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Disciplining Hermeneutics: Interpretation in Christian Perspective For anyone following the cultural, philosophical, and theological impact of postmodernism, Disciplining Hermeneutics is a necessary addition to their bibliography. The book grew out of lectures given at a conference at Wheaton College called “Hermeneutics and a Christian Worldview.” The exposition-and-response form of the book fits the tentativeness of the subject well. There is little dogmatism, and the reader has a sense that we are on the way to truth rather than being there. The nature of the conference tended to emphasize the differences of the participants, but according to editor Lundin of Wheaton College, all of the nine authors write “in the context of a clear affirmation of Christian faith.” On the other hand, “not one of these authors would share the conviction . . . widely held among conservative biblical scholars---that the goal of textual interpretation is the recovery of the intention of the text's author.” Further, “to one degree or another, each accepts as a given Gadamer's model of interpretation as a fusion of horizons." Begging forgiveness, this reviewer does not know exactly how to interpret the phrase “fusion of horizons,” but Lundin does link the beliefs of the nine authors to the tenets of one of the grandfathers of postmodernism, Hans-Georg Gadamer. Uh-oh! The Postmodern panic meter just pinned on maximum alarm. How can we even mouth their names, those postmodern pirates. They are after our children. They do not believe in absolutes like God and the American flag. Actually, the authors of Disciplining Hermeneutics are not very postmodern in their interpretation of postmodern thought. Contrary to the advice of Gadamer, they take a Cartesian approach that sets aside their own traditions with a spirit of “let's take an unprejudiced look for what truth might be there.” Disciplining Hermeneutics is a book that searches through the bathwater of postmodernism to find the baby. It is important to realize that the bathwater does get thrown out. On the other hand, the book gives birth to nine-tuplets, and some of these babies will look a bit alien to many Evangelicals. Curt Mortimer
The Historical Christ and the Jesus of Faith C. Stephen Evans's The Historical Christ and the Jesus of Faith might at first appear to be simply a rehashing of old arguments, but upon close inspection turns out to be a compelling piece of scholarship. In addition to its apologetic for the historicity of the Gospel narratives, the book is a survey of current thought on epistemology, a defense of the logic and coherence of the Incarnation and a survey and response to modern biblical historical scholarship. The first chapters cover a lot of the familiar ground of traditional apologetics, but Evans brings to this a confident commentary on current debates in the academic world. However, in the book's middle chapters on epistemology, he pulls us with him into the midst of crucial contemporary philosophical battles. This section is like a constriction in an hourglass; all the grains of the argument must come through it, but this slow straining process yields the rewards of fresh insights and time well spent. The last section puts all the pieces together in an inventive and concrete way that helps bring into focus these difficult philosophical concepts. Evans invents an imaginary character, James, and follows him through his embrace of Christianity and then onward as he begins to question his beliefs. Does James have good reason to believe? Is he being responsible to test his beliefs, and when is he warranted in holding on to them? Injecting this kind of human element puts the earlier chapter's abstract arguments in the clear light of the real world. This book should reveal Evans to be among the brightest and best Christian scholars working today. C.M.
The Doubleday Prayer Collection Some people look on prayers as prybars that can loosen the double-clinched nails of God's sovereign will. At the other extreme are those who figure God knows all things so why should we waste His time by expounding in prayer. Somewhere between arrogance and hopelessness there is prayer, which rises as an expression of the agony of a man or woman to echo in the throne room of God. And sometimes when we listen in on the prayers of others we just can't help it; a resounding "amen" breaks our lips because the pray-er's passion lifted our passion to the surface. Reading The Doubleday Prayer Collection one feels like an inhabitant of the old-fashioned amen corner. The scope of the book is wide, including prelates and poets, noblemen and unknowns. Everyone is here at their best, on their knees, in awe of their Creator, helpless as children, believing in God. Many have started out their prayer life by learning a prayer. When Dad says, “Little Johnny, would you like to say grace?” little Johnny might say a prayer mom taught him from The Doubleday Prayer Collection: Be present at our table, Lord,Then on the same page, just four prayers down comes a compassionate petition from a thankful heart: The Doubleday Prayer Collection is a big book, an almost inexhaustible sourcebook of prayers. It is not the Bible, but each prayer is inspired in its own way, inspired by human need, by faith in God, and by a confidence that prayer makes a difference in this fallen world. C.M.
Atlas of the Bible and Christianity The ABC (Atlas of the Bible and Christianity) delivers a lot more than an abecedarian in biblical studies would demand. It is not just another Bible atlas with maps of the divisions of Old Testament and New Testament history. The maps in this book carry the history of Christianity from its O.T. beginnings in the Fertile Crescent right up to the branches of Christianity in Asia in the twentieth century. Before any of that, however, comes a cartographic analysis of the Palestine area which contains a very informative block diagram of Palestine that shows the dramatic terrain from the depths of the Arabah to the hills of Judea. It gives meaning to the phrase “Going up to Jerusalem,” especially if you start at Jericho. In most of our libraries the atlas is usually the oldest book we keep on hand, because the earth doesn't change that much over the years. That is the truth, but the ABC demonstrates that the atlas itself might change, providing a wealth of knowledge in one book that we never had before. C.M.
Paradise Garden: A Trip Through Howard Finster's Visionary World No angel with flaming sword guards the entrance to Howard Finster's backyard Paradise Garden. Only a common chain link fence prevents interlopers from intruding at off hours. And for most of the day seven days a week that gate stands open wide for dozens of people who like me are curious about what lays within it's boundaries. I use lay's instead of lie because the thousands of rusted pieces of junked bicycles, glass bottles and commercially mass produced detritus that make up Finster's artistic melange are almost willfully purposeful- their combined effect reminds me of the vision of Ezekial; a portion of scripture that has been too loosely interpreted as an early UFO encounter. But then UFO's are just one of the many interesting phenomena Finster has intertwined with his Christianity over the years leading some to dismiss this simple country preacher and brilliant artistic visionary as a crackpot. A face to face encounter however, demolishes such shallow analysis. In the steely eyed simple declaration of faith and stories of visions he greets visitors to his garden with Finster embodies God's use of the simple to confound the wise. Likewise the space permitted in this book review demolishes the idea of conveying the wonder of how Finster's art and faith intertwine. Hundreds of color and black and white photos of Finster and his garden interspersed with commentary by himself and his friends are as good as a representation the reader can get without visiting Finster's backyard themselves. Which by the way I urge you to do. His art has graced album covers for the Rolling Stones and The Talking Heads. But the heart of Finster is in this plot of land where thousands walk yearly; strangely silent, touched in a way at once disturbing and comforting. Dave Canfield
Sinners In The Hands of An Angry Church Once upon a time there was a nation peopled by men and women of moral strength and holy values which had seldom if ever been equaled. Theirs became a mighty land of freedom where the common men were heroes, the leaders almost divine. Alas this golden age waned and fell beneath the hand of the dark enemy. Cloaking himself in flesh named secular humanism the enemy invented immorality, poverty, bad philosophy, and finally the Left. When all was almost lost the Men in Black of the Right came to lead the people to battle back to paradise and that is where we are today, so the fable goes. Before we fire up and beat our way back to a red, white, and blue city of God we should check the records for ourselves lest we hack our way through the infidels only to find the past disappointing and loss of respect irreparable. Dean Merrill's Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Church is a good beginning. Merrill uses interesting slices from American history not often cited these days to make his case that the moral character in American past and present has not changed that much. His statistics on unwed pregnancies, abortion, and church attendance do not uphold the concept of great change and decay over the last two- hundred years. Timely indeed is his call for a new more love filled approach to engaging those outside the church. One might almost call this a book of manners for modern reactionaries. Merrill would see the balance of Christ's own ministry brought into play. For every burst of righteous anger numerous bouts of healing and compassion are integral to the whole scheme of being "Christian" in any meaningful way. In some areas the concepts that Merrill embraces are hedged in. I for one hoped for an expansion into economic justice and the church's response to the poor. The final pages of the book's "what to do" is painfully short in this quite relevant area. I also found objectionable Merrill's making a political template of Jesus' submission to Pilate. Some clarification is need to avoid a swing from the extreme of self righteous reactionary to passive irresponsibility. That said Sinner's in the Hand of an Angry Church is a reasonably balanced corrective aimed at an all too popular attitude. Is there ever a problem with that? Drew Mandell
Sexual Ethics: An Evangelical Perspective Evangelicals have had a hard time presenting sex not only positively but in the context of being human: as erotic and beautiful (The Song of Solomon), as faithful and pure (Esther), as mysterious wonder (Proverbs), or as analogous to the ultimate consummation (Ephesians, Revelation). We’re good at saying what sex ought not be, and okay (thanks to Ed Wheat, Doug Rosenau and Cliff and Joyce Penner) at telling married couples how to exercise their conjugal rights. But we are not that great at deeply pondering why God made sex, or what sexuality signifies. Enter Stanley Grenz, with his Sexual Ethics: An Evangelical Perspective. Here is as deeply satisfying a read on God creating us male and female as one is likely to find. In it Grenz manages to focus on the awesome “big picture” that makes God’s sexual basis for humankind so wondrous: Grenz may write for a somewhat popular audience, but he’s going to force any reader to think or close the book. His summations of church history regarding sexual theology will s go far enough or in-depth enough for this reader’s tastes, but he at the very least has given us one insightful, intuitive, and biblically-rooted viewpoint. Sexual Ethics is invaluable and edifying for theologians, ministers, and the rest of us who wonde The Genesis narrative indicates that the sexual nature of the human person forms the impulse that drives an individual beyond the self to seek bonding with others. Adam’s solitude arose from a void that could not be filled by his companionship with the animals nor, interestingly enough, even by the presence of the solitary Adam before God. The appropriate antidote for this situation was the creation not merely of a counterpart, but more specifically of a female counterpart. This indicates the sexual nature both of Adam’s solitude and of his awareness of solitude. The void in his existence was sexually based, for he was fundamentally incomplete. And his sense of incompleteness gave birth to the cry of joy, when he was introduced to his sexual counterpart.The verbiage may not be poetry, but the sentiments are. Grenz suggests that sexuality is at the very core of each individual’s identity, the primal lens through which he or she perceives not only his or her own self but also all other selves. Contrary to many current philosophers, Grenz finds sex to be an “essential of the human person.” One may attempt to deny one’s maleness or femaleness, suggesting that sex is nothing but a social construct, but such denial is in vain. Underlying the book is an astonishing sub-theme: community. Everywhere one turns, Grenz is pointing out the far-reaching implications of sexuality not only on human relationships, but on how humans relate. The Old Testament’s focus on community as biological family—“tribe” to use Grenz’s term—is transcended in the New Testament to community as the Church. Yet even there, sexuality (the Church as Christ’s bride) is not abandoned but included as an intrinsic part of human community. Stanley Grenz doesn’t always go far enough or in-depth enough for this reader's tastes, but he at the very least has given us one insightful, intuitive, and biblically-rooted viewpoint. Sexual Ethics is invaluable and edifying for theologians, ministers, and the rest of us. Jon Trott First published in Cornerstone (ISSN 0275-2743), Vol. 27, Issue 114 (1998), p. 47, 57-58 © 1999 Cornerstone Communications, Inc. Electronic version may contain minor changes and corrections from printed version. |
Copyright © 1999 Cornerstone Communications, Inc.