Wisdom Christology is here

Late this week I got it in the mail. Then, about mid morning today, I got it in my hands (insert mail-receiving realities of apartment living). Here's what I saw first:

"Two features of this book merit particular praise. ... Ebert carefully demolishes the 'Jesus as Lady Sophia' Christology ... and fulsomely displays how true wisdom is rightly connected to Jesus Christ. Moreover, the author writes well." - D.A. Carson

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"A marvelous example of biblical theology ... grounded in solid research, yet very accessible." - Douglas J. Moo

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"Pastoral, insightful, and significant. ... Models how careful exegesis ground sound theology and shoes how sound theology must be applied." - Christopher W. Morgan

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"Demonstrates persuasively how wisdom, a central Old Testament theme, played a constraining role in the apostolic era's first-order question, 'Who is Jesus?'" - Mark S. Gignilliat

And the above recommendations are only truncated versions of the high praise for Dan Ebert's new book I found when I turned the first page. Then, when I navigated to Amazon to grab a link for this post, I saw the world's largest online retailer announcing to shoppers that Wisdom Christology is almost sold out.

A great cloud

Systematic theology is important. Taking the Bible’s teaching and answering questions about God’s nature, the Bible’s presentation of anthropology and what exactly this thing called church should be provides applications of Scripture that instruct the church and prod her toward godliness. But systematic theology is necessarily done by people.

So theology is a decidedly human project, complete with all of the influences and experiences to which all people are bound. For instance, the Christian formulation of the Trinity, came as a response to those who questioned the deity of Jesus. For this reason, it became imperative for the church to articulate the teaching of the Bible concerning Jesus’ function within the godhead. Without at least a cursory knowledge of its history, one cannot fully understand the importance of clearly and deliberately promoting a Trinitarian Christology.

For this reason, Gregg R. Allison, professor of Christian theology at Southern Seminary, provided the church with a resource tracing the growth and development of the foundational doctrines of Protestant theology.

“Such concentration on the accumulated wisdom of the ages provides great benefit to Christians and churches today as they seeks to live faithfully and obediently to Jesus Christ,” writes Allision.

Allison’s new book Historical Theology, closely follows Wayne Grudem’s popular-standard Systematic Theology, tracing the historical development of the doctrines Grudem presents. Billed as “companion” to Grudem, Allison’s book resembles Grudem’s in both its organization and format.

In his introduction, Allison lists eight reasons for studying historical theology: (1) the church owns a long history of guarding orthodox Christianity against heresy; (2) faithful and diligent Christians in the past contributed foundational biblical interpretations and theological formulations on which the church still relies; (3) church history is home to admirable examples of Christians living as examples of Christ; (4) studying Scripture with personalities from history combats individualism; (5) historical theology informs the church’s communication to her current context; (6) history naturally emphasizes the most important issues -- majors on the majors; (7) the past shines with examples of God’s promise-keeping faithfulness to his people; and (8) historical theology places the church in a long-standing tradition of learning, preaching and living the gospel.

Allison, following Grudem, treats the primary areas of theology: the Bible, God, humanity, Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the church and the end of time. For each area, he surveys teachings on the subject from the early church, the middle ages, Reformation and post-Reformation and modern times.

“My hope is that the church, and evangelicals in particular, will become as familiar with the giant of the past -- clement of Rome, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, John Wesley, Karl Barth -- as they are with Billy Graham, John Piper, J.I. Packer, Chuck Colson, Ravi Zacharias, Tim Keller, Al Mohler, and Mark Driscoll.”

As an introduction to historical theology, Allison’s new work will not disappoint the reader who seeks to learn from that great cloud of witnesses in church history.

Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Zondervan 2011, $44.99), Gregg R. Allison

Chilling in culture's living room

Coffee shops function as the pop culture living room. And often, especially in urban areas, these living rooms attract a large diversity of people.

In his 2010 book, The Diversity Culture, author Matthew Raley, senior pastor of the Orland Evangelical Free Church in northern California, uses the word “diversity” in two different ways: diversity referencing the multitude of backgrounds and perspectives of people in the coffee shop, and the diversity of influences shaping the perspectives of those in the cultural living room.

Raley’s thesis is that too often Christians tie themselves down to textbook-type conceptions of unbelievers and their beliefs and thus fail to acknowledge that complex factor that shape most people’s beliefs.

He points to the fact that most of the people labeled with a postmodern worldview rarely, if ever, interact with such postmodern thinkers as Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. Rather, their thoughts and attitudes toward politics, religion and ethics come from a cultural attitude formed from the diversity of voices in society.

“In trying to deal with the most significant cultural shift of our time, therefore, evangelicals are not sure what they face. They aren’t sure how the shift affects the individuals they talk to. Nor are they sure what their role should be in relation to those individuals,” Raley writes. Should they educate them about postmodernity? (Probably not a wise posture.) Should they try to accommodate their views? (Definitely not wise.) The sheer diversity of attitudes on the street is daunting. ”

He teases out the tensions accompanying this daunting diversity in his book’s three self-explanatory sections: “Understand the tension,” “Formulate the message” and “Apply the model.” Raley calls his readers to faithfully communicate the good news to those who need it.

“There is always pressure to redefine the faith so that it fits ungodly prejudices betters. For instance, some are experimenting again with the notion that people of other faiths will be saved as long as they are sincere. Some others want to blur the biblical standards on sexuality so that we seem less prudish,” he writes. “None of these faux-biblical positions will lead people to Jesus.”

In his conclusion, Raley tells the story of being in college and realizing that his cookie cutter perceptions about people and their beliefs hindered his communication of the gospel.

“My gospel was self-indulgent too. It consisted of the points I wanted to make rather than the truths people needed to hear. I wanted to say that there were moral absolutes, and I wanted to pile up the evidence. I wanted to prove the inerrancy of Scripture. I wanted to expound the doctrines of total depravity and election,” he writes. “All of the things I wanted to say are true. But most of my peers were trying to figure out if their parents loved them. They needed to truth of the gospel applied to them specifically. (Abstract coherence is one of the most insidious forms of self-indulgence I have. It allows me to ignore the hot problems around me in favor of cool formulas.)”

This others-conscience focus drives the gospel-formulations in The Diversity Culture.

The Diversity Culture: Creating Conversations of Faith with Buddhist Baristas, Agnostic Students, Aging Hippies, Political Activists, and Everyone in Between (Kregel 2010, $12.99), Matthew Raley

COEXIST

It’s fairly common to see one of those “COEXIST” bumper stickers. One odd thing about them is that they decorate several different kinds of cars. So it seems that people from many walks of life – or at least car styles – want seven of the world’s religions to coexist. But the most intriguing thing about the commonplace decal is its ambiguity. Does it mean “Don’t kill everyone from other religions – exist together?” If so, it’s a needless car decoration, because the world’s religions are coexisting. Look around, indeed many different religions exist, often even in the same place.

If the bumper sticker aims at something less than Zen Buddhists killing Muslims, then most likely those who brandish the always-faded blue sticker suggest that all of the represented religions are equally valid. Considering such things brings with it the obvious question, “Are all these different beliefs the same?”

In his new book, A God of Many Understandings?, Todd L. Miles, assistant professor of theology and hermeneutics at Western Seminary and a graduate of Southern Seminary, attempts to provide his readers with a theology of world religions – how Christians should think about religions in relation to the Gospel.

“A theology of religions seeks, in a coherent and consistent manner, to answer questions concerning the relationships among world religions, special revelation, general revelation, and salvation,” Miles writes in his first chapter. “Of primary consequence, a Christian theology of religions seeks to answer these questions: Is there salvation outside conscious faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? If so, how is it appropriated? Why are people incurably religious, and where do their religious impulses and convictions arise? … How are Christians to relate to religious others as they bring the Gospel of truth to them?”

In answering these questions, Miles walks his readers through the Scriptures, summarizing the biblical teachings concerning such topics as monotheism, God’s uniqueness and the missionary works of the early church. He then builds a case against the increasingly popular teachings of universalism.

“Universalism is currently growing in popularity due to the deadly combination of teaching by some high-profile individuals who have professed Christ, a church that is biblically illiterate, and a postmodern ethos where unanchored and incoherent sentimentalities trump the biblical presentation of God and His Christ,” Miles claims, emphasizing the urgency of the issue.

After briefly addressing the shortcomings of pluralistic worldviews, Miles turns his attention to the idea that the all religions somehow offer the merits of Christ to their adherents, even those with no conscious knowledge of him. He offers two chapters about this inclusivism, the first descriptive and the second critiquing inclusivist ideas within evangelicalism. These evangelical formulations claim that the Spirit works, in some salvific manner, in multiple religions around the world. Clearly sensing the importance of this issue, Miles writes follow-up chapters in which he argues that the Bible does not allow for a theological method that begins with the Spirit, especially as isolated from the Son. He then concludes his study investigating the relationship between the Son and Spirit, an investigation “built upon the foundation of a canonical biblical theology that is consciously christocentric.”

“If one understands the essence of Christianity to be facts about God, cultivation of personal devotion, advocacy of social justice, or the development of the nuclear family, the other religions may bring their own set of credentials to the discussion. But Christianity, at its core, is not any of these things,” Miles concludes. “A Christian is one who trusts the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is thereby justified by God, reconciled to God, indwelt by God’s Spirit, and is being progressively transformed into the image of Christ in anticipation of Christ’s return to consummate His Kingdom.

“Sympathetic attempts to seek salvific potential in non-Christian knowledge of God are misguided because other religions are not centered around the saving work of Jesus Christ.”

A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (B&H 2010, $29.99), Todd L Miles

Wisdom Christology

I'm super excited about this forthcoming book:

Wisdom Christology: How Jesus becomes God's wisdom for us (P&R 2011), Daniel J. Ebert

The most influential English book

Few books last.

Now the ink and paper of these books last as long as any other such materials, but the impression and impact of most books lasts little longer than their time on the new release shelf.

A few distinct exceptions last much longer. In Christian literature, the still-lasting effects and growing current impact of Augustine’s Confessions, Calvin’s Institutes and Edwards’ Religious Affections represent some of these exceptions. But no book – and certainly no other piece of media – has affected the world as has the Bible. And in terms of the English-speaking world, no translation of the Bible has provided a more far-reaching influence than the King James Bible.

In celebration of the now 400 year legacy of the KJB, Leland Ryken, professor of English at Wheaton College, has written a book outlining the background and historical and cultural impact of the Authorized Version: The Legacy of the King James Bible: Celebrating 400 Years of the Most Influential Translation.

“The publication of the Kind James Bible in 1611 was a landmark event in the English-speaking world,” Ryken writes. “In fact, I tell students in my English literature courses that is was the major event in English and American literature. Perhaps the importance is even greater than that: what has influenced the whole history of England and America more than the King James Bible?”

Ryken supports his thesis by organizing The legacy of the King James Bible into four areas. These areas address:

1. The KJB’s status as the climax of a century of English Bible translation

2. The influence of the King James Bible on all future English translations, and even English-speaking culture as a whole

3. The literary nature of the KJB itself – “excellence,” according to Ryken

4. The impact of the King James Bible on both English and American literature

Concluding, Ryken claims that the West’s diminished use of the King James Bible – rightly diminished in terms of making use of more recent manuscript findings – has led to the loss of a common Bible for Christianity, and this loss has led to an “eclipse” of the authority of the Bible. Biblical literacy largely declined when the KJB declined in use. Ryken affirms a colleague’s observation that since the “proliferation of modern translations, even Christian students became inept at seeing biblical references in literature.”

While Ryken’s assessment of the KJB is certainly positive and celebratory, he does admit that he is not primarily reader of the monumental work, preferring rather the updating English of more current translations. Further, readers who are not familiar with the Shakespearian-style English employed by the Authorized Version should use a Bible they can understand, Ryken suggests.

For anyone is unfamiliar with the history of the KJB, Ryken’s new volume is a good place to start. He combines interesting storytelling, balanced analysis and significant literary experience into an accessible book that is surely appropriate commemorating the 400^th anniversary of perhaps history’s the most influential Bible.

The Legacy of the King James Bible: Celebrating 400 Years of the Most Influential English Translation (Crossway 2011, $15.99), Leland Ryken

LL Cool J introduces essays about Christianity

LL Cool J?

Many quotes and phrases leave a large impact on history, so much so that such sayings need no citation. Without hesitation, most Americans recognize “four score and seven years ago” and the famous “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Around Christian circles, “Here I stand” represents a significant statement from history, the speaker of which few need reminding. And, of course, “It is finished” is perhaps one of the most recognizable statements in history – in several languages.

Now, the quotes above come from the mouths of Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther and Jesus respectively. The significance of these figures almost necessitates that their statements leave an enduring impact. But what about LL Cool J?

A new book edited by Kevin DeYoung, Don’t Call It a Comeback, poetically carries a title matching the opening line from LL Cool J’s 1990 song “Mama Said Knock You Out.” LL Cool J doesn’t want people calling it a comeback because, according to him, he’s been “here” for years. And accordingly, this collection of essays aimed at introducing a young generation of Christians to the “most important articles of [the Christian] faith and what it looks like to live out this faith in real life,” and reasserting the “theological nature of evangelicalism.”

“Our hope is that this book might be of some small use in reforming God’s church according to the Word of God and forming Christians in the truth of God’s Word,” DeYoung writes in the introduction.

Don’t Call It a Comeback features 18 chapters, each written by a young(er) pastor or teacher within the evangelical movement. Contributors include Southern Seminary’s Denny Burk, Russell D. Moore and Owen Strachan, along with writers such as Collin Hansen, Ted Kluck and Justin Taylor.

DeYoung organizes the essays into three sections: evangelical history, evangelical theology and evangelical practice. These essays address topic ranging from the history of evangelicalism, the unique nature of Scripture, the Kingdom and the place of Christianity in discussions about gender.

The breadth of topics in this brief book, its accessible writing and pastoral tone contribute to Don’t Call It a Comeback forming a helpful resource for a young generation of Christians who seek to think and live biblically. And for Christians looking for a theological home, this new book offers a case for the confessional nature of historical evangelicalism, even for 21^st-century believers.

So don’t call it a comeback; historic Christianity has been here for years – rocking its peers and putting suckas in fear.

Don’t Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day (Crossway 2011, $16.99), Kevin DeYoung, ed.