+ Christian Book Reviews +

CHECK OUT MY NEW SITE

2006-05-15T10:06:00.000-04:00

I have moved the Christian Book Reviews site. Check out the new site at:

http://www.christianbookreviews.net

Update

2006-05-03T02:05:00.000-04:00

Work on the new site is proceeding more slowly than planned. The new site should be ready within a week. Thanks for your patience.

In Christ,

Albert

Just Checking In....

2006-04-24T09:56:00.000-04:00

There has been about two weeks since my last post of any reviews. Since the blog was restored (see previous post), I have been working on changing some things on the site. Please bear with me and I will be back soon with a new and improved site. This site may go down for a period of time over the next few days but it will be back up again soon!!

BACK IN BUSINESS!!

2006-04-20T23:40:00.001-04:00

Nine days after their "automated process" erroneously determined my blog was a cause of spam (how book reviews cause spam is anyone's guess) and constant pestering by me, Blogger support finally got around to reviewing my case and determined I was a good citizen after all. In an e-mail they wrote:

Hi there,

Thanks for writing in. We apologize for the delayed response. It seems
that your blog was mistakenly targeted by our automated spam classifying
system. However, I have checked your blog and can verify that it complies
with our Terms of Service. I was able to restore it to your account, so
you should see it the next time you log in. I also cleared it for regular
use so that this problem will not recur...

We apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused, and greatly
appreciate your patience.

Sincerely,
Blogger Support

So we finally have a promise in writing. All this is fine with me since I prefer to publish to my own site (a choice that has been proven wise given this recent mess) and Blogger is one of the few that allows this without a great deal of configuration. Now if they would only add categories...

Anyway, I have a lot of catching up to do. First thing is to change some things on this blog. I will be resticting this blog to content related to Christian books and move other content to one or more other blogs I will be creating. The whole affair has put me far behind schedule but at least now I can begin getting back to the books. Thanks to everyone for their patience.

In Christ,

Albert

Book Review: Us and Them

2006-04-07T20:20:00.000-04:00

Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession - Robert C. Fuller
Oxford University Press (November 21, 1996)
Topic: Eschatology, Protestantism
Summary: The history of American use of the Antichrist image in times of national crisis
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Anyone familiar with Evangelical Christianity of the last forty years could probably reel off at least a half-dozen proposed candidates for the Antichrist. In Naming the Antichrist, Robert Fuller demonstrates how often crises within the nation and the American Church have precipitated the naming of religious and/or secular forces within the country as minions of the Antichrist. In so doing, he connects the theme of a satanic influence seeking to undermine the nation's status as a bastion of true Christianity forming out of the experiences of the Puritan influence in the British colonies in America and passed down as a unique element of our American heritage.

Fuller begins his exposition with an overview of the history of the concept of an antichrist. His view of the Biblical texts largely assumes secular biases and is the most unsatisfying aspect of the book. However, it has little bearing on what follows and can largely be ignored. The book begins to hit home with the assumption of many Protestant Reformers that the papacy was the Antichrist predicted in Scripture. This assumption - born in the struggles of the Reformation and its aftermath - was gradually discarded by many European Protestants over time but became etched in the collective consciousness of those who left for America.

The Elizabethen Settlement, with a compromise between Protestant and Catholic sensibilities, was totally unsatisfactory for the Puritans who wanted a church completely devoid of any remains of Roman ritualism. Cromwell's bloody revolution and the tyranny that followed soured the English on Puritan ideals and after the Restoration many of their negan a trek that would bring them to America. With them they brought their intense hatred of Catholics as the legendary "other" as they sought to build their "city on a hill." With no Catholics around to dread, the Antichrist rhetoric was put on a back burner but there was an inherent assumption that they were building the great Christian society free of popish influence. On the occasions that their hegemony was threatened, the natural inclination was to attribute a sinister motive with Rome as the likely power behind the nefarious plot.

The ineveitable assertion of British control over the colonies with its Church and "popish" Common Prayer was, of course, an obvious source of displeasure. But even events within their own communities were seen as threats. The perception of threats from without and within engendered a sense of trepidation that could and did veer out of control when a loss of their beloved "perfect Christian society" seemed imminent. The events surrounding the Salem Witch Trials demonstrates how events that could not be explained by their categories of thought could be combined with this fear to produce tragic results.

Out of this foundation came a tradition of "naming the Antichrist" as a method of closing debate, separaing "us" and "them", villifying the enemy, and protecting the societal hegemony. Whether the enemy be Catholic France (in the French and Indian War) or later the British (in America's war for independence), the struggle was painted in apocalyptic terms with the enemy an agent of the devil himself. Of course, many prominent Americans who supported these causes were Englightenment thinkers who were aghast at their allies rhetoric but were grateful for the wide support it generated. Thus the sometimes strage allies we see today with intellectual neoconservatives and Evangelical Christians is itself a tradition with a heritage.

This pattern would continue throughout the 19th century. Americans attempted to construct their "perfect society" that would transform the world with evangelization, orphanages, soup kitchens, temperance movements, and other social endeavors and a postmillennial eschatology dominated. During stable periods, the antichrist rhetoric would recede but resurfaced when a threat was percieved. These could be in the form of Enlightenment philosophy, Freemasonry, or Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Europe. During the Civil War, anti-slavery forces in the North and pro-slavery forces in the South demonized each other as Satan's minions.

The loss of Protestant hegemony in the 20th century brought an end to the dream of the "perfect Christian society" and there was a retreat into a pessimistic view and a developing dispensationalist eschatology. Yet the overall pattern for "naming the Antichrist" has become such a staple of American life that it survived in new forms. Theological modernists who disagree with all that came before now seek to build their perfect society and demonize opposition in a more secularized form. Our political discourse is centered on the inference of nefarious motives by the opposition. And, of course, Evangelicals have continued the unbroken American tradition of pointing to an enemy as the son of perdition.

Throughout his analysis, Fuller resists the temptation to sit in judgment but takes the role of historical analysis seriously. He provides a framework for understanding how American Protestantism achieved its distinctive elements and how this affected the country's history. For those seeking to understand the American tendency to see itself as a land of destiny and to see all of its conflicts - both foreign and domestic - in apocalyptic terms, Naming the Antichrist is essential reading.

Books By Topic (Revised 4/5/2006)

2006-04-05T15:59:00.000-04:00

Below is a list of all books reviewed on this site as of 3/31/2006 arranged by topic.

Anglicanism

Evangelical is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament - Thomas Howard

Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church - Robert E. Webber

The Liturgy Explained - Thomas Howard

The Meal Jesus Gave Us - N. T. Wright

Apostolic Christianity

The Brother of Jesus - Herschel Shanks & Ben Witherington III

Archaeolgy, Architecture, Artifacts, & Papyrology

The Brother of Jesus - Herschel Shanks & Ben Witherington III

For All the Saints: Remembering the Christian Departed - N. T. Wright

Holy Places of Christendom - Stewart Perowne

The Quest for the True Cross - Carston Peter Thiede & Matthew D'ancona

Bibliology, Hermeneutics, & Exegesis

By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Authority - Mark P. Shea

Making Sense Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible as the First Christians Did - Mark P. Shea

Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants - D. H. Williams

Scripture Alone?: 21 Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura - Joel Peters

The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities - Jaroslav Pelikan

Why Is That in Tradition? - Patrick Madrid

Catholicism

Answer Me This! - Patrick Madrid

Answering a Fundamentalist - Albert J. Nevins

Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of Mine: A Biblical and Historical Explanation of the Catholic Doctrine of the Communion of Saints - Patrick Madrid

The Babylon Connection? - Ralph Woodrow

By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Authority - Mark P. Shea

Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" - Karl Keating

The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism – David Gibson

Evangelical is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament - Thomas Howard

Making Sense Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible as the First Christians Did - Mark P. Shea

Once a Catholic - Tony Coffey

Pope Fiction: Answers to Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy - Patrick Madrid

Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind - David B. Currie

The Rapture Trap: A Catholic Response to "End Times" Fever - Paul Thigpen

Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism - Scott & Kimberly Hahn

Scripture Alone?: 21 Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura - Joel Peters

Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid (Editor)

Surprised by Truth 2: 15 Men and Women Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid (Editor)

Surprised by Truth 3: 10 More Converts Explain the Biblical and Historical Reason for Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid (Editor)

This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence - Mark P. Shea

Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste - Thomas Day

Why Is That in Tradition? - Patrick Madrid

Will Catholics Be Left Behind: A Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers - Carl E. Olsen

A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days - Dave Hunt

Christian Culture

Christian Radio: The Growth of a Mainstream Broadcasting Force – Bob Lochte

Ideas Have Consequences - Richard M. Weaver

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Mark A. Noll

Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste - Thomas Day

Church History

The Early Church - Henry Chadwick

Communion of Saints

Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of Mine: A Biblical and Historical Explanation of the Catholic Doctrine of the Communion of Saints - Patrick Madrid

For All the Saints: Remembering the Christian Departed - N. T. Wright

Mary: A Catholic-Evangelical Debate - Dwight Longenecker & David Gustafson

Eastern Christianity

Apostolic Succession - Gregory Rogers

Are You Saved?: The Orthodox Christian Process of Salvation - Barbara Pappas

Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith - Peter Gillquist

Coming Home: Why Protestant Clergy are Becoming Orthodox - Peter Gillquist

Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective - Daniel B. Clendenin

For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy - Alexander Schmemann

The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer - Frederica Mathewes-Green

The Orthodox Church - Kallistos Ware (as Timothy Ware)

A Second Look at the Second Coming: Sorting Through the Speculations - T. L. Frazier

Ecclesiology

Apostolic Succession - Gregory Rogers

Pope Fiction: Answers to Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy - Patrick Madrid

Eschatology

The Late Great Planet Earth - Hal Lindsey & C. C. Carlson

National Sunday Law: A Shocking Glimpse Behind the Scenes - A. Jan Marcussen

Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation - Barbara R. Rossing

Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness - Nathan D. Wilson

Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind - David B. Currie

The Rapture Trap: A Catholic Response to "End Times" Fever - Paul Thigpen

A Second Look at the Second Coming: Sorting Through the Speculations - T. L. Frazier

Will Catholics Be Left Behind: A Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers - Carl E. Olsen

A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days - Dave Hunt

Ethics & Morality
No Titles Reviewed

Fiction

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness - Nathan D. Wilson

General Theology

Doxology: The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine, and Life – Geoffrey Wainwright

Gnosticism & Dualism
No Titles Reviewed

Holy Bloodline Theory

Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking - Darrell L. Bock

Cracking Da Vinci's Code - James L. Garlow & Peter Jones

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

Decoding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code - Amy Wellborn

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine - Bart D. Ehrman

The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code: A Challenging Response to the Bestselling Novel - Richard Abanes

Islam
No Titles Reviewed

Jehovah's Witnesses

Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses: Why They Read the Bible the Way They Do - Robert M. Bowman

Judaism
No Titles Reviewed

Liturgy & Sacraments

Doxology: The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine, and Life – Geoffrey Wainwright

Evangelical is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament - Thomas Howard

For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy - Alexander Schmemann

The Liturgy Explained - Thomas Howard

The Mass of the Early Christians - Mike Aquilina

The Meal Jesus Gave Us - N. T. Wright

Recovering Mother Kirk: The Case for Liturgy in the Reformed Tradition - D. G. Hart

This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence - Mark P. Shea

Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste - Thomas Day

Mormonism

One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church - Richard Abanes

Patristic Christianity

The Early Church - Henry Chadwick

The Mass of the Early Christians - Mike Aquilina

Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants - D. H. Williams

The Teachings of the Church Fathers - John R. Willis (Editor)

Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?: A New Look at Today's Evengelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity - David W. Bercot

Politics

God’s Politics: A New Vision for Faith and Politics in America – Jim Wallis

Prayer & Devotion

The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer - Frederica Mathewes-Green

Protestantism

Answering a Fundamentalist - Albert J. Nevins

Baptist Successionism - James E. McGoldrick

A Calvinist's Honest Doubts Resolved by Reason and God's Amazing Grace - Dave Hunt

Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" - Karl Keating

Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views - Dave Hunt & James R. White

Essential Truths of the Christian Faith: 100 Key Doctrines in Plain Language - R. C. Sproul

Evangelical is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament - Thomas Howard

Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church - Robert E. Webber

Recovering Mother Kirk: The Case for Liturgy in the Reformed Tradition - D. G. Hart

Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants - D. H. Williams

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Mark A. Noll

Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?: A New Look at Today's Evengelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity - David W. Bercot

Revisionism & Neo-Orthodoxy

The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism – David Gibson

Exodus: Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity - Dave Shiflett

Science & Natural Philosophy

Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Natural Science and Cosmology - R. C. Sproul

Seventh Day Adventism

National Sunday Law: A Shocking Glimpse Behind the Scenes - A. Jan Marcussen

Soteriology

Are You Saved?: The Orthodox Christian Process of Salvation - Barbara Pappas

For All the Saints: Remembering the Christian Departed - N. T. Wright

For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy - Alexander Schmemann

Trinitology, Paterology, Christology, & Pneumatology

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus - Lee Strobel

Who Was Jesus? - N. T. Wright

Books By Title (Revised 4/4/2006)

2006-04-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

Below is a list of all books reviewed on this site as of 3/31/2006 arranged by title.

Answer Me This!- Patrick Madrid

Answering a Fundamentalist - Albert J. Nevins

Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of Mine: A Biblical and Historical Explanation of the Catholic Doctrine of the Communion of Saints - Patrick Madrid

Apostolic Succession - Gregory Rogers

Are You Saved?: The Orthodox Christian Process of Salvation - Barbara Pappas

The Babylon Connection? - Ralph Woodrow

Baptist Successionism - James E. McGoldrick

Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith - Peter Gillquist

Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking - Darrell L. Bock

The Brother of Jesus - Herschel Shanks & Ben Witherington III

By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Authority - Mark P. Shea

A Calvinist's Honest Doubts Resolved by Reason and God's Amazing Grace - Dave Hunt

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus - Lee Strobel

Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" - Karl Keating

Christian Radio: The Growth of a Mainstream Broadcasting Force – Bob Lochte

The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism – David Gibson

Coming Home: Why Protestant Clergy are Becoming Orthodox - Peter Gillquist

Cracking Da Vinci's Code - James L. Garlow & Peter Jones

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views - Dave Hunt & James R. White

Decoding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code - Amy Wellborn

Doxology: The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine, and Life – Geoffrey Wainwright

The Early Church - Henry Chadwick

Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective - Daniel B. Clendenin

Essential Truths of the Christian Faith: 100 Key Doctrines in Plain Language - R. C. Sproul

Evangelical is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament - Thomas Howard

Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church - Robert E. Webber

Exodus: Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity - Dave Shiflett

For All the Saints: Remembering the Christian Departed - N. T. Wright

For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy - Alexander Schmemann

God’s Politics: A New Vision for Faith and Politics in America – Jim Wallis

Holy Places of Christendom - Stewart Perowne

Ideas Have Consequences - Richard M. Weaver

The Late Great Planet Earth - Hal Lindsey & C. C. Carlson

The Liturgy Explained - Thomas Howard

Making Sense Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible as the First Christians Did - Mark P. Shea

Mary: A Catholic-Evangelical Debate - Dwight Longenecker & David Gustafson

The Mass of the Early Christians - Mike Aquilina

The Meal Jesus Gave Us - N. T. Wright

National Sunday Law: A Shocking Glimpse Behind the Scenes - A. Jan Marcussen

Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Natural Science and Cosmology - R. C. Sproul

Once a Catholic - Tony Coffey

One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church - Richard Abanes

The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer - Frederica Mathewes-Green

The Orthodox Church - Kallistos Ware (Timothy Ware)

Pope Fiction: Answers to Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy - Patrick Madrid

The Quest for the True Cross - Carston Peter Thiede & Matthew D'ancona

Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind - David B. Currie

Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation - Barbara R. Rossing

The Rapture Trap: A Catholic Response to "End Times" Fever - Paul Thigpen

Recovering Mother Kirk: The Case for Liturgy in the Reformed Tradition - D. G. Hart

Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants - D. H. Williams

Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness - Nathan D. Wilson

Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism - Scott & Kimberly Hahn

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Mark A. Noll

Scripture Alone?: 21 Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura - Joel Peters

A Second Look at the Second Coming: Sorting Through the Speculations - T. L. Frazier

Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid (Editor)

Surprised by Truth 2: 15 Men and Women Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid (Editor)

Surprised by Truth 3: 10 More Converts Explain the Biblical and Historical Reason for Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid (Editor)

The Teachings of the Church Fathers - John R. Willis, Editor

This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence - Mark P. Shea

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine - Bart D. Ehrman

The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code: A Challenging Response to the Bestselling Novel - Richard Abanes

Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses: Why They Read the Bible the Way They Do - Robert M. Bowman

The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities - Jaroslav Pelikan

Who Was Jesus? - N. T. Wright

Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste - Thomas Day

Why Is That in Tradition? - Patrick Madrid

Will Catholics Be Left Behind: A Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers - Carl E. Olsen

Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?: A New Look at Today's Evengelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity - David W. Bercot

A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days - Dave Hunt

Books By Author (Revised 4/4/2006)

2006-04-04T11:35:00.000-04:00

Below is a list of all books reviewed on this site as of 3/31/2006 arranged by author.

Richard Abanes

One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church

The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code: A Challenging Response to the Bestselling Novel

Mike Aquilina

The Mass of the Early Christians

David W. Bercot

Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?: A New Look at Today's Evengelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity

Darrell L. Bock

Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking

Robert M. Bowman

Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses: Why They Read the Bible the Way They Do

Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code

C. C. Carlson

The Late Great Planet Earth (w/ Hal Lindsey)

Henry Chadwick

The Early Church

Daneiel B. Clendenin

Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective

Tony Coffey

Once a Catholic

David Currie

Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind

Matthew d'Ancona

The Quest for the True Cross (w/ Carsten Peter Theide)

Thomas Day

Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste

Bart D. Ehrman

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine

T. L. Frazier

A Second Look at the Second Coming: Sorting Through the Speculations

James L. Garlow

Cracking Da Vinci's Code (w/ Peter Jones)

David Gibson

The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism

Peter Gillquist

Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith

Coming Home: Why Protestant Clergy are Becoming Orthodox (Editor)

David Gustafson

Mary: A Catholic-Evangelical Debate (w/ Dwight Longenecker)

Kimberly Hahn

Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism (w/ Scott Hahn)

Scott Hahn

Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism (w/ Kimberly Hahn)

D. G. Hart

Recovering Mother Kirk: The Case for Liturgy in the Reformed Tradition

Thomas Howard

Evangelical is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament

The Liturgy Explained

Dave Hunt

A Calvinist's Honest Doubts Resolved by Reason and God's Amazing Grace

Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views (w/ James R. White)

A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days

Peter Jones

Cracking Da Vinci's Code (w/ James L. Garlow)

Karl Keating

Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians"

Hal Lindsey

The Late Great Planet Earth (w/ C. C. Carlson)

Bob Lochte

Christian Radio: The Growth of a Mainstream Broadcasting Force

Dwight Longenecker

Mary: A Catholic-Evangelical Debate (w/ David Gustafson)

Patrick Madrid

Answer Me This

Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of Mine: A Biblical and Historical Explanation of the Catholic Doctrine of the Communion of Saints

Pope Fiction: Answers to Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy

Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic (Editor)

Surprised by Truth 2: 15 Men and Women Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic (Editor)

Surprised by Truth 3: 10 More Converts Explain the Biblical and Historical Reason for Becoming Catholic (Editor)

Why Is That in Tradition?

A. Jan Marcussen

National Sunday Law: A Shocking Glimpse Behind the Scenes

Frederica Mathewes Green

Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer

James E. McGoldrick

Baptist Successionism

Albert J. Nevins

Answering a Fundamentalist

Mark A. Noll

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

Carl E. Olsen

Will Catholics Be Left Behind: A Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers

Barbara Pappas

Are You Saved?: The Orthodox Christian Process of Salvation

Jaroslav Pelikan

The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities

Stewart Perowne

Holy Places of Christendom

Joel Peters

Scripture Alone?: 21 Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura

Gregory Rogers

Apostolic Succession

Barbara R. Rossing

Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation

Alexander Schmemann

For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy

Herschel Shanks

The Brother of Jesus (w/ Ben Witherington III)

Mark P. Shea

By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Authority

Making Sense Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible as the First Christians Did

This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence

David Shiflett

Exodus: Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity

R. C. Sproul

Essential Truths of the Christian Faith: 100 Key Doctrines in Plain Language

Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Natural Science and Cosmology

Lee Strobel

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus

Paul Thigpen

The Rapture Trap: A Catholic Response to "End Times" Fever

Carsten Peter Theide

The Quest for the True Cross (w/ Matthew D'ancona)

Geoffrey Wainwright

Doxology: The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine, and Life

Jim Wallis

God’s Politics: A New Vision for Faith and Politics in America

Kallistos Ware

The Orthodox Church (as Timothy Ware)

Richard M. Weaver

Ideas Have Consequences

Robert E. Webber

Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church

Amy Wellborn

Decoding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code

James R. White

Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views (w/ Dave Hunt)

D. H. Williams

Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants

John R. Willis

The Teachings of the Church Fathers (Editor)

Nathan D. Wilson

Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness

Ben Witherington III

The Brother of Jesus (w/ Herschel Shanks)

Ralph Woodrow

The Babylon Connection?

N. T. Wright

For All the Saints: Remembering the Christian Departed

The Meal Jesus Gave Us

Who Was Jesus?

Book Review: Breaking the Trap

2006-03-21T15:34:00.000-05:00

The Rapture Trap: A Catholic Response to "End Times" Fever - Paul Thigpen
Ascension Press (October 2001)
Topic: Eschatology; Catholicism
Summary: Critique of "rapture theology" from a Catholic perspective
Rating: ♦♦♦ (Recommended)

The Left Behind phenomenon has finally awoken many churches how poorly they have been explaining their beliefs on the end times. A welcome change has been the large number of books appearing recently from the Catholic, Orthodox, and Reformational traditions to combat this deficiency. Paul Thigpen adds his contribution to this growing counter to the errors of dispensationalism with The Rapture Trap - a book warning Catholics of the dangers of the theological errors and anti-Catholic polemic at the root of the movement.

Thingpen addresses his book to Catholics. He is a staunch believer in the claims of the Catholic Church and makes no pretense of partiality. Although he would no doubt approve of Protestants reading his book and coming to see his view as correct, there is little in the way of an olive branch provided. The book ends up having two major themes - the errors of rapture theology and the necessity of the role of the Roman magaisterium in maintaining correct beliefs - and on the book should be judged on these two points.

After an initial discussion of the Left Behind premise, Thigpen moves to examining the purpose of the first and second comings of Christ and the age of the Church between them. Unlike many "prophecy experts" who try to correlate end times prophecies to current events, Thigpen seeks to first understand the overall economy of salvation before approaching the specific events. The role of the Sacraments in the eschatological vision - overlooked in much of Protestantism - is explained from the Catholic perspective. Only after formulating a framework for understanding the overall message does he them turn to particular passages. Here he does not give an extended exegesis but a general understanding of how the passages relate to endtimes events and how the dispensational view falls far short in this regard.

Thigpen then turns to an overview of the development of eschatology within the Church. In this brief synopsis, he quotes from various Church Fathers and demonstrates the late development of the rapture doctrine. He then goes on to expose the anti-Catholic nature of the Rapture and argues for the importance of the Roman Magisterium in preserving true doctrine. This is followed by a sequence of events that is consistent with official Catholic teaching on the end times.

Thigpen closes with a discussion on the thorny issue of private revelation. Focusing on a number of noted private revelations, he argues that Catholics must - as in all matters - follow the lead of the Magiserium in judging the faithfulness of these revelations to Catholic teaching. Here, as throughout the book, the Tradition of the Catholic Church is taken as the sure guide to correct Biblical interpretation.

While assuning Catholic teaching is correct should hardly be surprising in a book written by a Catholic for other Catholics, there is a sense of Roman triumphalism that is the only unsatisfying aspect of the book. Thigpen ignores the fact that most non-Catholic views of eschatology throughout history are not that different than the views held by Catholics. The major figures of the Reformation were largely amillennialist as are the Orthodox Churches. The dispensational view is a byproduct of how Christianity developed in America and cannot be generalized to Protestantism elsewhere. Furthermore, Catholics have been as prone to strange endtimes delusions as anyone else - as the apocalyptic tone of many Marian apparitions can attest.

Aside from the sometimes overdone Catholic cheerleading, Thigpen presents a strong case against the Rapture. For faithful Catholics reading the book, he will likely succeed in exposing the weaknesses of dispensational eschatology and give a solid understanding of the Catholic view. For this and not the sometimes caustic approach to other Christian traditions, The Rapture Trap is recommended.

Book Review: So Great a Cloud of Witnesses

2006-03-12T07:55:00.000-05:00

The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer - Frederica Mathewes-Green
Paraclete Press (August 2003)
Topic: Prayer & Devotion, Eastern Christianity
Summary: Exposition of the Eastern Orthodox devotion use of icons in devotion
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Perhaps the most unnerving thing for Western Christians in approaching the Eastern Orthodox tradition is their use of icons. Even for Catholics and Anglicans who are familiar with religious images, the Orthodox practice (and even the icons themselves) can strike one as completely alien and even frightening. Frederica Mathewes-Green, a Western convert to Orthodoxy, understands these reservations and confronts the iconoclastic impulse head on in The Open Door by allowing the reader to gain an understanding of this ancient practice through the eyes of faith.

Dividing her exposition into two sections, Mathewes-Green writes first on the major icons of the iconostasis (the wood before the altar) and then on other icons of feasts and saints that appear elsewhere in the church. The first section is fittingly the larger and she gives a wonderful description of the history and theological perspective behind four of the most famous icons used in Orthodoxy. Rather that giving a dry technical survey, she approaches each icon from a perspective of prayerful reflection and belief steeped in her Church's ancient tradition.

In explaining the meaning behind each icon, Mathewes-Green introduces us to the language of iconography so the reader may appreciate how each icon illustrates the Gospel of Jesus Christ and speaks through the lens of faith things that only the devout could apprehend. From the very first chapter on the Christ of the Sinai to the last on the Old Testament Trinity, we are invited to share a wondrous devotional life with so great a cloud of witnesses.

In the renewal of Christianity through the recovery of the faith and practice of the ancient Church, the use of religious images is often overlooked. Frederica Mathewes-Green demonstrates the shortsightedness of such an approach. For those curious either of ancient Christian practice or Eastern Christianity in general or just those looking for a rewarding devotion, The Open Door is essential reading.

Book Review: Recovering the Good

2006-03-10T20:18:00.000-05:00

Ideas Have Consequences - Richard M. Weaver
University Of Chicago Press (September 1984)
Topic: Christian Culture
Summary: Analysis of the ills of modern society and its roots
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Since its initial publication in 1948, Richard M. Weaver's Ideas Have Consequences has been has been one of the most heralded and misunderstood books among contemporary conservatives. Weaver's insightful critique of the ethos of modern liberalism is often cited by contemporary conservative thinkers as a profound influence on their thinking. The truly odd thing here is that he would have as little to praise about their views as their opponents. Indeed it could be said that his points are just as devastating to the corporate capitalism of the right as the statist collectivism of the left. Like Tolkien, Weaver is a hero to those with whom he would find himself at complete odds.

Weaver's analysis of Western society is that the culture suffers from an abandonment of concern for the permanent things - the ideals of truth, beauty, and the good that are eternal and not subject to the whims of public fashion. This is opposed to the modernist idea of "progress" as the ultimate good. Since both liberalism and conservatism as we understand it in our society have roots in modernism, neither would find sympathy here.

Instead of calling for a return to "traditional American values", Weaver seeks a reappropiation of the classical values found in the best of the ancient thinkers and that served in the flowering of Christendom. In the modern world, each area of cultural endeavor is separated from that which is its natural end - politics no longer strives for virtue, art for beauty, philosophy for truth. Modern education seeks the practical development for political and economic ends and separates it from its origin in the teaching of eternal things. It is a world whose priorities have been skewed to serve the basest of motivations.

Weaver traces the beginnings of the problem to the loss of belief in universals resulting from the rise of nominalist philosophy associated with William of Occam. In this shift from apprehending the eteranal universals to classifying the passing singulars, man subtly shifted his focus from heaven to earth. From this point onward, the development of a completely secularized society was an inevitability as the decay of interest in the permanent things crept into all cultural endeavors. Similarly, a recovery from the modern predicamemt can only result from a reappropriation of concern for that which is eternal.

While his analysis of what ails the modern culture is both eloquent and profound, his placing the blame on nominalism is less convincing. In retrospect, the nominalist position is as much an outgrowth of the earlier medieval scholasticism as anything that followed is from nominalism. While it is certainly a step in the wrong direction, nominalism was hardly the first such step. More likely the cause was rooted in the methodology of the West as it tentatively stepped from centuries of cultural darkness.

In their use of classical philosophy, the patristic writers had always been judicious in preserving what was good and using it to serve to explain the Christian faith. Philosophic terminology was adopted to add precision to Christian theology and philosophical explanations of eternal things were "Christianized" by placing their focus on God, but the truths of the faith and the exegesis of Scripture was done using methods handed down from the earliest Christians. Also the culture in which Christianity took root had long digested Plato, Aristotle, and other classical thinkers and could appropriate their wisdom in an organic manner and not fall prey to the "system building" that developed within medieval scholasticism.

In the West, the exposure to classical manuscripts apart from Holy Scripture was far more limited and consisted primarily of some logical treatises of Aristotle, and the writings of St. Augustine and other Latin fathers. A logical developments of Augustinian theology was a natural choice in such an envrironment and the early scholastics set the tone for what followed. When Aristotle's philosophical writings reached the West, it caused an uproar but brilliant men like St. Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus succeeded in systematizing it to fit Christian theology. In all these things, it was the logical system building that was at the core of intellectual endeavor. With the array of competing and contradictory systems, a more skeptical mind like Occam was bound to throw cold water on the endeavor and wonder aloud whether the much lauded "universals" were linguistic constructions of the system without an independant existence.

Although I think his placing the blame squarely on William of Occam's shoulders unwarranted, it is clear that Weaver is definitely on to soemthing. Given the propaganda for neo-scholasticism within the Catholic Church (a movement that would dissipate after Vatican II) and the poor understanding of the Christian East at the time, things look differently now than then and his view is quite understandable. Even as it stands, Weaver was one of the first to diagnose what was ailing modern society as not a matter that can be cured with further progress or a retreat a few decades back but within a radical recovery of what has been lost centuries ago and for this alone Ideas Have Consequences is essential reading.

Book Review: Making the Endtimes Clear

2006-03-10T10:02:00.000-05:00

Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind - David B. Currie
Sophia Institute Press (September 2003)
Topic: Eschatology, Catholicism
Summary: Refutation of the pretribulational rapture doctrine.
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

With Rapture, David Currie continues the recent trend of books on Christian eschatology that have placed the dispensationalist position on the defensive after years of being virtually unopposed and allowed to gather steam as a movement. At first, most scholars and apologists from traditions outside the confines of the fundamentalist movement simply did not think it was worth expending energy critiquing such an obviously distorted and unsound view. However, the explosion of interest due to the Left Behind series of novels that presuppose dispensationalism as Biblical truth necessitated a direct response from those whose churches hold to a more Scripturally and historically justified view of the Bible's prophetic passages.

There are many excellent books that have been written recently on eschatological concerns, but often these books are primarily aimed at pointing out the errors of dispensationalism to audiences in the author's own tradition than to convince the dispensationalists themselves. The more organic and historic approach favored by Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and Reformational Protestants is likely to fall on deaf ears among dispensationalists who use Scriptural passages to create isolated propositions and then build a system around them. It is here that Currie succeeds greatly and he offers his critique in much the same user-friendly style as books written by noted prophecy pundits like Hal Lindsey and John Walvoord.

It is not surprising that Currie can speak the dispensationalists' language. He was raised with this as an integral part of his faith and many key figures in the movement were family friends. It was no doubt a great shock to many friends and family when he left for the Catholic Church and he has stated that much of the concern was whether he would miss the rapture and be "left behind." Just as an earlier book of his (Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic) sought to answer questions concerning his conversion in a general sense, this book can be said to answer the specific objections of dispensationalists to historic Christianity in terms they can understand.

The book is divided into four sections with a group of appendices following the fourth section. First is an explanation of the rapture doctrine itself. Here he mainly relies on dispensationalist sources while giving only a hint of the devastating critique to follow. The basic presuppositions are explored and details of the system are then fleshed out. Even at this rudimentary level, the complete artificiality of the system is striking and leads one to wonder how it became so popular.

The second section lays the groundwork for what is to follow. Currie uses the weapon in his arsenal that no fundamentalist could dispute - the Bible. Here he sets the groundwork for an exegesis of the prophecies in Holy Scripture that is direct and easily understandable. The suggested "groundrules" for interpretation are pretty obvious, but what is remarkable is how frequently dispensationalists will be shown to negate a clear reading of passages in order to preserve their system.

The third section is the heart of the book as Currie presents an interpretation of the prophetic passages of Scripture that is consistent with Catholic teaching, a strain of interpretation from the early Church, and the groundrules he set earlier. The view he holds is a preterist amillennialism. He is quick to point out that this is not the only possible interpretation of the passages but it does stand as an acceptable one given the Scriptural and historical evidence - something that cannot be said of the dispensationalist view.

In successive chapters, Currie discusses the Book of Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, the prophetic passages in the New Testament Epistles, and finally the Apocalypse (or Book of Revelation). The latter chapter, spanning 150 pages, is a book in itself and could easily be redone as an introductory commentary. Throughout, Currie places the passages back in context and demonstrates the complete inconsistencey of the dispensationalist view with the Biblical data.

The fourth section of the book covers the proper response for Christians to the rapture doctrine. First he notes both the psychological and theological reasons for the rapture doctrine's appeal. Then he deals with the things a Christian can be sure of concerning the endtimes even if one does not accept Currie's interpretation.

The book closes with a group of useful appendices. An interesting choice was one refuting the errors of hyperpreterism. This is interesting not only because the view is often confused with orthodox preterism but because of its growing appeal. In typical fundamentalist fashion, many who have grown up in the faulty dispensationalist system have reacted by going to the other extreme and holding that the Second Coming of Christ has already occured and all Biblical prophecy has been fulfilled. Currie deals with this heresy quickly but firmly and ponts out how it springs from some of the same methodological errors as dispensationalism.

Overall, David Currie has completely exposed the futility of the dispensationalist doctrine with this book. His is one of an increasing number of critiques of the Left Behind theology now being published. Those not in agreement with Currie's Catholic views will only find a little here to dispute (and none of it essential to his thesis) as the approach is for the most part kept to questions of eschatology and not ecclesiology. This, combined with Currie's understanding of the dispensationalist mindset, makes Rapture an ideal book for introducing its followers to a more Biblical view of the end times.

Book Review: OK. Next!...

2006-03-08T09:46:00.000-05:00

Answer Me This! - Patrick Madrid
Our Sunday Visitor (September 2003)
Topic: Catholicism
Summary: Answers to fifty common objections to the Catholic faith
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

Anyone who shares with other Christians that he is a member of a church that largely adheres to the historic Christian faith and practice is bound to have been challenged by a barrage of questions based largely on a complete misreading of Church history promoted in more sectarian circles. Because historic forms of Christianity have a more holistic approach to the faith whose parts are interrelated in a cohesive whole, giving a thorough understanding to someone used to dealing with isolated propositions in digestible soundbites can be difficult and often border on the impossible. Patrick Madrid gives an example of how this can be accomplished in his book Answer Me This! as he responds to fifty of the most common objections to Catholicism.

While Madrid is concerned primarily with bolstering Catholic claims, many of the points are equally valid for Orthodox, Anglicans, and others seeking a degree of catholicity within their own traditions. The questions are grouped by topic with the more fundamental objections coming first and ones reliant on these erroneous assumptions following. This is an important feature since sometimes the question given is built upon an unmentioned assumption that isn't true. The reader could then take the discussion back to the more basic issue and work from there.

The approach is not to give a thorough presentation of patristic or contemporary Catholic theology but merely to respond to particular points of attack. The focus is usually kept to disarming the opponent rather than attacking him. With this goal in mind, the reader can fire back with biblical and historical evidence and give the opponent food for thought. The fact that many recent converts to Catholicism mention that they raised similar objections until someone shocked them by responding with counterarguments gives testimony to the effectiveness of the approach.

As for the arguments themselves, much of it is pretty basic stuff to those who know some Church history and an understanding of the development of the Canon of Holy Scripture. It is here that is the book's strength. Rather than try to beat the opponent into submission with a barrage of information and a condescending tone, Madrid gives quick and easily understood arguments that neutralize objections and lead to further points of discussion.

The points where many informed readers will part with Madrid is in his treatment of doctrines that are peculiar to Rome. His treatment of the papacy seems forced by comparison to much of the rest of the book and does not face the most important and common objections to papal claims given by Orthodox and traditional Anglicans. Yet, even with these areas of difference, Madrid gives a strong tool for overcoming many fallacies concerning historic Christianity and for this Answer Me This! is highly recommended.

Book Review: Why the Religious Left Doesn't Get It

2006-03-04T07:10:00.000-05:00

God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It - Jim Wallis
HarperSanFrancisco (January 2005)
Topic: Politics
Summary: Apologia for progessive politicians to reach out to Christian believers
Rating: ♦ (Poor)

I have rarely found the premise of a book on Christianity so important and yet have the end result so disappointing as with God's Politics by Jim Wallis. There is no doubt that American politicians has used religion for their own ends and that in recent years those ends have largely been Republican. It also should not be disputed within the Church that we should not paint the Christian faith as supporting a particular political party. Yet rather than attempting to achieve a balanced approach, Wallis ends up going to the other extreme. In the end, he seems less upset that the Church has chosen a political party than that it has not chosen the political party he favors.

The entire book is pretty much a repetitive and incoherent rant that condemns Christian conservatives while championing seeking to wrap the causes of the political left in a Christian package. Even though Wallis claims to seek a "seamless garment" approach where concerns for social justice are maintained along with the conservative moral positions, his solution takes a completely unbalanced approach and his bias is exposed. In each case, conservative Christians need to dialogue and learn to compromise with their political opponents on the issues important to them (e.g., abortion, gay marraige) while capitulating on all the issues that are important to the left (war in Iraq, economic redistribution). Insisting on your own concerns as moral imperatives while treating those of others as something they need to learn to live with in a pluralistic society is not "common ground" - it is arrogance.

Worse yet, it is arrogance born out of desperation. When the Christian left largely coopted the mainline denominations in the last generation, they showed little concern for the opinions of the large percentage of the laity who did not share their views. Groups such as the WCC, NCC, and the national leadership of many mainline churches are as much an adjunct to the Democratic Party as the elements of the religious right are now seemingly engaged with the Republicans. The difference is that those churches have seen their membership implode and their influence has completely eroded.

The unfocsed nature of Wallis' analysis is demonstrated as he makes sweeping generalizations about political opponents that have no basis in fact. Reading his book one might expect the choice between Democrats and Republicans in the 2004 election was choosing between helping the poor and letting them starve. Yet the discussion was never one of the existence of social programs as much as their scope. He also confuses the individual responsibility to care for the poor on Christian principles with a corporate responsibility to unconditionally support a government institution created to do so on political principles. Whether we believe the Democrats or Republicans are correct here is a genuine issue, but to frame it in such with deceptive rhetoric does not build bridges - it burns them.

Another example of Wallis' disingenuousness is how he generalizes conservative Christians as the supporters of the "prosperity theology" movement within Protestantism. While it is true that there are preachers in this movement that would be considered politically conservative, the movement itself is largely apolitical. This movement is one that cuts along both political and racial lines and cannot be tied to either party. Since the primary focus is similar to that of a multilevel marketing scheme, the injection of political views that might offend is generally frowned upon. Wallis also conveniently ignores the fact that severe criticism of this movement has come from conservative Christians who largely consider it a distortion of the Gospel. Such a sweeping indictment of Christian conservatives on the basis of facts that could easily be checked indicates the purely polemical nature of his criticism as he attempts to render guilt by association.

When Wallis speaks of the situation in the Middle East, he completely ignores the genuine threat that militant Islam presents to democracy. For him, the Biblical solution is the passages that speak of the end of war yet these are passages speaking of Christ's return. Until then, the Lord's prediction is that there will be "wars and rumors of wars". Such a misuse of Scriptural passages demonstrates a selective reasoning that negates the right of a free society to protect itself from tyranny. Furthermore, it is simply not the case that there was a blanket endorsement of the war in Iraq by religious conservatives. Many opposed the war - particular some notable Catholic conservatives - and other religious conservatives supported it conditionally based upon claims of Iraq planning to supply terrorist with weapons of mass desctruction. Among those who did support the war unconditionally, many did so on the basis of a faulty dispensationalist eschatology that is more indicative of a particular brand of fundamentalist belief than that held by conservative Christians in gerneral.

The importance here is that there is a Christian tradition of a just war and the fact that many political leaders have tried to use the Church to justify their own military adventures does not mean the concept is without merit. Wallis' suggestions in this vein is predicated upon a concept of political utopianism that is directly counter to the Christian doctrine of the fallen nature of mankind. Wars should never be glorified by the Church but the right of a people to defend itself from agression must be recognized.

It is interesting to note that the one topic completely avoided in Wallis' stated objective to find common ground between the Christian left and the Christian right is to their belief in Jesus Christ. It is left unsaid but one of the major reasons for the fall of influence of the Christian left is that they became more left that Christian. The leadership of the mainline churches have largely abandoned the traditional beliefs of Christianity and no longer bear witness to the Gospel. The politics of Christian conservatives may in varying degrees be informed by their faith. For much of the Christian left, their politics is their faith. Without a Christ who has risen from the dead, the Christian left has nothing more than a moral teacher whose words they force into a matrix of their own design and changes as their own views demand.

Wallis is correct in asserting an lack of respect for orthodox Christian belief is definitely a factor in the Democratic Party failing to gain support among faithful believers but chooses to ignore the undeniable fact that the Christian left's own hostility to these beliefs often excedes that of the Democrats. While it must be noted that Wallis himself is an Evangelical who holds is completely orthodox in his Christian beliefs, a large percentage of those on liberal Christians hold to a drastically reductionist faith based on community and social issues rather than a sense of conviction about the need for salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

This lack of a traditional understanding of the faith among the Christian faith is manifested in the dillemma of the Democratic party's inability to reach a Christian base. Why should Democrats take the Christian faith seriously when their Christian allies don't take it seriously? How can secular Democraric politicians be expected to communicate with Christians when the Christians they know can't communicate effectively to most Christians? Even when Democratic politicians claim the importance of the Christian faith in their lives, it often comes across more as a bland internalized universalism or an offbeat New Age philosophy than anything resembling orthodox Christian belief. The last time the Democratic Party had a national candidate who struck conservative Christians as "one of them" was Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980.

Their is a great need for the church to engage people across the political spectrum and to stop acting as partisan politicians. The major function of the Church must ultimately be to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world through Word and Sacrament. In doing so, the world can be transformed but this will not take place by supporting political parties on the left or right. Jim Wallis is absolutely right in criticizing the religious right for sometimes acting as a Republican political action committee. However, his solution on the religious left - who are often a Democratic political action committee - is illusory. Ultimately, it is here where he, like his adversaries, gets it wrong and this is why God's Politics is a failure.

Book Review: Oops...I Did it Again

2006-03-02T12:15:00.000-05:00

The Late Great Planet Earth - Hal Lindsey & C. C. Carlson
Zondervan (May 1970)
Topic: Eschatology
Summary: Famous dispensationalist outlining of future world events leading to the end of all things
Rating: ■ (Worthless)

A generation before there was a Left Behind, there was The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey and C. C. Carlson. This is the book that broke the dispensationalist view of the end times into the consciousness of America. A phemomenal best seller, it was a watershed event in the growing Christian publishing industry. For many Christians, their first reading of this book was an energizing event that shaped their future. A generation later, many of its former supporters now see in its pages a complete misreading of Holy Scripture, sensationalistic attempts to correspond Biblical prophecies to current events, and an unhealthy enthusiasm for seeing the world obliterated.

So why bother with what can easily be written off as paranoid millenarianism? Well, while many have outgrown its simplistic approach to world events, it still resounds for much of the Church and this is shown in the continued audience for books by Lindsey and other "prophecy pundits." While it is certainly true that Tim LaHaye has replaced Lindsey as the popular voice of dispensationalism, it cannot be denied that Left Behind was made possible by this book.

Part of the commercial success of both authors has to do with their placing the dispensationalist view in a popular book form. For LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, it was the pulp novel. Back in 1970, Lindsay and C. C. Carlson did the same with a popular genre of their day - the sensationalistic expose. Like most books of this type (e.g., The Bermuda Triangle, Chariots of the Gods?, The Philadelphia Experiment, The Population Bomb), it is written in a breezy soundbite style that is long on conjecture and short on facts. Like most of these books, it was a peculiar period piece of American life at a time when the fabric of the nation seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Like most of these books, it is laughable in retrospect.

If the book were out of circulation and I were reviewing this for historical purposes, I would almost be tempted to give it a free pass as a kitschy period piece...sort of a fundamentalist lava lamp. The original was so over the top and written with such enthusiasm one could almost have forgiven the fact that the authors got everything wrong. After all, it was the 1970's when wild conspiracy theories, distrust of any traditional authority, and predictions of impending disaster were all the rage. When viewed within a time frame that produced predictions of a soon to be ice age, a UFO invasion, a famine around the corner, and California falling into the Pacific Ocean, the authors' claims of the coming Armageddon look downright trendy.

However, in the intervening years, the revisions of this book just kept piling up. Make a bad prediction? No problem, edit the book with the old gaffes removed, add a few trendier predictions, and release it as a new book. Lindsey, now well into middle age and hurtling towards his golden years, still clings to the long discredited dispensationalist hypothesis (Carleton's contribution is more stylistic) despite his failed scenarios. Lindsey's original view was that the end times events would take place in the 1980s (he even wrote a book The 1980's: Countdown to Armageddon trumpeting this belief). Well that didn't pan out, so he then jumped on the Y2K bandwagon (another of his books was Planet Earth 2000 A.D.: Will Mankind Survive?). Oops, wrong again. First communism was the main source of evil in the world but more recently it is Islam (a more recent book is The Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad). When one bogeyman falls, he is quick to insert a new one in its place.

Between the failed predictions, the hilarious misreadings of the original languages, the bizarre correlations between apocalyptic symbolism and modern military technology, and the hysterical pleading for contemporary events fulfilling the Biblical prophecies "right before our eyes", it is not surprising many of those energized by this book became convinced of the imminent end of all things. This trend continues to this day for the many followers of dispensationalist worldview as they are perpetuated in the many novels based on dispensationalist beliefs - notably the Left Behind series of novels.

If you can find a copy of the original version from 1970, it can be interesting in much the same way as a Brady Bunch episode - not for its merit but as an example of a particular moment in the consciousness of the fundamentalist subculture at a particular time. Just as many Catholics of have vivid memories of nuns and the Baltimore Catechism, fundamentalists of that era will never forget this book and the movie A Thief in the Night.

However, for the reedited version here presented as a guide to interpreting biblical prophecy, it is best to pass. For all its success as a cultural marker, its usefulness in properly understanding Biblical prophecy is basically nil. For this, its original purpose, The Late Great Planet Earth is completely worthless.

Book Review: Sightseeing in Christendom

2006-03-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

Holy Places of Christendom - Stewart Perowne
Book Sales (April 1982)
Topic: Archaeology, Architecture, Artifacts, & Papyrology
Summary: A survey with pictures of important places of Christian pilgrimage
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

In Holy Places of Christendom, Stewart Perowne takes us on a very pleasing journey to many of the important sites of Christian pilgrmage. Beginning with those relating to the life of Jesus and the Apostles and moving through important sites in the Church's history, Perowne gives a history of each site and we are provided with wonderful and at times breathtaking photographs. There is a good balance between East and West and over different time periods. Although some may howl because a particular favorite place was not included, in this type of "coffee table" book geared to a general audience we should not expect it to be exhaustive. As a nice read on some important places in the history of the Church, Holy Places of Christendom is highly recommended.

Book Review: Overcoming Division

2006-03-01T12:20:00.000-05:00

Doxology : The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine and Life (A Systematic Theology) - Geoffrey Wainwright
Oxford University Press (January 1984)
Topic: General Theology; Liturgy & Sacraments
Summary: A systematic theology using the Liturgy of the Church as its central theme
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Written during the 1970's when much of the Church's traditional positions were under constant attack by theologians and first published in 1980, Geoffrey Wainwright's Doxolgy was and still is a groundbreaking book. Rather than jumping on the modernist bandwagon, Wainwright goes back to the central event in the Church's life - it's worship - and using this theme attempts to build bridges between what is good in modern scholarship to the strengths of the Church throughout its history.

At almost every turn, the Wainwright's allegiance to ecumenicity and catholicity is clear. The book avoids the old battles and an irenic spirit is present throughout its pages. The theological divisions within the Church (ancient vs. modern, East vs. West, Catholic vs. Protestant) are overcome in a manner that the reader may gain an understanding of what is "other" without surrendering cherished distinctives.

Wainwright divides his examination into discussions of God and the Church, Scripture and Tradition, and the surrounding context of the Christian experience. The thread running through all of the discussions is the worship of the Church. Worship is seen as both informing reflecting other elements of the Church and its life. Central to this discussion are the chapters on Lex Orandi and Lex Credendi - reflecting the two phrases of the Latin saying that sums up this relationship.

There are certainly points on which we may make objections. Much of this may in fact be due to the period of time in which the book was written as well as the ecclesial environment from which Wainwright was writing. As part of the movement towards ecumenism between Catholic, Orthodox, and the major Protestant groups, Wainwright was perhaps overly optimistic of the future success of this endeavor. As part of the Methodist contigent to these discussions among the "established" churches, he perhaps underestimated how the balance of power within Protestantism was moving away from the "mainline" groups and towards more Evangelical and often strictly sectarian forms of Christianity. The rather benign view of some modern theological developments also might seem hopelessly naive. Still, such things are more sidebar issues and do not affect his central theme.

Wainwright's work stands as important development in the desire among Protestants to regain a sense of the catholicity of the Church and a connection to its ancient faith and practice. Achieving to some degree a balance between extremes, he gives the ancient faith and practice of the Church a new life in a modern setting. Perhaps some of his elements of his work has aged poorly, but this does not detract from the profound influence it has held for a generation. By any reasonable measure, Doxology is essential reading.

Book Review: Back to the Future

2006-02-28T10:50:00.000-05:00

The Teachings of the Church Fathers - John R. Willis (Editor)
Ignatius Press (October 2002)
Topic: Patristic Christianity
Summary: Quotes from the Church Fathers in support of Catholic doctrine arranged by subject
Rating:♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

With the growing awareness among Protestants of the writings of early Christians, there is also a bewilderment among many as to the claims various Christians make about these writings. Exactly what did they teach anyway? John R. Willis gives a very useful tool for the beginner in arranging quotes from the Church Fathers on various questions relating to doctrine and practice in the early Church.

To his credit, he does not try to "spin" the material. Although as a Catholic, he is interested in support for the Roman position, he merely gives the Roman position and then lists quotes he believes support that view. The quotes are not mere sentences but more extensive passages so that we have some idea of context.

For Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican Christians, there is little there that would come as a shock. The early Christians worshipped liturgically with the Eucharist as the center of their Christian life and a belief in some form of the Real Presence in the Sacrament. The office of bishops in Apostolic succession was universal and there was devotion to Mary and other faithful departed. It all sounds rather waht we think of as "Catholic."

As for the things that would separate Catholics from other traditionally minded Christians (e.g., the papacy, certain Marian beliefs), we may question whether the evidence is universal or whether the quotes even support what Willis contends. In the earlier case, there is a marked reliance on Latin fathers who developed a theology divergent with the East and in the later case there are quotes that do not seem to prove what Willis wishes them to prove. A case in point are the quotes used to support the "Holy Spirit procedes from the Father and the Son." The phrase "and the Son" was added to the Creed by the West but the quotes given seem to support the earlier view still held by the Orthodox Church. Still, the case can be made that there was some level of support for the more unique Roman contentions even if it was primarily in the West.

It must also be pointed out that as an apologetic tool, Willis is not primarily focused on differences between Catholics and Orthodox or even Catholics and Anglicans. The main divide here is between Catholics and Evangelical Protestants. From that perspective, there can be little doubt the Church of the patrisitic period was far closer in faith and practice to Rome than modern Evanglical Protestantism even if the match is not perfect.

As many Evangelicals are looking back to the early centuries of Christianity for a way out of the banality that affects much of their movement, there is a question as to where that path will lead. Willis in The Teachings of the Church Fathers attempts to frame patristic quotations to make a case for that future leading to Rome. Whether he has been entirely successful or not, he has supplied an indispensible reference tool for further study.

Book Review: American Dreams

2006-02-25T10:24:00.000-05:00

The Coming Catholic Church : How the Faithful Are Shaping a New American Catholicism - David Gibson
HarperSanFrancisco (July 2004)
Topic: Catholicism; Revisionism & Neo-Orthodoxy
Summary: Survey of the state of Catholicism in America after the sex scandals and its likely subsequent direction
Rating: ♦♦ (Not Recommended)

It seems the one constant in American Christianity is its parochialism. Whether it be those on the right who equate the faith once delivered to the saints with conservative American domestic and foreign policy or those on the left who believe the Church will be saved by becoming more of a liberal democracy, the attempt to have American cultural, political, and religious ideals hijack the Church for its ends goes along undaunted.

David Gibson adds to this heritage in The Coming Catholic Church – his view of how the sex scandals plaguing the Catholic priesthood has altered the playing field in the Catholic Church and is reshaping American Catholicism. Indeed, Gibson goes as far as to infer that the entire ecclesial model the Catholic Church has used for over a millennium is being rendered obsolete overnight by happenings in the United States and, to paraphrase an adage, “What is good for American Catholics is good for the Catholic Church.”

The book is divided into three sections on the laity, the priesthood, and the hierarchy. The overall presentation is one of an enraged laity demanding the institution be made more democratic, the bishops resisting these demands, and the some well-meaning priests caught in the middle. Beginning with the understandable sense of betrayal and outrage felt by American Catholics as the widespread nature of the scandals and the American bishops’ complicity in covering up misconduct by their clergy became known, Gibson uses this as a springboard for describing how the state of the American Catholic belief and practice – that can at best be described by the moniker “Cafeteria Catholic” – is set to revolutionize affairs in the Church.

While Gibson does a solid job detailing the anger of many Catholics in America about the scandal, he then makes the unwarranted assumption that this will lead to a wholesale change in the Church. There is no evidence supporting a mass desire for change in Catholic doctrine among the faithful. The anger is over sexual misconduct and the irresponsibility of the bishops in not removing known sexual predators from the ranks of priests. While those calling for the ordiantion of women and other changes in Catholic doctrine are trying to add their causes to the cries for change, subsequent events demonstrate that such an expansion of the cause to things not related to the problem will not find much of an audience beyond those already committed to that cause.

Oddly enough, Gibson early in the book reminds Americans of the universality of the Catholic Church. Yet he fails to heed his own warnings that they not expect the Church to represent an American viewpoint. Apparently forgetting this point, he spends much of the remainder of the book defending the thesis that the problems of the American Church demand changes in the worldwide structure of Catholicism.

While certainly not a radical, Gibson does fall into the category of the pleasantly liberal Catholic who wishes the Church was more democratic and modern. Like many liberal Catholics, he ties the scandal to calls for reform that would amount to the Church repudiating traditional Catholic doctrine. Yet these “reforms” would do little more than turn the Catholic Church into another faceless liberal Protestant sect. As recent history can attest, these changes have led to disintegration and not renewal whenever they have been employed.

Also left unmentioned in Gibson’s thesis is that the fact that almost all of these cases involved predators who committed homosexual acts. The thought that the scandal might be a problem involving homosexuality would no doubt fall on deaf ears with good liberals like Gibson, but, given recent developments, this is obviously well understood at the Vatican.

Gibson also fails to take into account those places where the Church in America is most healthy. While religious orders that have liberalized are grey and dying, those that have taken a traditional path are healthy and growing. Dioceses that adopted the more liberalizing tendencies in the past few decades are having the most trouble while those that are most conservative are among the healthiest. In addition, new converts are coming from Evangelical Protestantism and are invigorating the Church. The post-Vatican II American Catholicism that relies on some vaguely defined “Spirit of Vatican II” that appears nowhere in the Vatican II documents is largely a baby-boomer phenomenon that is destined to die with them.

Gibson closes his book looking towards the future and pinning his dreams on the hope that the successor of Pope John Paul II would finish the job begun at Vatican II, thwart the efforts of those backward traditionalists, and usher in the Church that any Western progressive thinker could respect. How ironic it was that when the great Polish pope did pass on to blessed memory, it was Cardinal Ratzinger - who comes off in the book as the staunchest of all conservative forces - that received the nod as Pope Benedict XVI.

With The Coming Catholic Church, Gibson does a fine job describing the perilous predicament within which the Catholic Church found itself due to not only the actions of sexual predators among its priests but the inaction of the bishops in removing these monsters from service in the Church. However, he then tries to piggyback a whole list of unrelated issues as necessary changes to be made without any supporting evidence. Gibson's efforts thus comes off as motivated more by a desire for his church's social respectability than its adherence to truth.

Book Review: Cross Paths

2006-02-24T09:48:00.000-05:00

The Quest For the True Cross - Carsten Peter Thiede & Matthew d'Ancona
Palgrave Macmillan (June, 2003)
Topic: Archaelology, Architecture, Artifacts, & Papyrology
Summary: Claims a piece of the titulus of the true cross found by Helena now resides within a church on the outskirts of Rome.
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

For close to a millennia, the most holy relic in Christendom was the pieces of the true cross held in Jerusalem. That relic has long been lost as it was destroyed in the defeat of the Crusaders and retaking of the Holy Land by Muslim conquerors. In recent years, Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew d'Ancona have theorized in The Quest for the True Cross that we might still have a piece of that relic in part of the titulus (the inscription placed above Jesus' head on the cross) that had been taken to Rome.

In a fast paced and enjoyable read, the authors take us back through the annals of time to the period of the early Church when Constantine came to power and legalized the Christian religion. The reader is taken on a marvelous ride through the beginnings of Christendom and the travels of Constatine's mother Helena to the Holy Land in search of holy sites for Christianity. Most important was the site of Golgotha and Christ's Tomb upon which was built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Also allegedly discovered were the true cross including the inscription that was placed above Christ's head. The relic was divided and some taken back to Constantinople and some to Rome while most ended in Jerusalem. As mentioned these relics were believed to be lost in the sands of time but one may have survived at a church on the outskirts of Rome called Santa Croce built upon Helena's old palace.

We are given a possible reconstruction of how the piece of the inscription came to find its way there and some solid evidence that it is in fact a piece of the inscription that Helena recovered. Whether what Helena recovered was genuine or not is up to debate but a circumstantial case is made to support the possibility of this claim.

For its excellent treatment of such a commonly misunderstood period alone, The Quest for the True Cross is essential reading. Given the possibility of finding such an important piece of Christian history, it makes it even more worthwhile.

Book Review: Another One Bites the Dust

2006-02-23T17:58:00.000-05:00

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code : A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine - Bart D. Ehrman
Oxford University Press, USA (November 1, 2004)
Topic: Holy Bloodline Theory
Summary: Critique of the historical claims advanced in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Since prior books critiquing the historical claims put forth in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code come from those within the Church, one might get the impression that it is only "matters of faith" that are at stake here. However, Bart D. Ehrman, a noted scholar of early Christianity who himself is not a believer, quickly puts that to rest. Ehrman notes how because of his expertise in the early Church he was being inundated with questions concerning the Da Vinci Code and its claims. After reading the book, he decided a critical scholarly examination of Brown's complete misrepresentations of early Christianity was in order from the point of view of modern Biblical and patristic scholarship. In so doing he focuses his concern to the fields of his expertise and ignores questions of art and architecture that also come into play in the book. However, it is the claims about early Christianity that are the crux of Brown's claims and without them there is no controversy but just odd claims about later historical figures.

The result of Ehrman's work, Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code, is a masterful disection of Brown's odd soup cooked up from historical ignorance, conspiracy theories, and outright frauds. Retaining his focus on the key issues and placing Brown's claims under the scholarly microscope, he leaves the whole thesis exposed as a total fabrication not worthy of serious consideration. At times he seems like the professor taking a lazy thinking freshman to task for a poorly researched term paper and when it is over Brown's whole thesis lay in ruins.

Eherman divides the book into two parts. The first covers the Emperor Constantine, the New Testament, and other Gospels and gives the actual results of scholarly research on these topics as opposed to the fabrications to which Brown assers are accepted facts. Constantine was certainly a key figure in the history of the Church but had nothing to do with the selection of the Gospels included in the New Testament. The four we now have were all accepted universally in the Church centuries before the Council of Nicea as any examination of the patristic writings can attest. In particular, the Gospels that Brown seeks to put forth as evidence were written centuries later. The section as a whole demonstrates that Brown really has no clue of the results of contemporary scholarship and is relying almost entirely on crackpot theorists whose work no one in the field takes seriously.

The second part of the work deals with the alleged relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Ehrman thoroughly demonstates Brown's claims are totally without merit and even the contrived evidence he puts forth doesn't support his thesis. Again, Brown is found to rely on poor sources with no expertise in the field. In the end, he comes across as another misguided conspiracy theorist who speaks on subjects of which he has no knowledge.

It ends up being a complete rout of The Da Vinci Code and its crackpot ideas. In the future, we will look back and wonder who could believe such nonsense and Brown will be relegated to the dustbin of crank ideas that took hold of the public imagination for a time. Like Roswell, the Bermuda Triangle, the Loch Ness monster, and other such hokum, this too shall pass. While, it is unfortunate that scholars need to take time to refute this brand of nonsense, but let us be thankful that some do.

Oddly enough, Brown has angered many conservative Christians on his thesis of alterations to the Gospel over time to eliminate unwanted interpretations. Reading this should at least let them see he is not merely a secular antagonist. With Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code being written by an expert scholar without an axe to grind, the result for promoters of this crank thesis is devastating. As a demonstration of the complete inanity of Browns' ideas, it is essential reading.

Book Review: From the Margins to the Mainstream

2006-02-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

Christian Radio: The Growth of a Mainstream Broadcasting Force - Bob Lochte
McFarland & Company (December 2005)
Topic: Christian Culture
Subject: Survey of the history and current status of Christian radio as a broadcasting force in the United States
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

Most books concerning Christian broadcasters are either Christian authors heralding its triumphs or critics' warnings of barbarians at the gates of the secular city. Bob Lochte's Christian Radio falls into neither category. Lochte, a professor of communications, has noticed some of his students graduating to work into what once would have been considered a dead-end segment of the market but now is one of the fastest growing fields in the media. In this careful examination of the history of Christian broadcasting and the contemporary Christian broadcasting field, he suceeeds in explaining how this industry grew from a marginalized regional concern to a mainstream broadcasting force.

Beginning with the fledgling efforts of Christian radio pioneers, he describes how the Christian presence on mainstream radio - barring a few more mainstream representatives - was gadually eliminated by commercial concerns and policies put forth by the major radio networks. Enterprising evangelists responded by beginning to patch together their own "networks" from airtime purchased on independent stations.

The advent of completely Christian radio formats is covered extensively including one of the more unique cases with Aimee Semple McPherson and her Church of the Foursquare Gospel founding its own station - KFSG in Los Angeles. A flamboyant persoanlity and preaching style carried on to her services which Lochte describes as "pure theatre with staged reviews, outlandish costumes and skits, a full orchestra, and of course the star of the show, Aimee Semple McPherson, healing the sick and preaching the gospel." Apparently the showbiz theatrics of modern prosperity preachers and megachurches are not as "novel" and "groundbreaking" as they claim.

Lochte then concentrates on the rise of contemporary Christian music and the effect it has had on the industry. Many who would tune out services, sermons, or Christian information programs will listen to a Christian message cloaked in the latest stylings of pop, rock, or rap music. Of course, this whole concept of matching Christianity with contemporary secular musical styles is not without controversy and Lochte covers some of the issues raised within the Evangelical circles where it originated.

The remainder of the book is a survey of the contemporary scene. Lochte discusses noted Christian radio personalities, the wide array of Chrisitan radio formats, and the important ministries and broadcasting giants that have arisen in the Christian radio format such as Salem Communications.

Lochte restricts his comments mainly to these men and women as broadcasters and does not concern himself with their message or controversies surrounding their ministries. He is concerned here with Christian radio as a broadcasting phenomena and not with the message it conveys. Although the book is probably aimed more at those in the media, it contains no techincal jargon that would exlcude a general reader. Although a little dry reading at times, for its purpose as a look back and assessment of the current state of Christian radio, it is highly recommended.

Book Review: Reflecting God's Glory

2006-02-18T00:20:00.000-05:00

Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of Mine: A Biblical and Historical Examination of the Catholic Doctrine of the Communion of Saints - Patrick Madrid
Basilica Press / Simon & Schuster (August 15, 1996)
Topic: Communion of Saints; Catholicism
Summary: Defense of the Catholic doctrine of the Communion of Saints
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

In the disputes between Catholics and Protestants over doctrine and practice, no topic is as likely to make tempers flare as the subject of Mary and the saints. For Catholics (as well as Orthodox and some Anglicans) prayers for the departed and their intercession on our behalf flow naturally from reflection upon their understanding of the Communion of Saints. For many Protestants, it smells of idolatry and necromancy. It is the one issue where neither side seems capable of compromise.

Patrick Madrid, in his book Any Friend of God's is a Friend of Mine gives a valuable apologia for the Catholic (and traditional Christian) take on this subject. Noting it as a basic disagreement on the true doctrine of the Communion of Saints noted in both the Nicene and Apostles Creeds, he demonstrates the misrepresentations of the historic position of the Church prominent in Protestant attacks upon this view. Best of all, he does this in clear language suitable for a general audience ranging from young teens undergoing catechesis to adults seeking to understand the traditional position of the Church.

Madrid begins his rebuttal of Protestant attacks by pointing out the polemical attacks of the Reformers - still forming much of the basis for contemporary objections - were based upon "straw man" arguments. He demonstrates that the Reformers repeatedly allege the Catholic Church views the Saints having a special route of intercession apart from Christ's sole mediatorship. In fact, the Catholic Church (and Orthodox Church) teaches the intercession of the saints is of the same nature as the intercession of the faithful on earth in our behalf. Numerous other attacks flow from this point but the Reformers (and their contemporary Protestant followers) fail to realize these attacks could be applied to our own prayer on behalf of other Christians.

Madrid also points out that the Church is uniquely the body of Christ and concern for fellow members is part of the Christian life. The Christian life is not something done flying solo but with each member of the Church acting in concert upon their calling. Death does not separate the faithful as those departed and those on earth all take part in the life of the Church.

Turning his attention next to refuting the most common objections, Madrid makes quick work of the claims that the traditional position denies Christ's unique role in our salvation, amounts to the worship of the saints, draws attention away from God, requires the saints to be omniscient, and equates to necromancy. Such attacks are shown to be based upon unwarranted assumptions that have no place in the actual doctrine and result in "straw man" arguments.

Madrid then contrasts the actual Catholic doctrine of purgatory with the Protestant caricature and the unfortunate image presented by some medieval piety. As this is an area where the Catholic position differs somewhat from both Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, there is not an exact unity within the historic Churches for the Catholic view, but Madrid does a good job of explaining it as a theological reflection and development of the patristic witness.

One of the strongest sections is a short survey of Church Fathers on the Communion of Saints. While some Protestants would not accept even a united witness of the early Church and prefer their own modernist interpretations of Scripture, there are many who have seen the banality of theology and practice within much of Protestantism resulting in their cutting themselves off from the Church of history. More and more they are realizing the recovery of a Catholic view of Scripture and the Church is essential to combating the errors of Protestant sectarianism both on the theological left and right of the spectrum. For them, the consistent witness of the early Church for the traditional view is a telling reminder that their own position is one of relatively recent vintage.

Madrid next gives a defense of the veneration of relics and images of the saints. Pointing out both biblical support for its consistency with the Christian view and the range of support given from the earliest days of the Church, he gives a clear exposition of the Catholic position and its support within the history of the Church. Since these are among the more troublesome elements of Catholic practices, it is to his credit that he manages to present it in such an irenic fashion.

In his final summary, Madrid emphasizes that the honor given to the saints does not offend God. He points out in particular the Virgin Mary and how the historic Church carefully defined the honor given to her. The saints in general and the Theotokos in particular are examples for the Church to imitate as best we can in their piety, humility, and faith. Honoring them is to honor the architect of that faith and does not draw away from but reflects God's glory.

In Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of Mind. Patrick Madrid has given a superb introduction to the Catholic view of the communion of saints. Certainly there are theological tomes with far more detail than presented here, but as a usable tool for comforting Catholics (and other Christians with similar views) and a counter to ill-conceived objections, it is hard to beat and, for its purpose, is essential reading.

Book Review: Lamb Power

2006-02-08T09:09:00.000-05:00

The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in The Book of Revelation - Barbara R. Rossing
Westview Press (June 2005)
Topic: Eschatology
Summary: Critique of dispensationalist eschatology and the presentation of an alternate view focused on hope
Rating: ♦♦ (Not Recommended)

Although the last few years has seen much good work in refuting the dispensationalist misreading of Scripture by traditionalist Reformed, Catholic, and Orthodox authors, there has been little if any response from the "mainline" Christians who tend toward a more liberal interpretation of Scripture. Perhaps because they are not comfortable with the depiction of wrath and judgment, mainline Christians have always treated the Book of Revelation like the red-headed stepchild of the Bible.

Barbara R. Rossing attempts to fill this void with The Rapture Exposed. Containing both a critique of dispensationalist thought and her her view of the Book of Revelation, it seeks as its purpose to change the focus for readers of this book from the sensationalistic litanies of impending doom to an unfolding message of God's unconditional love. How it succeeds will depend largely on how well you accept her own presuppositions.

The first four chapters of the book present a critique of dispensationalism. This section of the book is quite good and provides an analysis of issues not covered in many other works opposing the dispensationalist view. Although she makes some appeals to Scripture and the traditional beliefs of the Church and she does point out the out-of-context interpretations of the prophecy pundits, her attack is centered more upon the bad fruit of dispenationalism than a systematic refutation of theological points. This practical rather than theoretical focus is often ignored by more conservative critics whose opposition is motivated more by concerns of orthodoxy than orthopraxis.

For Rossing, the bad fruit is overwhelming: the acute commercialization of Biblical prophecy, the hijacking of the Gospel by the political right, a fatalism that absolves Christians from the responsibility for their fellow man, an unhealthy support of miliatarism, an unwarranted connecting of current events to specific prophecies, an odd fascination with techological hardware, and the division of mankind into cartoonish good guys and bad guys with no concern for groups like the Palestinians - even the Palestinian Christians - because they wear black hats in their doomsday scenarios.

Much of this criticism questions the unconditional support given to the most hardline elements in Israel. The political pressure by Evangelicals on congress and the White House to give carte blanche to Israel in its dealings with its Muslim neighbors is seen by Rossing as propping up with American might an expansionist policy that gives free reign to those who do not seek peace. Furthermore, it also breeds contempt among Muslims who in turn will support more radical elements in their own communities in response.

However naive Rossing's political views may be with regards to the political situation in the Middle East (Islam has always had its own expansionist policy that is now propped up by oil money), she rightly critiques the distortions of Scripture inherent in dispensationalism. Furthermore, her rebuttals do present issues not discussed in depth elsewhere.

It is in Rossing's exposition of her own view beginning in the fifth chapter that the book begins to unravel. Using an idealist interpreation built upon the theme of "lamb power," she presents a radically different view of the Book of Revelation that espouses nonconformity, vulnerablilty, nonviolence, social justice, unconditional love, reconciliation, healing, and liberation. These things, she claims, are at the heart of the book and not the rampant violence of Left Behind's sci-fi techno thrillers.

Rossing does have a good point in taking dispensationalism's skewed vision to task. However, she then replaces it with an equally skewed interpretation. If Evangelicalism's yoking of the Church to the political right is to be effectively countered, it will not be by following the mainline denominations in yoking the Church to the political left. Rossing's moves in this direction accomplish little more than counter one form of modernism with another.

Rossing's attempts at defanging passages not to her liking is no less specious than LaHaye's own distortions. The fact is that while God's mercy is limitness for those who repent, His justice is no less boundless for those who do not. As Rossing contends, Revelation is a warning, but it is no less a promise. He will glory in our slaughter, but He will allow mankind free reign to attempt life apart from Him until we seek our own destruction.

The great weakness in Rossing's presentation is she does not grasp why the Word became flesh in the first place. Caught up in her pet political views, she concentrates on social ills that are only symptoms. In the two-hundred plus pages of this book, she never once deals with the issue of personal sin. In her "lamb power," the lamb is a political revolutionary who fights against social injustice. In the true lamb power of the Christian Faith once delivered to the saints, the lamb is He who has died for our sins. Not just the sins of oil company executives and Republican senators, but the sins of us all.

The Rapture Exposed is liberal mainline Christianity's most notable counter to the Left Behind phenomenon. As an attack upon dispensationalism it succeeds. As an alternative view of Biblical prophecy it fails. In its complete inability to deal with the central meaning of the Cross of Christ, it demonstrates why mainline Chrisitanity has been failing for the last quarter century. Thus despite some strong material, this book cannot be recommended as providing a legitimate view of the Book of Revelation's central message.

Book Review: Tracing the Lineage

2006-02-07T22:34:00.000-05:00

Why Is That in Tradition? - Patrick Madrid
Our Sunday Visitor (March 2002)
Topic: Bibliology, Hermeneutics, & Exegesis; Catholicism
Summary: Defense of the Tradition of the Cathoolic Church
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

If you want to get an Evangelical Protestant riled up, call the beliefs he holds to be part of his "tradition." Within this uniquely American form of Christianity, there is no more greater insult that to brand someone's doctrine with the "t" word. Unlike the historic Churches who revere the tradition of the patristic witnesses, Evanglelical beliefs have promoted a "me and my Bible" mentality that fosters attempts to reinvent the wheel with each succeeding generation.

Patrick Madrid, himself a former Evangelical Protestant, has written Why Is That in Tradition? as a catechetical tool to demonstrate to Catholics and interested Protestants alike the Apostolic origins of many Catholic beliefs. Using quotes from the early Christians, Madrid seeks to demonstrate that beliefs the Catholic Church holds that separates them from Protestants can consistentlu trace their lineage back to the early Church and that Protestant rejections of these beliefs are a departure from the norm.

After an introduction discussing the general foundations of tradition in the Church, Madrid sharpens his focus in five sections on authority, doctrines, sacraments, customs and practices, and moral issues. In each section he uses quotes from the Church Fathers to support his contention of a continuing patrimony documenting the Catholic position to the earliest days of the Church. Some may question, whether the evidence fully supports the Catholic view as opposed to the Orthodox or even the high church Anglican position, but there can be no doubt that current Catholic belief and practice falls far closer to the historic norm that the Evangelical model.

Overall, Madrid has produced ample food for thought to the ahistoric positions taken by much of Evangelicalism. Certainly it is not the final word on many of the issues discussed but neither was it intended to be so. Anyone wishing to delve further certainly has a good sample of quotes from the Church Fathers to consider. Given its purpose as a more introductory apologetic and catechetical tool, it has to be considered a success and is highly recommended reading.

Book Review: Mysterious Guarantee

2006-02-07T14:32:00.000-05:00

Apostolic Succession - Gregory Rogers
Conciliar Press(June 1994)
Topic: Ecclesiology; Eastern Christianity
Subject: Defense of the doctrine of Apostolic Succession
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Many of the fissures that separate Protestsantism from the historic Chuches stem from the disputes over the solas of the Reformation. One that has no such origin is the abandonment of the office of the episcopacy. The netherworld between the two camps occupied by Anglicanism has retained it as have some of the Lutheran Churches. The only reason Luther appears to have abandoned the office is the inability to garner the support of an existing German bishops to his cause. Later polemics thus appear as more as either ex post facto argumentation or an acceptance of the ahistorical position of the radical end of the Reformation.

George Rogers, a former Evangelical who coverted to Eastern Orthodoxy and is now a priest of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, has wrestled with this issue and understands its importance both doctrinally and symbolically for maintaining the historic faith of the Church. Whatever their opinions on other issues, it is clear that after an initial phase under the direct care of the apostles, the threefold ministry of bishop, presbyter, and deacon was the norm. We might debate on the proper role of the bishop, but the existence of the office cannot be seriously questioned.

In Apostolic Succession, Fr. Rogers has written a brief but excellent catechetical booklet giving an overview of the episcopal office in the Church. The booklet is divided into three sections on the Biblical foundations, the historic witness, and the twenty-first century context. Throughout, there is a consistent theme on the organic unity of the Church and the episcopacy as a sign of that unity.

Beginning with the biblical witness, Rogers demonstrates how the unity of the Church was maintained under the authority granted to the Apostles and how important converts such as St. Paul submitted their ministry to be part of this overall unity. Disputes that arose such as the mission to the gentiles was an issue decided by the Church and not individuals.

The unity under the authority and structure created by the Apostles was maintained by later Christians and was used to differentiate themselves from the gnostic sects that did not have any Apostolic authority. Rogers traces this development in the work of key figures in the patristic period. In so doing, Rogers points out some key differences that developed in the question of valid orders between the East and West.

The Roman Church, following St. Augustine, came to view the validity of the episcopal ministry to be centered primarily upon having someone already validly ordained performing the ordination. The Orthodox follow that the validity is carried by the Church and not the individual. A bishop is still necessary for the ordination but a call by the Church is also required. The Augustinian theory, formulated in the midst of the Donatist schism, allows the proliferation of groups claiming to be in Apostolic succession by merely finding someone who was ordained to ordain a member of the group. The Orthodox theory eliminates this since it also requires the group itself to be in Apostolic Succession.

In the last section dealing with Christian unity, Rogers emphasizes the importance of the Apostolic Succession as a sign of God's love. In acknowledging the Orthodox acceptance of varying degrees of Apostolic succession in groups outside Orthodoxy, he quotes Fr. Georges Florovsky is stating that such validity is the "mysterious guarantee of their return to catholic plentitude and unity."

Overall, Fr. Rogers makes a convincing case of this mysterious guarantee within the succession of the Apostles over the life of the Church as a sign of unity within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. There are certainly more comprehensive works on the topic, but as introductory reading for those unfamiliar with its roots in the early Church or as catechetical material for a study of the issue, Apostolic Succession is essential reading.

Book Review: Fellowship Divine

2006-02-04T21:28:00.000-05:00

For All the Saints?: Remembering the Christian Departed - N. T. Wright
Morehouse Publishing (September 2004)
Topic: Soteriology; Communion of Saints; Anglicanism
Summary: Investigation of the beliefs regarding the saintly departed
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Noted Scripture scholar and Anglican Bishop of Durham N. T. Wright is no stranger to controversy. A moderate within the Reformed strain of Anglicanism, he has issued thought provoking research that has caused the Church to better understand the Jewish roots of Christianity while also infuriating many Protestants by challenging their standard reading of St. Paul's epistles regarding the issue of justification. Simultaneous with his more technical works, he has also released a number of more popular works aimed at a general audience seeking to grasp disputed issues in the Church. He is the rare example of a Christian author who can both research the foundations of Christianity and teach the faith of the Church.

In For All the Saints?, Wright is aiming at the general audience in explaining his thoughts on what happens after we die. In a move that is sure to aggrivate all parties, he rejects praying to saints but accepts prayers for the dead. In the former case, he fully accepts that the saints in heaven might well be praying for us but sees no Scriptural justification for asking them to do so. One might challenge his Reformed presuppositions, but he consisently applies them and does not attack straw men. The result might be a predictable rejection of the belief in seeking the intercession of the saintly departed, but is a well thought out and sincere one.

It is very interesting how he approaches the issue of prayers for the dead. Wright concedes this was a Jewish practice that was adopted by the early Church and seeks to apply it within a Reformed framework. Rejecting the Western medieval notion of a tripartite Church - triumphant in heaven, expectant in purgatory, and militant on earth - he holds a bipartite Church that is both triumphant and expectant in heaven and militant on earth. The Church in heaven is triumphant as they are with Christ forever but expectant as they are not complete since they have not yet been resurrected. It is for the completion of God's purpose in their lives that we may pray for the saintly departed.

Throughout the book, Wright seeks to give latitude to those outside his ecclesial tradition while remaining faithful to his own principles. For All the Saints? stands as an excellent example of bringing a Catholic outlook into the Reformed tradition. For the more sectarian in that tradition, it will only confirm their ill feelings towards Wright, but for those honestly wrestling with these difficult issues, it is essential reading.

Book Review: Humble Pie

2006-02-03T11:40:00.000-05:00

The Brother of Jesus : The Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family - Herschel Shanks & Ben Witherington III
HarperSanFrancisco (March 2004)
Topic: Arcahaelogy, Architecture, Artifacts, & Papyrology; Apostolic Christianity
Summary: Popular exposition related to the find of the alleged ossuary of James the brother of Jesus
Rating: ♦♦ (Not Recommended)

In late 2002, Herschel Shanks of Biblical Archaeology Review announced that a private collector had in his possession an ossuary (burial box) from first century A.D Judea with the inscription "James son of Joesph brother of Jesus" written in Aramaic (the language of the Jews at the time of Jesus). Needless to say, this caused a firestorm of publicity. Assuming it was authentic, this would be an actual relic from a member of the early Apostolic Church. Adding to its force was the "brother of Jesus" addition since a brother would only have been listed if he had been a person of great prominence. Perhaps desiring such confirmation of their beliefs, many prominent members of the Christian community uncritically accepted the disconvery and jumped on the ossuary bandwagon.

Shortly after the announced find, Shanks and Evangelical Protestant scholar Ben Witherington III teamed to write this book on the discovery. Shanks wrote the first part detailing the details of how it was discovered while Witherington lent his take on the person of James as revealed in the Scriptures and history. In a classic example of a "rush to judgment", their joint effort was published less than six months after the original furor and blurs the line between scholarship and propaganda.

Shanks, who has always been a bit the enfant terrible of Biblical era Archaelogical Research, is no stranger to controversy. He has been accused of using BAR as a soapbox to attack the work of scholars with whom he disagrees and of using the most well known popular publication on the subject to diseminate a skewed version of the nature of contemporary scholarship. Even worse in many researchers eyes is the fact that BAR accepts advertisements from those selling antiquities privately - thus rewarding the practices of looting and forgery.

On the other hand, BAR has printed articles from some of the top researchers in the field and has given the public an opportunity to read the scholars' accounts of their work first-hand in a non-technical setting. Furthermore, his use of BAR to champion the cause of making the Dead Sea Scrolls available to all scholars played a large part in their eventual release.

In this case, his enthusiasm and aggressiveness as well as his connections to the private antiquities market have come to haunt him as the Israeli Antiquities Authority found that he had been duped - the ossuary was real but the inscription was a fake. In fact, it was later discovered to be part of a large criminal ring manufacturing fake antiquities. Still, BAR on their website refuses to admit their failings and still promotes the ossuary as possibly being authentic.

Even though this turned out to be a fraud, the Shanks section of the book can be a useful tool as an example of the dangers of finding something too good to be true. Perhaps fueled by his enthusiasm, he allowed his critical judgment to be suspended and allowed himself to be hoodwinked. It may now be a case of 20/20 hindsight, but the explanations of the supposed "collector" now sound so contrived that the fakery present seems obvious. Yet con artists often depend on enthusiasm suspending common sense and it is no less the case here.

The fact that some researchers were fooled as well only proves how sophisticated the creators of fake relics have become. They have the money to buy the knowledge necessary to pull off the fraud. Someone can supply the proper Aramaic or other anceint laguage needed for the inscription, the exisence of the patina develops on the surface over the centuries can be simulated, etc. It is cat and mouse game where new technologies are used to keep a step ahead of the manufacturers of fake artifacts. As has been shown in some high-profile cases in the last few decades, even top museums have been fooled and spent millions only later to be forced to eat a generous helping of humble pie.

Witherington, for his part, cannot help but revel in this seeming confirmation not only of his Christian beliefs but also his in-house quarrels with other Christians. He places a great deal of stock in the phrase "brother of Jesus" to deny the common belief within historic Christianity of the virginity of Mary throughout her earthly life. Evangelicals deny this "Catholic" belief as "invented" even though it is one of the most affirmed views of the early Church. Regardless of its truth, Witherington shows his partisan stripes by some highly questionable statements meant to demonstrate the incompatibility of this find with the traditional belief.

The fact is that even if the artifact had been genuine, it would have no effect on the pertinent question. The earliest traditions have Joesph as a widower who married Mary and thus James and the other siblings mentioned were stepbrothers. A later explanation in the West by St. Jerome theorized they were cousins. The term "brothers" in the context of first century Jewish culture had a far more general sense than now and was frequently applied to kinsmen of the same generation. Given the oldest explanation, even this reasoning was unnecessary as they would be seen in the Jewish culture as brothers in the more restrictive sense.

During his consideration of this question, Witherington - perhaps motivated by the whole ossuary fiasco - introduces a few bits of fakery on his own. In a classic bit of obfuscation, he infers the cousin theory could not stand because the ossuary calls James a "brother of Jesus" without mentioning Aramaic has no word for "cousin" and then seeks to support his case by stating New Testament Greek does have such a word. Of course, the New Testament usage is an entirely separate issue and has no bearing on his case since the inscription is Aramaic. Furthermore, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) used the Greek word for "brother" to denote such a relationship. I happen to think the cousin argument is weak for other reasons, but Witherington's case against it is pure sleight-of-hand.

Even worse is his argument against the prior marriage idea. He admits it has a paprer trail going back to the second century A.D., but claims it must be a distortion by anti-Jewish Christians without giving any evidence that a controversy existed on the subject at the time. He also claims the inscription would not be true because James would not be a true brother of Jesus. This is complete nonsense. Anyone who is accepted and raised by Joseph would have been regarded as his son and other sons would have regarded him as his brother. Furthermore, Witherington avoids the fact that under his beliefs James would only be a half-brother since they would only share a mother. The difference between a half-brother and a stepbrother and why the inscription would apply only to one and not the other is just special pleading. In the case of full brother, stepbrother, or half-brother, James would have simply been identified as the "brother of Jesus."

This issue aside, the remainder of his section is a quite good introduction to the person and ministry of James. Especially good was his exposition of how James tried to mediate the differnces between the Judaizers and St. Paul. This makes it all the sadder that he presented such misleading information on a partisan issue mar an otherwise fine presentation. Even the good information though, is available elsewhere without the erroneous polemics

In the end, it doesn't really matter. This book stands as a monument to how even the experts can be taken in by someone motivated by a large payday. The exposing of the fraud guaranteed a short lifespan for this particular work. Unless you desire to research how educated people get the wool pulled over their eyes, it is not to be recommended.

Book Review: It's St. Peter, Stupid!

2006-01-18T13:40:00.000-05:00

Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths & Misconceptions about the Papacy - Patrick Madrid
Basilica Press (1999)
Topic: Ecclesiology; Catholicism
Summary: Catholic response to common objections to the doctrine of the Papacy
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

For Catholics dealing with objections to the papacy or any of their doctrinal positions, there are two types of criticisms they will encounter. The first is the carefully worded assertions by those who have researched both Scripture and Church history, are well versed in the history of the debate and its current state, and can rely on accurate and precise theological positions from which an intelligent debate on the issue may begin. This is the bread and butter of many theologians and apologists and is both intellectually stimulating and a means of presenting the true nature of the issues at hand for those who seek it.

While Patrick Madrid might well enjoy that sort of thing, it's not really what he's aiming at in Pope Fiction. You see, there is also another sort of objection - the type that relies on innuendo, paranoia, irrelevant facts, character assassination, and historical fabrication. In what might be called Homer Simpson apologetics, Madrid deals with the objections to the papacy that make you want to say "d-oh!" In this regard, Madird thus joins a tradition of past Catholic apologists such as Francis J. Sheed and contemporaries like Karl Keating in the thankless task of clearing the debris of polemical rhetoric spewed by restorationist sects and atheist opponents alike (is it not ironic how these two are allied in this regard?) and allow men from John Henry Newman in the past to Thomas Howard and Peter Kreeft today to be free to grapple with their counterparts in other traditions without having to trip over every self-proclaimed "bible expert."

Here, Madrid is facing squarely the many misconceptions regarding the papacy and its history and eliminating the residue left from years of modernist skepticism and bigoted "know-nothingism." His point is not to refute the more substantial objections of Protestants like D. A. Carlson or Orthodox theologians like John Meyendorff but to repel the baseless accusations of fundamentalists like Alexander Hislop, Lorraine Boettner, Tim LaHaye, and Dave Hunt. In this he succeeds with ease and also retains a sense of humor, clarity of purpose, and spirit of respect sorely lacking in the purely polemical atmosphere generated by his opponents.

One by one, the straw men go tumbling: the Petra/Petros distinction, the 666 claim, the history of bad popes, the Crusades, Galileo, the anti-popes, and so forth. In touching on more substantial areas of dispute (e.g., Pope Honorius and the Sixth Ecumentical Council), Madrid certainly does not settle the issue but he proves it to be no slam dunk for the other side either.

One of the more relevant for the coming months is that of "Pope Joan" - the legend of a female pope who reigned during the "Dark Ages" that Madrid demonstrates is actually a polemically motivated fantasy created centuries after the alleged fact (Madrid has posted this chapter on his website here). The story is being made into a major film no doubt in time for the next round of calls for women's ordination to the Catholic priesthood. Such efforts underscore the danger of putting forth fabricated evidence for the purpose of attacking ecclesial opponents - if the attacks are accepted into the larger culture, it undermines confidence in the claims of Christianity in general.

It is probably not the most fun in the world countering those with the courage of their derelictions. However, all those in a more historically rooted form of Christianity will find themselves with common ground on many issues with Catholics. As the largest and most identifiable of such churches, the Catholic Church is the target for all those at odds with Christian history. Attacks even upon positions peculiar to Catholicism often lead to more general attacks on the historic Christian faith. Thus an attack on the papacy becomes an attack on the episcopacy becomes an attack on church authority becomes an attack on moral authority. If we are to oppose those in other Christian traditions, we should not base it upon lies. Patrick Madrid has given us in Pope Fiction an essential starting point for debates on the papacy. Then we can deal with the real issues...

Book Review: Leaving Left Behind Behind

2006-01-18T01:39:00.000-05:00

Will Catholics Be Left Behind?: A Catholic Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers - Carl E. Olson
Ignatius Press (May 2003)
Topic: Eschatology; Catholicism
Summary: Critique of dispensationalist eschatology from a Catholic perspective
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

The unprecedented popularity of the Left Behind series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins presents a dilemma for Catholic apologists and others from historic forms of Christianity. While not objecting to a well spun adventure yarn, the books present as fact the relatively novel ideas of dispensationalism which arose in the most sectarian and anti-Catholic regions of Protestant thought. When one combines the fact that the historic churches and the churches of the Reformation have not always made clear their eschatological views and the contemporary culture's obsession with conspiriacy theories and fortune telling of all sorts , it is a recipe in which the sensationalistic elements of dispensational thought can strike a chord with a wide audience - including a Catholic one.

Carl E. Olson, as a former adherent of the dispensationalist view, understands its appeal to those seeking simplisitic answers to difficult questions. He also understands that, unlike other branches of Christianity where a large amount of freedom is left for individuals to interpret details, dispensationalism cannot survive without every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed. For it is not merely an eschatological system but an overarching hermeneutic that governs the interpretation of every facet of Scripture. Thus any crack in the system sends the whole facade tumbling down and must be opposed vigorously by its followers.

In Will Catholics Be Left Behind?, Olson exposes the many cracks in the dispensationalist system to the light of day and leaves it in utter ruins. This is not merely a point of intellectual interest for Olson; as a convert to Catholicism, he knows the hostility to Catholicism inherent in the system and the complete incompatibility of the dispensationalist vision with Catholic doctrine. He contrasts the malformed understanding of Scripture and the Church at its very heart and contrasts this with the rich and firmly rooted understanding of these and other topics that underpins historical Christianity. The result is the complete vanquishing of his dispensationalist opponents as their logical inconsistency, historical ignorance, and parochial outlook is bared for all to see.

The book itself is divided into two parts. The first outlines the beliefs and development of the dispensationalist doctrine. At this point, Olson points out only the most obvious of problems and responds with the basics of the historic Christian view as a counterweight. In his presentation of the origins of the dispensationalist system, he wisely avoids the peripheral issue of who came first with the doctrine. Dispensationalists often argue that John Nelson Darby, frequently creditied with dispensationalism's founding in 1830, had predecessors in the 1600s and 1700s. Yet whether the system was created in the 17th, 18th, or 19th centuries is irrelevant - it had at most a handful of followers prior to Darby and it was a novelty in comparison to the whole of Christian history.

The second part of the book is a complete deconstruction of the dispensationalist system. Most telling is when, applying a theme developed by historians of American Protestantism such as George Marsden and Mark Noll, Olson demonstrates the reliance of dispensationalists on a now outmoded understanding of science and classification pioneered by Francis Bacon. This fixation with an ideal of the scientific method most popular in Anglo-American intellectual circles prior to the 20th century does much to explain the complete misreading of the symbolism and poetic imagery common in the apocalyptic writings of Holy Scripture. It also does much to explain why dispensationalism never arose prior to the modern period and only in the English speaking world. In the end, fundamentalism in general and dispensationalism in particular are as modernist in nature as the liberalism they oppose.

In successive chapters, Olson exposes the complete artificiality of the dispensationalist invention of Church-Israel and Kingdom of Heaven-Kingdom of God barriers, the inconsistency in application and historical groundlessness of their so-called "literal" method of interpretation, and the total absence of both Scriptural and historical justification of the dispensationalist doctrine of the pretribulational rapture. The latter in particular is an extraordinary example of careful exegesis as each of the dispensationalists' pet passages to justify their rapture doctrine are placed back in context and shown to either be about the Second Coming of Christ or not relevant to end times issues at all. It becomes clear that without the system assumed a priori, no one would ever come to such a conclusion. The pretibulational rapture was constructed to overcome a problem of consistency and then passages of Scripture were misapplied to justify its invention after the fact. When all is said and done, Olson has completely unraveled the dispensationalist fantasy and left it in ashes.

Olson then closes with the Catholic vision of the endtimes. This may disappoint some because it is not overly concerned with military hardware but with spiritual armor; it is concerned less with escaping danger than with martyrdom; it concerns itself less with what Satan will do as with what Christ has already done. It is a vision of glory that all beleivers in Christ will share - presented in eternity as the marraige supper of the Lamb and foreshadowed in time by the Holy Eucharist. For those who worship following the historic liturgical pattern of the Church, they need not fret over when Christ will come to take them away for He has never left them.

The challenges presented by such popular works as the Left Behind series has caused more historically rooted Christians to finally wake up to the doctrinal aberrations inherent in the dispensationalist system. This has necessitated a careful study of eschatology and a thorough presentation of their own tradition's views in a form accessible to the layman. For Catholics, it will be hard to top Will Catholics Be Left Behind? - in this book, Carl E. Olson has written an essential work of apologetics not just for Catholics, but for all Christians so they now can leave Left Behind behind.

Book Review: Common Senses

2006-01-06T22:26:00.000-05:00

Making Senses Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible As the First Christians Did - Mark Shea
Basilica Press (November 1999)
Topic: Bibliology, Hermeneutics, & Exegesis; Catholicism
Summary: Overview of the interpretation of Scripture using the progressive revelation through covenants and understanding of the four senses of Scriptural interpretation as a guide
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

It may seem odd that the Bible would be a point of contention for Christians since it is usually the one thing they agree upon. Yet with the proliferation of churches and movements within churches has come a proliferation of methodologies for Scriptural interpretation. Various Christian and pseudo-Christian groups devise whole theologies at variance with the historic position of the Church by applying moderninst and post-modernist assumptions to the study of the ancient Biblical texts. Usually they end up telling us more about themselves than God.

Into this morass steps Catholic apologist Mark Shea with a "new" way of looking at the Bible. His new way presented in Making Senses Out of Scripture is to go back to the old way and use the interpretive structure of the earliest Christians. Of course, one may see an ulterior motive in this by guessing that Mr. Shea believes this will place the Catholic position in a favorable light. This is likely the case but there is nothing here that other Christians should find objectionable. If indeed they believe the exegesis of the early Christians would result in Catholic belief, it suggests, to borrown from Shakespeare, that they doth protest too much.

Shea's study is divided into two parts. The first outlines the progressive revelation of Jesus Christ throughout salvation history in the covenants God made with His people. The key here is that the revelation becomes clearer through time and comes into its fullness in the New Testament. Those who attempt to interpret the Old Testament in itself without seeing how it points to and is fulfilled in the New Testament will inevitably result in faulty exegesis.

The second part of the book examines the four senses in which scripture can be understood: literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical. Each of these has its strengths and the application of each must be understood and applied within the parameters of the specific literary genre. We should not read an apocalyptic books like Daniel and Revelation in the same manner as the Gospels.

One of the great strengths of this book is that Shea takes topics normally covered within more academic studies of the New Testament and makes them accessible to a general audience. The layman need not fear either drowning in a sea of theological jargon or being subjected to the latest trendy challenges to their faith that rise and fall in academic circles.

Overall, Making Senses Out of Scripture is one of the best popular works on scriptural exegesis. Shea succeeds in his purpose of making sense by utiliaing the common sense of the earliest Christian writers. As a study tool for private use and as preparation for leading a group in the study of the Holy Scriptures, it is essential reading.

Book Review: Better Off Elsewhere

2005-12-26T00:24:00.000-05:00

Scripture Alone?: 21 Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura - Joel Peters
Tan Books & Publishers (December 1999)
Topic: Bibliology, Hermeneutics, and Exegesis; Catholicism
Summary: Exposition of 21 reasons for rejecting the doctrine of Sola Scriptura
Rating: ♦♦ (Not Recommended)

The role of tradition in the Church is a thorny issue and easy answers are usually wrong. This is the crux of the problem with Catholic apologist Joel Peters' little booklet Scripture Alone. In attempting to reduce a complex problem into a simple one and scoring a slam dunk for the Roman position, he merely scores a victory over a position, while common enough in the more theologically simplistic streams of contemporary Evangelicalism, far different from that of Luther, Calvin, and the Anglican Reformers. Thus rather than proving the truth of the case for an infallible tradition, Peters merely

As mentioned, some contemporary Protestants do hold the view Peters attacks. They have not only had their views subjected to criticism by apologists from the Catholic and other historic churches, but by Protestant apologists as well. For example, Keith Mathison has derisively referred to their view as "solo scriptura." However, thw "me and my Bible" outlook was not the traditional Protestans position. Sola scriptura does not assert that Holy Scripture is the only authority - it states it is the only infalible authority and the final authority. That is, all tradition is to be judged in light of Scripture.

This is not Peters' only problem. A significant portion of the booklet - consisting of an exposition of 21 reasons why sola scriptura is wrong - is taken up by issues that logically have no bearing on the issue. For example, the fact that the first Christians did not have a Bible does not mean the Bible, once completed, was not sufficient in all doctrine. Similarly, Martin Luther's alleged emotional problems does not rule out his being correct on this issue. Such an ad hominem attack fail to add any substance to Peters' thesis.

Peters does far better when he sticks to discussing the interaction between Holy Scripture and the Church. He gives a good basic outline of why the "me and my Bible" version of sola scriptura fails at an introductory level. However, despite this one area of success, he fails to address the more complex issues. HE also falls into the trap of equating Tradition with the Tradition of the Roman Magisterium. The Eastern Churches also value Tradition and it can be argues they are far closer to the Tradition of the early Church. Overall, far better defenses of Tradition exist by apologists in the historic Churches of both East and West. Thus, despite a few plusses, Scripture Alone? cannot be reccommended.

Book Review: Laughing at the Emperor's Clothes

2005-12-11T23:26:00.000-05:00

Exodus: Why Americans Are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity - Dave Shiflett
Sentinel (June 2005)
Topic: Revisionism & Neo-Orthodoxy
Summary: An exploration of the reasons for the failure of liberal Christianity and the success of its consevative counterpart
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

It is no surprise to anyone following demographic trends within the Church from the last quarter century or more that mainline Protestantism is in severe trouble. Having abandoned the Gospel for liberal social activism, the mainline denominations have seen membership rolls (and giving) decline precipitously while conservative churches have grown dramatically. Like the fictional emperor with his new clothes, the leaders of these decaying communions often wear their "respectability" proudly without realizing the world sees through the charade and laughs. It is as if they had eaten of the forbidden fruit and still did not know they were naked.

In Exodus, his study of the phenomena of reallignment within the Church, Dave Shiflett tries to get to the heart of why the mainline churches, following a trend they thought would keep them "relevant", instead find themselves at the wrong end of a huge demographic shift within American Christianity. Much of the strength of the book is that Shiflett, an admittedly nominal Presbyterian, has no axe to grind in this battle. He simply wants to find out why some people have decided to leave mainline churches and why others have stayed. While the statistics speak volumes, his interviews give us a look inside the hearts and minds of people on both sides of the issue.

Shiflett begins his exposition with the epitome of the church gone wrong: the Episcopal Church. Once a body so conservative it was called "the Republican Party at prayer", the American branch of the Anglican Communion has veered away from its historic teachings and embraced the revisionist vision for the Christian faith. Shiflett takes a hard look at how the theological direction of the Episcopal Church has left it a shell of its former self both in terms of membership and in influence. Not content to take one side of things, he visits those who have left as well as those who embrace the new gospel of inclusivism. Those who follow this path at the local level are presented as caring individuals who are terribly misguided as to the direction the church needs to take to survive.

Shiflett does not treat revisionist leaders like Bishop John Shelby Spong quite so well. Deriding them as "celebrity heretics" who endorse an "infantile version of God", they stand accused of reducing the omnipotent God of the Christian faith to what he describes as "WD-30" - a wee deity who is 30% of what God should be. This "God lite" is a pathetic concoction that garners neither loyalty nor love and seems more likely to inspire pity than awe. This is illustrated by comparing the blandness of the statements of beliefs by Spong and other revisionists with the inspired and majestic prose of the Nicene Creed of the orthodox Christian faith.

Shifflett then turns his attention to those churches that still follow orthodox principles within their own traditions. Examining in turn Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Southern Baptists, and the Evangelical movement, he shows how churches who maintain their traditional beliefs can survive difficult periods and even grow during times of crisis. Each of these churches are very different in beliefs and practices and yet each is growing at a time when the mainline churches are imploding.

Shiflett ends with a discussion about evangelism. Conservative churches grow because the news of their God is truly good news worth sharing. The revisionist gospel is one that cannot even inspire its own adherents to share with others. In the end, their religion is not one where God matters much, since God does not matter much in their lives.

Some might question Shiflett's lack of concern over theological correctness in formulating his arguments. However, this is not a study of what churches believe correct doctrine. Given his own lack of ecclesial commitment, it is doubtful Shiflett would engage in such an examination. Rather, this is a look at the paths different churches have taken theologically and whether they were succesful in gaining followers or even maintaining the membership rolls at existing levels. There is overwhelming evidence that embracing theological revisionism is ecclesial suicide. Shiflett gets behind the statistics and lets us see clearly why this is so. And for this, the reading of Exodus is essential to all who seek to understand the decline of America's mainline denominations and the rise of more traditional churches in their place.

Book Review: Reducing the Code to Ashes

2005-11-24T17:52:00.000-05:00

De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code - Amy Wellborn
Our Sunday Visitor (April 2004)
Topic: Holy Bloodline Theory
Summary: Refuatation of the historical claims in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

The media frenzy over Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code is certainly far greater than is warranted. A mediocre though sometimes entertaining whodunit, the suspense is largely based around an alleged conspiracy hatched by the Catholic Church to suppress the true message of Christianity - a charge that Brown says is actually true. It is the conspiracy theory and its claims of an alternate Christian story that fuels the popularity of the book among those who wish Jesus were someone other that who He is.

Although many writers have taken on Brown's assertions, most have been from the Evangelical wing of Christianity and their understanding of the early Church, though not as ridiculous as Brown's own, is based on the erroneous assumption that early Christianity paralleled contemporary Evangelicalism. Missing is an understanding of the faith centered on the liturgical life of the Church.

In De-coding Da Vinci, Catholic author Amy Wellborn brings a richer understanding of patristic thought than what is put forth in almost all books dealing with Brown's novel. Wellborn, who is best known for her blog Open Book, is an excellent writer with a gift for getting to the heart of the matter at hand. As she develops her response to Brown's claims, the theories underlying his assertions are methodically destroyed and a true understanding of the Church put in its place. Even in discussions covering technical issues, her flair for prose makes an easy read that is entertaining as well as illuminating.

In successive chapters, Wellborn covers Gnosticism, the development of the Scriptural Canon, the Council of Nicea, the life of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the "sacred feminine", mystery religions, Leonardo Da Vinci, the Holy Grail, and Brown's anti-Catholicism. As she exposes his charges to the light of the historical record, the absurdities become crystal clear. At times, his ineptness is so severe that Wellborn can't help but make jokes at his expense. When it is over, the historical charges made in The Da Vinci Code are reduced to ashes.

The wide popularity of The Da Vinci Code has necessitated a response. Few of these responses have combined historical knowledge, literary style, and a love for the truth to the degree found in De-coding Da Vinci. For those wishing to cut through the hype generated by the media and clearly understand the issues raised, it is essential reading.

Book Review: Choking on a Tulip

2005-11-24T08:49:00.000-05:00

Honest Doubts: A Calvinist's Honest Doubts Resolved by Reason and God's Amazing Grace - Dave Hunt
The Berean Call (August 2005)
Topic: Protestantism
Summary: Critique of Calvinism
Rating: ■ (Worthless)

In Honest Doubts, Dave Hunt cements the fact that he has discovered a new bogeyman. While not giving up his prior demonizing of Catholicism, he has now found time to attack Calvinism as well. Hunt does not consider it much of a stretch - in his eyes, Calvinism and Catholicism are closely related and thus jointly opposed to his model of true Christian doctrine.

First let us note that what Hunt is likely to face is not Calvinism in the general sense. He is concerned because fundamentalism has lately seen a marked rise in acceptance of the five-point Calvinist theology summarized by the acronym TULIP (Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistable grace, Perserverence of the saints) in opposition to the "decision theology" he champions. Calvinists likely to circulate in such circles are of the most sectarian stripe and stand in contrast to the reformation of the Catholic tradition Calvin himself championed. Yet Hunt fails to comprehend any such distinctions and, for example, will attack Calvin's view of the Sacraments even though his opponenents within fundamentalism are likely as opposed to that view as Hunt himself. Nor does Hunt realize that early Fundamentalism was itself largely Calvinist and the move towards Arminianism ccurred later.

Hunt's fears center on the Calvinist soteriology that contradicts his populist Evangelicalism with its emphasis on a "personal decision" for Christ. He is correct for criticizing the extremes of this view, but his response is based entirely on an American individalistic concept of salvation that has little support in historic Christianity. Like the sectarian Calvinists he opposes, Hunt's sectarian Arminianism cannot properly reconcile the sovereignty of God with the mercy of God and makes one subordinate to the other. Unable or unwilling to submit to the historic understanding of the Church, they cannot grasp that eternal predestination and temporal contingency are not mutually exclusive concepts.

Although never mentioned here in any great length, one wonders whether another motivation for Hunt is a perceived correlation between a rise in Calvinism and a falling away in support for his cherished dispensationalist eschatology. Calvinists generally have supported an historicist rather than futurist view of prophetic passages in the Bible and the early Calvinists were largely amillennialists (although in the United States they came to favor postmillennialism). Dispensationalism is a novel eschatological view and its rise within American Protestantism occurred when support for Calvinist principles faded. In contemporary Calvinism, there is a range of eschatalogical views supported: amillenialism and postmillennialism in the catholic wing of Calvinism and extreme forms of postmillennialism (i.e., Christian Reconstructionism) and full preterism in the sectarian wing of the movement. The latter views are what Hunt is likely to associate with Calvinism and this poses a direct challenge to dispensationalism among fundamentalists.

Throughout the book, Hunt uses the flimsiest arguments in his attempt to establish Calvinism as heretical. In the end, his efforts result in his choking on a TULIP. The nadir is his use of a fictional account interspersed throughout the book to illustrate his points. I don't know what makes Evangelicals think this ploy is effective or adds anything to an argument, but sadly it is becoming all too common. In this case, Hunt uses the story of a man who converted from the evils of Catholicism (yes, it's worse than atheism!!) to "true Christianity" only to fall under the sway of that evil Calvin. After this, he experiences a weakening of his faith (how convenient) and even considers (horrors!!) returning to the Catholic Church. Fortunately for our hero, the example of his wife's pure Arminian fundamentalist faith leads him to again embrace the simple Gospel message and live happily ever after.

Besides the obvious lack of literary merit, there are a number of issues here. Hunt, as in the past, is completely obsessed with Catholicism. It is ironic that in his zeal to restore that "old-time religion", he is unaware that his efforts are for a version of the American faith that is no older than the Great Awakenings. Most of his appeals, as always, are emotional ones that seek to confirm existing prejudices and preempt any thoughtful consideration of opposing views This may reinforce support within his own base, but I doubt many Calvinists or disinterested parties would be swayed by his arguments.

Dave Hunt has once more woven logical fallacies, historical ignorance, and personal bigotry into a net with which he seeks to trap those who oppose his populist Arminian fundamentalism. As usual, it fails in the eyes of all but those who already accept his dubious theology. Calvinism should be critiqued - particularly in its most sectarian forms - but Hunt if far from a worthy adversary. The only thing Honest Doubts casts doubt upon is Hunt himself.

Book Review: Taking on the Sensationalists

2005-11-20T15:48:00.000-05:00

A Second Look at the Second Coming: Sorting Through the Speculations - T. L. Frazier
Conciliar Press (October 1999)
Topic: Eschatology; Eastern Christianity
Summary: Critique of dispensationalist eschatology from an Eastern Orthodox perspective.
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Any Christian studying eschatology will encounter the theological system known as dispensationalism. Enter any Christian bookstore and survey the books on endtimes themes and the vast majority will likely be dispnesationalist titles. One might easily conclude that it is the Church’s traditional eschatological position.

Thus it may come as a shock that dispensationalism is a novel doctrine without historical support. Furthermore, it does not, as its backers claim, take the Bible literally but rather forces contextually isolated Scripture passages into a system with little concern for original intent. Having its origins in the eighteenth century, it gained a foothold among Fundamentalists with their acceptance of the Scofield Reference Bible and then in wider Protestant circles with the publication of Hal Lindsay's The Late Great Planet Earth. Since then, it has grown even more pervasive through the wide popularity of the Left Behind novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Into this mess steps T. L. Frazier of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In A Second Look at the Second Coming, Frazier provides a powerful critique of dispensationalism that shows the reader the Scriptural missteps, newspaper exegesis, historical ignorance, and cultural parochialism at its core. Not only does he succeed in laying waste the entire system, but he also places in contrast the eschatological understanding of the Church Fathers. Their wise and humble council stands in sharp contrast to the lurid sensationalism championed by today's "prophecy teachers."

Frazier begins with a discussion of the cultural upheaval that tool place in the late 1960s and provided dispensationalism a receptive audience. In this context, Lindsay's The Late Great Planet Earth is just another of the gloom and doom books then a mainstay of popular culture. Lindsay thus stood in the midst of a boom in doomsday scenarios.

Frazier then outlines the history of eschatalogical thought. This serves to demonstrate the complete novelty of dispensational beliefs. Dispensationalist authors will frequently point to certain early Church Fathers as supporting their views, but Frazier quickly dispels this myth. While Fathers such as St. Irenaeus and St. Justin Martyr did have premillennialist views (dispensationalism has a premillennialist orientation), they were most definitely not dispensationlists. Their views (called historic premillennialism) did not entertain dispensationalist distinctives such as a rapture of the Church into heaven prior to the tribulation so God can again deal with the Jewish people. The early premillennialists believed the Church was the true spiritual Israel built upon the faithful remnant of Jews who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah and God's only dealing with the Jews in the future would be to call them to the Church. Furthermore, they held the Church would not be raptured into heaven but endure the tribulation under God's protection after which Christ would return to establish His kingdom. Such a straightforward view is a far cry from the exegetical and logical gymnastics the dispensationalists engage in to make their convoluted system work.

Having demonstrated that the dispensationalism has no historical basis, Frazier then proceeds to prove it has no basis in Holy Scripture either. Beginning with the New Testament teaching of the Church as spiritual Israel, he clearly lays out the misreadings of Holy Scripture and the bizarre twists and turns the theology must take in order to make this strange system make any sense at all. Thus we end up with the unjustified dividing of eschatological passages into "rapture" and "second coming" based upon their system with no basis in either the text or the historical understanding of the Church. In fact, as Frazier points out, there is no passage any dispensationalist can point two where it is mentioned that Jesus will come back twice. Without the preexisting assumptions of their system, it is doubtful anyone would even consider it a possibility.

The dispensationalist rendering of the Church as a parenthesis between God's dealings with national Israel comes in for severe criticism Not only does it do violence to the text of Holy Scripture, but ends up with our standing before God judged by our relationship with a secular nation instead of our relationship with Christ. Without their system, the confusion evaporates.

Frazier then moves on to confront the dispensationalists’ best arguments directly. In his analysis, he exposes their ignorance of Church history, complete misreading of apocalyptic symbolism, and their confusion over the literary genres that make up the Holy Scriptures and how each should be approached. Such poor exegetical methodology is emblematic of dispensationalism and inevitably leads to misunderstandings of original meaning and intent.

Expanding on this theme, Frazier points out how the dispensationalists' erroneous conclusions lead to fruitless speculations attempting to correspond current events to Scriptural prophecies and a defeatist orientation that undermines the Christian's responsibility to his fellow man. Even worse, when their predictions fail to come to fruition, they bring the Gospel into disrepute and undermine the faith of those Christians who equate this system with Biblical truth.

Frazier's main plea throughout is that in approaching such a difficult text as the Apocalypse of St. John (often called the Book of Revelation), we should seek the wisdom of the early Church who were the closest to the Apostles' teaching. To this end, he closes with an interpretation that is in keeping with the historic beliefs of the Church. He does not claim it to be the only such interpretation - there were disagreement on details in the early Church as there are now - but it is one that makes sense in the Scriptural and historical context of the Church.

The historic Churches have until recently largely ignored dispensationalism and underestimated the confusion it would cause for their own faithful. Thankfully, authors have come forward to set the record straight. As one of the earliest of these efforts, A Second Look at the Second Coming set a high standard. It is absolutely essential reading for any Christian interested in eschatology.

Book Review: What Unity is This?

2005-11-20T08:52:00.000-05:00

Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views - Dave Hunt & James White
Multnomah (February 2004)
Topic: Protestantism
Summary: Debate on the Five Points of Calvinist theology
Rating: ♦♦ (Not Recommended)

Anyone who keeps track of the sectarian fringes of Protestantism knows that James R. White and Dave Hunt are probably not on each other’s Christmas card lists this year. These two Protestant apologists, most known for their vehement opposition to anything that smells of Rome, have of late been aiming their guns at each other in a heated debate over which of them is the least Catholic.

It all began a few years ago when Dave Hunt discovered Calvinism. Having ignored the first half-millenia or so of its existence, he quickly saw it as thinly disguised popery and immediately condemned this latest attempt by Rome at perverting the faith. White, a Reformed Baptist with impeccable five-point Calvinist credentials, was understandably miffed that someone might think of themselves as more Protestant than he and quickly responded. This led to one of the most unintentionally funny radio sequences ever aired. White had invited Hunt to be ambushed...I mean interviewed...on his radio program and he quickly set out to prove he was truer to the principles of the Protestant Reformation. Hunt replied to pointed questions on the writings of Luther and Calvin by admitting that he had never actually read them. It was one of the few times in memory that White was, if for only a few seconds, left speechless.

After the interview, Hunt went on to write a book condemning Calvinism. This might be surprising considering he didn’t know much about Calvin, but ignorance of a topic has never been a hindrance for Hunt. White’s critiques of Hunt increased and this led to the publication of Debating Calvinism, a joint book written in a debate format. In this heated exchange, Hunt accuses White of backing crypto-papist sacramentalism while White responds by charging Hunt with diluting the Gospel with Catholic soteriology.

White sets his tone early by establishing the Calvinist mantra of the Sovereignty of God. While God certainly is sovereign, White – like many hardcore Calvinists – mistakenly believes God’s sovereignty requires a fixed determinism. This is something the early Church understood and saw no contradiction in asserting both man’s free will in time and God's election of the saints in eternity.

Hunt, for his part, gets in trouble early when tackling the topic of Church history. Recycling long discredited theories of fundamentalist successionism (Hunt cites E. H. Broadbent’s woefully inaccurate The Pilgrim Church), he claims the dualist Albighensians and other heretical groups as proto-fundamentalists just to avoid paying any historic debt to the Reformation. This illustrates his inadequacy as a researcher: In all his discourse, he builds his case upon unreliable secondary sources whose major qualification is agreeing with his erroneous assumptions. Even when quoting primary sources, it is largely quotes cited in the aforementioned secondary sources that misunderstand the intent of writers whose concept of the faith is far different and far more accurate than the populist American Christianity promoted by Hunt and his allies.

Although, as you might guess, I don’t see eye-to-eye with much of what either man says, I can at least give White credit for making a coherent argument. Hunt is all over the place, rattling out accusations in a rambling and often caustic tone and spending much time on irrelevant points. For example, he goes into great length on Calvin’s belief in the efficacy of infant baptism. Besides Hunt misunderstanding Calvin (and that Calvin was right and Hunt is wrong), you have the odd fact that White doesn’t believe in infant baptism himself!! Obviously, if many Calvinists have not and do not practice infant baptism, it cannot be an essential of the movement. This is yet another example of Hunt’s shoddy research.

In the end, their wrangling exposes the Achilles' heel of sectarian Protestantism. They may give lip service to Protestant unity around "the Gospel," but their gospels are incompatible. Furthermore, any alleged unity around the solas of the Reformation is illusory as their definitions of these are at odds. One need only look at White and Hunt argue over grace here to illustrate this point. To paraphrase the title of Hunt's anti-Calvinist book, what unity is this? The truth is the unity of the solas is one of vocabulary - not substance. The true unity of sectarian Protestantism is disdain for Rome and all things Catholic. There is almost an implicit agreement that you prove yourself right by proving your opponent Catholic.

Debating Calvinism is not useful as an evaluation of Calvinism but is a textbook example of the folly of sectarianism. Completely obsessed with their own private interpretations, Hunt and White are in a huff that some other guy might follow suit with his own private interpretations. Interesting as it may be into the workings of sectarianism, it cannot be recommended.

Book Review: Right Conclusions, Wrong Reasons

2005-11-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

Cracking Da Vinci's Code - James L. Garlow & Peter Jones
Cook Communications (April 2004)
Topic: Holy Bloodline Theory
Summary: Refuatation of the historical claims in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code
Rating: ♦♦ (Not Recommended)

Of all the responses to Dan Brown's claims concerning the origins of Christianity, Cracking Da Vinci's Code by James L. Garlow and Peter Jones occupies a special case since it replaces one form of shoddy scholarship with another. In seeking to reply to Dan Brown's errors, Garlow and Jones replace Brown's gnostic rewriting of history with their own Evangelical one. In the end, neither presents a true picture of the early Church although in this case at least Garlow and Jones get their basic facts on the ground correct. Unfortunately, their interpretation of these facts is so simplistic and distorted that many might dismiss their overall argument as motivated by dogmatic considerations without a fair hearing of dissenting opinion. It is a case of right conclusions for the wrong reasons.

An example of the bias throughout is their discussion of the canon. After giving a fairly good overview of the documents from the early Church and the various attempts at defining a canon, Garlow and Jones then proceed to stand everything they had just covered on its head by trying to make these facts fit into a nice tidy system acceptable to Evangelical Protestants.
For example, they argue the importance of an early canon based on a quite vacuous argument common in evangelical cirles using an analogy to the childrens game bush telephone:

The first person whispers something like "My older brother has three big
front teeth." The message travels around the circle and the last person
triumphantly shouts "Maya told Sierra to eat more beef." Keeping the
church "on message" was a lot more difficult than playing bush
telephone.

Such an analogy is totally vacuous and is only included to anachronistically impose modern Evangelical understandings of the nature of Holy Scripture on the ancient Church. It also totally misreads the manner in which information is passed down by tradition in societies ancient and modern. The analogy only works if the person receiving the information only gets one chance to get it right (as in the game). However, what actually happens is that one hears it many times and is expected to learn it to the satisfaction of the elders of the community. The learning came not only in formal lessons but also in prayers, hymns, creeds and liturgies that became second nature to the believer - some of which are even quoted in Scripture itself.

This method of passing on knowledge is commonplace. My five year old daughter is now learning to read but she already knows prayers and hymns used in the children's chapel service at our parish. I knew the Our Father (or Lord's Prayer) and the Apostles' Creed before I could read either. This is even true for secular traditions. For example, many children learn the Pledge of Allegiance perfectly well without ever reading it. Garl0w's and James' errors here are in assuming 1) traditions cannot be passed on accurately over time and 2) traditions would not be written down if there were no agreed upon Scriptural canon. Both positions are historically indefensible.

The hisorical naievete in their understanding of the Canon of Scripture is underscored when they elaboate on the slogan "The church did not create the canon; the canon created the church":

In other words it is the Word of God from the outside, given at key moments
in history through His chosen messengers, that calls the people of God into
existence.

This borders on bibliolatry. It is Jesus Christ who called the Church into existence and the Holy Scriptures are the witness to that calling. They are the canon primarily because over a period of time, the Church was led to accept them as faithful account by eyewitnesses to the risen Christ. The method of this acceptance was their being incorporated into the liturgical readings of local Churches and then a consensus being reached for the Church as a whole. For the Gospels, this was almost immediate. For other books, it would take centuries. The Church was not called into existence by the canon nor did it create the canon. The Church was led by the Holy Spirit over time to recognize the canon.

Such attempts by Garlow and Jones to crudely force ancient square pegs into modern round holes are easily dismissed by anyone familiar with modern scholarship and this makes it difficult to distinguish the facts they present from the bias used to justify said facts. The inclination to dismiss their arguments is especially tempting in their use of a fictional story running parallel to their commentary of a young woman who is "tempted" to join the ranks of semi-pagan feminist gnostics. With characters so one-dimensional they could have walked off the pages of a "Left Behind" novel, the authors only serve to undermine their case in the eyes of their opponents.

I suppose Cracking Da Vinci's Code might serve to give comfort to those already in the Evangelical camp, but even there faith can be undermined when you defend what is true with reasoning that is faulty. Many an Evangelical Protestant has fallen into unbelief after seeing counter-arguments not because there is no Christian defense but because there is no defense from what they know to be Christian. There are numerous books available which vanquish Dan Brown's falsehood's from a historically sound position. Cracking Da Vinci 's Code is not among them and cannot be recommended as a sound treatment of the subject.

Book Review: Checklist Apologetics

2005-11-14T02:57:00.000-05:00

The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code: A Challenging Response to the Bestselling Novel - Richard Abanes
Harvest House Publishers (April 2004)
Topic: Holy Bloodline Theory
Summary: Refutation of the historical claims underlying Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code
Rating: ♦♦♦ (Recommended)

In the bewildering avalanche of books debunking Dan Brown's ideas concerning the life of Jesus following the dramatic success of his novel The Da Vinci Code, Richard Abanes' little booklet The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code occupies a special place. Although in the end it does not truly succeed in exposing the faulty presuppositions in Brown's underlying ideas, it does prove itself perfectly capable of crushing the myriad of false claims Brown drops in as his plot develops.

Taking a simple claim/counter-claim format, Abanes itemizes all of Brown's little facts and then seeks to demolish them. Considering much of Brown's claims are complete hogwash, this proves not too difficult. However, Abanes' at points displays his Evangelical bias in historically naive backhanded jibes at more historically rooted forms of the faith. For example, he insists the gargoyles upon such Cathedrals as Chartres were designed by Catholics to lure pagans into the Church. Whatever the motivation for the gargoyles, it certainly wasn't to lure pagans. By that time the great cathedrals were being constructed, France had been Christianized for centuries. Such ignorance of basic facts reflects a common anti-Catholic bias Abanes and other Evangelicals share with Brown and undermines his own position.

Despite this weakness, Abanes' checklist apologetics does manage to cover the bases when teamed with a book that reaches deeper into the underlying issues. For this reason, The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code is still recommended reading.

Book Review: Straight to the Heart

2005-11-13T22:59:00.000-05:00

Breaking the Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking - Darrell L. Bock
Nelson Books (April 21, 2004)
Topic: Holy Bloodline Theory
Summary: Refutation of the historical claims underlying Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

It is interesting to note the approaches to rebutting the historical claims of Dan Brown that he used as the basis for his popular novel The Da Vinci Code. While the initial challenges to Brown came from the Evangelical camp, too many of these efforts, perhaps following the "proof text" methodology common in much of their apologetical work, have concentrated on the minutiae of Brown's asides into art and history while ignoring the more profound questions of the theological implications of his rewriting of the Christian story. While a laundry list of Brown's many historical faux pas make for amusing reading, it leaves the syncretistic presuppositions prevalent in his thesis untouched.

Daniel Bock's Breaking the Da Vinci Code is a marvelous exception to this pattern. By not being lured into secondary matters, he manages in a somewhat short treatment to get at the heart of Brown's claims about the New Testament canon and the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Focusing on key themes within Brown's presuppositions, Bock performs a thorough deconstruction of Brown's ideas and shows the underlying premises to be completely without merit. Brown's distorted view of Jewish ideas of marraige and celibacy, his use of later discredited Gnostic texts while discounting the canonical Gospels written centuries earlier, and his complete misreading even of his own evidence (e.g., the Gnostic texts give no evidence of Jesus ever being married) all are placed under scrutiny and Brown's entire intellectual edifice crumbles into dust.

Those looking for a point by point refutatation of Brown's claims will have to look elsewhere. However, such efforts serve to attack the facade of Brown's views while leaving the underlying structure intact. Bock has largely ignored the externals and went straight to the heart of the controversy. For this reason, Breaking the Da Vinci Code stands as the greatest response from the Protestant side and is an essential read on the topic.

Book Review: Plan 9 From Saturday

2005-11-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

National Sunday Law: A Shocking Glimpse Behind the Scenes - A. Jan Marcussen
Mountain Missionary Press (September 1986)
Topic: Seventh Day Adventism; Eschatology
Summary: Expose of an alleged law to force Sunday worship
Rating: ■ (Worthless)

Originally, I had no plans to review A. Jan Marcussen's National Sunday Law. It appeared unsolicited in the mail one day and after skimming it over briefly, I placed it on a shelf in a bookcase thinking it might be worth a laugh or two. There it remained forgotten until recently when I moved and in restocking my bookcases, I came across it again. This time I recognized it as a book referenced by several Seventh Day Adventists' websites and decided to give it a read.

Having read poor apologetical works by numerous groups, I had come across my share of illogical and at times illucid treatises. Yet National Sunday Law belongs in a class of its own - it may be to apologetics books what Plan 9 from Outer Space is to science fiction movies. Attaining a level of historical ignorance and logical absurdity reached in the past only by Jack Chick, Marcussen weaves a fabric of factual errors, paranoia, and anti-Catholic bigotry that is as fascinating as it is appalling.

Beginning with a laundry list of social ills, Marcussen displays the bunker mentality common with conspiracy theorists as he bemoans how Christian leaders are trying to galvanize the Church to work for the common good of society (apparently this is a bad thing). It must be, he claims, for the purpose of enacting a national law to force everyone to worship on Sunday (say what?).

As preposterous as this sounds, Marcussen ties any and all social ills to an alleged conspiracy to make Sunday worship the law of the land. To illustrate, he offers the tragic story of a two year old girl who was kidnapped, molested, and buried alive. The killer was later aprehended and sentenced to death. So what is Marcusson's take on this horror? It is "obvious" to him that such horrible tragedies are used to bring back the death penalty so that in the future those who do not worship on Sunday can be executed. Besides the obvious question of Marcussen's sanity, it is clear that he, like all "restorationists," has an inflated sense of his own miniscule movement's importance. Frankly, no one really cares if a bunch of descendants of the Millerite fantasy want to have Saturday services.

So, one might ask, who are the evil villains behind this nefarious plot? Well, besides the devil himself, it is the Catholic Church (big surprise, huh?). Marcussen spends considerable time "proving" the Catholic Church is the Beast of the Book of Revelation (fundamentalist fringe groups always debate whether they're the Beast or only the Whore of Babylon). He pulls out all the usual evidence common to all anti-Catholic bigots with a dog-eared copy of Alexander Hislop's tribute to historical inaccuracy and know-nothing religious bigotry, Two Babylons. One of the more amusing points is when he recycles the old canard of translating the Latin for an alleged title for the papacy, Vicar of the Son of God (Vicarius Filii Dei) into Roman numerals and comes up with 666 - the number of the Beast. Of course, the problem is the title for the papacy alluded to is actually Vicar of Christ - whose Latin does not add up to 666. Vicar of the Son of God has never been used by the papacy. On the other hand, "Ellen Gould White", the real name of the founder of the Seventh Day Adventists movement, does add up to 666! What does all this prove? Not much, actually.

Like most "restorationists", Marcussen's understanding of Church history merely recycles long discredited "baptist successionist" theories into his own ecclesial context. In his weak grasp of historical facts, Marcusson lines up the usual villains with the emperors Constantine and Justinian getting special mention. How he missed his chance to demonize St. Augustine I'll never know. He, of course, goes on about the underground "remnant Church" that believed just what he believes but was in hiding. Who they were or the location of their hiding place is never revealed - primarily because it didn't exist.

National Sunday Law is a monument to historical ignorance and religious bigotry. As a quick read, its sheer awfulness can be amusing. Amusing, that is, until you realize how many well intentioned men and women believe it and are left ignorant of their great heritage as Christians.

Book Review: Honesty is the Best Policy

2005-11-12T04:30:00.000-05:00

The Babylon Connection? - Ralph Woodrow
Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Association, Inc. (March 1997)
Topics: Catholicism
Summary: Refutation of Alexander Hislop's Two Babylons
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

When Ralph Woodrow published Babylon Mystery Religion in 1966, it instantly became a mainstay within the fundamentalist subculture in America. Based upon the Alexander Hislop's 19th century polemical treatise The Two Babylons, the book updated Hislop's nonsensical thesis that the historic beliefs and practices of the Church were inherited from pagan Babylonian worship under Nimrod. Although both books had the Catholic Church as their primary target, many of their assertions applied to other churches as well. It seemed to matter little to either Webber or his audience that Hislop's work had no basis in fact and was never taken seriously by any student of Church history.

As is commonly the case with fundamentalists, the truth did not get in the way of a good conspiracy theory. Weaving an absurd tale reminiscent of other types of conspiratorial drivel, Woodrow (like Hislop before him) combined incredibly bad scholarship, paranoid delusions, and pure bigotry in an unseemly concoction lacking even a rudimentary understanding of historical developments within the Church. This is where one would expect it to end - another entry in the "antichrist of the month" sweepstakes spoon fed to those who do have neither the knowledge nor the discernment to see past the smokescreen of their insulated belief system.

What few on either side of the debate counted on was the personal integrity of Ralph Woodrow. It turns out Woodrow simply trusted Hislop's account without checking the sources himself. This is often a problem with crackpot ideas - while those who know better don't waste their time answering such nonsense, others without the proper background to judge the claims are fooled and often write new books based on these erroneous secondary sources. Such was the case with Woodrow until, in a dialogue with a critic of his original book, he unexpectedly agreed to investigate the veracity of Hislop's sources. When he did, he was shocked by what he found - Woodrow's worldview evaporated before his eyes as he discovered Hislop had fabricated his evidence. Woodrow quickly withdrew his book from publication and subsequently released this book as a refutation of Hislop's (and his own) work.

The Babylon Connection? is a devastating critique of Hislop and his many imitators. Almost from the first page, the shoddy scholarship, blatant dishonesty, and personal prejudices of Alexander Hislop become quite evident. By the end of the first chapter, none except those suffering from the "black helicopters over America" paranoia could possibly view Hislop as anything but a crackpot and a fraud. Woodrow presses on, however, and in painstaking detail demonstrates the complete lack of scholarly integrity exhibited by Hislop in his book. As one who was formerly believed Hislop to be a credible source, Woodrow understands the mindset of this subculture and he systematically destroys their delusions. When it is over, there is nothing of Hislop's rhetorical edifice left standing.

There are a few weaknesses in the book. For one thing, while Woodrow refutes the thesis of pagan origins, he never bothers to uncover the connection of the early Church to the disputed beliefs and practices. He still operates in the Christianity of modern America and not the first century Middle East. The vista is still that of a narrow Evangelicalism - but without the bigotry and paranoia. While this is a considerable move forward, there are still obvious weaknesses in his view of Christian origins. The other issue is that he seemingly lets Hislop and others like him off the hook by still recognizing him as an otherwise orthodox Christian. Perhaps this is an appeal to unity, but there is little hope for any reconciliation with those who remain Hislop's supporters. While the eternal destiny of Alexander Hislop (or anyone else) must be left to God, we must take pause at claiming as a brother someone who fruits included slandering the Church of history, holding the beliefs and practices of the early Church to be of Satan, engaging in religious bigotry and overt racism (documented by Woodrow himself), and bringing greater division within the body of Christ. There is also the fact that Hislop's book has fostered in many Christians a delusional view of the world and an entry into sects that are damaging both spiritually and psychologically.

Despite these faults, Woodrow must be praised for his honesty in withdrawing a financially successful book from publication. Given the many "end times" writers who edit and reissue their works after failed predictions, such a display of personal integrity is indeed rare. Woodrow also has faced severe criticism from fundamentalists and many have claimed that Rome "got to him" (such utter paranoia is perfectly representative of their loose grip on reality). Woodrow has undoubtedly suffered by disavowing his previous work - but with The Babylon Connection? he can hold his head high as one who put God before mammon.

Book Review: Alarm Bells Ringing

2005-11-12T04:19:00.000-05:00

Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses: Why They Read the Bible the Way They Do - Robert M. Bowman
Baker Book House (August 1991)
Topics: Jehovah's Witnesses
Summary: Critique of the exegetical methods of the Jehovah's Witnesses
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

Most everyone in America has had some contact with the Jehovah's Witnesses. From their appearances at your door to their street corner distribution of The Watchtower and Awake!, they are an ubiquitous though oft ridiculed part of modern American religious culture. Most Christians just ignore their doorstep invitations to discuss the Bible and those who do are often bewildered by the strange amalgamation of passages used to support their unorthodox doctrines. The closed system of interpretation they have developed over a century can seem impenetrable to an outsider and well meaning attempts to explain orthodox Christianity to them falls on deaf ears as the two participants talk past each other.

Robert M. Bowman is well versed in the exegetical methods employed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (the authoritative arm of the Jehovah's Witnesses) and has published his insights in Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses. The book, primarily aimed as a tool for dialogue between Evangelical Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses, is a detailed critique of the Jehovah's Witnesses' use of Scripture backed up with extensive references. While vehemently disagreeing with the Watchtower organization's methodology, he does not resort to questioning the motives or sincerity of individuals in the organization. This is considerably different from many other critiques focusing on the alleged "cultic" elements of the Jehovah's Witnesses while paying scant attention to the underlying premises of their belief structure.

Bowman begins with two introductory chapters setting the basis for the examination in terms agreeable to both parties. While admirably irenic in tone, this section is by far the weakest in the book as its subjective nature shows an implicit (albeit unintended) Evangelical Protestant bias. For example, in a list of "ground rules", Bowman includes as hypotheses positions held only by a minority of the world's Christians - primarily Evangelical Protestants. In so doing he asserts a selection of pseudo-scientific criteria to examine Scripture without realizing his assumptions are steeped in the traditions of modernity and have little connection with how Scripture was read in the early Church. Fortunately, little of his pretense at an impartial exegetical methodology has any bearing on what follows.

It is when turning to his critique of the Jehovah's Witnesses exegetical techniques that Bowman finds his range. In successive chapters, he zeroes in on the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society's self-definition as God's chosen arbiter of Scripture and in successive chapters points out in detail their changing doctrine and failed eschatological predictions, the intentional and self-serving mistranslation of Scripture in their New World Translation, how Charles Taze Russell (founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses) was formed theologically by the conflagration of novel doctrines and eschatological ferment from the Adventist movement he had joined with the rigidity of the extreme form of Calvinism he knew in his youth, and the hermeneutical blinders the Jehovah's Witnesses belief system requires in order to fit the words of Scripture into their theological prism. When he is through, he has exposed the Watchtower interpretations for what they are - a manmade system of beliefs with no validity in the context of the Apostolic Church.

Bowman then demonstrates the fallacious reasoning outlined earlier with two specific examples: their interpretation of Luke 23:43 and their doctrines concerning the divine name. The former is a clear indication of the convoluted grammatical leaps the Jehovah's Witnesses will go to in order to twist the Scripture to fit their doctrine. The latter poor reasoning behind their insistence on using the name "Jehovah" and their own inconsistency in its application. These twin examples illustrate the often "ad hoc" exegetical techniques used to attempt to get Scripture to conform to Watchtower edicts.

Bowman adds two helpful appendices. The first examines the Jehovah's Witnesses claims of scholarly approval for the New World Translation. In actuality, there is no notable scholar of Biblical Greek or Hebrew who has endorsed the New World translation. The Jehovah's Witnesses have instead relied on out of context quotations, innuendo, and outright forgeries to manufacture a reputation their translation could not attain on its own. The other appendix examines their claim that Jesus was crucified on an upright stake rather than a cross even though all archeological, historical, and Scriptural evidence points the other way. History as well as Scripture needs to be translated through their funhouse mirror of interpretation.

Despite some initial flaws, Bowman does a remarkable job in explaining the Jehovah's Witnesses worldview and in pointing out how it skews their view of Christ and his Church. After reading Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses, a discussion with a Jehovah's Witness will immediately set alarm bells ringing. Even if it only prevents the confusion such encounters can produce, it is a good effort. For any interested in defending the Christian faith against such errors, it is highly recommended.

Book Review: Window on Protestant Orthodoxy

2005-11-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

Essential Truths of the Christian Faith: 100 Key Doctrines in Plain Language - R. C. Sproul
Tyndale House (February 1998)
Topics: Protestantism
Summary: Catechetical exposition of the core doctrines of Protestant Christianity
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

Whether you are a fan of his work or not, you can never accuse R. C. Sproul of lacking conviction. Few Christian writers can match his talent for defending a position on important issues facing the Church to a wide audience in a clear and coherent manner. In an era when equivocation is the norm and even the existence of truth itself is called into question, Sproul is an uncompromising advocate of the traditional Protestant position against all rival worldviews.

Essentials of the Christian Faith is a catechetical work designed as a readable exposition of the Christian faith aimed at Protestants. The book is divided into ten sections (Revelation, Nature and Attributes of God, Works and Decrees of God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Human Beings and the Fall, Salvation, Church and Sacraments, Spirituality, End Times) with expositions of related topics contained in each. As appropriate for the purpose, the writing is concise but Sproul's talent for teaching shows through and it is never a dull read - regardless of one's reaction to the presentation.

Readers of Sproul will not be surprised that he leaves little doubt where he stands on almost every issue of theological importance. It becomes obvious early on that he equates Christianity with its Reformational form - and while striving for charity within variations of traditional Protestantism, he vigorously opposes views held only by non-Protestant Christian traditions. This glossing over internal differences, while not surprising, soon begins to appear a bit strained. There is simply no good reason for many of the points disputed within Protestantism to be considered less essential than those separating Protestantism from Rome (or Orthodoxy). Even the Protestant touchstones of sola scriptura and sola fide are not indisputable signs of unity as often the agreement is more one of terminology than substance.

Another distracting issue is Sproul's methodological presuppositions. Any who have read Mark A. Noll's monumental The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind should recognize the residual influence of 19th century American thought in Sproul's presentation. Approaching the Holy Scriptures as a source for "objective" study, Sproul culls doctrinal propositions as if Bible passages were data in a scientific experiment. That the Holy Scriptures were written within a particular contextual tradition - with layers of unmentioned assumptions shared by author and reader - is never given serious reflection. Even when Sproul rightly points out the Scriptures must be interpreted according to its literary form, he does not entertain the possibility of the true meaning of the text being derivable only within a system of beliefs not explicitly deducible from examining the text alone.

Examples of these problems are scattered throughout the book. For example, Sproul's discussion of the New Testament Canon sidesteps the role of Church tradition as a determining factor by postulating a quasi-scientific test performed by the early Church. Thus the long and often convoluted process is reduced to a neat checklist procedure more representative of the thinking of Francis Bacon than St. Irenaeus. His further contention that belief in an infallible decision by the Church on the Canon implies the Church "creates" the Canon is simply untrue. All that is assumed in that belief is the same Holy Spirit who inspired the authors of the New Testament in the instances of the writing of the Canon also led the Church in the instances of the discovery of the same Canon. This no more makes the Church the creator of the canon than it makes the New Testament authors the creators of the Gospel.

Despite these issues, the book is definitely lively reading. Even when Sproul's approach is questionable, most of the doctrines defended are quite sound. After all, the fact that some passages of Holy Scripture may have a different meaning in the original context does not imply all do. Furthermore, when compared to modern Evangelicalism, the Reformed tradition Sproul champions has retained far more of the early Church tradition in its doctrine and practice. He may couch the results as a "scientific" analysis of Holy Scripture but it is the presuppositions of the Reformed tradition that ultimately guide this analysis to the proper conclusions. Thus, he ends with the right verses for the right doctrines - but it would be preferable to cite Holy Scripture as infallible evidence of the correctness of a received doctrine and not as the starting point of an independent private investigation. The pretense of an impartial reading of Holy Scripture may not wander too far in the hands of a Sproul, but sets a poor precedent known to lead to heretical results in the work of less faithful exegetes.

In much of Sproul's work, his faithfulness, conviction, clarity, and orthodoxy (in a general sense) overcome his methodological flaws - and this book is no exception. Particularly as a window on the doctrines and methods of the American strain of traditional Reformed Protestantism, Essentials of the Christian Faith is highly recommended reading.

Book Review: Another Success

2005-11-11T13:42:00.000-05:00

Surprised by Truth 3: 10 More Converts Explain the Biblical and Historical Reason for Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid (Editor)
Sophia Institute Press (October 2002)
Topic: Catholicism
Summary: Accounts of conversions to Catholicism
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

Surprised by Truth 3 is the third in series of books edited by Patrick Madrid compiling the stories of former Protestants (and others) who converted to the Roman Catholic Church. The original of the series was a sensation in the Catholic publishing world and stands as one of the most influential books leading new converts to Rome. The second book, while not as much of the attention getter as the original, still built upon its success with solid testimonies.

Now we come to the third in the series and while the "surprise" value may not be as high a factor (most informed Protestants have probably now heard of the number of converts Romeward), this book should please the fans of the other two volumes. As with the earlier books, Madrid has adeptly selected converts coming to Rome from across the ecclesial spectrum and so largely avoids the numbing repetition often hampering works of this kind.

The response of those Christians not familiar with the faith and practice of the historic Church and their struggles dealing with its growing allure is always an interesting read. Particularly riveting in this book are Carl Olsen's move from "rapture" theology to a more historic view of eschatology eventually leading to his conversion to Rome. Also very interesting, but more because of her personal struggle with family biases, is the account of Patty Patrick Bonds (sister of prominent Protestant apologist James R. White). In both these stories, one gets a good sense of the shock and bewilderment felt as they came to believe the early Church had more in common with Rome than their own ecclesial traditions.

With any series of this type, there is bound to be a lot left out as generalizations are needed to fit all into the twenty-odd pages allotted to each author. Thus a complete demonstration of Catholic beliefs and refutation of rivals should not be expected. The goal is to confirm the inclinations of those heading to Rome and make others not considering such a move to be curious to know more. By such a standard, Surprised by Truth 3 has succeeded in its purpose.

Book Review: No Place Like Home

2005-11-11T13:27:00.000-05:00

Coming Home: Why Protestant Clergy are Becoming Orthodox - Peter Gillquist (Editor)
Conciliar Press (February 1995)
Topic: Eastern Christianity
Summary: Collected accounts by contributors of their conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy
Rating: ♦♦ (Not Recommended)

Perhaps the most interesting development in the growing movement towards historic Christianity is the decision of many Protestant clergy to cross not just ecclesial boundaries but also cultural ones by joining Eastern Orthodoxy. Leaving successful ministries for small parish missions, they have rejected well-established Western traditions (i.e., Catholicism, Anglicanism) for (in their view) the most authentic expression of the ancient Church.

Coming Home, edited by prominent convert Peter Gillquist, is a compilation of conversion stories by former Protestant clergy who found in Orthodoxy an answer to their quest for the Church of the Apostles. The authors are sincere, the stories at times moving, the sacrifices great, and one can feel genuinely happy for these pilgrims in their discovery of historic Christianity. However, even though their stories are pleasant reading and it is easy to be sympathetic to their plight in the confusion of modern Protestantism, the reader is repeatedly left with the feeling something has been left out. The stories seem to jump over important issues and stop abruptly.

The biggest problem is there are just too many stories. By having close to twenty conversions covered, Gillquist limits each to roughly ten pages apiece. The development needed to explain their former Christian tradition and why they were led to Orthodoxy as the truest expression of the Christian Faith simply cannot be condensed into such a short amount of space. If they fully develop the issues in their move to Orthodoxy, they shortchange their earlier experience and the conversions all sound the same - losing the individuality fostered by a better understanding of where they had been before. If they fully develop their earlier experience, they are left with "Oh yeah, and then I read the Church Fathers and realized I should be Orthodox." Either way, the reader is shortchanged through no fault of the writers. Interestingly, this is born out by the fact that the most satisfying accounts are those of former Anglicans who already are immersed in liturgy and Church history and so have far less to explain.

It is interesting to compare the results of this book to Surprised by Truth, a similarly motivated book of Catholic conversions edited by Patrick Madrid. By limiting it to fewer stories, Madrid allowed a fuller development of the issues leading to their conversion missing here. Coming Home is by no means a terrible book and it is at times interesting reading, but the end result is far less than it could have been.

Book Review: Byzantine Intrigue

2005-11-11T11:47:00.000-05:00

Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith - Peter Gillquist
Conciliar Press (September 2002)
Topic: Eastern Christianity
Summary: Gilquist's account of his conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

A most fascinating story in the renewal of historic Christianity is the strange case of a few thousand Evangelical Protestants converting en masse to the Antiochian Orthodox Church in 1987. Originally begun as yet another attempt by a group of Evangelicals to "get back to the New Testament Church", they, unlike many such endeavors, studied Church history and discovered some unexpected things: liturgy, bishops, sacraments, and various other beliefs and practices reeking of Catholicism.

Becoming Orthodox is the story of this journey through the eyes of Peter Gillquist, one of the major players in the group, and details their growth from house Churches to an independent denomination and on to their final acceptance into Orthodoxy. The book serves as Gillquist's answer to the question he poses early in the book: whatever would possess two thousand Bible believing, blood bought, Gospel preaching, Christ centered, lifelong Evangelical Protestants to embrace this Orthodox faith so enthusiastically?

The book is divided into three sections detailing their disillusionment with Evangelicalism and their research leading them to believe the Orthodox Church was the Church of the New Testament, a summary and defense of Orthodox belief and practice, and the arduous process of joining Orthodoxy itself. The presentation is enthusiastic, fast paced, and not overly critical to their former Evangelical homes. The trek to Orthodoxy always is presented as a completion rather than a repudiation of the faith of their youth.

Most interesting is the comparisons between Orthodoxy and the other contender for the historic Church - Roman Catholicism. In deciding between the Roman and Eastern expressions of historic Christianity, this unusual group of "seekers" compared the major disagreements between the two Churches - with Rome in their eyes always coming up short. However, this criticism is strictly within the context of determining which is the "true New Testament Church". There is no anti-Roman bigotry or cheap shots at Catholics' expense.

It should also be pointed out that Orthodoxy does not always come out looking perfect either. When they decided to become Orthodox, the leaders of the group (by now called the Evangelical Orthodox Church) traveled to Constantinople (Istanbul) to see the Patriarch and submit to the Orthodox Church. In the strange politics of the Orthodox (from which we inherit our less flattering definition of 'Byzantine'), he refused to see them. To this day, the rejection has never been explained and - despite the final outcome - some hurt is still evident in the account.. The group later met with the Patriarch of Antioch who welcomed them into the Church, and they in turn have spearheaded many evangelistic outreaches for the Antiochian Archdiocese in America. The overlapping jurisdictions are still a major problem for a strong Orthodox witness to the West and the political intrigue and ethnic divisions serve only to exacerbate the problem.

A weakness in the book is a generally superficial treatment of the differences between Eastern and Western theological approaches. There are differences in the starting points of the Orthodox view in relation to Western Churches. The very project they embarked upon is analytical in nature and somewhat alien to the Orthodox ethos. Gillquist acknowledges this somewhat but it is never fully fleshed out and one is left with Orthodox conclusions from Protestant methodology.

Despite this issue, Becoming Orthodox presents a strong case for the Orthodox Church as a home for those discontented with the state of Protestantism. It may even be the best starting point since the book is written in the style of many Evangelical Protestant "witness" books. While it may leave some theological questions unanswered, the curious would have as accurate a view of the Orthodox Church and its intrigue as could be expected for an outsider.

Book Review: The Centrality of the Eucharist

2005-11-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion - N. T. Wright
Westminster John Knox Press (August 2003)
Topics: Liturgy & Sacraments; Anglicanism
Summary: Exposition of the meaning of the Sacrament of the Eucharist
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

The recent attention given to sacramental spirituality has led to a greater emphasis on the nature of the Sacraments - particularly the Eucharist. Anglican scholar (and now Bishop of Durham) N. T. Wright has written this popular treatment (his popular works are written under the penname 'Tom Wright') of the subject as catechetical material for new member and confirmation classes. Wright's noted ability to communicate difficult ideas and his extensive knowledge of New Testament beliefs and practices combine in The Meal Jesus Gave Us to produce one of the best introductory books on the Eucharist.

The book is divided into two sections covering the early historical development of the Eucharistic and the theology of the Eucharist. In the first section Wright uses a little "play acting" exercise to better place the development in the proper historical and cultural background. Wright's extensive research into the Jewish origins of the Christian Faith gives some valuable insight into what early Christians made of this act of worship.

In outlining a theology of the Eucharist, Wright draws on elements from both the Eastern Churches and the often neglected Eucharistic theology of John Calvin. An interesting point he raises is that the Aramaic language Jesus and the Apostles likely spoke has no strict equivalent of the word "is" which forms the center of debate among most Western Christians. Wright places the Eucharist as a presentation of the great drama of salvation given to us in the liturgy through Word and Sacrament. Jesus is made present to us across time from the heavenly realm and centered on the defining moment of history occurring on the cross.

While not intended as a scholarly work, The Meal Jesus Gave Us gives a strong exposition of the centrality of the Eucharist to Christian worship. The only drawback perhaps is the lack of a bibliography for those who wish to do further reading. However, for catechetical purposes it is a wonder and those across the ecclesial spectrum will profit greatly by reading it.

Book Review: A Hearty "Amen!"

2005-11-10T01:27:00.000-05:00

This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence - Mark P. Shea
Christendom Press (March 1993)
Topics: Liturgy & Sacraments; Catholicism
Summary: Defense of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

There are many differences between the Christian faith of history and the Christian faith of the contemporary Evangelicalism. Perhaps nowhere is the contrast made clearer than in the doctrine of the Real Presence. An affront to many Evangelicals, the belief that the body and blood of Jesus Christ was made present in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist was at the center of early Christian worship. Many Evangelicals, frustrated by the immature state of their own worship, have begun to explore the historic liturgies of the Church and are soon confronted by the question of Christ's presence and the rejection of the modernist assumptions underlying their own tradition.

For those on this path, Mark P. Shea's This Is My Body provides a wonderful introduction to the theology behind the Real Presence in general and the Catholic understanding of this doctrine in particular. Shea, himself a former Evangelical, is well versed in that tradition's objections to the doctrine and concentrates on five commonly raised issues: the ban on human sacrifice, the Mass adding to Christ's sacrifice, the ban on the drinking of blood, the Eucharist as idolatry and salvation by works, and the Eucharist as a merely symbolic gesture. In an impressive treatment of these issues, Shea covers much ground in a limited space and demonstrates the Evangelical position makes no sense either biblically or historically.

One point of disagreement for some Protestants might be that Shea has constructed a "straw man" by not considering the varying positions on the issue within Protestantism. However, Shea quite explicitly states he is countering the Evangelical position only and not all possible positions held within Protestantism. He points out the major figures of the Reformation all held some doctrine of the Real Presence (albeit different from the Catholic position) and even quotes John Calvin approvingly as evidence.

While certainly not exhaustive, This Is My Body provides a great starting point for inquirers without any hint of polemic. Given Shea's carefully constructed presentation, many Evangelicals upon reading it may move towards the Church of history and reply to the "The Body of Christ" with a hearty "Amen!"

Book Review: Question Authority?

2005-11-09T22:22:00.000-05:00

By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Authority - Mark P. Shea
Our Sunday Visitor (September 1996)
Topics: Bibliology, Hermeneutics, & Exegesis; Catholicism
Summary: Defense of the historic role of Tradition in Christian doctrine
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

When an Evangelical Protestant moves to a Church more in line with historic Christianity, it is often difficult to break old habits in defending this change to friends in the Evangelical movement. Frequently, the new convert defends his newly held doctrines by supplying lists of "proof texts" with an analysis divorced from the Faith that gives the doctrines life. From the perspective of historic Christianity, the context of the ancient Faith is everything. If you don't view the world from the eyes of the early Church, worship and pray as they did in their liturgies, and read the Scriptures within the context of their received Faith, then it is absurd to conclude you could share their beliefs.

In By What Authority?, Mark P. Shea shares his face-to-face encounter with this problem as he sought to counter scholarship questioning the truthfulness of the New Testament accounts of Jesus Christ. As he delved deeper into the issues raised, he came to realize the Evangelical Protestantism he sought to defend employed the same flawed deconstructionist principles as the modernist critics of the Gospel. The only difference between the two was in the degree these principles were followed to their logical conclusions. Scurrying for an answer to this challenge, he began to seek the wisdom of the early Christians in the writings of the Church Fathers and in the process discovered the rudder the Church has always used to steer its way clear of Scriptural misinterpretations: the Tradition of the Church.

In this engrossing account, Shea lays out for the reader his thought process as he began to appropriate the Tradition of the Church as a necessary component in the preservation of doctrinal integrity. Intertwining issues facing the Church today with past controversies, a context is provided in which the writings of the early Church come to life and the reader can see through a patristic lens the inseparability of Holy Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.

One common criticism for books of this sort is their failure to prove the case for Apostolic Tradition to the satisfaction of many advocates of sola sciptura. This usually means they have not engaged in listing "proof texts" from Holy Scripture and given a systematic development from those texts. Such criticisms are erroneous from the start as they presuppose the a use of a scriptural passage to develop an explicit proposition devoid of the historical, cultural, and theological presuppositions shared within the Church to whom it was addressed. Holy Scripture was given as an infallible witness to attest to the truthfulness of the Faith already given and present in the Church. It was never intended as a source of deductive theorems without recourse to the shared life of the Church. Furthermore, in assuming a restriction to scriptural passages, the critics assumes their conclusion. One must look to all evidence of the context in which the Holy Scriptures were used to understand how early Christians would have viewed the competing claims.

As Shea and many others from Evangelicalism have discovered, you cannot truly understand the Bible until you understand the Church. Furthermore, you cannot understand the Church until you understand Tradition. Many things not explicitly mentioned in Holy Scripture are nonetheless contained in traditional presuppositions shared by the New Testament writers and their intended audience. For example, the early Church that worshipped liturgically, baptized, and offered the Eucharist in union with the bishop and his presbyters might read things in passages mentioning work (the Greek word for liturgy translates roughly as "work of the people"), worship, water, bread, wine, order, and authority that would be missed by those Evangelicals who worship casually, have a quasi-gnostic view of matter as "evil" (hence grace can not come from material means such as Sacraments), and share a uniquely American paranoia concerning all expressions of authority. These contextual readings, obvious to any properly catechized Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican Christian, would never even occur to many Evangelicals.

However, there is one theme in this book needing further development. While making a compelling case for Tradition and skillfully handling many common objections, he without much explanation assumes the Tradition of the early Church to be the Tradition of the Roman Church. Shea can at points leave one with the view that the Catholic Church alone uses Tradition. This is certainly not the case - the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox have as high a view as Rome and the Anglican appeal is less but certainly not inconsequential. Many traditionalist Lutherans and Reformed Christians also appeal to tradition for their distinctives (even though they may never use the word). Furthermore, the historical evidence concerning distinctively Roman developments of Tradition (e.g., papal infallibility, specifically Roman doctrines on Mary) casts serious doubts on the veracity of Shea's claims. Thus the case for Rome as holding fast to the pure undefiled Tradition of the early Church must be viewed as suspect without further supporting evidence.

Despite this one drawback, Shea has still given a clear and powerful testimony to the necessity of Tradition in the Church. All Christians attracted to the beliefs and practices of historic Christianity will find much to contemplate in its pages. By What Authority? successfully calls the bluff of contemporary Evangelicalism and leaves its modernist foundations bare for all to see.

Book Review: Stacking the Jury

2005-11-02T15:36:00.000-05:00

The Case for Christ: A Jounalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus - Lee Strobel
Zondervan (September 1998)
Topics: Trinitology, Paterology, Christology, & Pneumatology
Summary: Defense of the biblical claims for Jesus Christ
Rating: ♦♦♦ (Recommended)

A popular new style among Evangelical apologists is the "on trial" book wherein (choose one: Christ, Christianity, Bible, Islam, Darwinism, atheism) is examined by a (choose one: judge, attorney, criminal investigator, district attorney, criminal reporter) who used to be a skeptic but became "born again" by weighing the evidence and discovering (surprise!) the facts show (choose as appropriate: Christ is Savior of the world, Christianity is the one true faith, the Bible is the infallible Word of God, Islam is a false religion, Darwinism is not a true scientific theory, atheism is logically absurd). Following Philip Johnson's Darwin on Trial, the standard bearer of this genre, a myriad of Evangelical writers have used Johnson's blueprint in the service of all manner of Christian and quasi-Christian efforts.

Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ is among the most popular of these books. Written in a style reminiscent of books in the popular "true crime" genre, it is easy to understand its wide appeal. It is also easy to see how strongly Strobel desires to shore up the confidence of Christians and give food for thought to skeptics - certainly laudable goals. Granting this, it must then be judged how effectively he carries out his plan.

All Christians can empathize with the motives of this and other such books. They may well be convinced of the author's conclusions - although not necessarily by the arguments presented. However, any serious Christian must raise questions about the methodology employed. The implicit assumption of a courtroom process as the proper venue for settling scientific, historical, and textual disputes is a highly suspect one to say the least. Courtroom cases frequently are decided as much on the rhetorical skill of the advocate and the prejudices of the jury as with the objective facts. Events are "spun" by the two sides and a resolution is demanded on the spot by a panel not schooled in the fields of expertise pertaining to the case. On the other hand, fields of academic inquiry rely on methods less dependent on subjective standards. Papers are written by and for experts in the field and a general consensus on certain issues may be reached from the available information. Unlike trials, a sequence of pithy sound bites will not overrule scientific experiments or proper historical analyses. This does not mean the process is perfect or that political and prejudice does not rear its ugly head regularly - it certainly does. However, these are abuses of the process. In the courtroom, they frequently are the process.

A courtroom setting has never been the proper place to discover truth for truth’s sake – its primary purpose is to deliver justice. This misapplication of method might be acceptable if Strobel were merely using it as a gimmick to better explain difficult concepts or to make enjoyable reading out of tedious technical analysis. However, when, as here, he insists the method is an integral factor in determining truth, questions should immediately be raised concerning its applicability. Do fans of this book not see the irony of Evangelicals lauding the impartiality of lawyers, judges, and reporters when in almost any other context they harp about the anti-Christian bias of the court system, the legal profession, and the media?

The Case for Christ covers three major topics (the reliability of the New Testament, discovering the historic Jesus, and the reason for the belief in Jesus' Resurrection among early Christians) with each divided into sections constructed around interviews with various Evangelical scholars on a particular relevant issue. It is the comments of these scholars that is by far the most enlightening part of the book and makes it worthwhile reading. Using solid evidence and reasoned argumentation, they supply solid refutations of common misconceptions popularized by the media.

It is in Strobel's surrounding analysis where problems lie. He spends a great deal of effort drawing on past experiences covering criminal cases as a reporter to illustrate points about judging evidence. Unfortunately, his points are often irrelevant and only serve to delude some eager Christians into thinking a serious and balanced consideration of views is taking place. Yet Strobel casts himself as the primary source of knowledge for the skeptical view. This is highly problemmatic: if he had not previously considered the best evidence for Christianity, then it is unlikely he felt it necessary to carefully reflect on the basis of his own skeptical views. At no point in the book does he ever interview any skeptics or present their arguments in anything other than the the carboard cutout versions supplied by the media.

Furthermore, he never even considers the views of Christians other than Evangelical Protestants and thus equates the Christian Faith with a minority opinion within the Church. In the end, we are left with a former skeptic converted to Evangelical Christianity who neve examined the competing views seiously providing the "skeptical view" (largely items culled from news coverage of the Jesus Seminar) and the cream of the crop of Evangelical Christian scholars defending the Christian Faith (albeit a distinctly American Evangelical view of that faith). Guess how it turns out? The supposed impartiality is quickly shown to be a pretense - transparent to all but the severely gullible.

With all these problems, the good things about The Case for Christ still manage to shine through. As mentioned, the comments from the interviewees are the high point, although even here Strobel serves merely to annoy - often interrupting a solid presentation by reminding us how strong a point was just made and using a convoluted argument to "prove" how nicely it fits within the "evidential" framework he earlier provided. In a manner reminiscent of popular prophecy books, the method is the message. Given a fixed system, one can make square pegs fit no matter how round the holes.

The weakness of The Case for Christ is the potential for so much more. If he had done his homework on the specific points made by more scholarly skeptics, he could have given his contributors the chance to delve into issues raised beyond the outdated analyses of nineteenth century higher critics or the sophomoric objections of "pop" skeptics like John Shelby Spong or the Jesus Seminar. If he had moved beyond the rather limited focus of Evangelical scholarship to consider faithful believers elsewhere, there would be a case for Christ far more diverse in scope and not dependent upon a single interpretation of the Faith. Finally, if he had stated upfront he was writing a work of apologetics and not the account of an unbiased investigation, he could have dropped the silly courtroom metaphor, concentrated on the scholarly evidence, and done the Church a great service.

The Case for Christ will probably continue to popular among Evangelicals and held by them to be incontrovertible proof of the Christian Faith. There actually is good evidence for the Christian Faith here - but often buried within pages of fluff. It is a source of good information on the veracity of the Christian claim - provided you separate the message from the method.

Book Review: Calvinist Humor

2005-11-02T13:57:00.000-05:00

Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness - Nathan D. Wilson
Publisher: Canon Press (June 2001)
Topics: Fiction; Eschatology
Summary: Satire of the Left Behind series takes aim at the predilections of popular Evangelical culture
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

The good folks at Credenda/Agenda, a journal of Reformed theology and opinion, have issued a line of parodies skewering various forms of silliness that have overtaken the Evangelical Protestant landscape. Any who have read Credenda/Agenda know it is sometimes caustic, usually challenging, and always Calvinist. This series shows they can also be extremely funny - shattering the common image of Reformed folk as people whom God has predestined to be humorless.

Right Behind is a truly cutting satire that joyfully pokes fun at the pretensions, bad theology, and "bunker mentality" of the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Normally, a good parody concentrates on a particular trait that in any other context would be amusing and brings it to the forefront. The difficulty here is that the entire series is a ridiculous concoction that can make no sense outside of a narrow and distorted understanding of certain passages of Holy Scripture. An additional hurdle is that many readers of the series have no idea how badly they are written. It is a tribute to Wilson's writing skill (and comedic sense) that he so successfully pulls it off.

Wilson leaves few stones unturned in mining the original series for laughs. The implausible plots, the absurd dialogue, the lack of any sense of historical or cultural understanding exhibited in the Left Behind series all come under a barrage of brilliant satire. The "battle scene" in a Christian bookstore is absolutely hilarious. Even the cover contains pointed jabs with the fact that LaHaye is not actually involved in the writing noted by having a sock puppet (Mr. Sock) as the prophecy expert/co-author. The common practice of authors endorsing books they have not read is also lampooned by including endorsement blurbs by St. Augustine and John Calvin - among others.

The reaction to the book is bound to be mixed. Those who are ardent fans of the Left Behind series will probably not find the suggestion of poor judgment on their part appealing. Those unfamiliar with the Left Behind series will probably not understand some of the allusions. However, those in the Church whom the “prophecy experts” never fooled or who now reject the distortions of God's word in such sensationalistic fare will find it highly entertaining. The latter group, in particular, may laugh heartily at the errors of their youth.

Book Review: Much Ado about Not Much

2005-11-01T21:03:00.000-05:00

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
Doubleday (March 2003)
Topic: Fiction; Holy Bloodline Theory
Summary: Mystery involving the claim that the Church has covered up the "truth" that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children
Rating: ■ (Worthless)

So this is The Da Vinci Code?? This is the book that has caused a media frenzy? Well, the writing is above average but nothing extaordinay and the pace is at times preposterous. If not for the claim of presenting a new Christian history, it might be a mildly entertaining pulp mystery. With that claim, it is said pulp mystery used as propaganda for another in a long line of anti-Christian pop conspiracy theories devoid of truth. All in all it is much ado about not much.

And what about Brown’s claim to historical accuracy. That is, after all, what the fuss is about. So he takes a theory about Jesus’ alleged bloodline from a long discredited book (Holy Blood, Holy Grail) whose major “evidence” rested on the fake documents whose "discoverer" admitted the hoax ages ago and he combines that with Gnostic documents written centuries after the canonical gospels that do not even say what he claims and in the process displays such blatant ignorance of Constantine and the Council of Nicea one is left to wonder wonders if he ever managed to research anything right at all. Given the "sources" he cites, it's obvious he relies on crackpot theorists no scholar takes seriously and uses some legitimate sources for the occasional window dressing. All in all, it’s pretty damning when your own evidence undermines your credibility.

While Brown may be completely ignorant of history, he certainly is skilled at manipulating the media. While I do so enjoy watching the fourth estate make total fools of themselves, I would enjoy it even more if he would confess the whole thing to be a practical joke engineered to demonstate how gullible our culture has become. Alas, thus far he still claims to believe the hogwash he is promoting.

Of course, his backers counter “it’s only fiction.” Excuses are the last refuge of the duped. I suppose for the reading of trashy romances this claim might be true, but it isn’t the case for all fiction. This book was written to promote a particular version of the Christian story – a highly inaccurate version more to the liking of someone who wishes Jesus was someone other than he claimed to be. Fiction often has an ulterior motive. Would one deny that The Grapes of Wrath, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and Atlas Shrugged were written with the idea of promoting a particular view of an issue? Or were they “just fiction” too?

Twenty years from now, the same folks who are mesmerized by Dan Brown's claims will likely sincker at them as we all do now at Chariots of the Gods? and The Bermuda Triangle. By then, they will have moved on to a different brand of snakeoil. It is rather sad when real scholars have to write books debunking such nonsense – but it was the same with the others. Their efforts are certainly more than it deserves.

Book Review: More Surprises

2005-11-01T13:35:00.000-05:00

Surprised By Truth 2: 15 Men and Women Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons For Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid (Editor)
Sophia Institute Press (October 2000)
Topic: Catholicism
Summary: Accounts of conversions to Catholicism
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

The success of Surprised by Truth, a collection of the stories of former Protestants (and others) who moved to Roman Catholicism, far exceeded editor Patrick Madrid's wildest expectations. Filled with entertaining and at times poignant accounts of their personal journeys into historic Christianity, the book was warmly received by faithful Roman Catholics and inquirers from other traditions alike and is one of the most influential books in the new wave of Roman Catholic apologetics. Like any surprising media success, there has to be a sequel and Surprised by Truth 2 has Madrid put together stories from a new group of converts to Rome.

The format is similar but with more space allotted for each account. This allows for a greater detail in the theological specifics of their conversion process. Yet with this depth, there is a problem as well - the very success of the first book has so greatly influenced the new converts that the arguments sound very familiar. One of the great joys of the first book was that the converts really had no idea until the end exactly what they were doing. They were largely on their own in their journeys and their stumbling into the historic Church had a freshness about it that was contagious. Now there are so many aids to the historic Churches that once someone shows an interest, there are books, tapes, websites, etc. to guide them every step of the way. This is good for the spread of the Catholic faith but bad for this particular book genre.

Overall, the contributors give a compelling account of their conversion for those interested (Christians happy in other traditions and well versed in their faith will largely remain unconvinced). Those expecting a theological treatise will be disappointed - this type of popular account does not (and should not) be confused with serious theological works. Taken for what it is, the book is a worthy follow-up to the original. It is stronger in some areas while weaker in others - but still successful in its purpose.

Book Review: State of the Quest

2005-10-31T09:49:00.000-05:00

Who Was Jesus? - N. T. Wright
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (March 1993)
Topics: Trinitology, Paterology, Christology, & Pneumatology
Summary: Refutation of various revisionist theories of Jesus
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Each year as we approach Christmas and Easter, we are inevitably greeted at magazine racks by news journals trumpeting the "latest scholarship" on the "historic Jesus". The fact that very little of what appears ever has lasting scholarly value seems to of little concern to the journals in question. The attraction of the sensational and the scandalous governs media coverage in our age and any "scholar" who claims things about Jesus Christ that ordinary Christians would find disturbing is enticing to a cynical media looking for a "story" - even if the views promoted lack any credibility with the vast majority of experts in the field.

N. T. Wright, one of the world's leading biblical scholars, has provided in Who Was Jesus? a potent antidote to the faddish output of several popular characterizations of Jesus making the rounds in press reports at the time it was written. With clarity and power, he destroys the arguments of popular revisionist arguments with comparative ease. By placing Jesus in the proper historical and cultural setting, the pet theories of various contributors to the radical fringe in studies of the historical Jesus are found to owe more to the temperaments and cultural presuppositions of the writers than anything likely to relate to the true life and times of Jesus. As a leading figure in the study into the historical and cultural settings of the New Testament, Wright could never be accused of putting his head in the sand. However, Wright insists an understanding of the complex interplay of cultures in fist century Judea is essential to grasping the true meaning of the New Testament writings.

Wright begins with an overview of the quest among scholars for the historic Jesus. While sympathetic to the goals of many of these investigations, he points out they are often as guided by their own prejudices as many forms of traditional Christian belief. The beliefs of many Christians about Jesus may be distorted at points but they are not without historical basis. Indeed, the beliefs of the Church certainly have a greater correspondence with the historical realities of the time than the pet theories of many revisionists. Wright assures traditional believers that any honest investigation into the Jesus of history should leave them with a more robust faith - not a weaker one.

Wright then turns to the particular projects of three major revisionists: Barbara Thiering, A.N. Wilson, and John Shelby Spong. Rather than dismissing them outright, Wright takes the path of considering their ideas seriously and applying the same critical analysis to them given to any serious scholarly hypothesis. In many ways this proves to be even more devastating, as rather than attempting a knockout blow, Wright counters their arguments with surgical precision and leaves their novelties to die of a thousand cuts. Thiering is particularly skewered as both a proper historical understanding of Judaism at the time and archeological discoveries of the period refute her concept of a coded pesher language in the New Testament. Once Wright is finished, her theories are exposed as little more than figments of a fertile imagination. Of the three, Wright shows the most empathy for Wilson for at least attempting to place Jesus within Judaism, but the rather bland figure from Wilson's account could hardly have been expected to found a movement to concern both Jewish and Roman authorities. Wilson's peculiar explanation of the Easter event (the Apostles mistook James for Jesus) comes in for severe criticism as an ad hoc conjecture giving no likely explanation for subsequent events. Spong is calmly refuted as simply taking part in a discussion over his head. Spong tries to paint the Gospels as an exercise in midrash , but as in Thiering's use of pesher, the description does not meet the reality. Spong simply has no idea what midrash is and misapplies it in an attempt to make the Gospels say something they do not. The critique by Wright in all three cases leaves the respective theories lying in ashes.

Wright finishes with an outline of the major points in an honest evaluation of the historical evidence about Jesus. First, the events chronicled in the Gospels must be understood in the context of a Judaism that had endured the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and their being taken into captivity, the rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem under Persian rule, the attempts to Hellenize the Jews under Greek dominance, and the current humiliations of pagan Roman occupation. It was these Jews, looking for the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, to which Jesus came. The Gospels themselves must be understood within the literary forms of first century Judea. The language of the New Testament must not be read within a flat literalism but examined within the particular form in question. By moving forwards from first century Judaism and backwards from the Gospel, we are most likely to grasp the true Jesus. Most importantly, Wright sees nothing in such an endeavor to threaten the Jesus of faith. Wright even suggests the New Testament accounts of the resurrection make little sense as a developed tradition - unless it actually happened.

N. T. Wright has issued a challenge to both believers and skeptics alike for a greater appreciation of historical and cultural settings when interpreting the Gospel. Who Was Jesus? is a wonderful introduction to such a study and ideal for anyone looking to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of various theories commonly promoted in the national media. It also may serve as a primer for Wright's own more scholarly work. As a summary of the state (at the time of its writing) of modern scholarship into the historic Jesus, it is essential reading.

Book Review: Liturgy 101

2005-10-28T23:33:00.000-04:00

The Liturgy Explained - Thomas Howard
Morehouse Group (May, 1981)
Topics: Litugy & Sacaments; Anglicanism
Summary: Introduction to the Anglican liturgy
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

There may be no better individual to explain the workings of liturgy to curious Evangelicals than Thomas Howard. Raised in a notable Evangelical/Fundamentalist family and with a gift of literary expression, Howard has written numerous books on the spirituality of his new homes in the historic Churches - initially Anglicanism, then later Roman Catholicism. The Liturgy Explained, a little booklet of less than 50 pages written during his Anglican period, is a wonderful introduction to Christian liturgy to those searching for more reverent worship but unsure of what is happening in traditional liturgical services. It is not meant to be comprehensive but as is noted in the book, you have to start somewhere.

In the introduction, Howard focuses on the true purpose of worship, the use of ritual and ceremony, and the nature of Sacraments. The true focus should always be what God has called us to do and not what we experience.

Howard divides the main part of the booklet into two sections corresponding to the two parts of the Lord's Day services of the Church. The first covers the Liturgy of the Word. This initial phase of the service begins with an opening acclamation and a collect (prayer) for purity of heart. The congregation then sings two hymns: the first asking for mercy (Kyrie Eleison) and the second a hymn of praise (Gloria in Excelsis Deo). This is followed by a collect for the day (corresponding to the appropriate day in the Church calendar). Then come lessons from the Old Testament and New Testament Epistles followed by a reading from the Gospels and a sermon. The people then respond by stating their beliefs (The Nicene Creed), offering prayers (Prayers of the People), asking God for forgiveness (Confession) and having their sins declared forgiven (Absolution). The close of the Liturgy of the Word is the passing of the Peace of Christ. Howard manages to offer clear outlines of each step - not only explaining the practice, but also demonstrating why it is in its proper place in the service.

Howard then moves to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Beginning with the collection of gifts (Offertory) and hymns of adoration (Sanctus, Benedictus), to the prayer of consecration, and the Holy Communion, and ending with the Benediction and dismissal, Howard paints a picture of a great mystical drama where Christ feeds His Church by faith by the means He ordained. A fine line is walked here as the Anglican understanding of the Eucharist affirms the Real Presence but allows for differing opinions of the mode of that presence. Howard stays neutral on this and other thorny subjects - thus admirably submitting his personal opinion to his Church in areas of public teaching (this booklet was intended as catechetical material - in other works intended as personal opinion, Howard affirmed his more "high church" beliefs). As in the earlier section, the explanations of liturgical practice are clearly presented.

Howard finishes with an appendix on certain liturgical practices and customs that may be used in some parishes and not others. Such items as Saints' Days and incense are far more common in high church Anglicanism. Howard explains why the rationale for allowing - though they are left optional.

The Liturgy Explained is a straightforward tool for catechesis of those confused by liturgical practice. There is often a need in parishes for a "Liturgy 101" course and for that purpose this little booklet should be required reading.

Book Review: Come on In - the Water's Fine!

2005-10-28T23:13:00.000-04:00

Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic - Patrick Madrid
Basilica Press (September 1994)
Topic: Catholicism
Summary: Accounts of conversions to Roman Catholicism
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

With the possible exceptions of Karl Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism and Scott and Kimberly Hahn's Rome Sweet Home, no recent works of Catholic apologetics have been as instrumental in winning converts to Rome as the Surprised by Truth series edited by Patrick Madrid. Consisting of conversion stories by prominent Roman Catholics who originally were part of other Christian (or non-Christian) traditions, it takes as its theme the "surprise" (or shock) many Evangelical Protestants experience when they encounter the early Church and are faced with beliefs and practices that vary considerably from what they see regularly in their own Churches.

This is the first in the series and caused a sensation (for a Roman Catholic book) when published. The fact that so many moving to Rome cite Surprised by Truth provides some evidence of Patrick Madrid's astuteness in selecting testimonials - a point further confirmed by reading it. The essays blend together remarkably well and Madrid adroitly avoids the danger of stifling uniformity by drawing upon those who approached Rome from across the ecclesial spectrum. Another plus in this regard is an intermingling of those who were initially drawn by different concerns so the approach is not completely one-dimensional.

Protestants often criticize the essays as insufficient to prove the Roman case and highly emotional in character. Both these claims are quite true but this is not the detriment the critics make it to be. One could hardly expect a new convert to prove within twenty pages what the greatest theologians have employed years and many volumes to attempt. As for the emotional content, conversions always have an emotional aspect to them and a presentation that attempts to ignore this is built upon dishonesty. The essays contained here are more or less emotional depending upon the makeup of the individual, the amount of "surprise" experienced, and the sense of betrayal felt by discovering what you had been told what was of the Apostles is actually of recent origin. A positive sign by these converts is despite the emotional upheaval, they display no evidence of lasting anger at their former ecclesial homes.

The one flaw in this book is shared by the genre - shallowness. New converts are not always the best ones to express the riches of the faith. Even if they have done much prior study, reading about the grace of God and receiving the grace of God are not equivalent experiences. While the "let's have the new guy go up and give his testimony" approach may suffice in the superficial environs of modern Evangelicalism, those more mature in their faith are probably better witnesses in richer traditions.

Any expectations of an exhaustive defense for Roman Catholic beliefs in a book like this are remarkably wrongheaded. Madrid planned neither a work of systematic theology nor a catechism. Collections like this are usually read by those already on their way but unsure if things are quite what they seem. The message given is not "this is all you need to see we are right" but "come on in - the water's fine". Given that limitation, Surprised by Truth can only be viewed as a rousing success.

Book Review: A Great Witness

2005-10-27T23:18:00.000-04:00

Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament - Thomas Howard
Ignatius Press (September 1988)
Topic: Liturgy & Sacraments, Anglicanism, Catholicism, Protestantism
Summary: Explanation of the importance of the Sacraments and liturgy to the Church
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Among the new generation of Roman Catholic apologists, none may better explain the draw of liturgical worship than Thomas Howard. Raised in a prominent Evangelical Protestant family, Howard was so drawn by a combination of personal circumstances, an exposure to the writings of the early Church, and a deep and abiding faith. Never rejecting his Evangelical upbringing, Howard always treats his later move to historic Christianity as more a completion of his Evangelical faith than a conversion to a new faith. As such, he expresses a fondness for his previous ecclesial home that counters the bitter criticism he received from some colleagues with warmth and compassion.

Evangelical is Not Enough was originally written and published while Howard was still an Anglican. In recent printings, he added an addendum mentioning his move to Roman Catholicism, but in his typically irenic style, passes no judgment on those who reject Roman claims. The move to Rome has little effect on the book's thesis since the beliefs and practices defended are common points of reference in all historic Churches.

Howard begins with an analysis of the current state of Evangelical Protestantism - celebrating its strengths but also acknowledging its rampant individualism and generally ahistoric outlook. The historic liturgical worship does not detract from Evangelicalism's strong points but gives them a foundation in the prayers and hopes of Christians throughout Church history. The Church in history also removes the focus from an individual preacher/performer and places it on Christ who reveals Himself to us in Word and Sacrament.

Howard describes all the major elements of the historic liturgy of the Western Rite and gives not only giving the doctrinal motivation behind particular practices but also recalling his reaction as an Evangelical first encountering it. This provides a personal touch that avoids the pedantic qualities that common in books recounting conversions to the historic Churches. Howard never harangues Evangelicals on their weaknesses but warmly invites them to seriously consider the faithful witness of the Church in history.

Particular parts of the ancient rites are skillfully used by Howard as a springboard to discuss points of doctrinal or ritual divergence between the ancient and modern expressions of the Christian faith and a compelling case is made for the traditional outlook. Placing these differences in the context of Christian worship rather than discussing them as abstract propositions makes far clearer the discontinuity of Evangelicalism with the rich spirituality characteristic of the early Church. It also avoids clouding the issues with the modern cultural prejudices imported into so much of contemporary Evangelical thought.

Howard manages to make to make his case with passion and thoughtfulness yet with a great appreciation of those with whom he parted ways - no small feat for books in this genre - and a spiritual maturity and great sincerity evident throughout. Once could easily make the case that the most rancorous thing about Evangelical is Not Enough is the title.

For those who have traveled from Evangelical Protestantism to historic Christianity, there may be no better choice to explain your decision to friends and family than Evangelical is Not Enough. With charm, wit, and great love, Howard has provided a great witness for Christ and His Church.

Book Review: From Cult to Mainstream

2005-10-27T16:33:00.000-04:00

One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church - Richard Abanes
Four Walls Eight Windows (July 2003)
Topic: Mormonism
Summary: Critical history of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints (the Mormons) and their theology
Rating: ♦♦♦♦ (Highly Recommended)

Most Christians in America are at least remotely familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). Their missionaries (usually friendly, well-groomed young men and women traveling in pairs) are a common sight in many places. Most would believe them to be Christians who held some quirky beliefs concerning Joseph Smith. Those more attuned to apologetics would be able to pinpoint specific doctrinal aberrations taking the Mormons far outside the accepted boundaries of the Christian faith. Yet even they would likely classify them alongside other heretical groups following the idiosyncrasies of a charismatic leader and thus miss historical currents in Mormonism giving them a unique place in American religious history.

Richard Abanes meticulously sifts through the facts surrounding the early history of Joseph Smith and his followers in One Nation Under Gods and presents perhaps the most complete treatment of Mormon origins yet published. The result is understandably controversial as the official mythology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is shown to be built upon fantasy, deception, paranoia, and violence. Given the respectable image presented by contemporary Mormonism, the untidy events of the past are quite shocking, but Abanes backs up his claims with extensive documentation.

The book is divided into four sections detailing the period leading up to John Smith's "revelations", the development of the Church as a separatist movement in various states and the reaction against them, the institution of a Mormon theocracy in the Utah territory, and the mainstreaming of Mormon beliefs beginning with Utah's statehood. Abanes paints a picture of a struggling Smith family resorting to various scams to get by -including the occultism popular in his home area of upstate New York - and how Smith imported this into what would be the Mormon religion. Evidence is given for the Mormon Church's revising their history to substantiate early dates for later doctrinal developments and in so doing demonstrating the unlikelihood of Joseph Smith ever receiving a revelation from anywhere apart from his own vivid imagination.

The early years of the Mormons in New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois demonstrate a pattern: the Mormons arrive at a settlement, they attempt to dominate through numbers and institute a Mormon theocracy, they become hostile towards their neighbors after gaining control, and a reaction by non-Mormons leading to violent conflict and a resettlement elsewhere. The evidence is quite compelling that Mormon leadership engaged in illegal and unethical practices (including bank fraud and acts of violence against their non-Mormon neighbors) even in communities where they had been initially welcomed. Thus they came to be viewed as a criminal, violent sect who thought nothing of murdering local officials and this eventually led both to their being removed under threat of force and to Joseph Smith's arrest and death at the hands of an angry mob.

An important insight by Abanes is the Mormon belief in an imminent fulfillment of their eschatological vision. They were certain the second coming of Christ was imminent and expected all earthly authority to be handed to them. Such a belief places them as one of many restorationist churches rising to prominence in the period. All such movements wove novel beliefs and historical ignorance in a strange blend to cast themselves as the "one true church" restored. In this framework, their later doctrinal shifts become far more understandable. When the prophecies of such movements did not materialize, new interpretations - and novel doctrines to follow from their consequences - were introduced to explain away the apparent failure.

The death of Joseph Smith and subsequent relocation to the Utah territory under Brigham Young gave the Mormons an opportunity to create their ideal society. Geographically isolated from the rest of the nation, Young and other Mormon leaders quickly installed a Mormon theocracy and began a reign of terror. The elimination of any possible dissenters enforced a cultic mentality and widespread distrust of outsiders. With eschatological expectations at a fever pitch, the United States government became a symbol of evil (a far cry from their current patriotic beliefs) to be replaced by Mormon rule. Revelations of their polygamy and other forms of sexual immorality, their use of violence against non-Mormons and Mormon dissenters, and the seemingly treasonous comments of Young and other Mormon leaders led to an inevitable crackdown by federal troops. The Mormon theocracy was over and the threat of the church dissolving was real.

It is in his treatment of Mormon decision to enter mainstream American life that Abanes fails. Although his historical facts are in order, his interpretation of them relies upon questionable conspiratorial assumptions. Raising the issue of current Mormon intransigence in dealing with the historical data, he interprets it as a sign of sinister motives. However, it seems far more likely to be indecision and confusion as they must face history without alienating the faithful. The initial Mormon change of heart to fit better with mainstream America might, as Abanes claims, have been somewhat duplicitous, but if so it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Today, the Mormon populace has fully embraced mainstream American ideals if not mainstream American religion. The current sensitivity to outside attacks Abanes cites as a sign of cultic tendencies are just as prevalent within his own Evangelical tradition as in Mormonism and are a common reaction of a cultural minority to criticism from the larger society.

These objections aside, the exhaustive and fruitful research Abanes has put forth in One Nation Under Gods is a landmark in the study of this unique and fascinating American religion. Any future study of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will have this book as its starting point. Were it not for the heavy handed Evangelical bias in the latter chapters, the work might be the final word on Mormonism. Even with these faults, it must still be highly recommended.

Book Review: Lapsing into Gnosticism

2005-10-26T23:24:00.000-04:00

Once a Catholic: What You Need to Know About Roman Catholicism - Tony Coffey
Harvest House Publishers (April 1993)
Topic: Catholicism
Summary: Refutation of Roman Catholic doctrine from the perspective of a convert to Evangelical Protestantism
Rating: ♦ (Poor)

The deluge of books published in the last few years by former Evangelical Protestant pastors converting to the historic Churches raises an interesting question - what about those going in the opposite direction? What is their take on the issues that divide Christians? Tony Coffey, a former Catholic turned Evangelical Protestant evangelist, intends such a response in Once a Catholic but succeeds only in defining a narrow ahistorical version of the Christian faith confined to the parochial outlines of shallow pop culture and its modernist ethos.

Coffey's troubles begin early when he attempts to attack the idea of tradition. Focusing on the passages where tradition (the Greek paradosis - which simply means that which is passed down) is criticized and ignoring passages where it is praised, he is seemingly unaware of the wealth of scholarship on the issue and instead recycles lame arguments long since refuted. All Christians - including Evangelicals like Tony Coffey use their own tradition as a template for understanding Holy Scripture. The dispute is really not over tradition per se but which of these traditions best reflects Apostolic teaching.

This misreading of the issue of tradition leads many modern Evangelicals astray method of scriptural exegesis. The individualistic paradigm so common in Evangelicals circles is of modern vintage and completely alien to the culture and life of the early Church. Until modern Evangelicals take seriously the witness of the early Church, they are doomed to descend ever more deeply into triviality and irrelevance.

If his understanding of the early Church is evidence, Coffey obviously does not take this witness seriously. Firing a barrage of simplistic judgments on topics ranging from the formation of the New Testament Canon to the liturgy, Coffey aims at any and all Roman Catholic position differing from his own. All along, he appears blissfully unaware many of the positions he now supports are unique to his modern version of the faith and have little historical support.

In his zeal to attack Roman Catholic doctrine, Coffey often lets his emotions get the better of him and sinks into unintended heresy. For example, in his attempts to refute the Catholic interpretation of the Bread of Life discourse in the Gospel of St. John as Eucharistic, he latches on to the passage "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing." He thus implies Jesus is saying His flesh counts for nothing and that His words should be taken "spiritually." This exegesis of the passage is, to put it mildly, problematic. If the flesh of Christ profits nothing, then what are we to make of the Cross? By inferring our salvation had no physical aspect, he implicitly negates the Incarnation. Like the crowd who listened to the Jesus speak these words, he recoils when faced with an uncomfortable byproduct of the Word becoming flesh. In the end, he prefers lapsing into gnosticism to fully accepting the Incarantion.

Even when turning to the more problematic Roman positions of the papacy and the Marian dogmas, Coffey is surprisingly weak. Rather than giving an accurate portrayal of the development of these beliefs and a proper critique, he builds up straw men and proceeds to knock them down. It is interesting that many arguments he uses are the same ones noted converts to Rome believed prior to their conversion and later discovered were erroneous. Thus, despite his claims of fairness, Coffey never ventured to understand the reasons behind the doctrines of his former ecclesial home and is parroting arguments used in his own conversion. The centrality of personal experience in his faith is evident by his confidence that if he didn't have answers to these objections to the Catholic position, then there mustn't be any. Ironically, he makes no use of far more telling criticisms of Rome put forward by many Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox scholars. His entry into this debate is best interpreted as well meaning but misguided and uninformed.

With all the obvious weaknesses, it must be said to Coffey's credit that he never engages in the scandalous sensationalism common to some anti-Catholic literature. He is a very sincere man, but is sincerely unequipped for this debate. One may agree with him in rejecting many Roman Catholic claims, but his refutations of those claims are both historically naive and factually flawed.

It is doubtful any properly catechized Roman Catholic (or a knowledgeable Christian of any persuasion) would find Once A Catholic convincing. He may well make converts, but only among those with little or no understanding of the faith of the Church through the ages. It is precisely this lack of historical perspective leading many thoughtful Evangelicals to leave the movement. Some, sadly, reject Christianity entirely; others, less shaken, move to a richer expression of the Christian Faith within Anglicanism, Orthodoxy, confessional Protestantism, and, increasingly, Roman Catholicism. It would be a strange irony if, by his own inaccuracies, Coffey planted the seeds of future Roman Catholic apologists - hardly fruit he is seeking.

Book Review: Reinventing the Fathers

2005-10-26T22:40:00.000-04:00

Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up: A New Look at Today's Evangelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity - David W.Bercot
Scroll Publishing Company (February 1989)
Topic: Patristic Christianity; Protestantism
Summary: Comparison of modern Evangelicalism and early Christian beliefs
Rating: ♦♦ (Not Recommended)

One of the more fascinating stories in the last few years is the rising interest among Evangelical Protestants in reading the Church Fathers and examining their own beliefs in light of the patristic synthesis. In the hands of some (e.g., D. H. Williams, Thomas Oden, and Christopher A. Hall), there have been honest attempts to bridge the gap with the early Church without losing their own Evangelical distinctives. Unfortunately, there are also those who wish to see themselves in the early Church and rewrite history in the process. David W. Bercot in his book Will the Real Heretics Pleas Stand Up? falls somewhere between the two poles - pointing out many differences between patristic and Protestant beliefs but conveniently ignoring them when they do not support his conclusions.

The book may be conveniently divided into four sections with each defending a thesis. The first section (chapters 1 - 3) makes the case for the deep allegiance of the ante-Nicene fathers to the faith of the Apostles and their willingness to die rather than renounce their Christian faith. Why this is certainly a true enough proposition, Bercot almost immediately (and falsely) constructs a dichotomy between the ante-Nicene and post-Nicene Fathers. By judiciously choosing his subjects and ignoring contradictory writings, he ignores the undeniable theological continuity between the two periods. For example, he absurdly objects to the term "fathers" to describe the writers of this period - even though the ante-Nicene writers used the term to refer to the Christian writers who preceded them. He also places much emphasis on Polycarp of Smyrna, a martyr whose surviving letter deals little with topics Bercot does not wish to consider, while ignoring his contemporary (and fellow bishop and martyr) Ignatius of Antioch whose numerous surviving letters demonstrate an ecclesiology in place looking much like it would in later centuries. While Polycarp's sparse writing allows any to impose a false picture, Ignatius fixes the image and so is conveniently ignored.

The second section (Chapters 4 - 11), and by far the strongest, enumerates the differences in doctrine between the early Church and modern Evangelicalism. Bercot forcefully points out the early Christians did not believe in salvation by faith alone, total depravity, baptism as a "symbol", earthly prosperity, and cultural compromise. Yet even here, there are glaring exaggerations as well as omissions. The Christian rejection to service in the Roman military service is by no means a clear cut rejection of any such service but is likely motivated by the adversarial relation to the Roman government as well as the pagan nature of the Roman military culture. Also, the Christian rejection of the larger culture was not as absolute as Bercot believes. Justin Martyr and Origen (both highly learned men) integrated what was good in the philosophical discourse of the time to reach the educated classes with the Gospel. Finally, Bercot never considers how the early Christians worshipped. One suspects any mention of the early Christians worshipping according to a Eucharistic liturgy would undercut the remainder of his book.

The third section (Chapters 12 -16), covering the so-called "apostasy" of the Church, is where Bercot goes completely off track. Rehashing long discredited polemics, Bercot ties together a series of yarns published in post-Reformation anti-Catholic literature and serves them up as historically accurate. Using Constantine and Augustine as his primary villains, he credits them with ideas already prominent in the ante-Nicene Church. His ridiculous claim that Christians were not so concerned with Christology before this period is quashed by the extensive and forceful writings by Irenaeus, Tertullian, and others on this very issue. He also neglects to mention that local Church councils were meeting and discussing doctrinal matters long before Nicea - it was merely the freedom and support Constantine granted the Church that allowed this first Ecumenical gathering.

In the final section (Chapters 17 -19), Bercot looks to certain groups as promoting a return to early Christianity. It is here that he reveals the nature of his prejudices. In looking to his beloved Anabaptists as "spiritual successors" of the early Church, he must defend their doctrine of a total apostasy. Since the claim is ridiculous on its own merits, he has "managed" the evidence to cover only points of convergence while ignoring the overwhelming differences. In fact, the Anabaptists were by far the most removed from the ante-Nicene Christians of any ecclesial group in the Reformation period. Their complete rejection of Church tradition, liturgical worship, and the office of bishop as signs of Christian unity would make them heretics in the eyes of the very men Bercot admires as faithful followers of Christ.

Although Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up? contains some strong sections, it is so seriously flawed that it cannot be recommended as an accurate portrayal of the true state of ante-Nicene Christianity. Despite good intentions, Bercot has only allowed the fathers of the period to speak for themselves where they support his current ecclesial affiliation. Exposure to the Fathers is good for Evangelicals, but it is best done by those who present rather than reinvent their beliefs.

Book Review: Inane Hysteria

2005-10-25T14:58:00.000-04:00

Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Modern Science - R. C. Sproul
Baker Academic (January, 1999)
Topics: Science& Natural Philosophy
Summary: Critique on the use of chance in the natural sciences
Rating: ■ (Worthless)

It is obvious why traditional American Protestantism, with its methodological presuppositions of "common sense", inductive reasoning, and a fixed order to the creation would ally itself to the Newtonian scientific worldview. Using this "billiard ball" model of the universe to support its own interpretation of predestination and the sovereignty of God, this alliance of faith and reason could also give credence to a "scientific" (read: intellectually respectable) study of Holy Scripture with doctrines abstracted from evidence in the Bible just as scientists derived their laws from evidence in the "book of nature".

Despite some initial success, this view faced a nearly complete dissolution following the introduction of scientific theories on evolutionary development, random processes, and the impossibility of experimental objectivity. This new trend, beginning with the earth sciences (geology and biology) and then spreading to the physical sciences (relativity, quantum theory and "big bang" cosmology), made science appear more an opponent than an ally of the faith and seemingly left the American Protestant consensus bereft of its intellectual justification.

Despite this gloomy turn of events, some folks are not quite ready to give up the ghost. R. C. Sproul, a prolific writer, skilled speaker, and respected teacher is well established as a defender of the American strain of the Reformed tradition. Perceiving a philosophical threat to the faith in the idea of randomness, he faces it head on in Not a Chance. Never shy about voicing his opinion, Sproul forcefully argues the completely incompatibility of a belief in randomness with a belief in God. "If chance is", Sproul bluntly asserts, "God is not." Well...not quite. It is not the God of the universe who is rendered impossible but the god of Sproul's tidy theology. The God who created the universe is alive and well.

Sproul begins his diatribe with a "straw man" attack upon the use of chance as an active causal agent in the natural world - a position no scientific theory upholds. In clumsily imposing his own definition of chance, Sproul fails to differentiate the clearly distinctive meanings of the term prevalent in different disciplines. For example, mutations in DNA replication are often referred to as "by chance" in evolutionary theories but none ever really suggest chance as a causal agent. Breakdowns in the replication process occur (as in any physical process) from many causes and there is no way to predict them. Thus it is called a "random mutation." On the other hand, quantum theory uses a definition of randomness that is purely mathematical. Although the behavior of systems may be predicted with great accuracy, with individual subatomic particles there is no deterministic causality. In neither case does one cite chance as an active agent.

Even worse, Sproul frequently cites as "evidence" against the theories of noted scientists various off the cuff remarks never intended as precise scientific or philosophical statements. For example, in his critique of Danish physicist Neils Bohr, he ignores Bohr's extensive scientific work in quantum theory (verified in experiments and the basis of everything from cell phones to nuclear warheads) and concentrates instead on "one liners" that Bohr - known for the occasional hyperbole - uttered for their "shock value." Given Sproul's lack of scientific training, the reason for building a case upon such irrelevant anecdotes is quite evident: Unable to refute Bohr on the basis of the actual science itself, Sproul can only counter the perceived threat to his theological presuppositions by scouring popular science books for witty quips to subject to ridicule.

When Sproul attempts to discus actual scientific work, his poor grasp of the subject at both a scientific and a philosophical level becomes painfully obvious. Considering how many Christians frequently (and rightly) criticize scientists for unfairly dismissing the claims of Christianity without ever giving a fair hearing, it is disheartening to see Sproul exhibit similar tendencies in passing judgment on sophisticated topics without the knowledge to do so intelligently.

Further evidence Sproul is not up to the task is his use of Albert Einstein as an ally for his cause. While Einstein was certainly a critic of the of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory, his outlook was far removed from Sproul's outmoded ontology. Einstein's work superseded notions of absolute time and space within objective frames of reference - all necessary for the causal relationships Sproul seeks to defend. Sproul also fails to mention Einstein's intellectual battle with Bohr ended with Bohr's complete vindication.

Quantum theory now stands as the most experimentally verified theory in physics. The implications of its use of randomness and nonlocality (the connectedness of attributes in systems of particles without regard to distance) are anathema to those like Sproul whose worldview necessitates a strict determinism. Even if quantum theory were replaced by a more complete theory (as Sproul hopes), the empirical evidence demands the new theory must support the same randomness and nonlocality. Much to Sproul's chagrin, chance will always retain a place in the natural sciences.

For Sproul, normally a solid author within his tradition, Not a Chance is little more than an embarrassment. The evidence contradicts his claims of chance sounding the death knell of God. In fact, it was during the heyday of the very determinism Sproul advocates that materialism gained its greatest advances while the move away from such a determinism has opened the doors to consider meaning beyond the mere motion of objects. It is not hard to see why: what Sproul sees as highlighting God's sovereignty everyone else saw as highlighting God's dispensability. The abandonment of such an outlook only bodes well for the Church - save perhaps among the more enthusiastic Calvinists like Sproul - despite much inane hysteria.

Book Review: A Sign of Change

2005-10-25T14:20:00.000-04:00

Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals Are Attracted to the Liturgical Church - Robert E. Webber
Morehouse Group (January 1989)
Topics: Liturgy & Sacraments; Anglicansim; Protestantism
Summary: Apology for the conversion of Protestant Evangelicals to the liturgical Churches
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

The transference of allegiances from one Christian tradition to another can often be a source of pain the converts' friends and family. A particular sore point is when one leaves for a Church that is viewed in one's former tradition as "highly suspect." Robert E. Webber understands these emotions well. Webber, a former Bob Jones University graduate who left the Evangelical Protestant movement for Anglicanism, was one of the first in a wave of prominent Evangelicals discovering liturgical worship. Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail is not as much a call for all Evangelicals to make a similar move, but an explanation - using his own experience as an example - as to why an Evangelical would make such a move. The overall tone is very irenic and seeks to promote a greater understanding among faithful Christians of all traditions.

The first part of the book is a description of Webber's conversion to Anglicanism. Rather than giving a strictly chronological telling of his trek, he approaches it from six different aspects of the Christian Faith (mystery, worship, sacraments, spiritual identity, the Church, spirituality) he came to believe were inadequately expressed in Evangelical Protestantism. The turning point in much of his discussion was his discovery of the Church Fathers. In them, he saw a far more balanced vision of Christianity - one he found expressed well in Anglicanism and the worship of the Book of Common Prayer.

The second part of the book consists of the personal testimonies of converts to Anglicanism. Although generally kind towards their former homes, it is obvious the deficiencies of modern Evangelical Protestant worship had taken its toll. A strong point here is each of the testimonies are sufficiently different in background and experience to avoid repetition of the same points. This also gives a sampling of the breadth of the movement to historic Christianity.

Webber returns to finish with a call for Evangelicals and those in the liturgical Churches to grow to know each other better as fellow Christians. While pointing out the factors leading to his move to Anglicanism, Webber recognizes strengths in Evangelicalism (strong personal faith, commitment to orthodoxy, love of Scripture, and concern for mission and evangelism) that would benefit the liturgical Churches. He predicts a convergence of traditions in the next century as the old wounds of the Church finally begin to heal.

In the nearly twenty years since the publication of Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail, much has happened relating to the points Webber raised - and many of his predictions now seem prophetic. The move to the historical Churches has grown considerably with Evangelical converts bringing their strengths with them to their new homes. Also, there have been many points of honest discussion and a detente of sorts along the ecclesiological front lines (although like other cessations of hostilities it is neither appreciated or observed by all).

Oddly though, Webber's own Anglicanism has not been a major beneficiary. Although the Anglican Communion is growing rapidly in Africa and Asia - where it is orthodox in its beliefs - the Episcopal Church (the U.S. province of the Anglican Communion) has declined and is increasingly both apostate and irrelevant. An obvious choice for a Protestant looking for a liturgical Church, its political correctness is anathema to someone looking for the faith once delivered. Thus most of the converts to historic Christianity have ended elsewhere.

Webber is not to blame for the folly of his Church. His book was the first sign of an important change in the Christian landscape. Although in some points it is now dated, Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail still affords the reader a rich understanding of both Christian worship and spirituality and a glimpse on the early stages of a significant movement of God.

Book Review: A Gentle Reassurance

2005-10-25T13:55:00.000-04:00

Answering a Fundamentalist - Albert J. Nevins
Our Sunday Visitor (August 1990)
Topics: Catholicism; Protestantism
Summary: A defense of Roman Catholic dogma from Fundamentalist attacks
Rating: ♦♦♦ (Reccommended)

Authors of books on apologetics tend to cultivate an audience. Frequently converts from other Church traditions, they often write in an intentionally polemical style that is uniformly negative toward the theological beliefs they no longer accept. This confrontational approach often wins kudos among those who are traveling along the same path, but it can become wearisome to an honest inquirer.

That is why Answering a Fundamentalist by the Rev. Albert J. Nevins is such an enjoyable read. Using statements commonly used by Fundamentalist Protestants to disparage the Catholic Church, he gives a clear presentation of the traditional Roman position and underscores the misrepresentations of his opponents. There are no broad attacks against Protestant motives, just a claim of the correctness of Roman Catholic dogma.

It is quite probable that this book is not so much aimed at bringing Fundamentalists to Rome as to provide a gentle reassurance to Catholics confused by the claims of their Fundamentalist acquaintances. For example, Nevins uses the granting of a plenary indulgence for scriptural study as an example of the seriousness of the Roman Church on encouraging scriptural literacy among the faithful. Whatever the motivation of such a policy, the introduction of the topic of indulgences likely raises more questions than it answers for those outside the Roman fold. There is also no attempt to address challenges from more serious opponents to specific Roman doctrines. Thus the reader might be left with the impression that the last word on a topic has been given without any discussion of more sophisticated arguments. This is perhaps forgivable since the subject matter clearly restricts the focus to the specific claims of Fundamentalist sects and not to the doctrines of Protestantism (or Churches outside the Roman Communion) in general.

Despite some flaws, the book presents a good introduction to Roman Catholics for the defense of their doctrine. Those not in the Roman Church can gain insight into the Roman position free of caricatures without having to endure polemical attacks upon their own beliefs. Indeed, when Orthodoxy and the more historically rooted forms of Protestantism agree with the Roman position against Fundamentalism, Nevins is quick to point this out. These attempts to demonstrate the historical consensus of the Church across traditions helps Answering a Fundamentalist avoid the bunker mentality far too common in apologetics.

Book Review: The Other Christianity

2005-10-25T13:22:00.000-04:00

The Orthodox Church - Timothy Ware
Penguin (June 1993)
Topic: Eastern Christianity
Summary: Introduction to the faith and worship of the Eastern Orthodox Churches
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

There has been a great surge of interest in Eastern Orthodoxy in recent years. Partly owing to the turn towards liturgical worship and historic Christianity by disenchanted Evangelicals, many have explored this great Christian tradition with a sizable number swelling its ranks. Almost without exception, one of the starting points on any such journey is The Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware (now Bishop Kallistos Ware). Books listed as entry points for conversion are often polemical works but this is not the case here. Instead, Ware calmly states the position of Orthodoxy on issues facing the Church without any hint of rancor towards other Christian traditions. It is a mature understanding of the Faith of the Church that is Ware's greatest strength.

The irenic approach should not lead one to believe Ware is indifferent towards ecclesial affiliations. It is quite apparent he holds Orthodoxy as the one true Christian Faith. However, this does not lead him to wholesale condemnations of Christians in other traditions, but rather a clear contrast of the Orthodox position to those of the Western Churches. Originally written when Orthodoxy had few converts in the West, Ware (who became Orthodox in 1958) gives an overview of Orthodox Christianity for those in the West who might find its beliefs and practices alien.

Intertwining theological and historical developments in the Church, Ware gives a highly readable analysis of the development of Orthodox doctrine and spirituality. The book is divided into two parts. The first of these presents an Orthodox view of Church history. Beginning with the early Church and working his way through the Ecumenical Councils, the spread of Christianity throughout Europe, the Islamic conquests, the Great Schism, the witness of the Russian Church, and the tumultuous events of the twentieth century, he presents an enlightening view of the development of doctrine and worship that is free from the vindictiveness that plagues many treatments.

The second part of the book is an overview of faith and worship in the Orthodox Church. Covering all the important aspects of the Orthodox faith, Ware gives clear expositions of Orthodox doctrine and points out the contrasts with Western Christianity - both Protestant and Roman Catholic. Included are such controversial topics as the role of tradition, salvation, and ecumenism. Ware never displays any animosity towards other Christians but insists that any union must be based upon truth and he believes this is held in its fullness by Orthodoxy.

One criticism leveled at this book is Ware's supposedly superficial treatment of Orthodoxy. However, this charge is quite unfair considering the intended audience. The Orthodox Church was written for a Western audience with no prior historical connection to the Orthodox faith. Yes, there are works with more depth (including some by Ware himself), but these are likely to confuse Western Christians. This book may thus be considered as a prologomena for future studies in Orthodoxy. Coming from a Western Christian upbringing and now an Orthodox bishop, Ware has a firm grasp of how to communicate the Orthodox faith to a Western audience. The fact that so many prominent converts cite The Orthodox Church as a turning point in their spiritual journey is evidence to its effectiveness. As an introduction to the riches of Orthodoxy, Ware's The Orthodox Church is unsurpassed.

Book Review: Sacrament as Life

2005-10-25T12:42:00.000-04:00

For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy - Alexander Schmemann
St. Vladimir's Seminary Press (March, 1997)
Topic: Liturgy & Sacraments; Soteriology; Eastern Christianity
Summary: The Orthodox understanding of the salvific role of the Sacraments and the Liturgy
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Occasionally one will stumble upon a book so filled with simple Christian wisdom as to take one's breath away. Such is the case with For the Life of the World by the late Orthodox writer Alexander Schmemann. Originally written as a study guide on the Sacraments for a conference, the impact was so great it was decided to make the study more widely available in book form. The decision to publish has certainly been vindicated - the book has been influential not just with the Orthodox but throughout the Christian world and has profoundly affected (for the better) the Christian understanding of the Sacraments.

From the first sentence we are taken into a view of the Sacraments immersed in the historic liturgy of the Church. For Schmemann, the Western Church commits a fundamental error in attempting to analyze the Sacraments as "objects" in isolation from the liturgical context that gives them meaning. Instead, the Sacraments are the act of the Church within its liturgy to transform the world through Christ by offering the world and ourselves to the Father.

Each of the recognized Sacraments of the Orthodox Church are considered within the liturgical life of the Church. This incarnational understanding of the Christian Faith presents the world itself - created by God and declared good - as something to be redeemed through Christ. Rejecting both the semi-gnostic anti-Sacramentalism of some Protestants as well as the view of medieval Roman Catholicism that bordered on "magic", Schmemann returns to a patristic view of the Sacramental life. This is no Eastern Orthodox polemic - Schmemann criticizes his own Church for abandoning the true understanding of the Sacraments for alien concepts - but a plea for the followers of Christ to appropriate a truly Christian understanding of life.

Among the many insights in this marvelous book is Schmemann's view of secularism as a Christian heresy. Secularism, he claims, is possible only in a culture already Christian. Christianity is not another "religion" but the death of all earthly religions. When Christendom mutates the true faith of Christianity into just another religion, the culture will recognize it as dead and reject it - not for another religion - but in a movement opposed to all religion. Religion is now dead and secularism recognizes this death. Only in Christianity is a life of faith possible.

This outlook blends powerfully into the section in the book on death. Rejecting both the "religious" view of earthly life as a preparation or trial ground for the next life and the secular view of death as a natural part of life, Schmemann steers toward a truly Christian understanding of death. The religious view defines life in terms of death; the secular view defines death in terms of life. Either raises death to the status of being part of God's plan for our existence. The Church of the Apostles and Fathers has always taught death is the enemy and in Christ the power death has upon us has been vanquished. This is fulfilled in Christ's resurrection and will be demonstrated in the general resurrection at the end of the age.

Those who have little experience with liturgy may have their world shaken by For the Life of the World. Even those who have long encountered the beauty and wonder of the historic liturgy and sacraments of the Church will be enriched by the depth of faith presented. This book is a classic work of the Christian Faith and should be read by all who seek to follow the Lord.

Book Review: Pop Catholicism

2005-10-25T10:27:00.000-04:00

Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste - Thomas Day
Crossroad Classic (March 1992)
Topics: Liturgy & Sacraments; Christian Culture; Catholicism
Summary: Analysis on the effects of contemporary liturgical music on Roman Catholic worship
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

The state of the Catholic Mass in America is dreadful. There, I said it. The emperor has no clothes. Americans Catholics have suffered through decades of ICEL's bland translations of the liturgy, jovial priests "facilitating" the congregation's worship, and then there's the music! Oh Lord have mercy and save us from that music!! Cantors who sound like frustrated nightclub singers wailing schmaltzy ditties with so much "feeling." Nuns with folk guitars trying to make us "experience community." These banal offerings are then followed by "Father Chuck" telling everyone, "Wasn't that great!! Let's give 'em a big hand!!" This from the Church that once commissioned music from Palestrina and Mozart!

Thomas Day understands the confusion of so many Catholics who long for a return to reverence in their worship. In Why Catholics Can't Sing, he presents his views on what ails music in the Catholic liturgy. A trained musician who has worked for both Catholic and Protestant congregations, he offers remarkable insights into the musical tastes and styles prevalent within these traditions. He offers the interesting thesis that the initial cause of many ills in American Catholicism stems from the influence of the Irish immigrants who largely adhered to a "silent mass" stemming from the long persecution of Catholicism in their homeland and associated rousing hymns with their Protestant oppressors. This was not the case on the European continent or Latin America but the Irish dominance made it a norm for the American Church. Even when the mass was glorious and reverent in other respects, music was often treated as an afterthought. Only in the early stages of the liturgical renewal movement did music (particularly Gregorian Chant) begin to be taken seriously.

Day chronicles the many problems in sacred music in contemporary Catholicism with great energy and a delightful sense of humor. Any regular attendee of the Mass will recognize the blandness he targets and will be unsure whether to laugh or cry. Day holds no punches when it comes to the overt silliness that has taken over many parishes. This has led many of the current Catholic liturgical and musical establishment to severely criticize Day as an elitist or a disgruntled pre-Vatican II traditionalist.

It is clear to any unbiased reader that Day is hardly a "pre-Vatican II" poster child. He clearly points out the problems predated this period - thus dispelling the notion this was at all related to Vatican II as many traditionalist Catholics would assert. The real issue is more a case of a poor understanding of the purpose of worship than one of conspiratorial intrigue.

The elitist tag also does not fit. Day argues against making the high culture works of the most significant composers the musical norm for liturgical music. Most parishes simply do not have the talent available to perform the masses of Mozart et al. However, they are capable of learning chants and more basic hymns and liturgical music. These have been used successfully in many places and should be implemented far more widely. He is not railing against simpler music - just bad music.

Day stresses the point repeatedly that musical style sends a message. Trivial, banal, and schmaltzy music will end up with God appearing the same. Lyrics better suited to a self-help seminar transforms the purpose of the liturgy from worshipping God to worshipping ourselves. The end result is an affirmation of our own worst tendencies.

Not content to just criticize without giving solutions, Day finishes with a plan to reform the Catholic litugical music. In a purely practical manner, he outlines a number of steps to engage the congregation in worship through music without the necessity of a large budget or a heavy reliance upon professionals. If widely implemented, many other problems would take care of themselves as the liturgical abuses would be exposed as terribly wrong and out of place.

There are rumblings of dissatisfaction in the Vatican with the lack of reverence during worship. A reform of liturgical abuses is imminent with a new and more reverent translation of the Novus Ordo Rite forthcoming as well as permission to use the old Tridentine Rite given a wider implementation. These reforms will undoubtedly touch upon music as well. If this occurs, Catholics would do their Church a service by taking a hard look at Why Catholics Can't Sing. It will save them much work and prevent the errors of the past few decades from reappearing in another form.

Book Review: Lift Up Your Hearts

2005-10-25T00:50:00.000-04:00

The Mass of the Early Christians - Mike Aquilina
Our Sunday Visitor (April 2001)
Topic: Liturgy & Sacraments; Patristic Christianity
Summary: Examination of the liturgy of the early Christians
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Among the most important developments for the Church in the last decade has been the rediscovery of the liturgical forms of the ancient Christianity. While much of the worship of Protestant Evangelicalism has become increasingly trite by appropriating the ethos of the popular culture, there has been a counter movement to find a more authentic worship by studying patterns of the early Church. This examination has been an enlightening experience to many thoughtful Evangelicals as they came to realize their own worship styles were of fairly recent vintage. Even more shocking, the worship of the early Church was liturgical in form, Catholic in outlook, and centered upon the Eucharist. As a result, many have either left the Evangelical movement for the historic Churches or sounded a call to return to more traditional patterns of worship within their own traditions.

The final piece of the puzzle is for those in the liturgical Churches to realize the treasures in their own midst and correct abuses that have detrimentally affected their own worship traditions. For those in the Roman Catholic Church who are unfamiliar with the history of early Christian worship, there may be no better starting point than The Mass of the Early Christians by Mike Aquilina. Written for a general audience, Aquilina manages to tie together liturgical styles from disparate sources of the early Church as they reflected on the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Although the book is primarily aimed at Roman Catholics, all Christians from liturgical traditions can read this book with profit and find comfort in the firm historical basis of their own worship. Those who have shunned liturgical worship might after reading this book reconsider their position and wonder what they have been missing. At no point does Aquilina force the Roman Catholic position but to his credit allows the ancient Church to speak for itself.

The first section of the book is a description of the origin and early development of the worship of the Church. Aquilina carefully examines the Jewish roots of the Mass and how the liturgy of the Church is a development of the ancient Jewish worship with the focus now placed on Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the establishment by Jesus of a new and everlasting covenant. The exposition of the Eucharist doctrine and liturgical forms used in the early Church is among the best introductory treatments of the subject as the reader is skillfully brought into contact with the thought of the early Church. After careful consideration of the discussion, readers who have had little exposure to the historical evidence may now see the worship of the Church with new eyes.

In the second part of the book, Aquilina provides primary evidence from the patristic period to support the veracity of his earlier exposition. Of particular interest are liturgical texts used in the early Church. It might be claimed the statements of certain patristic writers are not necessarily representative of the Church as a whole, but when the same themes are echoed in distinct liturgies used in areas separated by great distances, the weakness of this argument is exposed. If one belongs does not worship as the early Church worshipped and does not pray as the early Church prayed, it is also likely they do not believe what the early Church believed.

The book concludes with a fictional reconstruction by Aquilina of what it was probably like to worship in the early Church. This approach is quite compelling as the hard historical evidence provided earlier in the book is fleshed out in this hypothetical account of a Christian family at worship.

Many Christians from traditions not sympathetic to formal liturgy are now taking the historical witness of the early Church seriously. As a basic introduction to the richness of early Christian liturgy, The Mass of the Early Christians is a fine starting point. It is an inspiring account of the patristic mass that calls to the Church, as in the liturgy itself, to "lift up your hearts."

Book Review: Avoiding the "Straw Man"

2005-10-23T02:35:00.000-04:00

Mary: A Catholic-Evangelical Debate - Dwight Longenecker & David Gustafson
Brazos Press (July, 2003)
Topic: Communion of Saints
Summary: Exchange of views on the Marian doctrines of the Catholic Church
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Few topics can get the tempers flaring between Catholics and Protestants than devotion to Mary. While Catholics (as well as the Orthodox and some Anglicans) see it as a natural outgrowth and reflection of the Incarnation, there is a general feeling within much of Protestantism to look upon Marian devotion as bordering on idolatry. Attempts to mediate the differences usually take one of two paths: either the real differences between Christians are minimized in a banal soup of least common denominator theology or else it dissolves into angry polemical exchanges shedding far more heat than light.

The debate presented in Mary: A Catholic-Evangelical Debate between Dwight Longenecker and David Gustafson is a wonderful exception to this unfortunate pattern. Both participants graduated from Bob Jones University (a known bastion of anti-Catholic polemic) before moving from the Protestant fundamentalism promoted there to a more historically rooted Christianity in Anglicanism (with Longenecker favoring the more Catholic and Gustafson the more Evangelical wings of the Anglican tradition). Longenecker has since moved on to Rome and with it an acceptance of beliefs peculiar to it - many dealing with Mary. These and other Marian beliefs and practices are the center of the debate and the result is an almost unparalleled attempt to discuss the truth in love on both sides. It is indeed rare to have a book endorsed by both Richard Neuhaus and J. I. Packer (both of whom write forwards) as well as by both Michael Horton and Peter Kreeft (both of whom write cover blurbs), and the backing by such noted theologians on both sides is testimony to the book's clear exposition of the issues.

It is a joy to see both men desiring to fully comprehend the other's position and addressing their objections accordingly. There are neither "straw men" raised here nor is there an avoidance of the central issues. Both participants are intelligent, knowledgeable, and fair. In fact, it is safe to say the best each side has to offer is presented in a clear and concise manner and left for the reader to prayerfully consider. At times each of the two debaters are put on the defensive - Gustafson is at a loss to explain how the early Church fathers (including such important figures as Sts. Athanasius and Augustine) could possible make such an obvious and crucial "error" as Marian devotion while Longenecker all but apologizes for papal (although not yet binding doctrine) pronouncements bestowing upon Mary the titles co-Redemptix, Mediatrix, and Advocate. The exchanges are stimulating and those with opinions formed from ecclesial bias will find themselves challenged time and again. In the end, the book may not change opinions, but Christians on each side should fully appreciate the opposing view.

There are many books and tapes available contrasting Protestant and Roman positions on Mary but few with the clarity and honesty put forth in Mary. Longenecker and Gustavson are to be commended for producing this important and rewarding book. For those trying to grasp the conflicting claims on this topic, Mary: A Catholic-Evangelical Debate is essential reading.

Book Review: Conspiracy Theories and Bogeymen

2005-10-22T10:10:00.000-04:00

A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days - Dave Hunt
Harvest House Publishers (June 1994)
Topic: Eschatology; Catholicism
Summary: Defends the thesis that the Roman Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon prophesied in the Book of Revelation
Rating: ■ (Worthless)

Popular fundamentalist author Dave Hunt has always been prone to quickly forming opinions on religious topics based upon his theological presuppositions (frequently without regard to actual evidence) and offering these views in ill-conceived publishing efforts. In A Woman Rides the Beast, Hunt once again tackles bible prophecy and defends the idea that the Roman Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon prophesied in the Book of Revelation.

Such a thesis is certainly not unique in the history of Protestantism but is rarely endorsed today in the face of evaporating Catholic-Protestant hostilities. Yet all is not lost for the remaining fans of anti-Catholic rhetoric as Dave Hunt seems more than willing to take up the slack. In this book he displays all the usual signs of poor scholarship, innuendo, and baseless speculation that make the following of fundamentalist prophecy experts an amusing though frustrating pastime. However, if one seeks a serious challenge to the beliefs and practices of the Roman Church, it is not to be found here. Hunt attacks - but very little of his effort can be taken seriously.

Hunt is led to conclusions by his presuppositions of a flawed dispensational hermeneutic and a virulent parochialism predisposed to think the worst of any Christians who fall out of the bounds of his particular religious subculture - even though his own beliefs are a peculiarly American phenomenon and have no basis in historical Christianity. In the end, his own prejudices prevent him from assessing data correctly and he fails to demonstrate any of his major points.

However, one thing Hunt demonstrates thoroughly is his own ignorance of exchanges between Catholic and Protestant apologists for over a century and the current state of this debate. Hunt often relies on refuted accusations of a bygone era (there were many on both sides) and is blissfully unaware they were based in bigotry and ignorance. When he does respond to the refutations of his positions by Catholic apologists, he cites as "evidence" books written by other authors who cite the same faulty evidence. The reliance upon friendly secondary sources (and even anti-Christian sources who happen to be aiming at Rome for the moment) is typical of the shoddy scholarship within anti-Catholic fundamentalism.

Throughout the book, Hunt fails to verify his claims from relevant primary source documents. There is simply no effort put forth to see if the information he quotes from secondary works are accurate or placed in context. The overriding methodology seems to be if it makes Rome look bad it must be true! That Hunt has little interest in encountering Catholicism (or any opponent) in anything but a hostile light reflects a trait all too common in his writing. Even though opponents have challenged him, he has never corrected his numerous factual errors. After all, why should a lack of corroborating evidence get in the way of a good yarn?

Adding to this debacle is the manner in which Hunt attempts to tie together his "evidence" to support his thesis. Even if the Roman Church were utterly despicable it would not necessarily make it the whore of Babylon. In order to bolster his argument (or better to lead gullible readers where even Hunt's contrived evidence doesn't go), he must resort to the inane "could it be..." conjectures typical of conspiracy theorists. For example, when considering excesses of Marian piety among some Catholics, Hunt culminates his attack on such devotions with the following question:

"It is a woman who John saw astride the beast. Does that fact include intimations of the strategic role that Rome's fraudulent Mary will play in the preparation of the world for Antichrist?"

Sure...or maybe it just means some Catholics are almost as wacky as the Protestants who take Dave Hunt's drivel seriously.

It is quite telling that in sections dealing with the Church Tradition, Hunt never cites any writings of the Church Fathers. Of course, given his poor understanding of Church history and liturgy (the ignorance displayed in his chapter on the Mass is sufficient evidence), it is unlikely he has ever read them. This is not terribly surprising given he has admitted to never having read the writings of the Protestant Reformers. If this supposedly staunch defender of the Reformation cannot bother to read the founding documents of his own movement, it would be quite a leap to expect him to study the writings of those outside his own ecclesial tradition. Furthermore, if his ignorance of the Reformers did not stop him from accusing others of betraying the Reformation (or from writing a book critical of Calvinism), we could hardly expect his lack of patristic knowledge to prevent him from lecturing on the evils of Constantine, St. Augustine, and various other bogeymen of fundamentalist lore.

Many Christians express sharp differences with Roman Catholicism without spewing the hysterics Dave Hunt puts forth in A Woman Rides the Beast. As with all of Hunt's attacks on those who do not share his peculiar worldview, it is long on bluster and short on evidence. As a means of solidifying support with anti-Catholic bigots, I suppose it succeeds. As a proper exposition of prophetic passages in Holy Scripture, it is an abysmal failure.

Book Review: A Challenge to the Evangelical Mind

2005-10-21T15:46:00.000-04:00

Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants - D. H. Williams
William B. Eerdmans Publishing (October 1999)
Topics: Bibilology, Hermeneutics, & Exegesis; Protestantism; Patristic Christianity
Summary: Renewal of Evangelical Protestantism through an appreciation of the Church Fathers
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

The troubled state of Evangelical worship and doctrine has elicited different solutions from those within its boundaries. Some have called for a repudiation of the individualism so prevalent in the Evangelical mainstream and a return to the higher view of the Church endorsed by the early Protestant Reformers. Others, concluding the principles behind the Protestant experiment have been the cause of the problem, have cast their lots with Rome, Constantinople, and Canterbury. Still another view, championed by Thomas Oden and D. H. Williams, calls for retaining the many strengths of the Evangelical movement and adding to it the riches of the faith of the early Church.

In Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism, Williams puts forth an analysis of the current state of affairs in Evangelicalism and their historical roots. He then proposes a program for a new Evangelicalism by retaining the current structures but supplementing them with a sense of history and received faith and tradition so missing from the current Evangelical scene. Only by maintaining contact with the Christians of the past, Williams contends, can Evangelicals be truly prepared to counter doctrinal errors and questionable practices within the Church.

Williams’ historical analysis makes a number of insightful points as to how the Churches founded by the early Reformers gradually turned their backs on the past. For example, Williams contends there was initially a far greater respect of the Tradition of the Church among Protestants until the wide use within Roman Catholicism of the Donation of Constantine - now known to be a forgery - to bolster papal claims. It was in this period that the Emperor Constantine was demonized by many Protestant apologists. Thus because Roman apologists convinced early Protestants of something that never actually happened, Protestants increasingly viewed the post-Constantinian Church as the source of apostasy. Williams forcefully points out the folly of this characterization - the most important doctrines of the Christian Faith received their most powerful expression and defense from the Ecumenical Councils and Church Fathers of that period. Additionally, there was no disconnect of doctrine and practice with what was believed prior to Constantine. It is this disengagement from the history of the Church that is the source of many current woes in modern Evangelical Protestantism and leads some to invent their own histories (i.e., the ahistoric silliness of such beliefs as Baptist Successionism and the restorationist sects).

However, a question one must pose to Williams is if the Evangelical mainstream were to adopt the ideas suggested here, would they cease to be Evangelicals and become something else? That is, does the proposed solution mean to leave Evangelicalism as has been known and practiced and move on to another path. If ahistoricial reasoning is as ingrained into the Evangelical Protestant psyche as Williams suggests, then it follows that a large part of the Evangelical house has been built upon sand. Reforms of the existing system, however good the intentions, cannot overcome the erroneous assumptions at its foundation. A true correction would mean the creation of something new or the return to something old.

However this may play out for Evangelicalism (and Williams himself hints at the fact that many Evangelicals glory in their lack of historical understanding), Retrieving the Tradition & Renewing Evangelicalism has, along with many other recent works by concerned Protestants, sounded the alarm and called for a reappraisal of their own beliefs and practices in light of the early Church. D. H. Williams has provided a major work that rightly deserves to be considered the most important "in-house" challenges to Evangelicals. It remains a question as to whether Evangelicals will bother to answer the challenge.

Book Review: With Friends Like This...

2005-10-21T13:36:00.000-04:00

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Mark A. Noll
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (October 1995)
Topics: Christian Culture; Protestantism
Summary: Critique of the current state of intellectual life in the Evangelical movement
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (Essential)

Mark A. Noll begins The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind with a staggering indictment. "The scandal of the evangelical mind", he writes, "is that there is not much of an evangelical mind." With those words begins perhaps the most sobering critique of the place of Evangelical Protestantism within major intellectual currents shaping the culture. This accusation was most striking as it came from within Evangelicalism itself by one of its leading scholars. Since the book's publication, some have applauded and others attacked its major theses, but most will grant that the intellectual landscape of the Evangelical movement was greatly impacted by Noll's criticism and serious new efforts dealing with Evangelicalism and modern culture issue must wrestle with Noll's work.

In the four sections of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (covering the importance of the scandal, an historical analysis of the scandal, negative repercussions of the scandal, and some hopeful signs of a renaissance in Evangelical thought), Noll meticulously builds a case that the Evangelical disengagement from intellectual pursuits has rendered it impotent to interact within the major intellectual currents of the day. Unable to develop a uniquely Evangelical approach to issues of higher culture, the Evangelical response - if any - is often dependent upon the work of scholars from Roman Catholicism and other Protestant traditions. This sterility of thought fosters a retreat into an Evangelical ghetto where the lack of interaction with competing ideas leaves faulty presuppositions unchallenged and its own fruitful sources untapped.

Noll is particularly to be commended for his excellent insights into the genesis of the current intellectual malaise. Pointing out the strong efforts of Puritans such as Jonathan Edwards to vigorously address the major intellectual themes of their day (following a long tradition of such efforts by Protestants since the Reformation), he traces a number of interacting factors joining together to produce the uniquely American strain of Protestantism. These include the populist revivals of the Great Awakening, the "common sense" Baconian approach to all inquiry promoted by the Scottish Enlightenment, and the spirit of anti-intellectualism spurred on by modernist views of the Bible and debate on the Darwin's evolutionary theories.

Noll sees in current Evangelical uses of Scripture an attempt to recycle ideas discarded elsewhere in the Church as lacking a proper appreciation for historical and cultural contexts. Locked into a system of thought indelibly marked by the nineteenth century, they find themselves unable to respond to intellectual movements far more complex than their narrow categories can handle.

Becoming more optimistic in the last section of the book, Noll focuses on signs of a possible renaissance of Evangelical thinking. Interestingly, much of what Noll views as positive signs are the result of influences from interactions with other Christians. In the process of pointing out many that Evangelical distinctives are not essential to Christianity, Noll seems to inadvertently suggest the way for Evangelicals to become more intellectually rigorous is to become less Evangelical.

It remains to be seen whether it is possible to reform Evangelicalism along the lines Noll poposes without becoming something else entirely. Whether one thinks of them as strengths or weaknesses, a downplaying of those aspects of Evangelicalism that Noll finds most disturbing (anti-intellectual strains of populism, self-righteous separatism, strict interpretations of Biblical inerrancy, methods of hermeneutics based upon outmoded theories of textual objectivity, dispensational approaches to eschatology, attacks on scientific theories) would so alter the landscape of the Evangelical movement as to lose any claim of continuity. Is it possible for a Christian who eschewed the imminent rapture, did not approach the Bible as a source of "proof texts", and reconciled his faith with evolution to be identified as an Evangelical? Without the emotional hold those distinctives generate would they not then descend into the same malaise as mainstream Protestantism?

Noll is not off target in his criticism, but the solution may not lie in Evangelicalism. Many thoughtful Evangelicals, disturbed by the anti-intellectual and ahistorical approaches to the faith common in their doctrine and worship, have resolved the issue by moving to the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Reformed traditions where a richer theology exists, a more dignified worship of God prevails, and intellectual inquiry is accorded a more vital role. Thus the best solution to the problem of the Evangelical mind may well lie in turning one's back on Evangelicalism.

Regardless of the future resolution of these issues, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind is among the most important books on the state of American Christianity written in the last fifty years. For anyone attempting to understand the place of Christianity in American life, it is a must read. For Evangelicals themselves, it may be shocking to grasp the biases within their approaches to their faith, but it may also lead them to a more faith rooted more in the Gospel than in nineteenth century America.