John Grisham, The Associate

John Grisham hits again with another satisfying legal thriller. This new tale has the decided flavor of his early hit, The Firm, though it is certainly no worse for this—if you liked that tale of big-firm politics and heavy-handed tactics, this one will be a hit as well. Kyle McAvoy, a promising young law student, gets caught up in a blackmail scheme and is being forced to steal corporate secrets from his new employer. Caught between the unknown implications of some past trouble and the morally dubious choice to steal from his employer and their client, McAvoy is forced to make some tough decisions. It's a real page turner, and I finished it in only a couple of sittings. Vintage Grisham.

Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City

In this fascinating piece of "popular history," Larson makes the past come alive. The city of Chicago in all of its turn-of-the-century glory, with its vistas and its smells, as well as its aspirations, takes center stage. Larson tells the intertwining tales of two men: one, Daniel Burnham, the primary architect behind the planning and construction of the worlds fair; and, two, H. H. Holmes, the psychopathic mastermind behind innumerable disappearances of women from around the time of the fair.

Larson's tale is well worth reading. It is full of historical detail and gives a fascinating sense of what it would have been like to live in the Midwest near the turn of the century. It also sheds light on the aspirations, in this case specifically of Chicago and Burnham, for cosmopolitan prominence. As the two stories unfold, there are innumerable defeats and victories, that catch up the reader in the sense of doom that shrouds the whole affair.

E. P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism

Few books have impacted biblical studies in the past decades more than E. P. Sanders' Paul and Palestinian Judaism. This groundbreaking book has been instrumental in a reevaluation of many long-held presuppositions about Judaism at the time of Paul and Jesus, and about how Paul related to that heritage. I've long heard it referred to, cited, and criticized, so I thought it was finally time that I read it for myself. And I'm extremely glad I did.

First, a word about my reading, which was a bit selective. I chose to read the conclusions he draws at the close of the first two thirds of the book, dealing with his reevaluation of Judaism and his assertion of "covenantal nomism" as the overriding framework at the turn of the era. I then read the remainder of the book, dealing specifically with Paul and his relation to the Judaism of his day as reconstructed by Sanders. I'm not competent to comment on the foundational aspect of his thesis that Judaism is typified in Paul's day by covenantal nomism, that entry into the covenant was by God's grace and that works served to maintain that relationship as a way of staying in, other than to say it is obvious that Sanders was instrumental in awakening a reappraisal of the sources and a questioning of some long-held assumptions. I have found it to be a compelling argument, even if not completely convincing on all counts.

His chapters on Paul are uniformly well written and well argued. His foundational claim is that Paul reasoned from solution to plight, and not the other way around, so that the driving force in Paul's thinking was not what was wrong with Judaism or the Law or with humanity in general, but instead by his conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord and is the only way for salvation. This basic premise causes a reevaluation of Paul's thought process and illuminates Paul's thinking in a fresh way. Instead of focusing on justification by faith as the peak of Paul's theological reasoning (his "pattern" of religion in Sanders' terminology), participation with Christ moves more toward center stage. It is the need of Jesus Christ as Lord that is the decisive factor in his distancing himself from Law observance: not that it is futile or wrong-headed or unable to attain righteousness, even if these are also his conclusions, but first and foremost that it isn't focused on Jesus Christ as Lord. His focus on the participationist stream of Paul's thinking is especially enlightening, as he shows how important the theme of dying with Christ is to Paul's understanding of salvation. In his discussion of works, Sanders asserts that "Salvation by grace is not incompatible with punishment and reward for deeds," (517) and that is the position he asserts as Paul's. With regard to covenantal nomism, he says that Paul's view of works is in perfect agreement (518) with the Judaism of his day, but (and this is an important qualifier) Paul's pattern of religion is fundamentally different than covenantal nomism. He stresses this a number of times, asserting that while there is substantial agreement, there is a basic difference (548). That difference is Christ. Paul's pattern of religion, described as "participationist eschatology," is typified by participation in Christ, a change in lordship from the lordship of the flesh or sin to Christ, and being under grace instead of under the law. It is a transfer that takes place, and that is decisive. Even though Paul does spend a good bit of time talking about the role of works, and is rightly concerned with justification by faith, which Sanders includes in his scheme, it is Christ that takes center stage, and union with Christ that is the driving force of his thought. Anything that is pointing toward a different goal is entirely useless, and thus the observance of the Law in order to obtain righteousness is not so much destructive or in need of reformation as it is working in a totally different order than union with Christ.

Even though his discussion of Paul isn't much more than a hundred pages, this short review can only scratch the surface of this seminal work. I came to it with a pretty good acquaintance with many critiques of Sanders' work, and I look forward to continuing to sift this great piece of reasoning and argument. At the very least, it is abundantly clear that he has brought to light a number of themes in Paul that are too often underplayed or subordinated (such as participation or lordship), or at least, that were until after he published this study. I look forward to continuing to study Paul's theology and soteriology, and this important work is clearly one of the indispensable stopping points along that way.

Ted Dekker, Green

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and their BRB program for the review copy. Ted Dekker's Green is the fourth book in his Circle series. It takes place a few decades after the earlier three books, but is mean to serve both as end to the four-book series and as a starting point. I come at it without having read the other books in the series, though they have come highly recommended to me by a number of friends. So my review is specifically on how this book introduces the action and plot, and does not deal with how it fits with and completes the remaining books.

Dekker's overall scheme is an interesting one, in which Thomas Hunter finds himself straddling two worlds, or more properly two distant time periods in the same world. One is current-day Earth, the other is two millenia later. And although the two periods are distant, they are intimately related, with events in one seemingly connected with events in the other. The key contrast is a spiritual one: in the current-day setting, spiritual realities are mostly hidden from view, as we experience them, where as in the distant future, these realities are evident in a more visible and tangible way. In Green Thomas is propelled back into the past in a quest to save his son and try stop a rising tide of war. Teeleh, the great evil monster, is making a play for power and is striving to unravel the Circle (Thomas's band of regenerates, known as Albinos) from within by driving them to war. The end is looming, an end of destruction or deliverance, and Thomas cries out for Elyon's help as he leaps back and forth between worlds in a fight against time and evil.

Dekker's imaginative world is an interesting one, and his action certainly takes place on a grand scheme. But this book, at least as an introduction to the Circle series, suffers from too much complication. It is difficult to grasp the premise and follow the complex action. There are too many characters and the premise is just too complex to be introduced in this way, where the basic story is almost presumed and only slowly revealed along the way as Thomas proceeds on his frantic quest. It may be a more fitting climax to the series, but I leave that to other reviwers to decide. There are some interesting sequences, some meaningful reflection on questions of violence and nonviolence and on the relation of the physical to the spiritual realm, but these all buckle under the weight of too much premise in this book.

Michael Gorman, Inhabiting the Cruciform God

In this study of Pauline soteriology, Gorman focuses on Paul's "grand narrative" of kenosis, justification, and theosis as key themes for understanding Paul's view of salvation in Christ. The key text for explicating the narrative is Phil 2:5-11, where the kenosis and exaltation of Christ form the key movements in the description of Christ's incarnation. For Gorman, this narrative is key to understanding Christ, and salvation, and even more, it is key to understanding God. He sets as one of the book's key agendas the claim that "cruciformity is theoformity, or theosis," built on the foundational claim that "kenosis (self-emptying) reveals the character of God" (2). This key element of the thesis is worked out in the first chapter of the book, with a careful study of Philippians 2 and it's implications for Paul's master story. He then turns to an extended study of justification as co-crucifixion, a participation in the life and death of Christ, and specifically in Christ's covenant fulfillment. (Thus, the pistis christou debate features prominently in the chapter, as the subjective genitive reading there is an important element in the argument, though it doesn't stand or fall solely on that point.) He then turns to holiness as the actualization of justification (not some subsequent and separate movement) and closes with an argument for nonviolence as an essential part of Paul's entire viewpoint.

I greatly enjoyed Gorman's important work. It is well written and clearly argued throughout, and he demonstrates a thorough familiarity with Paul and his letters. I am extremely sympathetic to the core theological argument of the book, that kenosis not only pertains to Christ but also reveals something of the character and manner of working of God the Father as well. His chapter on justification is likewise illuminating, and I think he is convincing that theosis (as he carefully defines it) is an element in Paul's soteriology, one that is often neglected in the Western tradition. Whether "justification by co-crucifixion leading to theosis" is the one soteriological model for Paul is most certainly a more difficult argument to pull off, but at the least Gorman has demonstrated how the "crucified with Christ" language and thought patter in an important one for Paul. His chapters on holiness and nonviolence are similarly thought-provoking and challenging, and I have no doubt that this work overall provides an argument to be reckoned with. Gorman constantly brought me back to the text of Paul's letters to notice details I had previously missed while at the same time making a synthetic argument for an overarching framework that is helpful in thinking like Paul thought. So while I may not agree with him in all particulars, this is clearly a great work, and I am glad to recommend it.

Tom Clancy, Without Remorse

I remember not really enjoying this book the first time I read it, but I found a very different experience this second time through it. Though it is not what you might expect of Clancy, without the trademark espionage, international political intrigue, and covert ops, it is great story of a different type. In Without Remorse, Clancy looks back to the development of John Kelly (later known as John Clark, or just Clark), the black ops expert who appears in many of Clancy's other books. Kelly has a sordid past, and this book takes us on a ride of love and loss. I think the most enjoyable and fascinating facet of this book for me was the ongoing struggle within Kelly about right and wrong, the nature of justice, and the allure of expedience. This book still has Clancy's trademark style, but with some different twists. And it shows his breadth as a writer. It may in some ways be one of his best.

Tom Clancy, The Hunt for Red October

This debut novel is still without a doubt one of Clancy's best. He takes you into the world of submarine warfare and weaves technical jargon with a great story. Jack Ryan, who begins to take shape in this book, emerges as an unwilling hero with a great dose of humanity. I loved this book as much as the first time.

Gordon Fee, God's Empowering Presence

I have no intention of doing this important work justice in this short review, so instead, let me give a few words of appreciation. This nearly encyclopedic book encapsulates what must have been years of research and months of careful exegesis. The first three-fourths of the book consists of a passage-by-passage look at every mention and allusion to the Holy Spirit in Paul's letters. Each passage is exegeted with care, always with an eye to its context and its place in the larger argument of the letter. I had intended to only skim these chapters of exegesis, dipping in at what seemed to be important points, but kept finding myself absorbed in Fee's writing, and though I didn't read it in its entirety, I have no doubt it would repay careful study. The book then closes with a section of synthesis in which Fee brings together the fruits of his research.

The conclusions, like the exegesis they follow, are too extensive to summarize here, other than to say that Fee makes a very convincing case for the importance of the Holy Spirit to Paul's thinking, as well as to Paul's very life. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone who is interested in Paul's life and letters or in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Fee also has, by nature of his own Pentecostal background, a keen eye to how this doctrine has been understood or misunderstood in contemporary formulations and church practices, and this book provides a well-grounded corrective to many distortions. If you're even considering this book, don't think twice. It is not to be missed.

Frank Thielman, The Law and the New Testament

Frank Thielman is a Pauline scholar at Beeson Divinity School. In addition to his very readable commentary on Philippians in the NIVAC series, which I enjoyed studying through, he has written a number of books focusing on Paul's understanding of the law. This book broadens that focus out to include a survey of the relationship between the law and the New Testament, especially as it is envisioned in the five major streams of the NT that directly take up the question: Paul, Matthew, John, Hebrews, and Luke-Acts. Thielman deals with each author in turn, looking at their distinctive approaches to the law, with a focus on areas of both continuity and discontinuity. In the final chapter, he draws these streams together by both looking at how they differ in emphasis but also how they hold essential elements in common. He summarizes his comparison of the five authors by placing them in three categories:

1. Paul and Matthew stand together in their interest in the ethical use of the Mosaic Law.
2. John and the author of Hebrews stand together in their symbolic use of the law.
3. Luke stands by himself in his use of the law not only in ethical and symbolic ways but also to construct the story of Gods saving purposes. (168)

He also highlights three basic issues that are common ground among the five authors:

1. The Mosaic law no longer regulates the lives of God's people.
2. A new "law" has taken its place.
3. the Mosaic law remains valid, but in a new way. (176)

His final sentence sums up his study well, "Continuity is present, but the gospel is something new" (182).

Thielman's study of the law is well written, and provides a very clear introduction to this area. He is careful to look at each author in his own right, looking at the major arguments of the various letters and then highlighting how the issues surrounding the law fit into this larger picture. His chapter on Paul was especially well done, and is a very helpful study that illuminates these major components of the letters to the Romans and Galatians. This was a worthwile read, and I'm glad to have it on my shelf for future reference. It is clearly a textbook, but is no worse for that fact.

The Read and Share Toddler Bible

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy.

The Read and Share Toddler Bible and accompanying DVD is a nice toddler-focused resource. It includes 40 stories from both the Old and New Testament, along with a 60-minutes DVD with a number of computer-animated Bible stories. Each story in the book is nicely retold in toddler-friendly language and illustrated with simple, fun illustrations that hold my kids attention, and the stories are short enough that we can get through them. Each story also ends with a short lesson that parents may use to either illustrate the principle or reinforce a lesson, meaning it is both a good resource for parents and could potentially serve as a good classroom addition for toddler Sunday school. One could of course quibble about which stories were chosen or what lessons were applied, but the overall quality of the book is quite good. The DVD likewise is fun for the kids to watch. It's no Veggie Tales, but it is a good accompaniment to the book.

Robin Parrish, Offworld

Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy through their blogger reviewer program.

An elite team of four astronauts returns to earth from a three-year mission to Mars to discover the planet deserted. No people, no animals. They are all alone. An eerie start to this intriguing sci-fi drama. Chris Burke and his team, puzzled by their situation, set out to find some answers. They discover that everyone on the planet appears to have vanished at the same precise moment about two months before their return. And there is a huge beacon of light emanating from near Houston, Texas. Something strange is going on. Their journey to Houston to discover the nature of their plight proves to be treacherous, first as they discover one lone survivor, Mae, wandering along the road. But the journey becomes dangerous as they begin to experience disasters that are both natural and that seem orchestrated to slow them down. Finally, as they head through Louisiana, they are cornered by what appears to be a group of elite military troopers, who are set on preventing Chris and his group from reaching Houston or interfering with whatever is happening. But Chris, Trish, Terry, and Owen are able to narrowly escape, driven by the knowledge that they may be humanity's only chance of survival. They finally discover the source of the light, a monstrous and experimental computer powered by a mysterious box. This cutting edge machine appears to have developed the capability of not only knowing the future but of manipulating it, allowing Colonel Roston and his team to program in a future where all of humanity is absent from the planet, allowing them ostensibly to force the world into a situation where peace is possible, as they try to dismantle the instruments of war around the globe. But this seeminly altruistic motive has with it some huge dangers, the biggest being that the machine may fall apart before a new future that includes all of humanity back on Earth is programmed in. And Chris and his team hurry to prevent that disastrous future from coming about, with the knowledge that even despite Roston's designs, some force has kept them in the game.

Parrish's Offworld brings the reader into an interesting mystery, with good action and believable characters. In some ways it is a playful and fun challenge to think beyond the bounds of the everyday to a world where greater powers are at work. A fun read.

Patricia Cornwell, Book of the Dead

Book of the Dead is a pretty good mystery. Cornwell's characters take on depth that makes the book interesting, and her mystery has the requisite haunting details and medical mystery. Though it's a bit too graphic at points, it still makes for a good read.

Tom Morrisey, Pirate Hunter

Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for the review copy. Pirate Hunter is the tale of two young men, separated by hundreds of years but connected by a ship lying beneath the waters of the coast of Florida. One young man, Bold Ted, is the apprentice to a pirate who patrols the waters for loot with the unofficial sanction of the British government. Jumping ahead from the 18th to the 21st century, the other man is Greg Rhode, a marine archaeologist working for a treasure-hunting firm in the Florida Keys. Both men struggle to come to terms with their past, Ted with his apparent sale to slave traders by his adopted father in Africa and Greg with the role his alcoholic father played in the deaths of his mother and brother in a car accident. For both of them, these events from the past color their present, and as they each come in contact with these men from their past, they must come to grips with the truth if they are to move on. For Ted, this story is wrapped around the adventures of piracy and the pursuit of Sally, the daughter of the local inn keeper at home port. As the Atlantic is being increasingly civilized, the danger of being a irate is increasing, and Ted and pirate Henry Thatch are racing ahead of Spanish government forces who are out to get them for their past crimes. As they head toward the Carolina coast and clemency from the hand of King George, they must rescue Sally from a Spanish warship and must race ahead of the Spanish into an oncoming storm. For Greg, his past catches up with him first as the shadow that looms over his present as he gets to know Sheila, a beautiful archaeologist who steals his heart. But he then comes face to face with his father and is forced to come to grips with the tragedy that haunts his past.

Pirate Hunter is a well-written tale, somewhat in the mold of Clive Cussler. Morrisey weaves stories of the past and present together with exotic locales and interesting action. Morrisey's overall quality as a writer carries the book, even though the action lags a bit at points and the portrait of pirate life seems a bit too honorable and romantic. But I still enjoyed the book and its characters and look forward to reading some of his other books.

N. T. Wright, Justification

Justification is one of the core doctrines of the Christian faith, and in both evangelical and more mainline circles, it has been contested territory for a generation or more. N. T. Wright's Justification is truty a book to be reckoned with. It is a comprehensive (though, as the author admits, not exhaustive) statement of the place of justification in Paul's thought. Much has been written about this highly anticipated contribution from one of today's most noted scholars, both in appreciation and in protest. I find myself far more appreciative than anything for this carefully reasoned book.

Wright begins by laying out some important groundwork for the present book by locating it especially within the evangelical conversation concerning the classical "Reformed" view of justification, especially as espoused by John Piper, and the new perspective on Paul, of which Wright could be considered one of its primary contemporary proponents, though he seeks to provide "fresh" perspectives that move beyond what is often termed the "new" perspective. Others have carefully laid out the specifics of Wright's argument, and I won't do that here. Instead, I'd like to extend some words of appreciation and interest toward some of Wright's major themes.

Clearly, the largest idea that Wright advocates for is the locating of the doctrine of justification, and the understanding of the "righteousness of God," firmly within the context of covenant. He describes God's righteousness as God's covenant faithfulness, and, more specifically, God's faithfulness to the one-plan-through-Israel-to-the-world. The problem that God addresses in the Messiah is that Israel has failed in its part of the plan, to be God's instrument in and to the world, so the plan becomes one-plan-through-the-faithful-Israelite-to-the-world, as Jesus the Messiah becomes the instrument of God's work in and to the world, fulfilling God's covenant plans, demonstrating God's faithfulness to the covenant with Abraham even though it seemed to be foiled by sin.

Wright seeks not to upend the traditional Reformation emphases of justification by faith, God's grace, forgiveness of sins, but instead to locate them in the broader, deeper, and what he asserts to be more truly Pauline story of God's covenant and God's covenant people. He writes,

"Justification by faith—God's declaration in the present time that all those who believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, all those who confess him as Lord, are true members in the renewed covenant, and are assured thereby of final salvation—belongs inextricably . . . within the framework of Paul's vision of God's single plan of salvation, through Israel and hence through Israel's Messiah, for the sake of all the nations and ultimately for the whole cosmos." (247)

I think there can be no doubt that Wright has illumined some of the questions that were clearly on Paul's mind, and has demonstrated a certain logic, especially about Israel, that helps to fill out much that is right but incomplete in traditional thinking. He also stresses repeatedly that much of the "old perspective" is right and true, just as he often distances himself from or modifies the "new perspective" take, seeking to move beyond both to a more complete theology of Paul that incorporates both the sin-salvation and one-people-of-God facets into a more robust way of thinking.

Another interesting facet to Wright's argument concerns present justification and future judgment. He asserts, very clearly, that justification entails a present verdict that someone (or, maybe more properly, some people) are in the right with God, have achieved the status of righteous/righteousness. The second thing he discusses, at some length, is how this relates to the final judgment. Wright proposes that present justification corresponds to the future verdict of righteousness, but that the two aren't the same. The final verdict, as Romans 2 makes clear, is based on being "doers" of the law. But, and here is the pivotal move for Wright, this doesn't mean a return to the merit theology of the Medieval era, or a works righteousness, but it does mean living a new live enslaved not to the law and sin but to righteousness. This obviously raises some important questions, both about how we in fact live a life that attains this final verdict and how we know it, in short, the question of assurance. This is the topic Paul takes up in Romans 5 to 8, in explaining how the "verdict already announced is indeed a true anticipation of the verdict yet to be announced" (225). The answer for Paul, according to Wright, is the Spirit. It is the Spirit "who makes that victory [of Jesus Christ and of the Father's love triumphing in his Son's death] operative in our moral lives and who enables us to love God in return" (239).

So much more could be said, on the topic of works, or on justification more broadly. Wright has clearly taken the arguments back to Paul and sought to show how fresh readings of the original texts of Scripture can bring fresh light. It certainly remains to be seen which of his readings will win the day, but there is without doubt much of value in the overall framework he proposes, especially of setting the gospel in the larger framework of God's work in the world. I am convinced that, at the least, the covenant-framework of Jesus' life and death, their part in God's larger plan, is a fruitful avenue of study. I look forward to seeing where this conversation goes in the future, as we continue to strive to appreciate the depths of the riches of God's love in Christ Jesus.

Alicia Britt Chole, Finding an Unseen God

Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for a review copy. This is a delightful, honest story about finding, or better, being found by, God. In two converging threads, Chole narrates her own journey through Atheism to faith in God while also reflecting on the nature of God and belief. Chole's own story highlights her father, a man who she deeply respected and loved, and who didn't believe in God. Before reaching junior high, Chole had embraced her father's Atheism, and into high school she grew to be outspoken in her disdain for faith of every kind. But in the summer after high school, wholly unlooked-for, God met her.

Woven together with her own journey to faith is Chole's thoughtful reflections on Atheism and its adherents, for whom she has the utmost respect, and her description of the nature of belief in God, complete with four "filters" (consistent, livable, sustainable, transferable) through which various belief systems can be sifted, all in search of truth. Last, through five things that she likes about God (God delights in sincere questions; walking with God sharpens the mind; God is not a fool; God is the ultimate realist; God is knowable), she paints a beautiful portrait of what God is like; one especially suited to those seeking or being sought by God.

While some might be put off by the interwoven story lines, I think Chole pulls off the two threads to good effect. Her writing is very clear, with many finely turned phrases elegantly communicating the depth of her reflection. This book is not an argument for God's existence, a handbook of apologetics, but is instead a thoughtful and honest story of being found by God. I would not hesitate to put this book into the hands of an Athiest or an agnostic, or even any Christian who may need to meet God afresh, because Chole's compassion and respect for others comes through clearly in her writing and earns her a hearing.

Kevin Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine

My blogging has been erratic of late, and I've had Vanhoozer's The Drama of Doctrine sitting on my desk to review for a couple months now, waiting for the time and the ambition to take on such a substantial task. I'd just skip it and move on, except it was such a spectacular book I have to at least make note of it.

I have to start by saying that I loved this book. Though it was over my head at points (he enters into many important theological discussions about theological method which I have but only a surface familiarity with, not to mention the philosophical theology and hermeneutics that continually arise in his discussions), its value is obvious even without grasping or appreciating all of the finer points.

Vanhoozer gives, in essence, an apologia for the importance of doctrine, asserting that it fills the essential role of guiding the church to "demonstrate faith's understanding by living truthfully with others before God" (xii). Throughout the entire work, one of the themes that continually arises is the importance of doctrine for life, in that doctrine is not an esoteric or abstract exercise but a concrete, lived reality with the utmost practicality. I think this point, made repeatedly, is one of the most energizing in the book, as it brings an excitement to doctrine when its horizon is broadened to include the way we live.

I will not attempt here a summary of this substantive proposal about the method of doing doctrine Christianly, but will simply say that it is clearly a tour de force, anchoring Christian wisdom firmly and faithfully to Scripture all the while using a robust hermeutic to reinvigorate the Scripture principle. This all deserves a careful unpacking, but suffice it to say that he sets for the Bible as the "script" that provides the authoritative direction, the "drama" in which we find ourselves players. This brings up another important dimension of this book, the sustained metaphor of drama that provides the framework for Vanhoozer's thought. The pervasive use of such a metaphor could be a distraction, but Vanhoozer uses it to good effect, carefully building may points and relationship off of this central idea. And once you've developed an ear for the way he uses and applies the various dramatic dimensions, with actors, script, drama, dramaturge, and so on, the metaphor serves to enlighten, instead of obscure, his points. In fact, it would seem that maybe "metaphor" isn't quite the right term for the role "drama" plays, because the correlation between doctrine as "drama" and the fact to which it referrs, that doctrine involves description and prescription concerning a narrative-infused world in which we live under God means that doctrine truly is dramatic.

I have only but scratched the surface of this programmatic proposal concerning doctrine, but I hope that doesn't obscure my excited endorsement. I look forward to working through this book again in the future and digesting further its deep insights and catching again its passion for the dramatic truth of the gospel. If you have any interest in theology and the role of scripture in it, do not miss this book.

Mark Reasoner, Romans in Full Circle

Mark Reasoner's Romans in Full Circle (Westminster John Knox, 2005) is a brief but very helpful survey of historical approaches to Paul's most theological letter. He chooses twelve loci from the letter (heavily weighted to the first eleven chapters, since that is where most of the attention has historically been paid). For each locus, he sets up briefly the issues at hand, and then proceeds to lay out a selective but informative history of interpretation focusing on some of the major interpreters throughout history. He always starts with Origen, and then proceeds through major developments, usually hitting on Augustine, Abelard, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Barth, and Post-Barthian and Narrative approaches (and occasionally mentioning Pelagius and Erasmus, among others, as they are pertinent). This survey usually shows how major interpretations developed, where they changed, and what bearing they have on other loci.

Reasoner's premise is that Romans interpretation is moving in a "full circle" from Origen, who focused especially on the relation of Jew and Gentile in the letter, through Augustine and the focus on the individual, through Luther and a focus on Justification, through Barth and a focus on God and his righteousness, and back through the new perspective and narrative approaches to the relation of Romans to Israel's story and the role that the relation of Jew and Gentile plays in the structure of Paul's argument.

This attention to the original setting, he asserts, is leading readers back toward Origen. He concludes, "These approaches include reading both Christ's faithfulness and faithfulness in Christ as in view in Romans 3, a willingness to discus the universal scope of Christ's obedience at the end of Romans 5, reading the ego of Romans 7 as someone who is not fully in Christ, insisting on a human will whose free choices have real consequences in the order of salvation . . ., viewing ethnic Israel as God's chosen people (Romans 9-11), and reading 13:1-7 with deconstructive strategies that emphasize how believers must not always be subject to the government" (145).

Though he doesn't explicitly set out to evaluate or contextualize the "new perspective," I think Reasoner's survey shows how many parts of the "new" perspective are in fact quite old, giving pause to the oft-leveled criticism that the new perspective is taken with "novelty." Like I mentioned, this book doesn't set out to advocate or criticize the new perspective, but it does provide some important material for the debate.

Michael Bird, Introducing Paul

Michael Bird's Introducing Paul (IVP in England used the whimsical title A Bird's Eye View of Paul for this same volume there) is a great little introduction to Paul's life and thought. In this short book, obviously intended as a college or seminary text, Bird cover's the necessary ground for an intro, dealing with matters of upbringing and training, Paul's conversion, his literary legacy, the important components of his thought, and his ethics and spirituality. Bird's coverage of these areas is uniformly well written and up to date, reflecting the latest issues and advances in scholarship without giving over to a faddish interpretation of the apostle. One leaves the pages understanding the contested ground but at the same time having a well-grounded understanding of Paul's theology that reflects both the best of the historic interpretations of Paul and some important modifications and improvements from the "new perspective."

Bird does a great job of situating Paul in his second-temple Jewish contect, and notes how the Old Testament and Judaism provide the important seedbed and framework for his thought, while also noting the role of Rome in his thinking.

Bird's book is my favorite introduction to Paul that I have so far encountered. He straightforwardly deals with the important issues, he gives solid background and well-reasoned and balanced conclusions, all the while inviting the reader into Paul's rich and gospel-focused world. An extremely good book; thanks Mike. I look forward to digging into his more substantive Saving Righteousness of God at some point in the future to see how some of this plays out in more detail.

Sam Childers, Another Man's War

Another Man's War is pastor Sam Childers's account of his ministry in the battle-scarred regions of Southern Sudan. Childers, a former drug-dealer and criminal, recounts his own journey from his violent past to his current ministry with abused and orphaned children in Sudan. He and a group of Sudanese soldiers rescue children who have been caught in the battles between rebel and government forces, often in very dangerous conditions. I enjoyed and was challenged by Childers's story, but I must admit I was also dismayed by it. It's appalling to hear of the conditions faced by the people of Southern Sudan, with rebel militias murdering villagers and kidnapping children, and it is heartening to hear that people are stepping in to side with the abused and oppressed, but at the same time, it is also distressing to hear the comfort and confidence Childers has in guns and force. He and his group go in fully armed and guns blazing, proud of the impact they are making and of the fight they are bringing to the rebels. I am sure this is at least in some ways fitting to the context of his ministry, but it is distressing none the less to hear his bravado come through in the pages of the book. I am greatful for the children he saves, but hope and pray that there is a better way, and that he finds it.

Robert Whitlow, Higher Hope

Robert Whitlow, Higher Hope, Tides of Truth, Book 2 (Thomas Nelson, 2009). Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy.

Tami Taylor, a law clerk in a Savannah firm, finds herself in the middle of a libel case involving a bold and outspoken preacher who claims prophetic abilities. The case, and her relationships at the firm, cause her to reflect on her own strict conservative upbringing and about the role her faith plays in a legal setting. Whitlow has crafted an interesting character study about the struggle between past and future, faith and life. Tami is forced to evaluate what she thinks is true about God and about how she should follow God. Though it slows down at points, and dwells too much on the competition of two lawyers for Tami's affections, the story still draws you in. The legal portion of the book sometimes gets lost amid the other story lines, but it still forms the backbone of the action. In all, it is worth a read.

P. D. James, The Private Patient

James has done it again with this latest installment of the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries. In her usual style, she takes the reader into the life of the victim, Rhoda Gradwyn, and into the messiness of the lives that surround her untimely death. Much like a classic Agatha Christie mystery, we puzzle over a number of possible killers, each with some opportunity or motive. And, as always, James's insightful characters Commander Dalgliesh, Inspector Kate Mishkin, and Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith lend continuity and depth to the mystery. In this story Rhoda Gradwyn, a "private patient" at a plastic surgery clinic in the English countryside is murdered at the clinic hours after her operation. Dalgliesh and his team work to uncover the connections between the patient and the workers at the clinic, turning up some rather unusual links. A couple of subsequent deaths thicken the plot, but the pieces fall into place nonetheless. I enjoyed this book as much as I have enjoyed many of her previous books. It is a good story by a great writer.

Gordon Fee, Pauline Christology

This important book by professor Fee is truly a monumental achievement and an important contribution to the study of Paul and of Christology more broadly. When I decided to buy this book a few months ago, I scanned the contents and, noting that the first two thirds of the book was largely exegetical, figured I would maybe graze through a few sections of that, but mostly focus on the synthesis portion at the back (still more than 100 pages of discussion). But, in reading the book, I found that Fee's exegesis of Paul, going book by book and passage by passage, was too rich to pass up, so instead of mostly skipping over the first four hundred pages of the book, I read almost the entire portion. There is no doubt that this book will become an important reference for me as I study any passage on Paul that touches on Jesus Christ. His in-depth discussions of some of the key christological passages in Paul is extremely worthwile. As should be no surprise, 1 Cor 8:6, Philippians 2, and Colossians 1, among others, receive sustained attention. But the careful and sustained exegetical attention given to each of Paul's letters (both the undisputed and "disputed" letters) helps Paul's own thoughts to come through clearly, and builds a very powerful cumulative argument for Paul's high christology.

Fee argues that Paul holds a very high christology. Paul envisions Christ as the Preexistent One who became incarnate as the human Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus died and was raised again, proclaimed to be the risen Lord, receiving "the Name" and exalted to the highest place. It is this same Jesus who shares in a large array of divine prerogatives, is worshipped as God, and who along with the Father sends the Spirit.

The details of Fee's work, both exegetical and synthetic, are too many and varied to communicate here, but the value of his work is easy to ascertain. Interesting among is emphases is that much of Paul's christological discussion comes in the form of assumptions that seem to be held in common with his audience (Colossians 1 being the primary exception, where christology is the primary focus). Fee repeatedly emphasizes that this lends great weight to these inherent assertions, since they were so fundamental to both parties that they could be assumed.

In all, this book is a great statement of Paul's understanding of Christ, and demonstrates how the data from Paul's letters, along with that of John and Hebrews, led the church down the road to Nicaea and Trinitarian Orthodoxy. While Paul wasn't overtly Trinitarian, the way he talks of Christ (and the Spirit) shows that these developments find rich soil in Paul's thought. I highly commend this great study. It's ambition is clearly matched by its execution.

Eckhard Schnabel, Paul the Missionary

Schnabel, professor of New Testment at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, presents a distinctive and thorough treatment of the Apostle Paul by focusing on Paul as a missionary. There can be no doubt that keeping Paul's missionary motivations in mind helps illumine Paul's thinking and writing, and furthermore, that investigating the way Paul carried himself as a missionary has bearing on what it means to be a Christian and more specifically a missionary in our twenty-first-century context.

Relying heavily on what must be an even more exhaustive treatment in his two-volume Early Christian Mission, Schnabel first sets out to describe the mission Paul undertook (dividing Paul's "travels" into fifteen different "periods" of mission), the task he set for himself (or maybe better, the task he saw himself as being given), and the message he preached. He then synthesizes this material in two chapters that discuss Paul's strategies and his methods for carrying out that mission. In the final chapter, he brings the study to bear on questions of mission in the current context, both in understanding why and how a church should grow and in what way current missionary endeavors should be informed by Paul.

I found the descriptive portions of the book to be informative, and though keeping track of fifteen "periods" of mission over Paul's career is cumbersome, it also helpfully breaks up the more traditional missionary "journies" in a way that better reflects the reality of Paul's undertaking. Easily lost in the old scheme are the significant periods spent in various locations in sustained ministry, whether the two years in Ephesus or the six months in Athens, the sorts of durations that are more obscured than illumined when talking about "travels" or "journies."

Schnable focuses repeatedly in the book on a couple important themes. One is the primacy of God in Paul's mission. Paul saw himself as called and appointed by God, in his service, dependent upon him, and ultimately accountable to him. No other responsibility, no other obligation, and no other message could supplant this one in the apostle's thinking. A second emphasis is that it is the gospel itself that dictates Paul's strategies and methods, not a grand itinerary or a finely-honed rhetorical presentation. Paul understood the deep need of all humanity to come to faith in Jesus Christ, and he undertook whatever ministry was expedient to bring about that end. He may have developed some patterns of ministry (such as going first to the synagogue), but these were always subservient to the message he proclaimed.

Schnabel's final chapter is an application of the study to the modern situation in the church and in missions. Some of the critique, such as his discussion of the "homogeneous unit principle" or of church planting, proves quite insightful, as is his caution against the search for the right "method" for church growth or evangelism instead of focusing on the gospel message. But at other points, his critique seems quite disconnected from the five substantive chapters on Paul, such as his discussion of "seeker-driven" churches or "atonement," where very little discussion of Paul is actually brought to bear on the matter at hand. While I would agree with many of his comments regarding "mega-churches," his discussion is very heavily dependent on David Wells and Os Guiness, and I think unfairly equates mega- or seeker-sensative churches with a dearth of theology. Criticism aside, though, the final chapter ends with some very helpful discussion of how study of Paul can and should inform how we do "missions" in the twenty-first century, and much wisdom can be gleaned here by pastors and missionaries. In all, Schnabel has written a detailed study of Paul that focuses on his missionary context and undertakings and it is helpful both in illuminating Paul and his thought as well as in guiding our application of the gospel message in our own day.

A final, reluctant but necessary note is in order here. This book desperately needed a good proofread before going to press. I was distressed by how many errors remained in the printed edition, and though I was just annoyed by inconsistencies in the footnote style or confused punctuation, there were numerous instances were the sense of a sentence was indecipherable. While I'm usually annoyed when reviewers point out one or two typos in a book, in this case, it really did detract from this worthwhile book.

Stephen Westerholm, Preface to the Study of Paul

Pauline scholar Stephen Westerholm, author of the spectacular Perspectives Old and New on Paul, has also written this great little introduction to the study of Paul. Organized as a conceptual tour of Romans, Westerholm seeks to acquaint his readers with Paul's worldview. He contends that coming to terms with Paul means first grasping his "particular vision of reality," his worldview, which is then more fully developed and nuanced as one investigates deeper into Paul's "theology."

And this well-written little book accomplishes its aims admirably, and then some, I would say. Westerholm succeeds in contrasting modern assumptions about "the nature and terms of human existence" (1) with those views that underpin and are played out in Paul's writings. Topics such as law, freedom, and the nature of the cosmos are helpfully discussed to bring out common modern assumptions and illuminate Paul's own perspective.

This book truly is an introduction, in the best sense, and would prove a very good place to start a study on Paul and his thought. It also carries out the task of a good introduction in giving a remarkably concise and readable overview of the important contours of Paul's theology. Especially illuminating are the discussion of the interplay of sin, the Mosaic law, and Israel and the new situation brought about by Christ.

His chapter on Romans 9–11 is easily worth the price of the book, and the four-page discussion, "The Role of God in History," is easily one of the best summaries and statements I have ever read on God's knowledge, providence, election, and interaction with humanity. He defends a traditional view of God's foreknowledge, the necessity of election and God's capacity to "harden," while also maintaining that God certainly does not predetermine all human activities and choices, and furthermore that there is no divine role in the origin of sin. He also asserts that while some have drawn the further implication of a double predestination of some to salvation and some to damnation, Westerhom asserts that such an conclusion need not be drawn, and that in fact Paul often warns that those who are "called" may prove faithless and be lost and that the "call" can be resisted.

I highly recommend this great little book, and I am greatful to pauline scholar James Aageson, one of my professors at Concordia College in Moorhead, who pointed me toward this book back in my college days. Rereading it has been a treat.

Jon Krakauer, Under the Banner of Heaven

Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air (both are great books and worth your time), takes up a different subject matter in Under the Banner of Heaven. This book, as Krakauer puts it in the "Author's Remarks," is his endeavor to "grasp the nature of religious belief" (333) His investigation into the nature of belief, and especially its irrational elements, takes the form of an investigation into the history and beliefs of the Mormon church, with special emphasis on Mormon fundamentalism and the murder of a woman and her infant daughter by two fundamentalists who believed they were doing God's will.

It is clear as Krakauer sets out that he hopes to illumine the "dark side to religious devition" (xxi) and lay bare the irrationality of faith. And lest there be any doubt as to the tack he is taking, he defines faith as follows at the close of the prologue: "Faith is the very antithesis of reason, injudiciousness a crucial component of spiritual devotion. And when religious fanaticism supplants raticination, all bets are suddenly off" (xxiii). Not exactly a robust definition of faith, though maybe closer if one limits the scope to "fundamentalism." (Though I don't want to go off the track here and discuss what fundamentalism of the various stripes is and isn't and how it relates to more orthodox faith.) So, back to Krakauer.

Under the Banner of Heaven is a well-written investigation into a double murder of a young woman and her child by brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, investigating both the factors that lead to the killing and the interesting lack of remorse in its wake.

The Lafferty brothers are Mormon Fundamentalists, part of a loose group of Mormons who seek to return the faith to its roots and vigorously defend and follow its doctrines, plural marriage one among many things that they see the modern LDS church waywardly departing from. Ron receives a revelation that he is to kill his sister-in-law and her daughter. Dan goes along with him, and is the one who ultimately carries out the brutal executions. In the wake of these brutal killings, neither man feels significant remorse, instead living confident that they have carried out God's will, a higher law than any earthly laws.

The story brings out many facets peculiar to Mormonism and Mormon Fundamentalism (espeically the importance of ongoing revelation and the authority of these revelations), but it also investigates by extension the nature of faith and its relation to rationality and modern society.

While I don't agree with Krakauer's conclusions that faith is ultimately nothing more than irrational delusion, I think he has none-the-less done a service by writing this interesting book. Beside bringing out the very interesting story of the rise of Mormonism and its later Fundamentalist developments, he also raises important questions about the nature of faith—questions that I think can ultimately be answered much better than Krakauer allows, but he does a service by at least raising the questions.

Walter Wangerin Jr., Paul: A Novel

The well-known writer and Valparaiso professor Walter Wangerin lends his pen to this novelization of Paul's ministry years. Wangerin shows a thorough knowledge of the relevant scholarship, and especially of the New Testament text, as he weaves together the narratives in Acts and the relevant data from Paul's own letters to form a coherent story of Paul's post-conversion life. Starting with his journey to Damascus, we met Paul and a broad cast of characters that come alive off the pages of the New Testament. Paul is of course the focus of the book, and it is the compelling characterization that Wangerin gives him that makes this book work so well. Paul is a driven personality, captivated by Jesus Christ and single-minded in his pursuit of God's call.

Wangerin does, I think, a good job of portraying some of the tensions that beset early Christianity, especially relating to questions of the Law and Jew-Gentile relations, portraying the relationship between Paul and James as a genuine but rocky friendship. He also brings out Paul's displeasure with the pronouncement of the Jerusalem council (Ac 15), asserting that Paul was deeply disappointed that they didn't go far enough in breaking down barriers.

Paul is a well-written novel, and it follows nicely the outline of Acts. Wangerin also peppers Paul's speech with words right from his own letters, both enlivening the often familiar words and also keeping his characterization of Paul close to that found in the NT especially in Paul's own writings. There could of course be quibbles about various details large and small with regard to Paul and early Christianity (e.g., Wangerin relates Ac 15 to the visit Paul relates in Gal 2, certainly a legitimate interpretation, though not one I favor; or the depth of the rift between Paul and James), but these are certainly eclipsed by the value that comes with Wangerin's imaginative yet faithful writing.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Having recently reread The Lord of the Rings, I thought I would also pick up The Hobbit again. It narrates the story of how Bilbo set off on his own set of adventures, a generation before Frodo and the tale told in LOTR, and how he obtained the ring of power deep in a cave in the Misty Mountains. The tale is lighthearted, but shows Tolkien's trademark depth and imagination, with fascinating characters, interweaving histories, and compelling prose. While I don't think it rivals LOTR, it certainly stands on its own as a wonderful book, and I look forward to reading it to my kids in a few years.

A. T. B. McGowan, The Divine Authenticity of Scripture

I am way behind on my posting, and this one has been on my desk for well over a month now. I've been reading a lot of books lately that I have really appreciated. And this one is no different. In the very contested area that is the evangelical doctrine of Scripture, McGowan makes what I believe to be a very valuable and important contribution. First, he sets out to situate the current evangelical landscape with regard to Scripture, and particularly inerrancy, in its historical context, focusing especially on the rise of liberal theology and biblical criticism in the nineteenth century and on the conservative reaction in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His purpose is to show that the doctrine of inerrancy was formulated in a very particular landscape. He further asserts that while if pressed he would choose an "inerrantist" position over an "errantist" one, he presses the discussion in a different direction, proposing a reformulation of the doctrine and a retrieval of the term "infallible" as a robust alternative. He then concludes his study with studies of how the doctrine of Scripture should relate to confessions and also how it relates to preaching and the proclamation of the Word.

There are a number of reasons why I think McGowan's contribution is to be particularly commended. First, I think it lends a very important non–North American perspective to this debate, and firmly and repeatedly demonstrates how the errantist vs. inerrantist debate may be raising a false dichotomy, or at least asking the wrong question. And as he demonstrates, this isn't incompatible with many of the more nuanced inerrantist positions, in which the notion of "error" is carefully qualified to fit with the setting and intention of the Bible's authors. Second, I think McGowan's restatement of the doctrine helpfully emphasizes Scripture's role in the Trinitarian economy of communication, and emphasizes the need to move it from a prolegomenon to an item under the doctrine of God in theological statements and considerations of doctrine. (Incidentally, the new Evangelical Free Church in America Statement of Faith does just this, moving the statement on Scripture from first to second.) Another helpful facet of McGowan's book is that he proposes a constructive doctrine of Scripture based around the word infallibility, and is careful to mine the work of past evangelicals, especially Herman Bavnick, showing how others have approached the doctrine and how it fits into their larger theological program.

Much more could be said about this very interesting book. I need to continue digesting a number of his arguments, but I will certainly keep this book close at hand as I continue to reflect on these extremely important theological questions.

Brad Mezrich, Bringing Down the House

Bringing Down the House is a fun book. Mezrich tells the inside story of Kevin Lewis, an MIT student who joins a secret group of card counters who travel from casino to casino plying their trade. Mezrich details the basics of how team play works and narrates the ups and downs as the team becomes more successful and is finally detected by a group of Vegas casinos. It is a light read, but it takes you deep into the gambling world.

Ken Duncan, In the Footsteps of Paul

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy. In the Footsteps of Paul is a beautiful gift book that chronicles the life and ministry of Paul. The book is a mixture of photographs interspersed with quotations from Acts, brief reflections from Duncan, and quotations from well-known authors. Following the Acts narrative, the book weaves together the story of Paul's life both in word and picture. The images—mostly of landscapes and sites, but sprinkled with artifacts, and artwork—are of exceptional quality, and give life to the narrative. A number of the scenes are truly breath-taking, and make this book worthy of a place on a coffee table, in addition to its other merits as a worthwhile introduction to Paul's travels.

The carefully chosen excerpts from Acts and Duncan's brief comments help to narrate Paul's story, chronicling his movements around Palestine, Asia, and Europe, highlighting major events and important interactions. The narrative is also augmented by well-chosen quotations from biblical scholars such as Ben Witherington, N. T. Wright, and F. F. Bruce, and inspirational writers such as Henri Nouwen, Max Lucado, and Thomas Merton.

In all, the book is beautifully assembled and laid out. The pictures are stunning, and the text helps bring Paul's journeys to life. As Duncan says in his introduction, "I knew [following in Paul's footsteps] would challenge me in my own walk with God. . . . Paul was all in for Jesus." Through words and images, Duncan helps us to see Paul the person, a follower of Christ, dedicated to the mission God laid before him. While I would look elsewhere for a more rigorous introduction to Paul's life and thought, this book makes for a great primer on Paul, and a worthy visual companion to other studies, at times instructing and at times challenging us to follow.

John Grisham, The Appeal

Grisham hits with another enjoyable read. In The Appeal, Krane Chemical, a chemical firm that has been illegally dumping carcinogenic chemicals near the small town of Bowmore, Mississippi, is on the hook for millions of dollars because of its pollution. The book opens with the the conclusion of the trial, and the huge verdict against Krane. And that is only the beginning of the action. The real story is what happens next: the appeal.

Carl Trudeau, the majority owner of Krane Chemical, takes a huge hit in the stock market because of the negative verdict. In order to save his company from huge liabilities in the Bowmore case, and in hundreds of others like it, Trudeau recruits a secret firm to get a corporation-friendly judge elected to the Mississippi Supreme Court in the fall, tipping the balance of power on the court and making it likely that the decision will be reversed on appeal in the name of "lawsuit reform."

Ron Fisk is that candidate, though he doesn't know it. He is recruited by a high-powered group of supporters to run for the Supreme Court. He knows there are a lot of people behind his candidacy, but he has no idea that it is primarily being funded by Carl Trudeau, in hopes of essentially buying a seat and securing a verdict. Fisk will be running against Justice Sheila McCarthy, a centrist justice who is coming up for reelection. The Fisk campaign gets everything ready, including its huge fund-raising machine, but doesn't announce until shortly before the deadline, leaving McCarthy surprised and mostly without cash or a plan for a campaign. The Fisk campaign quickly pounces on her record and saturates the market with negative advertisements characterizing her as a liberal justice. Barrie Rinehart, the mastermind behind the Fisk campaign, also arranges for a gay couple from Illinois to move down to Mississippi and try to get married, injecting gay marriage as an issue into the campaign as well.

Sheila McCarthy, after a slow start, raises some support, primarily from trial lawyers, and gets her own campaign moving. But she is no match for Fisk and all of the money that pours into his campaign, and she is narrowly defeated. Fisk assumes a seat on the Supreme Court, and it is immediately obvious that he is living up to his pro-business billing. But as the time to decide the Krane Chemical appeal approaches, Fisk's son is injured by a line drive in a little-league baseball game, and the bat that was used was illegal. As his son clings to life, Ron comes to realize that the manufacturer of the bat should hold some liability for making the faulty and dangerous equipment, and this begins a shift in his judicial philosophy toward more compassion for the victims. But when the time for the Krane decision arrives, he reluctantly sides with the chemical company none the less, ending hope in Bowmore for cleanup and compensation for all of the toxic dumping and the resulting sickness.

I think Grisham has achieved a great blend of readability and enjoyment, together with thoughtful fiction. He certainly makes me think twice about the process of electing judges. This book is another good read, with believable characters and always-interesting legal plot twists.

Ted Dekker, Blink

I've heard a lot of good things about Ted Dekker, and this is my first forray into his work. He writes fast-paced christian fantasy fiction much in the mold of Frank Paretti. In Blink, Dekker follows Seth Borders, a brilliant graduate student who develops a very strange power, the ability to see alternate futures. At first, he can only see a few seconds into the future, but the gift develops into allowing him to see hours into the future. He is able to see an almost infinite number of possible outcomes for any situation, and thus is able to manipulate reality toward the outcomes he wants by doing the things in that particular future. Seth comes in contact with a Saudi woman named Miriam, who is on the run from an arranged marriage in Saudi Arabia. They meet by chance, and the book is the chronicle of their flight across the globe.

Intertwined with this plot is Seth's wrestling with the possibility of God's existence. He starts out intellectually open to the idea, but unwilling to actually believe that God really exists. His own ability to view alternate futures seems to debunk the idea of God's existence for him because it seems to mean that the future is open and this appears to be incompatible with an all-knowing God. But as the book goes on, Seth realizes that he can pray to the God of Jesus Christ and the possible futures that he sees change, pointing toward God's involvement in the world.

Miriam, meanwhile, is wrestling too, both with the cultural difference between Saudi Arabia and the United States and between Islam and the Christianity that Seth is exploring.

All of these plots come to a fast-paced conclusion as Seth rescues Miriam from her husband-to-be's palace and God delivers them from a seemingly inescapable standoff.

Dekker wrestles with some interesting questions in an imaginative way, and that makes the book work. The biggest weakness is in the characters, who seem rather flat. All told, the book wasn't bad, and I'm going to dip into Dekker's work again.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

I love this book. It is without a doubt one of my favorites. Tolkien is a master of words, and when this is wedded with his fertile imagination and his deep faith you end up with a powerful work. And it only gets better with rereading.

I am always struck by the beauty and depth of the world he creates, the reality and dynamism of his characters, and the epic scope of the events. It feels like every page of this voluminous work is built upon a foundation of volumes of history. I also love the powerful themes of temptation and failure, virtue, hope, and redemption. It is truly a theological goldmine, a volume illumined with a "Christian imagination" that propels the action. Simply said, I love it!

Scot McKnight, A Community Called Atonement

In this great little book on the atonement, Scot McKnight lends his capable hand to this very important doctrine, navigating the often contested waters with ease. McKnight asserts the importance of atonement both as a doctrine of the church but even more so as a practice of the church. Does atonement work? He asserts that yes, it does. It can and should create a community transformed by Christ's work, and transformed to further that transformation in the world.

McKnight lays out a nicely rounded out picture of the atonement by situating the doctrine in the larger Christian story, by investigating the biblical and historical roots and developments, and by asserting the continuing validity of the theory and even more the praxis of atonement.

I think this relatively short book is a great entry point into this important field of discussion, and beyond that it is a robust statement of how this doctrine stands at the core of Christian faith and life. A number of helpful avenues are explored, such as atonement as the work of the missional God and creating a missional community. I also think he takes a very even-handed approach to the modern criticisms of penal substitution, showing how the doctrine can be sometimes distorted by some of its defenders, but also emphasizing how it can express an essential aspect of our faith. Last, I think his own summary of atonement as identification for incorporation proves to be a helpful way of approaching this doctrine.

This certainly doesn't constitute a full review of McKnight's broad and far-reaching project, but I hope it gives some of the flavor of this great little book that can help the church to rethink what it means to be an atoned-for and atoning people.

John Grisham, The Testament

Though different from many of his other books, I think The Testament goes down as one of my Grisham favorites. Troy Phelan, a self-made billionaire, jumps to a spectacular death after signing a will leaving his fortune to an unknown daughter, Rachel Lane, and spurning his six other children by three failed marriages, all of whom are circling like vultures waiting for their lucky day to finally arrive. The wrinkle is that Rachel is a missionary in a remote part of Brazil, and is totally out of touch with the Western world except for two phone calls a year. So Josh Stafford, Troy's long-time lawyer, dispatches one of his associates, Nate O'Riely, on a mission to find Rachel.

Nate is fresh out of drug rehab (his fourth trip), and is coming to terms with the wreck his life has become, with a failed marriage and kids he doesn't stay in touch with, on top of federal charges that jeopardize his law practice and good intentions but little hope of true sobriety and recovery. Josh sees this little trip as a chance to get Nate back on his feet, and also keep him away from trouble for a little while. So Nate is dispatched to Brazil to venture out into the Pantanal, a vast region of rain forest on the Brazil-Bolivia border with little contact with the outside world. Rachel Lane is a missionary there with World Tribes Missions, a group that seeks to evangelize unreached peoples by sending missionaries in to live with tribes permanantly and to get to know them and earn their trust. Nate, with the help of a couple local guides, finally tracks Rachel down in a remote village, only to learn that she doesn't want the money. This to Nate is of course shocking, and as he spends a few days with Rachel, he comes to see the deep contrast between her contentment and his own searching and floundering.

While in the jungle, Nate catches malaria, and narrowly escapes death after convalescing in a Brazilian hospital for a number of days. Once back in the States, he begins acting as Rachel's lawyer, in defense of the will, since the other Phelan heirs are contesting the will and seeking their own share of the vast estate. In the end, a settlement is offered to the other heirs, solving the legal troubles, except for the need for Rachel's signature. When Nate makes a return trip to Brazil, he learns that Rachel died of Malaria. But before her death, she signed the necessary papers, giving Nate control over the vast fortune in the form of a trust to benefit World Tribes, the spread of the gospel, and the betterment of the people of Brazil.

This book has the legal intrigue of Grisham's other books, with some comical but also interesting heirs and their lawyers battling for control of billions of dollars. But it is in the characters that this book excels. Grisham shows the devastation that money and greed can bring in the lives of the three ex-wives and six heirs-apparent to the Phelan fortune. And he does a great job of contrasting this with the contentment that can be found elsewhere (namely in peace with God). Rachel is a very authentic character, and adds great depth to the book. But the best character proves to be Nate O'Riley. His journeys to Brazil parallel the searching in his own life, and his encounters with the Phelan heirs and with Rachel cause him to refocus his own life. His journey shows how painful the past can be, but also how liberating God's truth and forgiveness is. The journey isn't easy for him, but Grisham has cast it just right, to make it authentic without being shallow and moralizing or preachy.

In short, I loved this book. The setting was fun and different, the legal maneuvering is vintage Grisham, and the characters bring the story to life. And, best of all, it is a great "testament" to the source of true meaning in life, none other than God and the forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ.

I. Howard Marshall, Aspects of the Atonement

Based in part on his 2004 F. F. Bruce lecture at Highland Theological College, this great little book is an important and even-handed look at the atonement. Its four chapters entail three major foci. The first two chapters deal specifically with the doctrine of penal substitution through a careful look at its two constituent parts, with a careful study of the penalty for sin in chapter 1 and a sustained look at substitution as it relates to the atonement in chapter 2. Throughout these chapters, Marshall carefully takes into account recent critiques of the doctrine as well and weighs them against a careful investigation of the biblical basis. Through this study, he demonstrates the importance of the doctrine of penal substitution but also how it could be better formulated to avoid excesses and misrepresentations. Thus, he carefully critiques and also defends this important doctrine. He looks specifically at issues of violence, wrath, and suffering, as these often come up in critiques of the doctrine. (A proper trinitarian understanding of God and God's action plays a central role here.) In all, he forcefully demonstrates that the fundamental ideas behind the doctrine of penal substitution are important and essential facets of a doctrine of atonement.

In the third chapter, Marshall sets out to investigate how the resurrection of Jesus relates to atonement. While much thought rightly focuses on Jesus' death as the location of atonement, too often this is done without giving necessary attention to how the resurrection likewise plays an important role. Through a sustained look at Romans 4:25 (Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification), Marshall shows how the resurrection can and should play a helpful and central role in our thinking about atonement, especially as it is connected with the them of new life, and how it should be seen as an essential part of God's work of justification.

In the fourth chapter, Marhshall puts forth reconciliation as a helpful overall scheme for thinking of the atonement. While reconciliation and its attendant word forms are not prevalent in the New Testament, Marshall shows how related themes of forgiveness and peace, which play an important part in the NT, point toward reconciliation as an important and helpful way of thinking about what the atonement accomplishes.

I greatly enjoyed this very readable little book. Marshall is very sensitive to modern critiques of the doctrine of penal substitution, and both shows the value in the critiques and also the enduring value of this historic doctrine. For any who are interested in this ongoing debate, I highly recommend this book. It is also very valuable for its second half, with a great discussion of resurrection and of reconciliation. In all, this is a great exposition of the doctrine of the atonement.