A Long List of Books for 2012 – Part 2
By Matthew Barrett –
As I stated in part 1, one of my favorite things about the New Year is looking ahead to all the books that were just released or will be released. Here are some of the books I am looking forward to reading in the New Year. I anticipate that many of these books will be fine reads, others frustrating and agitating reads, and still others informative.
The Preacher and Preaching: Reviving the Art. Edited by Samuel T. Logan Jr. P&R, 2011.
This book looks tremendous, pulling together many of the best preachers on the subject of preaching itself. Here are some of the chapters you may want to read:
The Whole Man, by R. C. Sproul
Preaching Christ From All the Scriptures, by Edmund P. Clowney
Exegesis, by Sinclair B. Ferguson
Preaching and Systematic Theology, by Donald Macleod
Powerful Preaching, by Geoffrey Thomas
The Preacher and Piety, Erroll Hulse
The Preacher and Scholarship, by James Montgomery Boice
Evangelicals and Nicene Faith: Reclaiming the Apostolic Witness (Beeson Divinity Studies)
The Nicene Creed is one of the oldest statements of faith and in this new volume sixteen scholars examine its significance. Some chapters that drew my attention include:
Whoseover Will Be Saved: The Athanasian Creed and the Modern Church, by Gerald Bray
The Reformers and the Nicene Faith: An Assumed Catholicity, by Carl Beckwith
Confessional, Baptist, and Arminian: The General-Free Will Baptist Tradition and the Nicene Faith, by J. Matthew Pinson
Can the Church Emerge without or with the Nicene Creed? By Mark DeVine
Delighted by Doctrine: A Tribute to Jaroslav Pelikan, by Timothy George
Life in God: John Calvin, Practical Formation, and the Future of Protestant Theology
It is unfortunate when people think of Calvin as an ivory tower intellectual. Boulton’s new book seeks to argue that theology for Calvin is to be done for the purpose of practical formation and spiritual discipline. Herman Selderhuis writes of the volume, “A stimulating and fresh approach to Calvin’s Institutes. Boulton succeeds in demonstrating that for Calvin doctrine is in itself practical – and that Protestant theology today can gain much from reading Calvin.”
Calvin’s Ladder: A Spiritual Theology of Ascent and Ascension
Eerdmans calls this new book a “groundbreaking study” of Calvin’s theology. Well, they have my attention. Who new this was still possible given the overwhelming amount of Calvin publications! Eerdmans claims that Canlis recovers neglected but common themes in Calvin, which he shared with the patristics. She argues that Calvin’s work is shot through with a theology of “participation,” placing Calvin in the “mystical tradition.” This is sure to be controversial!
Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism. Edited by Bruce L. McCormack & Clifford B. Anderson. Eerdmans, 2011.
Bartian studies continues to rage. Every year I see a handful of new books on Barth. One recent book that is a serious study of Barth is Karl Barth and American Evangelicalism. Fred Sanders writes, “Barth and the evangelicals have a complicated history, punctuated by periodic attempts to define the relationship. This carefully edited set of essays is the most rigorous, informed, and programmatic intervention so far. It illuminates old fights (Van Til’s critique), explores new territory (the emergent church movement, Radical Orthodoxy), and above all defines the doctrinal loci where the interests of evangelical theology and the legacy of Barth intersect.”
Here are some chapters I am eager to read:
Beyond the Battle for the Bible: What Evangelicals Missed in Van Til’s Critique of Barth, by D. G. Hart
Covenant, Election, and Incarnation: Evaluating Barth’s Actualist Christology, by Michael Horton
So That He May Be Merciful to All: Karl Barth and the Problem of Universalism, by Bruce McCormack
Evangelical Questioning of Election in Barth: A Pneumatological Perspective from the Reformed Heritage, by Suzanne McDonald
No Comprehensive Views, No Final Conclusions: Karl Barth, Open-Ended Dogmatics, and the Emerging Church, by John Franke
Afterword: Reflections on Van Til’s Critique of Barth, by Bruce McCormack
Heaven in the American Imagination
Gary Scot takes a look at how we have pictured heaven, from the Puritans to the present day. He argues that how we view heaven varies according to the spirit of the age. Mark Noll writes, “This is America, after all, so we should not be surprised that this rich account of speculations about heaven is chock full of the sophisticated and the crass, the sublime and the ridiculous, the mystical and the maudlin. The book reveals a great deal about eternal life as conceived by Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Jews, and others-but perhaps even more about the American circumstances in which these conceptions have been expressed.”
Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction. By Richard J. Mouw. Eerdmans, 2011.
In this brief introduction to Kuyper, Mouw outlines Kuyper’s “Christian cultural discipleship, including his views on sphere sovereignty, the antithesis, common grace, and more.” This should make for an interesting read as Mouw seeks to apply Kuyper to contemporary cultural and religious issues. In light of the debate over the mission of the church, Mouw’s volume may only keep this debate going.
Gospel Powered Humility. By William Farley. P&R, 2011.
What a great title! And what an important Christian virtue! But as Farley argues, humility must be powered by the gospel. Farley argues that humility is not just another virtue but the most necessary virtue. Tim Challies writes, “In The Holiness of God, R. C. Sproul says that the reason he wrote a book on holiness was a deep awareness of his own lack of holiness. Similarly, William Farley wrote this book out of an awareness of his lack of humility. . . . Gospel-Powered Humility carefully grounds humility in the good news of the gospel. This is a book that will teach and convict every believer.”
How Jesus Runs the Church. By Guy Waters. P&R, 2011.
Mark Dever has really led the pack when it comes to Baptist ecclesiology as well as a general emphasis on recovering the essential marks of the church, regardless of one’s denomination. As a Baptist I know of a handful of books to turn to in defense of Baptist ecclesiology, but I am less familiar as to what contemporary defenses of Presbyterian ecclesiology are available, apart from the old ones (Berkhof, Hodge, etc.). That said, I am eager to take a look at Guy Waters recent book on the church, which he writes from a Presbyterian perspective.
Christian America?: Perspectives on Our Religious Heritage
A views book on whether or not (or to what degree) America is a Christian nation? Maybe a first. Here are the views:
America Distinctively Christian, by David Barton
America Religious Eclectic and Secular, by Jonathan Sassi
America Essentially Christian, by William Henard
America Partly Christian, by Daryl Cornett
The book received commendations from David Dockery, George Marsden, and Douglas Sweeney.
Thomas Manton: A Guided Tour of the Life and Thought of a Puritan Pastor. By Derek Cooper. P&R, 2011.
I love the Puritans. They wrote on doctrine but did so always with the Christian’s sanctification in mind. One puritan preacher worth considering is Thomas Manton (1620–77). Cooper has written an introduction to Manton in P&R’s Guided Tour Series. Here are the two aims of the book: “To introduce readers in an engaging manner to Manton and, through this pivotal figure, to provide an introduction to the movement known as “Puritanism,” concisely addressing its historical, social, and political contexts.”
The King in his Beauty: The Piety of Samuel Rutherford. Edited and Introduced by Matthew Vogan. RHB, 2011.
This little book is a window into the life of Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) through forty-three excerpts from his letters, treatises, catechism, etc. Crawford Gribben writes, “Samuel Rutherford is the most significant devotional writer in the British Reformed tradition, and in Matthew Vogan he has found the ideal editor.”
Key Questions about Biblical Interpretation: Old Testament Answers
This past decade controversy has erupted over how Peter Enns has proposed reading the OT. Much of the debate comes back to hermeneutics. I only expect the debate to continue with John Goldingay’s new book, Key Questions about Biblical Interpretation: Old Testament Answers. Peter Enns commends the book, “These essays are a collection of sage, mature reflections on perennially difficult yet vital matters of Old Testament interpretation by one of the foremost Old Testament theologians in the evangelical world. Goldingay does not provide pat answers to tough passages or the like. Rather, he guides his readers in the process of deep hermeneutical reflection on what it means to read the Old Testament well and christianly. Throughout, Goldingay’s common sense, innovation, and call for critical self-reflection are contagious, and his readers will benefit greatly from his efforts.” In the book Goldingay seeks to answer 23 questions, some of which include: Can We Learn from the Past? Luther and the Bible? Can We Learn from the Hermeneutics of Liberation Theology? What Questions Does Evangelical Biblical Interpretation Need to Consider? How Does Biblical Narrative Relate to Systematic Theology? In What Sense Is It Appropriate to Read the First Testament Christologically? Can We Read Prophecy in Light of the Newspaper? Is There Prophecy Today? How Does Poststructuralist Interpretation Work? Isaiah 40-55 as a Test Case? Is There Masculist Interpretation? Etc.
Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter to our Faith. By Matthew Lee Anderson. Bethany House, 2011.
Do our bodies matter? And what does the Bible have to say about our bodies? Does the Bible’s understanding of the body differ drastically from how the world understands the body? Not too many books address these questions. That is why I am interested in reading Anderson’s new book. Justin Taylor writes, “Matthew Lee Anderson is a serious student of God’s Word and God’s world… Anderson’s arguments deserve careful consideration. I suspect that many of us will think differently–and more biblically—about the body as a result of this very fine work.”
The Roots of the Reformation: Tradition, Emergence and Rupture
I never tire of reading about the Reformation. Therefore, I am anxious to sink my teeth into Evans’ soon to be released volume, The Roots of the Reformation: Tradition, Emergence and Rupture. Here is the blurb,
Renowned historian G. R. Evans revisits the question of what happened at the Reformation. Contravening traditional paradigms of interpretation, Evans charts the controversies and challenges that roiled the era of the Reformation and argues that these are really part of a much longer history of discussion and disputation. Evans takes up several issues, such as Scripture, ecclesiology, authority, sacraments and ecclesio-political relations, and traces the shape of the charged discussions that orbited around these through the patristic, medieval and Reformation eras. In this, she demonstrates that in many ways the Reformation was in considerable continuity with the periods that preceded it, though the consequential outcome of the debates in the sixteenth century was dramatically different.
And here are some endorsements:
“G. R. Evans is one of our finest scholars, and she has written a superb book placing the story of the Reformation in the wider context of Christian history. Comprehensive, well researched and readable.”
—Timothy George, general editor, Reformation Commentary on Scripture
“Briskly and breezily, but very efficiently, medievalist Gillian Evans here surveys Western Europe’s changing and clashing views of Christianity from the fourteenth century through the seventeenth century. This large-scale introduction is certainly the best of its kind currently available.”
—J. I. Packer, Regent College
Luke. By David E. Garland. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Zondervan, 2011.
If you are a pastor, it is essential that you have a good set of commentaries (I would recommend several sets). One new set you may want to invest in is the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. The most recent volume is by David Garland on the gospel of Luke. This commentary, over a thousand pages, looks like a serious contribution to studies on Luke.
Letters to the Church: A Survey of Hebrews and the General Epistles
Another commentary that is sure to be noticed is Letters to the Church, by Karen H. Jobes. This is a colorful commentary series that is attractive in form and layout. In this one Jobes explores Hebrews and the general epistles. Frank Thielman has high praise for the volume, “Professor Jobes combines lively prose and scholarly depth to make the most neglected books in the New Testament come alive for students. This is, without rival, the most engaging introduction available to these important but difficult biblical books.”
Why the Church Needs Bioethics: A Guide to Wise Engagement with Life’s Challenges
Bioethics is not a subject I have read widely on. My guess is that this is true for most Christians. However, it is a subject we must read on as there are many pressing ethical dilemmas you will come across in the area of bioethics. John F. Kilner makes the case that the church is in need of bioethics if it is to seriously address the challenges it is now facing, including abortion, reproductive and genetic technologies, assisted suicide, stem cell research, and human enhancement technologies. Kilner (PhD, Harvard) is the Franklin Forman Chair of Ethics, Professor of Bioethics and Contemporary Culture, and Director of Bioethics Programs at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. While I doubt one will agree with every chapter on such a difficult subject, you may want to take note of D. A. Carson’s chapter called, “Wisdom from the New Testament.”
Basics of Biblical Aramaic: Complete Grammar, Lexicon, and Annotated Text
I remember years ago starting seminary and beginning the biblical languages. I quickly learned who the studs were because they were the ones who not only took Greek and Hebrew, but Aramaic. Well, for all you studs or want-to-be studs, here is a new grammar on Aramaic you may want to take a look at. Van Pelt is also the author of Basics of Biblical Hebrew.
How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One
If you enjoy writing or want to be a good writer, you will want to pick up a copy of Stanley Fish’s new book, How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One. Also, listen to Albert Mohler’s recent conversation with Stanley Fish. Justin Taylor has made available a portion of the exchange:
Mohler: Your new book is entitled How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One. I have to tell you I found reading this an absolute delight. It’s very different than anything at least I have found that you have written before. It’s really a celebration of the power of the sentence and a very fascinating tour through English literature.
Fish: Yes it is. It’s actually two books which I tried to bring together. One is as suggested by the title, How to Write a Sentence: an account of how sentences work and why sentences fall apart, and what kind of exercises that you might perform that would put you in better command of the structure of sentences. There, my key statement is that “a sentence is a structure of logical relationships,” and I spend some time trying to explain exactly what that means. But I start also from the very beginning illustrating the grammatical or craft points I’m making . . . by some very nice and indeed great sentences. And at a certain point of the book the formal instruction recedes—never quite goes away, but recedes from the foreground. And the immense pleasure of encountering absolutely stupendously great sentences you can marvel at in the same way you marvel at a high level athletic performance, that then takes center stage. And the book begins to, as it were, ride on the tracks of these absolutely amazing authors who can do things with the very same language that you and I use every day that you and I would never be capable of doing.
The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments. By Marty Machouski. Illustrated by A. E. Macha. New Growth Press, 2011.
I have not read the entire book yet, but last night my daughter and I did venture into the first two stories of The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments. I liked what I read thus far. Also, the illustrations are fantastic. There are 156 stories, all based on the ESV Bible. C. J. Mahaney writes, “More good news for parents (and grandparents)! Marty Machowski has once again delivered an excellent resource to help us lead children spiritually. The Gospel Story Bible explains the storyline of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation in 156 chapters, with vivid illustrations and thoughtful discussion questions for each reading. I fully anticipate that as you read this to your children (or grandchildren), you will be amazed together at the grace of God revealed in Scripture.” If you are interested in The Gospel Story Bible you may also be interested in Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God.
Family Shepherd: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead their Homes. By Voddie Baucham Jr. Crossway, 2011.
As a father and a husband I feel as though I am constantly aware of two things: how much I love my family and how fallible I am. So I am a student of other husbands and fathers who have much more experience than I do. One author who may be helpful to younger fathers and husbands is Voddie Baucham Jr., preaching pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas. Here is the blurg for his new book, Family Shepherd: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead their Homes.
God has mandated the transfer of his truth from one generation to the next. Because this transfer takes place primarily in the home, Voddie Baucham Jr. seeks to guide men in faithfully shepherding their families. Derived from Baucham’s monthly meetings with men in his church, Family Shepherds calls men to accountability for their God-given responsibilities as husbands and fathers. This book will inspire them to live better, love better, and lead better so that their families will thrive in every way. Baucham’s clear style and practical approach will help men protect their marriage, raise kingdom-minded children, value the synergy between church and home, and navigate difficult family dynamics. It will inspire them to carefully evaluate and live out their role in all areas of life. Family Shepherds is a book that every father needs and that every church will want as a resource for training the men in their congregations.
John Calvin, Myth and Reality: Images and Impact of Geneva’s Reformer. Papers of the 2009 Calvin Studies Society Colloquium
Here is another book on Calvin and his legacy. The chapters are originally from the 2009 colloquium of the Calvin Studies Society, held to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of John Calvin’s birth. The book is broken down into three parts:
Part 1: Calvin: The Man and His Work
Part 2: Appeal of and Responses to Calvinism
Part 3: The Impact of Calvin’s Ideas
One chapter I plan on reading is: Demoting Calvin: The Issue of Calvin and the Reformed Tradition, by Richard Muller. I expect the authors in these chapters will range from sympathetic to critical when it comes to Calvin and his influence.
Matthew Barrett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett has contributed book reviews and articles to various academic journals. He is married to Elizabeth and they have two daughters, Cassandra and Georgia. He is a member of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.
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