Reviews

Reviewed by Richard W. Pointer, History, Westmont College When Westmont revised its General Education curriculum about ten years ago, we created a new requirement in “thinking historically.” Students may select from a range of courses offered through various departments (history, art history, religious studies, music, and so on) covering a myriad of historical subjects and…

Reviewed by Andrew M. McCoy, Center for Ministry Studies, Hope College What makes worship “biblical?” This question would seem important for all Christians, but especially for those from evangelical and pietistic traditions for whom the Scriptures generally serve as a primary source of truth. Like many who grew up in these congregations, my earliest memories…

Reviewed by Louis Markos, English, and Robert H. Ray, Humanities, Houston Baptist University England is post-Christian in a way that America is not. Christian stories, imagery, and theological concepts permeate American culture; they do not do so on the other side of the pond. In America, religion still brings respectability; in England, it more often…

Reviewed by Bryan C. Hollon, Theology, Malone University In recent years, atheist critics of religion have been quite aggressive in working to get their message out. Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and a host of others have published popular books attacking theistic belief, and they have done a nice job promoting their…

Reviewed by Brian R. Bolt, Kinesiology, Calvin College When he wanted to make a point that could be understood by the widest possible audience, the apostle Paul’s metaphor of choice was sport. In sport Paul saw unrivaled tenacity, commitment, sacrifice, affinity, and intense love – all attributes he sought to stir in the hearts of…

Reviewed by Philip D. Byers, Graduate Student in History, Washington University in St. Louis For the latter half of the twentieth century, the ubiquity of the word “evangelical” in common parlance bore little correlation to the degree to which social commentators and water-cooler politicos actually understood the movement. Thankfully, diligent work by a generation of…

Reviewed by Jessica Hooten Wilson, English, John Brown University The human species is being threatened by a visible but unacknowledged enemy, which is not – as has been depicted so well by recent apocalyptic films – a contagious virus, a natural disaster, a mischievous Norse god, nor a potential nuclear war. The enemy is far…

Reviewed by Jillian Lederhouse, Education, Wheaton College Former Teach for America vice president of faith community relations and current founder of The Expectations Project, Nicole Baker Fulgham writes how her TFA experience and Christian faith have influenced her to advocate for education reform through a national platform. Although educational inequity has been a long-standing concern…

Reviewed by Jonathan Huggins, Chaplain, Berry College; Research Associate, Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology, Stellenbosch University Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat, by James D. Bratt, is a sizable and serious work of biographical scholarship. It is part of the Library of Religious Biography series, edited by Mark A. Noll, Nathan O. Hatch, and Allen C.…

Reviewed by Carol Sue Humphrey, History, Oklahoma Baptist University In Sarah Osborn’s World, Catherine Brekus presents readers with an excellent biography of an influential woman who is not often discussed in history books. Using Osborn’s memoir and letters, Brekus provides a good understanding of Osborn and the world in which she lived. Brekus also uses…

Reviewed by Stephen M. King, Political Science, Taylor University, and Michelle L. King, Student, John Wesley Honors College, Indiana Wesleyan University A new release by Joshua Hordern, University Lecturer in Christian Ethics at Oxford, titled Political Affections: Civic Participation and Moral Theology, is a significant addition to our conceptual understanding of the nature and role…

Reviewed by Rachel Pietka, English, Baylor University Literature and Theology: New Interdisciplinary Spaces takes its place among other similar projects that have been published in the last few years: Finding a Common Thread: Understanding Great Texts from Homer to O’Connor (2013), Hard Sayings: The Rhetoric of Christian Orthodoxy in Late Modern Fiction (2013), Between Truth…

Reviewed by Gregory S. MaGee, Biblical Studies, Taylor University Is it possible that Reformation-inspired interpretations of Paul’s theology have diverted attention away from Paul’s interest in visual piety?This question may sound familiar to those who have followed discussions about the so-called New Perspective on Paul in recent decades. Advocates of the New Perspective on Paul…

Reviewed by James E. Bruce, Religion & Philosophy, John Brown University At its best, Vern Sheridan Poythress’s Logic offers succinct arguments and thoughtful explanations. For example, informal fallacies work by counterfeiting genuine arguments, such as how the fallacy of bifurcation (or false dilemma) “counterfeits the truth that in some cases there are actually only two…

Reviewed by Timothy J. Peck, Director of Chapel Programs and Lecturer, Azusa Pacific University One of the endemic challenges of the modern university system is the fragmentation of university life. Cary Balzer and Rod Reed’s Building a Culture of Faith seeks to help Christian universities address this fragmentation as it relates to spiritual formation by…

Reviewed by Tawa J. Anderson, Philosophy, Oklahoma Baptist University James Smith’s 2009 Desiring the Kingdom was the first of a three-part series on envisioning ‘Cultural Liturgies’ to enrich Christian spiritual and education formation. Imagining the Kingdom continues the narrative and exhortation, insisting that imagination must lie at the center of Christian formation. Smith’s Imagining the…

Reviewed by Michael Buratovich, Biochemistry, Spring Arbor University Several atheist scientists have written books arguing that their worldview ennobles humanity, engenders a deep appreciation of nature, provides the proper motivation and impetus for habitat and species conservation, and cultivates a reverent wonder of the majesty and intricacies of our planet and the universe. Christian scientists…

Reviewed by Kimberly Carmichael Thornbury, Senior Vice President for Student Services and Dean of Students, Union University Higher education faces ongoing major challenges including student access and affordability, massive budget constraints, and a race to find innovative ways to deliver educational products through online platforms. Christian higher education faces additional attacks, primarily issues of religious…

Reviewed by Thomas Jay Oord, Theology and Philosophy, Northwest Nazarene University I know of no finer, more accurate, or more accessible explanation of a Thomistic view of divine action than Michael Dodds’s recently published book, Unlocking Divine Action: Contemporary Science and Thomas Aquinas. This is an immensely important book, and those who care about issues…

Reviewed by Brian Glenney, Philosophy, Gordon College Life evolves according to something like PANDA: Progressive complexity, Ancestors in common, Natural selection, Descent with modification, Ancient earth. The phenomenon of natural selection, for example, reveals that living things with the most adaptive traits continue to exist. But some aspects of how adaptive traits become selected remain…