Book Review

Nick Megoran’s Warlike Christians in an Age of Violence is a call for Evangelical Christians to lay down their arms. “Peace is not a marginal issue” for Evangelicals, Megoran contends, but is at the heart of what it means to be a “biblical gospel church.” Embracing peace “will allow us to practice and proclaim a…

It is by now cliché to point out that contemporary culture is saturated with mediated images. Since Marshall McLuhan, it has also become increasingly commonplace to assume that this diverse profusion of images has replaced nature as the primary environment in which we live, move, and have our being. Such an overwhelming omnipresence of media…

Not all historical fictions are created equal. Most valuable are those informed by years of study, research, and reflection which take seriously the history and context of ancient texts and their characters. In A Week in the Fall of Jerusalem, Ben Witherington III offers us just such a gem that presents lives of early Christians…

Those who take the time to read Teaching and Christian Imagination may feel like they have experienced refreshment from some kind of retreat or even perhaps from a kind of spiritual pilgrimage. They will have had occasion to step back and see the vocation of teaching in new and imaginative ways. In the book’s early…

When students in my media courses start in on the usual litany about the evils of digital media and how they are threatening our “real” relationships and communication skills, I am always a little surprised, first that they would spend so much time with technology they believe to be ruining their individual characters and society.…

The 2005 publication of a comparison of the chimpanzee genome and the human genome revealed overwhelming evidence of common ancestry for human beings and other primates. For Christians trained in genetics and genomics, it also provided the most substantial challenge to date to the historicity of Adam. Until that time, many believers who study science…

The tradition and legacy of Dutch theologian, politician, and journalist (and more) Abraham Kuyper and his theologian colleague Herman Bavinck have been often regarded as the special or narrow object of interest of those associated with denominations and institutions with roots in the Netherlands. Craig G. Bartholomew has written Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition with…

“Political theology” signifies two types of inquiry, concerning either the political implications of theological thought or the theological presuppositions of political theory. Recent surveys of the subdiscipline have tended to adopt the former approach. For instance, An Eerdmans Reader in Contemporary Political Theology (William B. Eerdmans, 2011), edited by William T. Cavanaugh, Jeffrey W. Bailey,…

A lot of people think very highly of this book. From the flyleaf: Michael Horten describes it as a “big gift” in a “small package.” “This book will brush the dust from your dingy days,” says Karen Swallow Prior. Warren has “beautifully ‘enfleshed’ the concepts and doctrines of our faith into quotidian moments,” offers Katelyn…

Reviewed by John W. Wright, Theology and Christian Ministry, Point Loma Nazarene University It should not surprise us to find Richard Dawkins at the head of the 2013 Prospect Magazine poll of the 100 most influential intellectuals in the world.See David Wolf, “World Thinkers,” Prospect Magazine, April 24, 2013, accessed May 28, 2013, http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/world-thinkers-2013/. Scientism…

Reviewed by Max A. Hunter, Biology, Seattle Pacific University In Dust and Breath: Faith, Health—And Why the Church Should Care About Both, Kendra G. Hotz and Matthew T. Mathews offer a provocative analysis of the relationship between church life, theology, health, and social structure. Through insightful arguments and engaging accounts, the authors elucidate the relationship…

Reviewed by Don Petcher, Physics, Covenant College Divine activity in the world has been a “hot topic” over the last decade and more, so a book with some fresh insights on the subject is always welcome. Harry Lee Poe and Jimmy Davis’s book is just such a contribution, and provides a stimulating read touching on…

Reviewed by Jerry Pattengale, Assistant Provost, Indiana Wesleyan University If Craig Dykstra’s comments on a higher education book prompt a pause, his endorsement of one on vocation should arrest your attention. In this case, his jacket comments both summarize and champion The American College Presidency as Vocation as “a great addition to the expanding literature…

Reviewed by Melissa Franklin Harkrider, History, Wheaton College This collection of essays provides a detailed and comparative evaluation of sacred history in Renaissance and Reformation Europe. Sacred history here is broadly defined as the study of the Christian church – its clergy and laity as well as the doctrinal and institutional developments that shaped it…

Reviewed by William M. Struthers, Psychology, Wheaton College When evangelical theologians and scientists come to the table to dialogue, it is not uncommon for sparks to fly. The topic may be cosmology, human origins, or morality, but for quite some time there has been considerable push and pull between these two camps which can be…

Reviewed by Kyle A. Schenkewitz, Theological Studies, Saint Louis University Ronald E. Heine observes a lacuna in undergraduate-focused theology texts. His intention is to provide a “gateway into the beliefs and teachings of the early Christians” that would compliment the growing academic interest in early Christian writers (vii). Heine incorporates the Nicene Creed as the…

Reviewed by Craig Hinnenkamp, Global Commerce and Management, Whitworth University An increasing number of writers in both Christian and secular journals are calling for a fundamental change in the basic orientation and purpose of business. Articulated from a faith-based perspective, J. Van Duzer et al. proposes the purpose of business is to serve God through…

Reviewed by Holly Catterton Allen, Child and Family Studies, John Brown University Justin Barrett’s basic claim in Born Believers is that due to unique features of the developing human mind, children from a very young age are naturally receptive to the idea that there is at least one god—that is, they are “born believers.” Barrett…

Reviewed by Stephen N. Bretsen, Business and Economics, Wheaton College The cover art on Andrew Skotnicki’s book The Last Judgment: Christian Ethics in a Legal Culture is disconcerting. The simple black and white drawing, called Judge Jesus by Mike Gregg, depicts a hollow-eyed Jesus with a beard and long hair bearing the crown of thorns…

Reviewed by Christine A. Colón, English, Wheaton College Recently, I read a post by a Christian blogger who, in response to harsh criticism, was trying to defend his use of language regarding women’s roles in marriage. He argued that he never meant to victimize women with his words and then tried to defend himself by…