Reformation21

As we inch towards the end of 2015, I thought it might be helpful for some of our contributors and a few of our frequent guest writers to offer some reflections on books they've especially enjoyed this year. I trust you'll find the nominations fascinating and the glosses offered instructive, too ~...

Marcus Johnson and John Clark. The Incarnation of God: The Mystery of the Gospel as the Foundation of Evangelical Theology . Crossway, 2015. 256 pp. Marcus Johnson and John Clark's The Incarnation of God is a much-needed and well-conceived treatment of the central mystery of the Christian faith...

Nigel Biggar, In Defence of War . Oxford University Press, 2013. 361 pp. HB $55.00. PB $30.00 In this book, Nigel Biggar, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology and Director of the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life at Oxford University, offers a collection of essays...

Meet the New American Dream, Same as the Old American Dream: Thoughts after seeing Joy Movies are more than entertainment, date night venues, or after (during) work escapes. At their best, they are something closer to lay theology or therapy even. A place to take in entire worldviews, sifting their...

John H. Walton. The Lost World of Adam and Eve . Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015. 253pp. $17.00 In 2009, John Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, challenged the evangelical world with the publication of his The Lost World of Genesis One . He argued that contrary to a...

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Karen and Carl Ellis to discuss some issues surrounding the Church's role in the discussion over Islam, how reformed theology can speak into the exchange between both faiths, the situation surrounding Dr. Larycia Hawkins and Wheaton College...

Mark D. Nanos and Magnus Zetterholm (eds.), Paul Within Judaism: Restoring the First-Century Context to the Apostle . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015 It is nearly forty years since the publication of E. P. Sanders's Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977) initiated a revolution in Pauline studies...

Over the last few years, movies about Christianity have begun to trickle into the theaters with more frequency. We've had Old Testament stories like Noah (2014) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014). We've had contemporary family dramas like Courageous (2011) and War Room (2015). We've even had...

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and Union with Christ . Pittsburgh, PA: Crown & Covenant Publications, 2015. 206pp. $12.99 "Follow me as I follow Christ." So Paul unsubtly implores on several occasions (1 Cor. 4:16,...

Last time, we noted that God himself initiated a relationship to his creation by way of condescension. "Condescension" is a metaphorical term. It means "to come down." But God does not "come down" by occupying a space that he did not otherwise occupy. So what does "condescension" mean when it...