For All It's Worth

I was excited to receive this book in the mail to see what claims the author makes for naming Lazarus as the author of the Gospel of John. However, when I started reading this book I was disgusted by the faux scholarship and repudiation of any sources outside the biblical canon. No reputable teacher or scholar would dismiss the use of extra biblical sources, including recent scholarship on the Gospel of John (no reference to the work of Andreas Kostenberger here). Although Phillips is right to be wary of basing our whole opinions on the scholarship of others (13), he is way off base in claiming that to use these resources is of no value. Many scholars have studied the Greek text of the Gospel of John for years and have come to the very opposite conclusions of J. Phillips. Why should Lazarus be the author of the Gospel of John? Lazarus is not referred to as a fisherman in any accounts of the Gospels. Secondly, there is no internal evidence that Lazarus wrote any book in the Script...

Marriage and the Family: Biblical Essentials by Andreas Kostenberger with David W. Jones Marriage and the Family: Biblical Essentials by Andreas Kostenberger with David W. Jones is a remarkably concise yet clear book on most pertinent issues surrounding the family today. This book, an abridgement of their larger book entitled God, Marriage, and Family focuses on the biblical material in discussion regarding issues of sex, family, reproduction, singleness, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage. What is unique about this book is its combination of excellent biblical exegesis, theological extrapolation and pastoral application in such a concise yet powerful way. Many readers will already know Andreas Kostenberger, one of the world’s foremost experts on the Gospel of John, but others will also recognize David W. Jones, a profound ethicist at Southeastern Baptist Seminary. One of the remarkable things about this book is its simple and profound way of dealing with very big issues. In o...

The Province of Joy: Praying with Flannery O’Connor by Angela Alaimo O’Donnell Angela O’Donnell, English professor at Fordham University and poet herself has pieced together a fascinating study that takes pieces of O’Connor’s work and puts them into a prayer book, bringing together theology and imagination (16). Seeing O’Connor’s deep Catholic faith as part of her daily life, O’Donnell does a marvelous job at bringing out O’Connor’s writing which reflects the interplay between faith and art (17). The opening introduction of the book is O’Donnell’s brief account of O’Connor’s life, her devotion which includes an apology for including morning and evening prayers. In the Sunday morning prayer, O’Donnell includes a section after the prayers and scripture readings that is called Lectio Divina, which is a brief mediation on the Scripture or prayer. The sections entitled lectio divina are taken from O’Connor’s work Habit of Being and Mystery of Manners shows the heart of O’Connor faith....

The Complete Madame Guyon Edited and Translated by Rev. Nancy C. James This complete guide to Madame Guyon's writings is a marvelous work! With great care and attention to detail, Nancy James tells the story of Guyon's life through first her life, then her theology and finally through her wonderful translations of Guyon's work. In the chapter on Madame Guyon's life, you get a picture of a young woman forced into marriage with a man whose mother lives under the same roof. "Enforcing strict rules on what her daughter-in-law was allowed to do, including limited attendance at church," the situation only worsened as time went on (7). Yet, the virility and beauty of this situation did not erase Guyon's desire to follow and seek after Jesus. Later on, James writes, "As Jeanne followed this popular interior devotion to Jesus, she found her exterior life also transformed; she became increasingly active and dedicated to ministering to any suffering human be...

 Jonathan Falwell, son of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell and pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church has written a book chronicling the 1,000 days of the ministry of Christ on Earth. The book is one that focues on certain themes and events in the teaching ministry of Jesus. More than a close reading of the ministry of Jesus, I think this book is profitable as a way of seeing our own lives and ministries reflected through Jesus' ministry, and therefore, calling our motives and mission to account. Early on Falwell asks the question why did Jesus choose fisherman as his disciples, those who were of no great status. He writes in a rather picturesque manner saying, "One strong reason that He chose ordinary people is so no one could brag. No one could boast of being some kind of plum that God was lucky to get" (30). Falwell goes onto point out the well-educated often get it wrong with respect to God. The strength of this section of the book is Falwell's ability to take the ...

James Dobson has been an influential and powerful purveyor of the issues facing families for many years now and this book is just another example of his influence. I gladly received this book from Tyndale for review with both an excited and uneasy feeling. My reaction after reading the book was a combination of being bitterly disappointed with it while also feeling like it will be a great resource in raising my young girl. In order to comment fairly concerning the book, I will offer a brief few words the content and then add my reception of the main points of the books. Dobson begins the first chapter by stating the great responsibility of parents to not only oversee their children but also raise them 'purposely' (2). The chapter on Girls in Peril is Dobson exerting his effort in explaining the dangerous world girls find themselves in today, with everything from binge drinking to infidelity to eating disorders (6-9). I think in some ways Dobson goes to great links to bring...

Michael Kruger, New Testament professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina has written a provocative, winsome, and persuasive book on the new testament canon. Rather than going to great lengths to explore each book's reception in church history, Kruger seeks to narrow his focus to two areas, namely 'if Christians have adequate grounds for thinking they can know which books are canonical,' and unpacking the self-authenticating model of the canon (23). The first section deals with what grounds do we have for believing the NT books that are in the canon are the ones that are supposed to be there and why. The second sections deals with a specific model of the canon that seeks to see the church as recognizing the canon but not creating the canon that we now have. In the first chapter Kruger goes to great lengths at describing various community driven models of the canon; namely, the historical critical model, the Roman Catholic view, the Canonical...