Quick Book Review: Translation of the Seventy by Edmon L. Gallagher

My last book review of  The Septuagint: What It Is and Why It Matters really whet my appetite for more history on the Septuagint. I dug deeper and found Edmon L. Gallagher's, Translation of the Seventy. It was a true delight to read, or maybe devour is a better way of putting it. 

Though still an introduction to the Septuagint (LXX), this work delves deeper into the many issues that surround the LXX. 

The book is written in three sections:

I. Starting points - The reader is introduced to the LXX, its origins and why its important.

II. Canon and Text in Early Judaism and Earliest Christianity - In this section Gallagher begins to go deep. Most interesting here is how the biblical canon affected the growth of the LXX. 

III. The Text of the Septuagint among the Fathers - What is most intriguing in this section is the roles that Jerome and Augustine played in the history of the LXX.

I've only highlighted some aspects of the work, there is far more the reader will find of interest within its pages.  If church history, text criticism, early Judaism, early Christianity, are your interests or field of study this book is for you.

This work extremely insightful and helpful in gaining a greater understanding of the Septuagint.

There are paid links in this post.

Book Review: The Heritage of Anglican Theology by J. I. Packer

 

For sometime now I've been interested in Anglican theology but was slow to investigate my interest. So when the opportunity to review The Heritage of Anglican Theology  by J. I. Packer appeared, I jumped at the chance. Who better to explore and explain the history of the Anglican church than by J.I. Packer?

 

Almost immediately I was drawn into the web of Anglican history, the good and the bad, the ebb and flow, and the main players down through time. Beginning in the early 1500's, Packer takes us all the way through today's current standing in the Anglican church. As with any theological persuasion or denomination, there is both the bad and the good, the mainstream and the fringe, the conservative and the liberal. Theology and worship, true worship of God, can be messy and so it was in Anglican history.

 

The writing style was most pleasant; an easy read.  Complex terms and ideas are explained for the unfamiliar with Anglicanism. Of course, the worship of God, church history, and theology never operate in a vacuum. When, and it was often necessary, British history, culture, and politics are explained. Though this was a work on Anglican history, Packer always explained the correct method of worship and Biblical understanding.

 

To get a flavor of of the book, below is a list of chapter titles

1   Taking the Measure of the Anglican Mainstream   

2   The English Reformation   

3   Puritan Theology   

4   Richard Hooker   

5   The Caroline Divines   

6   Rational Divinity   

7   Revival Theology   

8   The Oxford Movement and Anglo-Catholicism   

9   Nineteenth-Century Broad Church Theology   

10   Anglican Modernism   

11   Early Twentieth-Century Anglican Theology   

12   Concluding Thoughts on Anglican Theology 

Afterword: Further Thoughts on the Anglican Concept of Doctrine 

Recommended Reading 

Index

Overall the reader will get a thorough understanding of the state of Anglicanism both past and present. 

I would give this five out of five stars! Excellent book. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

For more on Packer's theological thought check out his work, Knowing God. 

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page and includes paid links. Opinions are my own.

For more on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, see my post here.