February 2013 Book Reviews
February is almost over, but here is this months book selection:
Two books on Archbishops of Canterbury, a preacher's commentary on Daniel, books on pastoral and social themes, the Christian application of the works of Tolkein and Lewis and a volume to help straighten out any misunderstandings you may have concerning the theology of Arminius! These and much more are reviewed here for those who are interested in current theology.
For the reviews, click on read more.
Andrew Chandler and David Hein, Archbishop Fisher 1945-1961, Ashgate, ISBN 978-1-40941-233-5,
£19.99 (Kindle edition also available)
This study of the life and work of Archbishop Fisher is
part of a new series from Ashgate about the Archbishops of Canterbury. Fisher has been included in this series for two reasons. First his was a highly significant archepiscopate that has been
unjustly neglected. In their introduction, Chandler and Hein comment, ‘What the church received with the
appointment of Geoffrey Fisher to the See of Canterbury was, at the least, a
man of strength discipline and tenacity – indeed a former headmaster, who would
not readily surrender either to primeval or ecclesiastical chaos. Everything he
did was connected to the service of one overarching goal: building up the church,
and thereby enlarging the clearing in the wilderness. Overshadowed both by his
famous predecessor, the theologian and ecumenist William Temple, and by his
widely loved successor, the theologian and spiritual guide, Michael Ramsey, Geoffrey
Francis Fisher (1887-1972), 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, has
tended to be ignored by professional historians’. The second reason is the
belief that Fisher’s archepiscopate illustrates one major way of fulfilling the
office of Archbishop of Canterbury, namely, by concentrating on the
administration of the church, and thereby illustrates both the strengths and
weaknesses of this approach to the office. Being a competent administrator, Chandler and Hein argue,
means more than being an efficient manager. It requires thoughtful strategic
planning as well as day-to-day administration. However this approach to being
an archbishop may result in a loss of personal stature, influence, and memorability
if the archbishop's focus is largely on structure rather than on qualities of
mind and spirit - if, in other words, the archbishop is not also known (and
effective) as an intellectual force, a social prophet, or a wise spiritual
leader. The first part gives an account and an
assessment of Fisher’s life, focussing on his time at Canterbury . The second part gives a
selection of original documents relating to major events and issues of his time
in office, ranging from the atomic bomb and homosexual law reform, to the
reform of Canon law and his ground-breaking
meeting with Pope John XXIII in Rome in 1960. Thus it provides both a
thought provoking re-assessment of Fisher’s archepiscopate and a valuable
archive of important documents on developments in church and state in the
post-war period, and a useful resource for anyone wanting to know more about the
development of the Church of England at a critical time in its history.
There have been numerous books and articles written about
Archbishop Rowan Williams, but this new book by Dr Andrew
Goddard , an ethicist who is a well respected commentator on
Anglican affairs, is one of the best accounts so far. As Dr Goddard explains in
his preface, the book seeks ‘to paint a rounded portrait of Rowan as an
archbishop, provide an account of his ministry and the theological vision that
shaped it, and put forward some initial, tentative assessments of both its
highs and lows and the legacy he leaves the church and his successor.’ The book
begins with a short biographical sketch which highlights those elements in the
Archbishop’s life and career that were most important in shaping his
archepiscopate. It then goes on to look in turn at his appointment and his
initial vision and commitments, and at the issues of mission, sexuality, women
bishops, the Anglican Communion, relations with other churches, interfaith
relations and developments in wider society. The book finishes with a chapter
that offers ‘an interpretative sketch of the hallmarks of his ministry as
priest and bishop.’ Dr Goddard’s conclusion is that ‘the story of Rowan’s time
as archbishop is one of battle, suffering, and sometimes defeat on various
fronts as he sought to live out a vision of faithfulness to Christ in church
and world. It is, by definition, impossible to tell which of his many
initiatives and contributions will last as part of his legacy. What cannot be denied
is that his personal ministry as a priest and bishop in the office of the
Archbishop of Canterbury has already left a legacy in the lives of many.’ This
is a careful, scholarly, readable and comprehensive account of Archbishop
Rowan’s service as Archbishop of Canterbury which draws on extensive interviews
or written contributions from those who have known and worked with the
Archbishop and on a thorough study of the archive of material on the
archbishop’s website. It should be read by anyone who wants to think in an
informed way about Archbishop Rowan’s ministry and his lasting legacy to the
Church of England.
Sidney Greidanus, Preaching
Christ from Daniel: Foundation for Expository Sermons, Eerdmans, ISBN 978-0-80286-787-2, £22.99
In the homily ‘For them which take Offence at Certain Places
of the Holy Scripture’ in the Second Book
of Homilies, we are told that ‘the Holy Scriptures are God’s treasure
house, wherein are found all things needful for us to see, to hear, to learn,
and to believe, necessary for the attaining of eternal life.’ For the author of
the homily, and for the Anglican tradition as a whole, this statement is as
true of the Old Testament as it of the New Testament. That is why, in theory at
least, clergy and Readers ought to be preaching on both Testaments. But those
called to preach often find it difficult to know how to preach on the Old
Testament in a way that is true to the text, but also points us to the eternal
life offered to us in Christ. Sidney Greidanus, Professor Emeritus of Preaching
at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand
Rapids , Michigan
Louis Markos, On the
Shoulders of Hobbits, Moody Press, ISBN 978-0-80244-319-9, £9.99 (Kindle edition also available).
Two of the greatest story tellers in English during the
twentieth century were J RR Tolkien and C S Lewis. Their novels continue to
sell in vast numbers in their original written form and are also now attracting
a new generation of fans through the films that have been made of them. Both
Tolkien and Lewis were Christian writers and although Tolkien’s accounts of
Middle Earth and Lewis’s Chronicle of Narnia were not intended to be works of
Christian apologetic their Christian faith is reflected in these writings in
such a way that they can provide resources to explain the meaning of the
Christian faith to an increasingly secular world. This is the point put forward
in a this book by Professor Louis Markos, Professor of English at Houston
Baptist University. His basic premise is
that to recover the Christian vision of life that has
become eclipsed in our society there needs to be not only a restoration of
Christian theology and philosophy, but a recovery of Christian stories. ‘Western civilization has lost more than those laws, creeds and
doctrines on which it was built; it has lost as well the sacred drama that gave
flesh and bone to those ‘naked’ creedal statements. We need the truth, but we
also need to be taught how to live in and through and by this truth. What we
need, in short, are stories.’ For
Professor Markos, Tolkien and Lewis provide the sort of stories that we need. He
argues that their works do more than entertain. They help the reader inculcate
classic Christian virtues like courage, valour, trust, and friendship. By
following the moral development of Frodo, the hero of The Lord of the Rings, for instance, our own courage and
persistence are strengthened. By studying the
villains throughout Middle-Earth and Narnia, we can detect sin in our own lives
and destroy it. Thus Tolkien's Sauron, the arch-villain in the Lord of the Rings, provides an example
of the sin of pride, exposed through the light of humility:
To quote Markos: ‘The reason Sauron has not guessed the true purpose of the
Fellowship is not that he is a fool or even that he is prideful, but that he
simply cannot conceive that someone would willingly forsake power. He is
completely blind to the ways and motivations of goodness; such Light is too
bright for his darkened eyes to fathom.’ This book provides a readable and
reliable introduction to the moral significance of the imaginary worlds created
by Tolkien and Lewis, showing how understanding those worlds better can help us
learn to live more virtuous Christian lives in this one.
David Nixon, Stories
from the Street, Ashgate, 978-1-4094-3746-8,
£19.99.
Anyone who walks
down Victoria Street from Victoria station at 8.20 on a weekday morning will be
aware of the problem of homelessness. There is constant evidence of people who
have been, or who still are, sleeping on the streets. The churches, including
the Church of England, have a long and honourable history of offering help to
such people. The work done by St Martin in the
Fields is but one example. However, there can be a problem if help is offered in a way that the homeless become simply objects of care
and compassion rather than active subjects, men and women created in the image
and likeness of God, who have their own stories to tell and who have things to
teach us about God. It is this problem that Dr David Nixon, a parish priest in Plymouth and part time research fellow at the University of Exeter
Michael Perham, Jesus
and Peter: Growing in Friendship with God, SPCK, ISBN 978-0-28106-754-1,
£9.99 (Kindle edition also available).
In John 15:15 Jesus says to his disciples, and hence to us,
‘I have called you friends,’ but many Christians are unsure about what it means
to become a friend of God and what being a friend of God involves. It is this
issue which Bishop Michael Perham addresses in this book. The starting point is
the New Testament accounts of how Peter’s friendship with Jesus developed and how this development
provides a model which can help all Christians to understand and develop their
own friendship with God. As Bishop Michael explains in his introduction: ‘Simon
Peter, one of those whom Jesus drew into his company of disciples, has been
given any number of titles. For some he is ‘the Prince of the Apostles’; for
others ‘the Big Fisherman’. For me, Peter is, above all else, ‘a friend of
God’; first, though, he was a friend of Jesus, through whom he discovered what
God was like, and even friendship with Jesus was not achieved without pain,
failure and tears. I want in this book to explore how that friendship
establishes itself, how it develops and transforms Peter.…I do not want simply
to retell a fascinating and beautiful story about a man who lived two thousand
years ago, but to discover more deeply for myself, and to share with others,
what it might mean today to become, or to become more deeply and truly, a
disciple of Jesus and a friend of God.’ As he further explains: ‘One
reason why I am drawn to the figure of Simon Peter is because his story seems
to exemplify both the desire to become God’s friend and some of the stages and
struggles on the way. Peter very quickly becomes a disciple, a follower, of
Jesus. Peter is also, I think, ready to be a servant. But becoming a friend –
that takes him time and several moments of crisis. Indeed, at a certain level,
the disciple, follower and servant doesn’t seem to me to turn into a friend
until Jesus asks him by a lakeside after the resurrection, ‘Peter, are you my
friend?’’ This is a very helpful book
for anyone who wants to consider where they are in their own relationship with
God, and how, like Peter, they can grow in that relationship so as to become
not just a follower of Jesus, but a friend of God.
Ben Quash, Abiding,
A&C Black, ISBN 978-1-44115-111-7, £ 10.00
(Kindle edition also available)
As its title indicates, this new
book from Ben Quash, the Professor of Christian Theology and the Arts at King's
College, London ,
which is the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book for 2013, explores the
concept of ‘abiding.’ As Professor Quash
acknowledges in his introduction, abiding is not a word we now generally use
‘in ordinary conversation. You wouldn’t say, for example, ‘oh, just abide here
for a minute while I pop into the newsagents’, or, ‘she abode with me until the
train arrived’. It is a word more suited to Victorian hymnody, along with
phrases like ‘fast falls the eventide.’’ However, as he goes on to say, ‘it is not a
word we can easily find substitutes for either, because ‘wait’ or ‘stick
around’ don’t quite catch it. Abiding has more the sense of a full, personal
commitment. It expresses a quality of solidarity which just waiting would never
convey; something like the widowed Ruth’s wonderful words to her mother-in-law:
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my
people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die – there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me
from you! (Ruth 1.16-17).’ For Professor Quash, the concept of abiding involves
a conundrum between the centrality to the Christian outlook of order,
consistency and continuity, on the one hand, and the equal centrality of
relinquishment, openness and change, on the other. Professor Quash explores
this conundrum in seven chapters ‘abiding in body,’ ‘abiding in mind,’ ‘abiding
through care,’ ‘abiding in relationships,’ ‘abiding in exile,’ ‘wounds that abide’ and ‘the peace that
abides.’ There is also an epilogue ‘who may abide?’ Each chapter also contains a ‘coda’ that
suggests a topic for reflection and relates it to a text from one of the
readings set in the Common Worship
lectionary for the weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. This is a
book that explores in a creative and skilful way the implications that
'abiding' has for our bodies and minds, our relationships and communities, and
our spiritual lives. It would provide the basis for an excellent course of
individual or group study.
Keith D Stanglin and Thomas H McCall, Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace, Oxford , ISBN 978-0-19975-567-7, £17.99.
The Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609)
is one of those theologians, like Augustine, Luther and Calvin, whose name has
become associated with a particular tradition of theological thought. The complexity and subtlety of his own thought can become lost through
association with the tradition that has come to bear his name. The term ‘Arminianism’ has become a short hand for a an emphasis on
the exercise of human free will as the cause of human salvation, whereas in
fact Arminius was a Reformed theologian with a strong emphasis on the
indispensability of prevenient divine grace if human beings are to be saved.
His difference with Calvin was not on whether divine grace was necessary, but
on how it became effective in the course of human history and whether there was
a place for human free will in its appropriation. In recent years there has
been a recovery of interest in the theology of Arminius in Evangelical circles
and this is reflected in the publication of this new study from Keith Stanglin
and Thomas McCall, both of whom are professors at Trinity
Evangelical Divinity
School in the United States . Their
study offers a constructive synthesis of the current state of Arminius studies
that bridges the gap between technical, scholarly discussions of Arminius and
popular-level appeals to his thought, that will be helpful to the scholar as
well as comprehensible and relevant to the undergraduate theology student. They look first at the
development of Arminius’ thought and then go on to look in turn at his teaching
on ‘God and creation,’ ‘providence and predestination’ and ‘sin and salvation’
before drawing the argument together in a concluding chapter. This is an
essential work of reference for anyone who wants a proper understanding of
Arminius and his theology.
Jennifer Tann (ed), Soul
Pain: Priests Reflect on Personal Experiences of Serious and Terminal Illness,
Canterbury Press, ISBN 978-184825-277-6, £16.99.
It is part of the calling of priests to minister to those
who are facing moments of personal tragedy and crisis. Thus it is normal for
priests in the course of their ministry to encounter instances where people
have been struck down by a serious or terminal illness or accident before what
is regarded as the end of a normal life span. They may have to minister, for
example, to a child with cancer, to the victim of a road accident, to a seriously
ill young mother, or a talented student struck down by a life threatening
disease. However, serious or terminal illness is not something that priests
only encounter in other people. They too can be struck down by the sudden and
unexpected onset of disease. When this happens, as in the case of the cancer
that struck down the late David Watson at the height of his ministry, the
priests concerned have the additional burden of being in a public role which
obliges to manage their outward behaviour as well as their inner feelings. They have to face the difficult questions which others bring
to them, and to which there are no easy answers, as well as wrestling with
their own questions about what is happening to them. The term coined by Dame
Cicely Saunders for the emotion generated in this situation is ‘soul
pain.’ Echoing Dame Cicely’s term, Soul
Pain, edited by Jennifer Tann, Professor Emeritus of Innovation at
the University of
Birmingham
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