Book Review—The Bible and Contemporary Culture

This morning we posted another review at SharperIron.

My Note: Professor Theissen is a theologically liberal scholar. Anthony Hayden will point out some specific doctrinal areas of which the reader ought to be aware in his review below. Theissen’s contributions in the areas of Jesus and Paul studies are gaining more and more attention in the scholarly world. Other prominent names in the fields of Jesus and Paul studies are J.D. Crossan, Marcus Borg, N.T. Wright, and James D. G. Dunn. While it is not necessary for most pastors and laymen to be concerned with these writers, it will be helpful for the serious Bible student to be aware of who they are and what they are saying. That said, the ideas proposed in this book can be seen around us in the broader church. The desire to secularize the church and the Bible, to bow to the contemporary culture, is a serious issue which we must vehemently oppose.

Theissen, Gerd. The Bible and Contemporary Culture. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007. Paperback, 176 pages. $16.00

(Review copy courtesy of Fortress Press)

Purchase: Augsburg/Fortress, CBD, Amazon

Publisher’s press release.

Special Features: Endnotes; Index of Ancient Texts [Scripture]; & Index of Names and Subjects

ISBNs: 0800638638 / 9780800638634

LCCN: BS511.3.T46 2007

DCN: 220.6

Subjects: Bible, Contemporary Culture

GERD THEISSEN (b. 1943) is Professor of New Testament theology at the University of Heidelberg in Germany (since 1980). He earned a first doctorate (Theology) in 1968 and a second in 1972 (Habilitation). He was a private lecturer at the University of Bonn from 1973 to 1978 and a professor at Copenhagen from 1978 to 1980. He is most notable for his attempts to wed the fields of sociology and theology with a particular emphasis on the person of Jesus Christ and the formation of the early church. Here is a sampling of his titles: The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form (1987); The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide, co-authored with Annette Merz (1998); The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria (2002); and the Fortress Introduction to the New Testament (2003).

Please read the review here.

Book Review—The Bible and Contemporary Culture

Book Review—Solving the Romans Debate

We've posted a review at SharperIron of Solving the Romans Debate by A. Andrew Das. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007). 324 pages. $24.00/Paperback.

To Purchase: Augsburg/Fortress, CBD, Amazon

Please have a look. Stewart did a fine job reviewing this.

"Overall, Das contributes a well-researched study into the argument surrounding the recipients of the Roman epistle. Solving the Romans Debate will benefit any seminary student who wants to gain a better understanding of the differing views surrounding the Roman audience."

[Update: 1/3/08] Review of Biblical Literature published a review of Das' Solving the Romans Debate which can be read here. This review was written by David J. Downs of Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California.

Downs' conclusion is also appreciative of Das' work but still unconvinced. Here's his conclusion:

Andrew Das’s Solving the Romans Debate challenges the consensus view that Romans was written to an audience consisting largely of Gentiles with the counterclaim that Romans was written to an audience consisting entirely of Gentiles. Will this noteworthy monograph succeed in shifting the prevailing paradigm? Perhaps not entirely, but only time will tell. Future participants in “the Romans debate,” however, will have Das to thank for this stimulating contribution to the conversation.

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Two related books by Andrew Das:

• Paul, the Law, and the Covenant (Hendrickson, 2001) [also at CBD]
  
• Paul and the Jews (Hendrickson, 2003)

Book Review—Solving the Romans Debate