Election, Discipleship and Evangelical Theology - New from IVP Academic

Here are three new titles I recently received from IVP. I've already begun working through Thornhill's The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism and am enjoying the survey of Second Temple Literature (an area in which I have much to learn).

Johnson's Theology as Discipleship arrived today and I am skimming it with great interest.

The third book is Theology and the Mirror of Scripture, by Vanhoozer and Treier. What a delight!

Now, for some coffee to get going this morning!

I will post some reflections as I make my way further through these books.

Election, Discipleship and Evangelical Theology - New from IVP Academic

New From Baker Academic: Evangelicals and Nicene Faith

Here's a new book edited by Timothy George published by Baker Academic.  This volume is the third installment in the Beeson Divinity Studies series.

I am also glad to see that this volume includes a chapter by my friend and undergraduate classmate Mark Gignilliat.  Mark's doctoral studies at St. Andrews were focused upon the relationship between the testaments, and his doctoral dissertation looked into the relationship between Isaiah 40-66 and 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:10 (see here).  His research has also produced articles and another book on the relationship between exegesis and dogmatics (see here for one example), and I understand that he is currently working on a theological commentary on the prophecy of Micah.  Mark's contribution to this volume appears to be along similar lines.  This looks great!

Evangelicals an Nicene Faith: Reclaiming the Apostolic Witness

  


Contents

Introduction: The Faith We Confess    Timothy George

Identity

1. The Faith Once Delivered: Nicea and Evangelical Confession   Thomas C. Oden

2. The Gospel Promised by the Prophets: The Trinity and the Old Testament    Mark S. Gignilliat

3. The Road to Nicea: The New Testament    Frank Thielman

4. Whosoever Will Be Saved: The Athanasian Creed and the Modern Church    Gerald Bray

History

5. The Reformers and the Nicene Faith: An Assumed Catholicity    Carl L. Beckwith

6. The Nicene Faith and the Catholicity of the Church: Evangelical Retrieval and the Problem of Magisterium    Steven R. Harmon

7. The Church Is Part of the Gospel: A Sermon on the Four Marks of the Church    Carl E. Braaten

8. Confessional, Baptist, and Arminian: The General-Free Will Baptist Tradition and the Nicene Faith    J. Matthew Pinson

9. Toward a Generous Orthodoxy    Curtis W. Freeman

Practice

10. Practicing the Nicene Faith    Elizabeth Newman

11. The Nicene Faith and Evangelical Worship    David P. Nelson

12. Taking in His Coming Down    Kathleen B. Nielson

13. The Will to Believe and the Need for Creeds    John Rucyahana

14. Can the Church Emerge without or with Only the Nicene Creed?    Mark DeVine

15. Life after Life after Death: A Sermon on the Final Phrase of the Nicene Creed    Ralph C. Wood

16. Delighted by Doctrine: A Tribute to Jaroslav Pelikan    Timothy George

Publisher's blurb -

The Nicene Creed is the most universally accepted statement of Christian faith by Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox believers alike. In this volume, top scholars examine the Nicene Creed's connection with the evangelical tradition, presenting evangelicalism as a renewal movement within the one holy catholic and apostolic church. Particular focus is given to the Creed's practical outworking in the life of the church--its theology, spirituality, worship, and mission. Topics include pastoral work, biblical exegesis, the emerging phenomena, and Christian orthodoxy's revival in the Global South. The book will be useful for students of theology, church history, and spirituality. It will also appeal to pastors, church leaders, scholars, and all who wish to present the traditional Christian faith to twenty-first-century people. 

New From Baker Academic: Evangelicals and Nicene Faith

Review: The Advent of Evangelicalism edited by Haykin and Stewart

The following review was submitted to me by Don Palmer, Sr. Pastor of Forest Brook Community Church, just east of Toronto, Canada. I am very grateful for Don's perspective and help with reviewing some of the books sent to us. I, too, have enjoyed and benefited from this book and commend his comments to you.

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Michael Haykin & Kenneth Stewart, eds. The Advent of Evangelicalism: Exploring Historical Continuities. Forward by Timothy George. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2008, Paperback 432 pp.

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At first glance Haykin and Stewart’s edited analytical essays on David Bebbington’s 1989 work, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1960s, is rather daunting. But moving into the various analyses from a selection of different scholars’ perspectives proved both profitable and interesting.

Now, some twenty years after publication, Bebbington’s work is considered a classic. His study and analysis of evangelical movement, thought and doctrine as influenced by Enlightenment philosophy is considered by some a “seminal study of great importance.” Because of the importance of Bebbington’s study a second look is worthwhile. Thus Haykin and Stewart’s edited volume is both timely and valuable. Every contributor goes to great lengths to examine various aspects of Bebbington’s thesis. Did evangelicalism begin in the mid-eighteenth century? Just how influential, if at all, were Enlightenment philosophers on Christian theology and practice? Can the evangelical movement truly be characterized by Bebbington’s “quadralateral” elements: biblicist, conversionist, cruciform, and activist?

These and other issues are brought to the forefront for analysis as each contributor examines one or more of the elements and attempts to answer the question: Did evangelicalism begin in the mid-eighteenth century and can it be typified by these four elements? The manner in which each contributor approached his topic proved interesting and fully worthwhile both from a historical standpoint but also from a theological perspective. Each contributor assists in bringing precision to Bebbington’s thesis, but, even more so, gives sharper focus to the time period and preceding factors.

To answer these questions and bring precision to the issue, The Advent of Evangelicalism is very nicely organized into four sections (it’s own “quadralateral” if you will): an Introduction, geographical/regional perspectives, an analysis of eras, and finally a doctrinal (or theological) analysis of evangelicalism. In each case the contributor is quite thorough, given the subject limitations, in his analysis providing copious quotations and bibliographical references. Thus, we’re given a broad viewpoint of the evangelical movement both synchronically and diachronically. This was very helpful in that the reader is given a better understanding of the evangelical movement not only in a particular country but also throughout time.

The main theme in Bebbington’s work was that Enlightenment thought and its philosophers heavily influenced evangelicals. Of particular interest was the contributor’s discussion on theological diversity and continuity within the period and their understanding of thought and theology as it related to the Enlightenment. This discussion was very beneficial to those of us who normally do not study the movement or evolution of theological thought from one century to another. Most helpful was the analysis of various denominational distinctions and how they may or may not have been influenced by enlightenment ideas. For example John Coffey notes that the differences were more a matter of “degree” and “even the politics of evangelicalism owed much to Puritanism.”

The Advent of Evangelicalism gives us a better understanding of ecclesiastical history not only during the 18th century but also of the time leading up to it. Examining the subject from a broader chronological perspective, regional differences, and theological standpoints was very beneficial. But, in another sense, the work is also comforting. The reader is given a better understanding that historically and theologically evangelicalism’s roots are not necessarily tainted with humanistic Enlightenment as we may be led to believe. Rather, the roots from which evangelicals are born are from sound theological thought emanating from centuries prior as the Holy Spirit worked in and through his Church in time and events.

Don Palmer lives in Toronto, is the Sr. Pastor of Forest Brook Community Church, and is completing MDiv studies through Tyndale College & Seminary.

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Review: The Advent of Evangelicalism edited by Haykin and Stewart

M. Köstenberger's Hermeneutical Posture

In early October, I posted a summary of Bruce Waltke's view of the various theological positions. In his An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach (Zondervan, 2007), Waltke presents the following outline (pp. 73-77):

• Liberal Theologians Stand above the Bible

• Neoorthodox Theologians Stand before the Bible

• Traditionalists Place Traditions/Confessions alongside the Bible

• Fundamentalists Stand on the Bible

• Evangelicals Stand under the Bible

Having been reared and educated in Fundamentalist circles, I am a bit sensitive when I read non-Fundamentalists trying to describe and/or criticize Fundamentalists. What I am mostly concerned with, is clarity. As helpful as the above listed categories are, they are still very generalized. That Fundamentalists are described as standing on rather than under the Bible is true, especially when you consider the decidedly militant stance of historic fundamentalism. But, is it entirely fair to say that Fundamentalists, in general, do not also posture themselves as submitted learners under the Bible? Militancy has its place, but it never was in my blood. Rather, as a Fundamentalist, I saw myself in great need of learning.

In the same manner, we could ask if it is genuinely fair to say that Evangelicals are normally postured under the Bible. Well, in the case of Evangelical Feminism, Marny Köstenberger adequately shows that some Evangelicals have strayed from standing under the Bible. In some cases it is apparent that some Evangelicals have postured themselves above or selectively apart from the Bible. In a sense, Köstenberger, having sought to submit to the Bible's countercultural teaching, is here standing on the Bible's teaching as authoritative and corrective of erroneous doctrine.

Liberals call Evangelicals "Fundamentalists." Most Evangelicals do not want to be labeled "Fundamentalist." Some Fundamentalists decry some Evangelicals as "Liberals." Some Fundamentalists avoid anything that smacks of Evangelicalism. Other Fundamentalists disdain the stereotype that is attached to their own label and seek to distinguish themselves from other Fundamentalists. And on, and on it goes. Surely, we all will agree that labels are reductionistic by nature; but, nevertheless, labels are useful. In general terms, I find Waltke's distinctions to be satisfying.

Margaret Elizabeth Köstenberger, Jesus and the Feminists: Who Do They Say That He Is? Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2008. Softcover, 253 pages. $19.99

[Crossway | WTS | Amazon | CBD]

In reading Köstenberger's Jesus and the Feminists, I noticed that she also finds it necessary to make a distinct clarification along these lines. The concluding section of chapter 2 (What's At Stake: "It's Hermeneutics!") strikes a distinction between Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism. She writes:

Some are dismissing an evangelical approach to Scripture out of hand for illegitimate reasons. For example, conservative evangelical Christians may at times find themselves confronted with the label "fundamentalist," and their conservative viewpoint on gender issues gets rejected without further discussion. But there is quite a difference between fundamentalism and a conservative evangelical reading of Scripture. Fundamentalism often tends toward a narrow-minded approach to Scripture. It at times may impose systematized doctrine onto the text and tend toward legalism. It is also often characterized by simplistic thinking. Some have even used the Bible in the past to justify such terrible things as slavery and racism. (35)

Let me repeat a part of the last quote from the previous post.

We must take our place in a stance of submission to God's Word, putting ourselves beneath it rather than sitting in critical judgment over it. (220)

My first reaction to this was: Ouch! These are stinging words. Granted, this is not true all of the time, nor necessarily most of the time. However, as Köstenberger states the case, "Fundamentalism often tends toward" (emphasis mine) this erroneous posture. Sure, there is a place for militancy, but never without a sense of humility that keeps us submitted to the Scriptures.

Besides, Köstenberger is clearly bringing up this issue and these negative characterizations in order to argue that the position for which she is arguing is not the fruit of narrow-mindedness, the imposition of a particular system of theology, legalism, simplistic thinking, or an attempt to justify heinous abuses. Rather, she has written this book to show that the disunity of interpretations amongst the Feminists must cause them to realize that they, themselves, have interpreted the Scriptures too narrow-mindedly and have imposed upon the texts their own systematic agenda.

M. Köstenberger's Hermeneutical Posture

New Book on the History of Andover Newton Theological School

Last October I wrote up a small piece on Richard Furman in which I made mention of his efforts to establish Baptist seminaries. I wrote,

In 1814 Furman was elected as the first president of the Baptist Triennial Convention. As president of the Baptist Convention, Furman continued to press the burden of education upon his brethren. His plans were brilliant, but they did not unfold as he had intended. His original plan was for a central institution in Washington D. C. with preparatory institutions in each state, or between states. From this original plan emerged the Columbian College (now a part of George Washington University). Other institutions that grew out of this plan are Furman Institution (now University), the Mercer Institute (now University), the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and probably Newton in Massachusetts (now Andover-Newton Theological Seminary). (emphasis added)

Another impetus behind the formation of Newton Theological Seminary was the booming interest in foreign missions. Adoniram Judson, then a student at Andover Theological Seminary (1810), and his friends strongly urged the ministers Massachusetts to address the pressing need of missions to the heathen. This era of missionary zeal saw a handful of new training and supportive institutions birthed.

Needless to say, there is a lot of important history concerning the genesis of Andover Theological Seminary and Newton Theological Seminary. The story of these two early American schools, their union in 1931, and their joint contribution to the evangelical church to this day has been documented in a new book by Margaret Lamberts Bendroth. This week Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishers announced the release of this historical-critical work.

What follows are details about this book and about its author. Researching Bendroth's literary output has given me good reason to think that this book will be a valuable contribution to American Evangelical historical studies. I also expect that we will find plenty of Bendroth's evaluation of the Fundamentalist movement as it pertains to this historic school (note the table of contents listed below).

Bendroth, Margaret Lamberts. A School of the Church: Andover Newton Across Two Centuries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.

Format: Hardback. 240 pages; dimensions (in inches): 6 x 9; 29 b&w illustrations; List Price: $28.00 USD

ISBNs: 0802863701 / 978-0-8028-6370-6

Purchase: Eerdmans | Amazon | CBD

Description from the publisher:

Andover Newton Theological School has a storied 200-year history. Margaret Lamberts Bendroth has written a compelling account of this historic institution and its two original sources — Andover Seminary, a Congregational school established in 1808 and the model for theological education in the United States, and Newton Theological Institution, a Baptist school established in 1825 — which merged in 1931. The book offers entirely new material on the development of the school after the 1931 merger.

As part of Andover Newton’s history, Bendroth explores the unquestionable intellectual contributions of the faculty, including Moses Stuart, Alvah Hovey, Gabriel Fackre, Max Stackhouse, Phyllis Trible, and many others. She also examines the many paths intersecting with the school’s story, from American education in general to the development of Protestant thought, to the complex histories of race and gender in American society.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Andover Seminary and the Origins of Theological Education in America

New England Baptists and the Cure of Souls: The Early Years of the Newton Theological Institution

Andover, Newton, and the Benevolent Empire

The New Theology Comes to Andover: The Story of the Future Probation Controversy

Newton and the Fundamentalist-Modernist Debate

Andover’s Harvard Years: From Cambridge to Newton Center

Andover Newton and Pastoral Education in the World War II Era

Earthquake Years: A Mainline Seminary Weathers the Sixties

Andover Newton’s Turn of the Century

EPILOGUE: The Andover Newton Legacy
INDEX

Margaret Lamberts Bendroth is a historian, executive director of the American Congregational Association and director of the Congregational Library in Boston.

Bibliography -

• Co-edited and contributed to Faith Traditions and the Family. The Family, Religion and Culture series. (WJK, 1996)
• Preview this book via Google
  

• Fundamentalism and Gender: 1875 to the Present (Yale UP, 1996)
• Press Release
• "Bendroth's sensitivity to the religious integrity of fundamentalism is matched by her awareness of its ambiguities about women. The book as a whole breaks new ground in both research and analysis. It is a fine piece of work."—Mark A. Noll


• The Living Theological Heritage of the United Church of Christ: Outreach and Diversity. Volume 5. (Pilgrim Press, 2000)
• 
  
• Women and Twentieth-Century Protestantism Edited by Margaret Lamberts Bendroth and Virginia Lieson Brereton (University of Illinois Press, 2001)
• Press Release
• Preview this book via Google
  

• Growing Up Protestant: Parents, Children and Mainline Churches (Rutgers UP, 2002)
• Kindle edition

• Fundamentalist in the City: Conflict and Division in Boston's Churches, 1885-1950 (Oxford UP, 2005)
• Kindle Edition
  
• Press Release
• "'All religion is, in the end, local,' observes Margaret Bendroth in this important study. Bendroth provides an engaging history of revivalist Protestantism in Boston in the era from Dwight L. Moody to Billy Graham. She shows that in the formerly Puritan city the movement that in the 1920s became known as 'fundamentalist' had a distinctive local background and eventually helped shape a broader 'new evangelicalism,' associated with Graham." -- George Marsden, author of Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925

• A School of the Church: Andover Newton Across Two Centuries (Eerdmans, 2008)

New Book on the History of Andover Newton Theological School

Book Review: The Courage To Be Protestant by David Wells

The following title has been reviewed by Greg Long. We have posted this review at SharperIron.org this morning.

Wells, David F. The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008. Hardcover, xiv + 253 pp. $25.00

Purchase: Eerdmans | WTS | CBD | Amazon | Monergism

ISBNs: 0802840078 / 9780802840073

Includes an Index

Excerpts: Table of Contents and Preface, Chapter One: The Lay of the Evangelical Land (click on “Excerpt”)

Subjects: Protestantism, Evangelicalism, Postmodernism

David F. Wells is the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Also an ordained Congregationalist minister, Wells has authored more than a dozen previous books.

Book Review: The Courage To Be Protestant by David Wells

9Marks Interview with Mark Minnick

This past February Mark Dever interviewed my pastor Mark Minnick as part of a forum between conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists. I thought the mp3 recording of this interview wouldn’t be available until August or September, but thanks to Andy Naselli for pointing out its availability now. Check out this interview for insightful comments on the similarities and dissimilarities of different groups of believers as we practice and promote our common faith.

__________
Here are some links to discussions on this interview:

• Andy Naselli 5/25/08
  
• Greg Linscott (Current Christian) 5/25/08
  
• Don Johnson (an oxgoad, eh?) 5/25/08
• Frank Sansone (A Thinking Man's Thoughts) 5/25/08 more on 5/28/08
  
• SharperIron's Fundamentalism Forum 5/26/08
  
• Dr. Bob McCabe's brief comments (Old Testament Studies) 5/26/08
• Chris Anderson (My Two Cents) 5/29/08
• Kent Brandenburg (What is Truth( 6/9/08
  
• CurrentChristian.com 6/12/08
• Don Johnson (an oxgoad, eh?) adds a transcript of a latter portion of the interview and asks "is there an answer here? 6/14/08
• Mark Dever explains his practices of separation and asks "Mark Dever doesn't practice separation?" 6/14/08
• Don Johnson (an oxgoad, eh?) takes a stab at answering Dever's latest contribution to the discussion - "do conservative "e's" separate?" 6/15/08
• Dave Doran (Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary & InterCity Baptist Church) added some helpful comments to Dever's post at Church Matters, the 9Marks blog 6/15/08
  
• Kent Brandenburg rants on 6/16/08
• Jeff Straub (Central Baptist Seminary) also added a response to Dever's post at Church Matters, the 9Marks blog 6/16/08
  

9Marks Interview with Mark Minnick

9 Marks Forum on Fundamentalism

9 Marks Ministries has posted their March/April 2008 eJournal, which contains a roundtable inquiry of some Fundamentalist and Evangelical leaders on the question: "What can we learn from the Christian Fundamentalists?" There are some good answers and insights from both camps of believers.

A PDF version of the Journal is also available.

9 Marks Forum on Fundamentalism

Forthcoming: The Surprising Work of God

To Be Released July '08

Rosell, Garth. The Surprising Work of God: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008. Paperback. 288 pages. $19.99.

Publication date: Jul. 08 | Division: Baker Academic

ISBNs: 9780801035708 / 0801035708

Pre-Order: CBD ($14.99) | Amazon ($13.59)

Garth M. Rosell (PhD, University of Minnesota) is professor of church history at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he has taught since 1978, and former director of the Ockenga Institute. He is the author or editor of eight books, including The Memoirs of Charles G. Finney and Commending the Faith: The Preaching of D. L. Moody.

Here is a very interesting forthcoming publication. I admit that the use of the term "interesting" is very subjective. It is interesting to me because I had just recently searched for information on Ockenga and the founding of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Also interesting to me is the title which draws a parallel between the growth of Evangelicalism and the spiritual awakening witnessed by Jonathan Edwards (note Edwards' Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God. The subtitle elaborates this parallel: How America's 20th Century Evangelical Awakening Became a Worldwide Christian Movement.

There is a little bit more description available on Baker Academic's website. Hopefully they'll post an excerpt soon. I'm eager to read this one.

Forthcoming: The Surprising Work of God

Book Review—Promise Unfulfilled by Roland McCune

Reviewed by Andrew David Naselli.

McCune, Rolland D. Promise Unfulfilled: The Failed Strategy of Modern Evangelicalism. Greenville, S.C.: Ambassador International, 2004. Hardcover, xvii + 398 pp. $24.99.

Editor’s Note: This review was originally posted on Andy’s blog along with a rejoinder from Dr. Rolland McCune. Due to the length of this review, we are splitting it up and publishing it here according to its two major headings—Part One: A Summary and Part Two: An Analysis.

Purchase: Ambassador-Emerald | CBD | Amazon

Special Features: Footnotes, Selected Annotated Bibliography, Scriptural Index, and Topical Index

ISBNs: 1932307311 / 9781932307313

LCCN: BR1642 U5 M33

DCN: 230.04624

Subject: Modern Evangelicalism

Read Part One: A Summary (11/19/07) & Part Two: An Analysis (11/20/07)

Book Review—Promise Unfulfilled by Roland McCune