Book Review - Everyday Theology

INTRODUCTION

            In his book, Everyday Theology, Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer presents an instructive manual to reading and interpreting cultural texts and trends.  Drawing together a group of very astute writers, he presents a methodology for critiquing culture, offers several examples of his principles in action, and encourages his readers to thoughtfully interact with culture with an aim toward fuller discussions of the gospel within their cultural contexts. 

Book Review - The Green Letters

INTRODUCTION

            Miles J. Stanford’s book, The Complete Green Letters, is a compilation of five smaller books, all designed to lead the reader into a deeper Christian life.  The author’s aim in the sections to be reviewed “is to carefully bring out some of the more important principles of spiritual growth, to help the reader build on a solid biblical foundation in Christ,” and to analyze the principle of position in Christ on which “all spiritual growth is built.”[1]

OF SOULS AND STARSHIPS: SELF-ACTUALIZATION IN J.J. ABRAMS’ STAR TREK

INTRODUCTION

            The twentieth century gave birth to a vast array of technologies that changed the world.  From automobiles to air travel, the international community was brought closer as people were afforded the ability to cover great distances in record time.  Man walked on the moon, spit the atom, fought two world wars, and invented the computer and the internet.  These advances fueled economic expansion, spread ideas at an incredible pace, and reshaped the cultures of nearly every nation on earth. 

THREE VIEWS ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION

INTRODUCTION

The concept of election is one that is found throughout the witness of the Old and New Testaments.  For many, the word itself conjures up feelings of angst over theological debates that have raged for centuries. Exegetes and theologians have written extensively on the matter, and much of the debate has been civilized. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE SOUL

INTRODUCTION

The Christian life is a multi-faceted one.  It is a life of devotion, of community, of learning, and of service.  Throughout the process of human development, the Christian may experience periods of time where focus on certain aspects increases as others decrease.  Additionally, some may come to feel that certain aspects of Christian life are relatively unimportant to their particular walk. 

Law and Grace

INTRODUCTION

The Bible, to many of its critics, is a book of legalistic, unrealistic principles imposed by a demanding God.  To others, it is the ultimate declaration of liberty.  Still others see a book whose pages seem to contradict each other.  Since the time of Christ, the question of how to reconcile the principles in the Old, that is, the law, with the message of grace presented in the New has been debated. 

Theotokos - A Fourth Century Controversy Relevant today

To the modern-day Protestant, use of the term Theotokos is likely to produce quizzical looks and perhaps questions of “Theo-what?”  Were one to use the term’s rough English translation, “Mother of God”, people would not likely be as confused and, whether they were inclined to be congenial, indifferent, or hostile to its use, they would at least know that Mary, the mother of Jesus was being referred to. 

Book Review - Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, by Christopher A. Hall

Learning Theology with the Church Fathers By Christopher A. Hall Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2002, 307 pp, $18.00 paperback.

A pastor once said to me, “If you want information about God, books written in the last five years are great.  But, if you want intimacy with God read books written at least 500 years ago.”  He was drawing my attention to the fact that the authors of the first 1500 years of the Christian era wrote with a markedly different focus and depth than their more contemporary counterparts.  For some, however, picking up a copy of Augustine’s Confessions or Chrysostom’s On Providence is a daunting task.  Perhaps a modern book that interacts heavily with these classic texts is what is needed.