Archive for the 'Christology' Category
Craig A. Evans. Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels. IVP, 2006. 290 pp.
This book is offered as an exposé of sorts, revealing how certain scholars—among them, James M. Robinson, Robert Funk, Bart Ehrman, Karen King, Morton Smith, Elaine Pagels, John Dominic Crossan, and collectively the Jesus Seminar—“distort the gospels” and thus mislead the public to historical conclusions at odds with traditional Christian claims. Evans also takes aim at various popular authors, such as Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code) and Michael Baigent (The Jesus Papers), for creating what he calls “hokum history” (204). Finally, it is an apologia for the New Testament Gospels: “this book is written to defend the original witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. When put to the test, the original documents hold up quite well. Despite their having been maligned, even ridiculed, and pushed to the background, it is time to give them a fresh hearing” (17).
Reviewed by Stephen J. Patterson.
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Kevin Giles. Jesus and the Father: Modern Evangelicals Reinvent the Doctrine of the Trinity. Zondervan, 2006. 256 pp.
This paperback is not Dr. Giles’ (Th.D., Tübingen University) first book on the topic of the Trinity and the gender debate. This volume has received some notice, with endorsements from Drs. Millard Erickson, Gilbert Bilezikian, and Paul Molnar. Giles’ first premise is that Trinitarian subordinationism is a modern extension of the Arian heresy, anathematized by First Council of Nicea, 325 AD.
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C. J. Mahaney. Christ Our Mediator: Finding Passion at the Cross. Multnomah, 2004. 96 pp.
C. J.’s goal in this little book is to help his readers toward a deeper knowledge of the work of Christ. He makes it clear that he aims to follow Spurgeon’s famous line, “Abide hard by the cross, and search the mystery of His wounds.” The quote could be the theme of the book.
The gospel is the matter of first importance in Christianity. All of Scripture points to it, and all of history pivots around it. As Christians, though, it is easy to imagine that we need to move on to more challenging aspects of Christianity, even to think that, once we’re saved, we somehow mature beyond need for the gospel.
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Robert Letham. The Work of Christ. Contours of Christian Theology. IVP, 1993. 284 pp.
Letham’s The Work of Christ continues a series of theological studies (Contours of Christian Theology) that seeks to cover the main themes of Christian doctrine (9). The books of this series are intended “for theological students of all levels” (9). An attempt has been made to avoid overly technical language and a purely academic style. This book in particular seeks to give a fresh and contemporary analysis to the issues related to Christ’s work showing its practicality and relevance for every age.
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Leon Morris. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Eerdmans, 2001. 318 pp.
Morris has written a very thorough and scholarly linguistic and exegetical study of some of the most important soteriological terms related to the cross work of Christ. Though many scholarly works undermine the authority of Scripture and call into question the fundamental doctrines of the faith, this work is thoroughly conservative and evangelical in its defense of the historic doctrines of soteriology. However, it defends these doctrines not on the basis of tradition but on the basis of a fresh analysis of the relevant data.
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James A. Borland. Christ in the Old Testament: Old Testament Appearances of Christ in Human Form. Moody, 1978. 195 pp.
James Borland’s work is the first to deal systematically with the majority of the Old Testament passages on the human form theophanies from a conservative perspective. The book is academic in nature, yet it maintains a readability that makes it accessible to the non-scholar. The Greek and Hebrew words, however, are not transliterated and sometimes not clearly defined. Borland’s states his thesis in the introduction: “All Old Testament theophanies that involved the manifestation of God in human form were appearances of the second person of the Trinity, and as such their purpose was not only to provide immediate revelation but also to prepare mankind for the incarnation of Christ” (3–4).
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G. Campbell Morgan. The Crises of the Christ: The Seven Greatest Events of His Life. Wipf and Stock, 2005. 477 pp.
The well-known British Congregational minister, George Campbell Morgan (1863–1945) authored more than sixty books and booklets. Yet this work, The Crises of the Christ, stands above them all as his signature work. Virtually all who have read it over the last century agree that this is Morgan’s magnum opus. Morgan has included an unusual blend of the scholarly along with the devotional.
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Robert L. Reymond. Jesus, Divine Messiah. Christian Focus, 2003. 552 pp.
For the first time, Robert Reymond’s work on the deity of Christ has been published in one volume. Originally unable to publish it collectively, he published the separate volumes, Jesus, Divine Messiah: Old Testament Witness and Jesus, Divine Messiah: New Testament Witness, in 1990 with Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company. Reymond rewrote some sections, added new material, and inserted transliteration of the Hebrew and Greek. This volume is academic in nature, including a plethora of footnotes, frequent citations of the original languages, and no shortage of interaction with higher critical theories. It would function well as a seminary level textbook. The book is a defense of the deity of the Messiah as presented in both the Old and New Testaments.
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John F. Walvoord. Jesus Christ Our Lord. Moody, 1969. 318 pp.
This volume, written by well-known author and dispensational theologian John F. Walvoord, is a theological work on the person and work of Christ that systematically presents key Christological themes. Christ’s person occupies the bulk of the discussion, though Walvoord does address His life and work as well. Although it is not overly technical, neither is it casual reading. It is suited for the college level, but both pastors and more learned laymen would profit from it as well.
The portion of the book relevant to this review covers the subjects of recent trends in Christological discussion, the person of Christ, Christ in eternity, in Old Testament history, in typology, in prophecy, and the incarnation.
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B. B. Warfield. Christology and Criticism. Baker, 2000. 459 pp.
This volume, Christology and Criticism, is the third of ten volumes in The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield. It is a collection of essays and articles previously published in various encyclopedias and journals. Warfield’s writings are not for the casual reader. In-depth interaction with higher-critical theories pervades these discussions. Scattered throughout are words and phrases in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German, often without any translation. Profuse footnotes occupy many of the pages. As always, however, the reader who is willing and able to work through this material will profit from this great scholar and theologian.
The book contains discussions of the divine Messiah of the Old Testament, the divine Christ of the New Testament, the two natures of Christ, the blasphemy of the Son of Man, Jesus’ alleged confession of sin, the supernatural birth of Jesus, and the twentieth-century Christ.
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