A Few Books on Inerrancy

The recent Inerrancy Summit at the Shepherd's Conference will no doubt be long remembered as the line up of speakers was something out of a Who's Who of today's most respected theologians. There are a few of the videos from the conference here. Take some time to watch and listen. Need a book on Inerrancy? Have a look here and here and below.

The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New Challenges to Biblical Authority By Gregory K. Beale

The Scripture Cannot Be Broken: Twentieth Century Writings on the Doctrine of Inerrancy From Crossway

Inerrancy and the Gospels: A God-Centered Approach to the Challenges of Harmonization By Vern S. Poythress

 

 

Book Review: Experiencing the Trinity by Joe Thorn Reviewed by Rachel Cooper

“To believe and love the Trinity is to possess the key of theology.” — Spurgeon 

Focusing on the character and attributes of God during seasons of doubt and depression is so simple, yet profound, that it nearly knocks me over.  This is not normally how we battle dark times, and this is not what the self-help books are made of.  But this is exactly what Joe Thorn did during his own dark season, and he captured 50 daily meditations that are now in his new book Experiencing the Trinity.

These readings “reflect on God and the gospel and how they overcome our fear, failure, pain, and unbelief.”  Outlining the attributes for each member of the trinity, this book is a wonderful example of how to preach to yourself.  And although Thorn says the book was literally written to himself, I found numerous sections to be helpful in battling my own personal sins and unbelief.
I highlighted quite a bit, but one of my favorites was the section covering how the Holy Spirit revives us:

The Spirit’s work of revival does not come about when God’s people practice inventive or radical exercise; it comes through the normal means of grace God has given his people.  Do you need God to revive your hear?  Then seek the Spirit’s influence.  Cry out to God, store his Word in your hear, give yourself to worship, and walk in his ways.  Revival is near, but you must seek it. 

There’s nothing flashy or sexy about this book.  There are no magic formulas, no emotionally charged guilt trips.  And for me, that’s largely its appeal.  As a women in my early 30’s, I’m the target audience for many of the Christian devotionals and self-help books published today.  And so often, these books are lacking the gospel and the hard truths about our sin.  Instead, Experiencing the Trinity presents you with who He is in all His glory, stirring you to greater love for Him.

There are no 10 step guides or prayer formulas to work your way out of the darkness.  Sometimes, perhaps often times, it’s work.  It’s choosing to believe what you cannot see or may not feel.  It’s studying and searching for who God is, believing He both hears and sees you, and reaching out for just a touch of the hem of His robe.

Rachel Cooper received a copy of Experiencing the Trinity to review.  No other compensation was received, and the opinions are her own.

To see more from Rachel Cooper visit her blog at  Lady Hawk Collective.

A Change of Heart: A Personal and Theological Memoir by Thomas C. Oden

A Change of Heart: A Personal and Theological Memoir is a fascinating look into the life of Thomas Oden. If you don't him, you should. Check out the Mortification of Spin podcast as the trio discuss this monograph.

Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: An Interview with Andy Naselli

Excellent video from B&H Academic on Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement.



Sound good? You can purchase Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement here.

Look what's new...

Take a look what's new on the Academic page at the Reformed Book Cellar and post suggestions on our Facebook page what you would add. Winter is a great time to invest time reading and digging deeper into theological issues. Dig in, enjoy and be blessed.

Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment By Gregg R. Allison

One of the better works that has come out is Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment By Gregg R. Allison. For a good review check out Leonardo De Chirico's review at the Gospel Coalition. To hear an interview with the author head over to the Reformed Forum. This one is worth the investment.

Product Description

A theologian and church historian walks readers through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, winsomely evaluating Roman Catholic doctrine and practice from the perspective of both Scripture and evangelical theology.

Look What's Coming

Mark McDowell did us a great service in his post at Ref21 showing us what's up and coming in 2015. Below are a few of the books. See the whole article with his notes here.

Reformed Catholicity: The Promise of Retrieval for Theology and Biblical Interpretation By Michael Allen, Scott R. Swain

 

 

 

 

 

Gospel of Glory: Major Themes in Johannine Theology By Richard Bauckham

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luther on the Christian Life: Cross and Freedom (Theologians on the Christian Life) By Carl R. Trueman

 

 

Brush Up on Your Knowledge of the Bible

In light of the recent Newsweek article which misrepresents Scripture, below are a few suggestions to brush up on your knowledge of the Bible, its history and transmission.

The Question of Canon
Product Description
2013 Preaching Survey of the Year's Best Books for Preachers Did the New Testament canon arise naturally from within the early Christian faith? Were the books written as Scripture, or did they become Scripture by a decision of the second-century church? Why did early Christians have a canon at all? These are the types of questions that led Michael J. Kruger to pick apart modern scholarship’s dominant view that the New Testament is a late creation of the church imposed on books originally written for another purpose. Calling into question this commonly held "extrinsic" view, Kruger here tackles the five most prevalent objections to the classic understanding of a quickly emerging, self-authenticating collection of authoritative scriptures. Already a noted author on the subject of the New Testament canon, Kruger addresses foundational and paradigmatic assumptions of the extrinsic model as he provides powerful rebuttals and further support for the classic, "intrinsic" view. This framework recognizes the canon as the product of internal forces evolving out of the historical essence of Christianity, not a development retroactively imposed by the church upon books written hundreds of years before. Unlike many books written on the emergence of the New Testament canon that ask "when?" or "how?" Kruger focuses this work on the "why?"—exposing weaknesses in the five major tenets of the extrinsic model as he goes. While The Question of Canon scrutinizes today’s popular scholastic view, it also offers an alternative concept to lay a better empirical foundation for biblical canon studies.

Fabricating Jesus
Product Description
Modern historical study of the Gospels seems to give us a new portrait of Jesus every spring--just in time for Easter. The more unusual the portrait, the more it departs from the traditional view of Jesus, the more attention it gets in the popular media. Why are scholars so prone to fabricate a new Jesus? Why is the public so eager to accept such claims without question? What methods and assumptions predispose scholars to distort the record? Is there a more sober approach to finding the real Jesus? Commenting on such recent releases as Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus, James Tabor's The Jesus Dynasty, Michael Baigent's The Jesus Papers and the Gospel of Judas, for which he served as an advisory board member to the National Geographic Society, Craig Evans offers a sane approach to examining the sources for understanding the historical Jesus.

The Historical Reliability of the Gospels
Product Description
For over twenty years, Craig Blomberg's The Historical Reliability of the Gospels has provided a useful antidote to many of the toxic effects of skeptical criticism of the Gospels. Offering a calm, balanced overview of the history of Gospel criticism, especially that of the late twentieth century, Blomberg introduces readers to the methods employed by New Testament scholars and shows both the values and limits of those methods. He then delves more deeply into the question of miracles, Synoptic discrepancies and the differences between the Synoptics and John. After an assessment of noncanonical Jesus tradition, he addresses issues of historical method directly. This new edition has been thoroughly updated in light of new developments with numerous additions to the footnotes and two added appendixes. Readers will find that over the past twenty years, the case for the historical trustworthiness of the Gospels has grown vastly stronger.

You can find these and other associated titles in this genre here.

Book Review: Edwards On The Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God by Dane Ortlund

UPDATED

When I first started reading Edwards On The Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God I wondered what I got myself into. I wasn’t a big fan of Jonathan Edwards and was never really interested in the legacy of his theology. The further I read the more I understood what I was missing. Author Dane Ortlund unravels Edwards’ theology as he looks into how and why he saw the beauty of God. As we find out, Edwards should not be known only (maybe not at all?) for his fire and brimstone sermons. I found this to be a fascinating look into the life and teaching of Edwards and the foundation he has laid for us all.

In thirteen brief but well worked chapters Ortlund fleshes out the Christian life theology of Edwards as found in the beauty of God. He notes that

 (T)the very first thing to be said about the Christian life is that for Edwards, beauty is what makes God God. “God is God, and distinguished from all other beings, and exalted above ’em, chiefly by his divine beauty.”  Not sovereignty, not wrath, not grace, not omniscience, not eternity, but beauty is what more than anything else defines God’s very divinity. Edwards clearly believed in these other truths about God and saw all of them as upholding and displaying and connected to God’s beauty. Yet none of them expresses who God is in the way that beauty does. Dane C. Ortlund. Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God (Kindle Locations 319-324). Crossway.

We read that the beauty found in Christ is the central thrust of the book as we weave our way through all the chapters. The author covers a wide and necessary range of topics around this theme in Edwards’ theology. New birth, love, joy, gentleness, prayer and Satan are just a few of the chapter topics we find within these pages. All well researched and all well written.

Its worth noting that Ortlund does not have any hagiographic tendencies towards Edwards. The final chapter considers several of Edwards’s shortfalls, though, as the author reveals, they can be forgiven.

I enjoyed this book. I was reminded what the Christian life is all about and just how often I forget the truths Edwards spoke on so often. Compelling and engaging I would certainly recommend this work.

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page.    

Find out more by clicking here to listen to an author interview by the guys at Reformed Forum.

The Best of 2014

Check out the some of the best works from 2014 at RBC. Got any to add?