I’ve decided that in the future all academic book reviews should add a common courtesy. When I’m about to read the summary of a film or a novel, those that give away crucial plot twists will dutifully declare, *Spoiler Alert!* Academics, however, have not typically been so thoughtful. I therefore call upon all of you, [...]
This weekend I was able to finish reading James McGrath‘s The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context. The book explores the extent to which, if any, early Christian monotheism is a “Christological monotheism”. Did the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus cause a redefinition of “the only true God” in the [...]
In the final chapter of Part 1 of Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics, Sam Wells moves from “narrative as drama” to “drama as improvisation.” The idea that Christian theology and ethics is dramatic leads to the notion that these are to be performed. And there is a great deal in such a view that [...]
Part 1 of Samuel Wells‘ Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics traces a movement from Ethics as Theology (ch. 1) through Theology as Narrative (ch. 2) and thence from Narrative as Drama (ch. 3) to Drama as Improvisation (ch. 4). Having covered the intro and thoughts on theology and narrative last time, we move now [...]
With deep gratitude to my friend David Vinson for putting me on to it, I am now reading through Samuel Wells, Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics. (Two asides: (1) everyone needs a friend or two who read everything we should have read and lets us know about it; and (2) since getting a conservative [...]
At First Things, Gary Anderson (OT Prof at Notre Dame) gives a glowing review of Kavin Rowe’s, World Upside Down.
The Review of Biblical Literature just put up a review of Unlocking Romans. I find book reviews fascinating. One is never sure what a reviewer will pick up on or what they’re bringing to the table with them that is shaping their perception of the work. In this case, the reviewer chose to hone in [...]
I’ve put it off as long as I could, but I’m finally starting to climb Mount Everest (= reading Douglas Campbell, The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul). I confess that I’m going into this kicking and screaming–not just because the book is 1180ish pages long, but also because I tend [...]
Michael Pahl has a new book out over at Wipf and Stock, From Resurrection to New Creation: A First Journey in Christian Theology.I had a chance to read it along the way. It is a fantastic intro to Christian theology. If you’re charged with doing a “Christianity 101″ course in your church, this is the [...]
Since one of my readers/FB friends guilted me into taking responsibility for the fact that theosis is a huge them of Michael Gorman‘s Inhabiting the Cruciform God, I will deal with it in this final post on the book. I was intending to not deal with it because the other two issues (justification and non-violence) [...]
