretation of John (Ignatius, Ireneaus, and so on). However, his interpretation of the Gospel of John is less persuasive. By saying this, I do not mean his entire interpretive project misses the mark (John does portray Christ as the paschal lamb who perfects humanity in the passion). Yet I find a number of his interpretations to be historically improbable. [Read more…] about The Perfection of the Human Being (review of John Behr’s John the Theologian & His Pachal Gospel)

Are There Metaphysical Foundations for Physical and Biological Science? (Review of Ed Feser’s Aristotle’s Revenge)

November 1, 2019 by wagraham 2 Comments

Philosopher Ed Feser wrote Aristotle’s Revenge to show that metaphysics complements modern science rather than becoming obsolete due to it. In fact, modern science presupposes, argues Feser, metaphysics.

Did he succeed? Largely. Could he have improved his argument? Probably. Let me first describe scholastic metaphysics before highlighting some of Feser’s major arguments. I will recommend Aristotle’s Revenge with some caveats at the conclusion. [Read more…] about Are There Metaphysical Foundations for Physical and Biological Science? (Review of Ed Feser’s Aristotle’s Revenge)