Coming Soon from Baker Books - A Visual History of the King James Bible

Next year is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.  Just as we saw last year with John Calvin's 500th birthday we can expect a lot on the King James Bible.  Coming in February from Baker Books is A Visual History of the King James Bible by Donald Brake and Shelly Beach.  If this sounds familiar to some of you it's because Brake had a previous book entitled A Visual History of the English Bible (see my post on that here).  Brake did a marvelous job on that book and I expect nothing less on this next one.  Here's the catalog description:

"For 400 years the King James Version of the Holy Bible has been the most influential book to be published in the English language. Now Bible collector and expert Donald L. Brake brings to life the fascinating story of its creation and proliferation throughout the English-speaking world. With beautiful and informative photos, illustrations, charts, and sidebars, Brake invites readers to explore the KJV's mysterious beginnings, the men who translated it, the manuscripts upon which that translation was based, the important people and places that influenced its production, and even Shakespeare's involvement in it."

"In an age where a new translation of the Bible seems to come about every few years, discover what has made the King James Version endure for four centuries."

As you recall when I did my survey of most popular Bible translations that sold in our store the King James came in third (a distant third but third nonetheless).  If you're looking for a good book on the King James Bible this one will be must for your library. 

Shelly Beach is the award-winning author of five books. She was on the writing team for The NIV Stewardship Study Bible and was a contributor to Holy Bible: Mosaic. She is a cofounder of the Cedar Falls Christian Writer's Workshop in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and the Breathe Christian Writer's Workshop in Grand Haven, Michigan.

Donald L. Brake (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is Dean Emeritus, Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Portland, Oregon. An avid collector of rare Bibles and manuscripts for more than 30 years, he has one of the most complete private collections of rare English Bibles and Greek New Testaments in America. He is a former pastor and the author of A Visual History of the English Bible. Brake lives in Washington.

Watch for it this February.  A Visual History of the King James Bible will be a hardcover with 272 pages and over 80 illustrations and sell for $24.99. 

Coming Soon from Brazos Press - The Vampire Defanged

Well, I haven’t seen any of the Twilight movies but I did watch some episodes of Dark Shadows when I was a kid. (I didn’t realize it was just a soap opera with some vampires and werewolves thrown in for good measure.) Better than that was the portrayal of Dracula by Bela Lugosi. We’ve come a long way from then which brings us to a new book coming from Brazos Press called The Vampire Defanged: How the Embodiment of Evil Became a Romantic Hero by Susannah Clements. Vampires are big money today but they aren’t what they used to be. Today they can be downright chivalrous, winning the hearts of young girls without a single bite. Here’s the catalog description of The Vampire Defanged:

"Vampires first entered the pop culture arena with Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. Today, vampires are everywhere. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the Twilight Saga to HBO's True Blood series, pop culture can't get enough of the vampire phenomenon."

"Bringing her literary expertise to this timely subject, Susannah Clements reveals the roots of the vampire myth, showing how it was originally immersed in Christian values and symbolism. Over time, however, vampires have been "defanged" as their spiritual significance has waned, turning what was once the embodiment of evil into a teen idol and the ultimate romantic hero. Clements offers a close reading of selected vampire texts, explaining how this transformation occurred and helping readers discern between the variety of vampire stories presented in movies, TV shows, and novels. Her probing engagement of the vampire metaphor enables readers to make Christian sense of this popular obsession."

And here’s the table of contents:

1. Why Vampires Matter
2. Bram Stoker's Dracula: Sin and the Power of the Cross
3. Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles: Eternal Guilt and Transcendent Love
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Sin and Sacrifice, Postmodern Style
5. Sookie Stackhouse: Sex and the Socialized Vampire
6. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga: The Vampire as Teenage Heartthrob
7. Vampire Sinners
8. Vampire Saviors
Conclusion
Timeline of Referenced Vampire Texts

This will be a fascinating read for those with an interest in the development of vampires in English Literature and the American cinema and pop culture.

Susannah Clements (PhD, University of South Carolina) is associate professor and chair of the department of language and literature at Regent University in Virginia. She is a contributor to the Dictionary of Literary Biography and has presented papers and taught courses on subjects including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jane Eyre, and J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Get your cloves of garlic ready and watch for The Vampire Defanged this coming March. It will be a paperback and sell for $14.99.

Coming Soon from Zondervan - Matthew in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

In November 2008 we saw the inaugural release of a new commentary series from Zondervan called the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament or ZECNT. That initial volume was by Craig Blomberg and Mariam Kamell on the book of James. It was very well done but my question was how would this new format look on a book of larger proportions than James? Well, the wait is almost over. Coming this October/November we will see Grant Osborne on the Gospel of Matthew. I enjoyed Blomberg and Kamell on James and look forward to seeing this new volume. I have the highest hopes for it. I had the pleasure of having Grant Osborne as an instructor while I was at Trinity although it was for only one course (Colossians and Ephesians).

AND you should know two more volumes in this series will be right on the heels of Matthew due out in the December/January time frame. Galatians is authored by Thomas Schreiner and Ephesians by Clinton Arnold (who is also the general editor for the series).

Matthew will be a hardcover with 1152 pages (although the catalog description I have from my rep says 1200 pages) and will sell for $49.99.

Coming Soon from Baker Books - Is God a Moral Monster?

If yesterday's post was a bit too academic for some of my readers here's one that may interest a broader audience.  Coming this January Baker Books brings us Is God a Moral Monster? by Paul Copan.  In the face of so many objections from the New Atheists this topic certainly is close to the top of their list if not at the very top.  It's been said that the motto of the New Atheists is "God does not exist and we hate him."  One of the reasons for their hatred is their continued portrayal of him in the worst possible light and the Old Testament is a rich mine field for their caricatures.  This is a much needed book and Copan is the perfect guy to write it.  Here's the catalog description:

"A recent string of popular-level books written by the New Atheists have leveled the accusation that the God of the Old Testament is nothing but a bully, a murderer, and a cosmic child abuser. This viewpoint is even making inroads into the church. How are Christians to respond to such accusations? And how are we to reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of God portrayed in the two testaments?

In this timely and readable book, apologist Paul Copan takes on some of the most vexing accusations of our time, including:

• God is arrogant and jealous
• God punishes people too harshly
• God is guilty of ethnic cleansing
• God oppresses women
• God endorses slavery
• Christianity causes violence
• and more

Copan not only answers God's critics, he also shows how to read both the Old and New Testaments faithfully, seeing an unchanging, righteous, and loving God in both."

And here's an endorsement from Gary Habermas, distinguished research professor, Liberty University and Seminary:

"The most difficult questions that can be asked about Scripture include a list of ethical challenges to several Old Testament texts and teachings.  These issues have been taken up with more fervor of late, owing to the growing popularity of radical atheism and skepticism.  There's virtually no scholar I'd rather read on these subjects than Paul Copan.  I recommend this volume heartily."

Paul Copan (PhD, Marquette University) is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida. He is author of True for You, But Not for Me (Bethany House), That's Just Your Interpretation, How Do You Know You're Not Wrong?, When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics (all with Baker), and Loving Wisdom: Christian Philosophy of Religion (Chalice Press). He has co-authored (with William Lane Craig) Creation Out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical, and Scientific Exploration (Baker Academic). He has co-edited three books on the historical Jesus; three other books he has coedited are on the philosophy of religion, The Rationality of Theism (Routledge), The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion (Routledge) and Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Issues (Blackwell). He has co-edited (with William Craig) Passionate Conviction and Contending with Christianity's Critics (both with B&H Academic, which also published his co-edited Apologetics Study Bible). He has contributed articles and book reviews to various professional journals as well: Philosophia Christi, Faith and Philosophy, Trinity Journal, Southern Journal of Theology, the Journal for the Evangelical Theological Society and The Review of Metaphysics.

Is God A Moral Monster: Making Sense of the Old Testament God will be a paperback with 240 pages and sell for $14.99. 

Coming Soon from Baker Academic - Reformed Dogmatics: Abridged in One Volume

So you've heard of the great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck but you've been a bit intimidated by his four-volume Reformed Dogmatics.  Well, I've got some good news for you.  Coming next April (It'll be here before you know it!) is a one-volume abridged edition.  Here's the catalog description:

"Herman Bavinck's four-volume Reformed Dogmatics is one of the most important theological works of the twentieth century. The recently completed English translation has received wide acclaim. Now John Bolt, one of the world's leading experts on Bavinck and editor of Bavinck's four-volume set, has abridged the work in one volume, offering students, pastors, and lay readers an accessible summary of Bavinck's masterwork. This volume presents the core of Bavinck's thought and offers explanatory materials, making available to a wider audience some of the finest Dutch Reformed theology ever written."

Here's what just a few have said about the four-volume edition:

"Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics has been the fountainhead of Reformed theology for the last hundred years. It is by far the most profound and comprehensive Reformed systematic theology of the twentieth century. The reader will be amazed by Bavinck's erudition, creativity, and balance. Bavinck is confessionally orthodox, but he recognizes the need to rethink the traditional formulations from Scripture in the context of contemporary discussion. I hope these volumes will have a large readership and will bring forth much theological and spiritual fruit."--John M. Frame, professor of systematic theology and philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary

"Bavinck's Dutch masterwork was the Everest of which the textbooks by Louis Berkhof and Auguste Leoerf were foothills and Berkouwer's studies in dogmatics were outliers. Like Augustine, Calvin, and Edwards, Bavinck was a man of giant mind, vast learning, ageless wisdom and great expository skill. Solid but lucid, demanding but satisfying, broad and deep and sharp and stabilizing, Bavinck's magisterial Reformed Dogmatics remains after a century the supreme achievement of its kind."--J. I. Packer, professor of theology, Regent College

"Arguably the most important systematic theology ever produced in the Reformed tradition. I have found it to be the most valuable. English-speaking theology throughout the 20th century until now has been singularly impoverished by not having at its disposal a translation of Bavinck's Dogmatiek in its entirety. The appearance of these volumes will be an incomparable boon for generations of students, pastors, teachers, and others, serving to deepen understanding and enrich reflection in both historical and systematic theology."--Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., professor of biblical and systematic theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

Now consider this:  The four-volume edition has 3,008 pages; the one-volume has 976.  The four-volume costs $179.99; the one volume $59.99.  Don't let anything else hold you back.  Throw that loose change in a jar marked "Bavinck" and come April you'll have enough for Bavinck and a burger.   

Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) succeeded Abraham Kuyper as professor of systematic theology at the Free University of Amsterdam in 1902.

John Bolt (PhD, University of St. Michael's College) is professor of systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, where he has taught for over twenty years.

Trailer for Voyage of the Dawn Treader Released

The trailer for the next Narnia movie is now out.  From what I've read so far this movie promises to be much better than Prince Caspian and a lot more faithful to the book which is important to Narnia fans.  You should also know that the next book in the series that Baker Books has been doing will also be out in October.  Devin Brown's book is called Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  I thoroughly enjoyed Brown's first two books and look forward to this third one.  The movie is due out December 10.  You can see more at Narnia.com. If you've not seen the trailer then here you go:

Coming Soon from Oxford University Press - Bible

2011 will mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Version Bible.  I've already heard from three of my vendors that plans are well under way to contribute to the celebration.  Coming this October from Oxford Unviversity Press we have a book by Gordon Campbell called Bible: The Story of the King James Version 1611 - 2011.  Here's the catalog description and the table of contents:

"Produced during the lifetime of Shakespeare and Donne, the King James Version of the Bible has long been viewed as the most elegantly written and poetic of the many English translations. Now reaching its 400th anniversary, it remains one of the most frequently used Bibles in the English-speaking world, especially in America."

"Lavishly illustrated with reproductions from early editions of the King James Bible, Bible: The Story of the King James Version offers a vivid and authoritative history of this renowned translation, ranging from the Bible's inception to the present day. Gordon Campbell, a leading authority on Renaissance literatures, tells the engaging and complex story of how this translation came to be commissioned, who the translators were, and how the translation was accomplished. Campbell does not end with the printing of that first edition, but also traces the textual history from 1611 to the establishment of the modern text by Oxford University Press in 1769, shedding light on the subsequent generations who edited and interacted with the text and bringing to life the controversies surrounding later revisions. In addition, the author examines the reception of the King James Version, showing how its popularity has shifted through time and territory, ranging from adulation to deprecation and attracting the attention of a wide variety of adherents. Since the King James Bible is more widely read in America today than in any other country, Campbell pays particular attention to the history of this version in the United States. Finally, the volume includes appendices that contain short biographies of the translators and a guide to the 74-page preliminaries of the 1611 edition."

"A fitting tribute to the enduring popularity of the King James Version, Bible offers an illuminating history of this most esteemed of biblical translations." 

Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The Bible in English
2. The Commissioning of the KJV
3. Translators and Translating
4. The Translation
5. The First Edition
6. The Seventeenth Century
7. The Eighteenth Century
8. The Nineteenth Century
9. The Bible in America
10. The Cambridge Paragraph Bibles
11. The Revised Version
12. The Early Twentieth Century
13. The KJV in the Modern World
Appendix 1: The Companies and Later Revisers
Appendix 2: The Preliminaries to the KJV Further Reading Index

Gordon Campbell is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Leicester University.  Watch for it this October.  Bible will be a hardcover with 256 pages and sell for $24.95. 

Coming Soon from B&H Publishing

It's coming!  The newest study Bible will be coming this August from B&H Publishing.  It is the HCSB Study Bible. 

My B&H rep showed me a sampler of some of Genesis and it looks like an impressive project.  As I get more information and spend a little time with the sampler I'll let you know more.  For now you can visit their website and find out much more.  You can find it here.  You'll find a list of contributors and a couple of videos. 

Coming Soon from IVP - The Wisdom of Pixar

This just looks like a fun book.  I've watched most of these movies with my kids and I still enjoy them.    Here's the catalog description of The Wisdom of Pixar: 

"Kids and adults alike love Pixar's movies. We come out of the theater not just entertained or amused, but inspired. Everybody agrees: Pixar makes fun, clean, terrific movies. But what makes these movies so appealing is not merely amazing CGI animation, clever humor or fantastic imagination. These movies are not just great. Pixar's movies are good.

Robert Velarde unpacks the movies of Pixar and shows how they display the best of classic Christian virtues. Pixar's films resonate with us because of their moral character. Their virtuous themes of hope and courage, friendship and love connect with our deepest human longings. Whether we identify with the plight of a lost fish or the adventures of toys, bugs or cars, Pixar's characters help us build our own character, with the kind of virtue that we want for ourselves and those around us.

Insightfully exploring each of Pixar's movies, this book is a friendly companion for fans, parents and church leaders. Discover how the imagination of Pixar can awaken in you a Christian vision for a moral life and a better society."

And here's a look at the table of contents:

Introduction

1 Virtue and Wisdom: An Animated Look
2 Hope and Imagination: To infinity and beyond!
3 Identity: Toy Story-You are a toy!
4 Justice: A Bug's Life-For oppressed ants everywhere!
5 Friendship: Toy Story 2-You've got a friend in me.
6 Humor: Monsters, Inc.-These are the jokes, kid.
7 Family: Finding Nemo-I have to find my son!
8 Courage: The Incredibles-Where's my Super suit?
9 Adventure: Cars-Life is a journey.
10 Ambition: Ratatouille-I want to make things.
11 Technology: WALL-E-Everything you need to be happy.
12 Love: Up-I have just met you, and I love you!
Conclusion

Appendix A: Pixar's Plots
Appendix B: Pixar's Short Films
Appendix C: Movie Discussion Guide
Filmography
Acknowledgments
About the Author

And finally, here's the website:  http://www.thewisdomofpixar.com/ . 

Watch for it this July.  The Wisdom of Pixar will be a paperback with 174 pages and sell for $15.00.  The author is Robert Velarde.  He is a writer and editor for Sonlight Curriculum. He is the author of The Heart of Narnia (NavPress, 2008), Inside the Screwtape Letters (Baker, forthcoming), The Power of Family Prayer (National Day of Prayer, 1999), The Lion, the Witch and the Bible (NavPress, 2005) and Examining Alternative Medicine (InterVarsity Press, 2001). A former editor for Focus on the Family, he received his M.A. in Religion from Southern Evangelical Seminary.

Coming Soon from IVP Academic - Getting the Reformation Wrong

I noted in an earlier post that the average person in the pew has a terrible knowledge of church history.  Those who have some rarely go beyond the Reformation.  But on top of that many of those who are familiar with the Reformation have a mixed bag of knowledge and unfortunately a good part of it is misinformed.

James R. Payton seeks to set the record straight in his book Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings.  My only fear is how many misunderstandings will I find myself guilty of!  Well, no better time than the present to get it right.

Take a look at the table of contents:

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction

1 The Medieval Call for Reform
2 The Renaissance: Friend or Foe?
3 Carried Along by Misunderstandings
4 Conflict Among the Reformers
5 What the Reformers meant by Sola Fide
6 What the Reformers meant by Sola Scriptura
7 How the Anabaptists Fit In
8 Reformation in Rome
9 Changing Direction: From the Reformation to Protestant Scholasticism
10 Was the Reformation a Success?
11 Is the Reformation a Norm?
12 The Reformation as Triumph and Tragedy

Here are a few of the endorsements:

"Getting the Reformation Wrong gets the Reformation right. All students of the Reformation, whether academic or just interested, must read this book. It rightly sets the record straight about the great people and ideas of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations of the sixteenth century in a refreshingly engaging style."—Roger Olson, author of The Story of Christian Theology

"Dr. Payton's new book, Getting the Reformation Wrong, is a refreshing and stimulating look at the events of the sixteenth century and their implications. He combines a solid understanding of the scholarship with a sensitivity to the faith issues involved, particularly for Christians of all types who may be reading these pages. Ending with reference to the worldwide Protestant missionary movement, he urges his readers to consider the tension between the triumph and the tragedy that are both the legacies of these long-ago events in a way that moves the discussion of the challenges of being a Protestant Christian right up to the present." —Helen Vreugdenhil, assistant professor of history, Redeemer University College

"The title is provocative, but what James R. Payton Jr. has in mind is not the overthrowing of generations of scholarship on the Reformation, but the use of the best scholarship to guide and correct misleading impressions often held by the common reader and Christian laypeople: for example, that the Reformation was a revolutionary bolt from the blue, that the principle of sola scriptura meant a wholesale rejection of Catholic theological tradition, that the Catholic Church was truculent over against the Protestant assault, refusing all efforts at reform, and the like. These notions are indeed false. On this basis of 'getting wrongs right,' the book proves to be a lively narrative that tells the story of the most important epoch in the history of the church in a clear, understandable, unfussy manner, yet one rich in detail. I appreciate especially Payton's sober conclusion on the tragic elements of what the sixteenth century wrought."—Walter Sundberg, professor of church history, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

Look for it this August.  Getting the Reformation Wrong will be a paperback with 240 pages and sell for $23.00. 

James R. Payton Jr. (Ph.D., University of Waterloo, Canada) is a professor of history at Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. He has studied, taught and been in dialogue with Eastern Orthodoxy for many years and is the author of a number of articles on Orthodoxy and Protestant-Orthodox relations. Another area of interest for Payton is the Reformation on which he has written many articles and book reviews. Some of his works cover subjects such as John Calvin, Martin Bucer and the influence of the Reformation in Ukraine.  He is also the author of Light from the Christian East: an Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition.  It was a recipient of the World Guild 2008 Canadian Christian Writing Awards in the Biblical Studies category. 

Coming Soon from Crossway - The Church History ABCs

If there was one section of the store I would love to expand it would be the church history section.  The problem is when I've tried to expand the section with more titles very little sells.  The average person in the pew has virtually no knowlege of the history of the church especially past the Reformation.  So along comes a book that says let's start teaching church history at an earlier age and I say YES!  Church historian Steve Nichols and illustrator Ned Bustard have teamed up to give us The Church History ABCs.  This book looks like a lot of fun.  Here's how the catalog describes it:

"Dramatically converted on the stormy seas, a slave-trader-turned-abolitionist penned the best-loved hymn of the Christian faith. A church father was arrested and martyred for teaching the truth about Christ’s incarnation. Captured by pirates and shipped off to Ireland, a priest baptized thousands of pagans, from paupers to princes. Now who ever said church history was boring?

The Church History ABCs is a fun way for kids to learn about great figures in Christian history. Twenty-six heroes of the faith march through the alphabet, boldly telling their stories in language children can understand. This wide range of characters—men and women from across the centuries, from all over the globe—reflects the breadth of church history and reminds children that these great figures of the past were living, breathing people who lived and died for the glory of God."

But there's more.  The book has a website which offers a "gallery" of kids' drawings of some of the great heros of the faith.  Tertullian looks a bit like a pirate if you ask me.  There are coloring pages and a "Martin Luther Maze."  I'm sure we can expect more to come.  This would be great for parents and grandparents not to mention Sunday School teachers.

Update:  I received the complete list of people treated.  Here they are:

A - Augustine
B - Anne Bradstreet
C - John Calvin
D - John Donne
E - Jonathan Edwards
F - John Foxe
G - Lady Jane Grey
H - Hippolytus
I - Ignatius
J - Absalom Jones
K - John Knox
L - Martin Luther
M - Monica
N - John Newton
O - John Owen
P - Patrick
Q - Queen Jeanne of Navarre
R - Nicholas Ridley
S - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
T - Tertullian
U - Zacharias Ursinus
V - Vivaldi
W - John and Charles Wesley
X - Xavier
Y - Florence Young
Z - Ulrich Zwingli

Look for it this June.  It will be a hardcover with 80? pages and sell for $15.99.

Coming Soon from Zondervan - How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership

Egalitarians and complementarians alike will have much to learn from How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership.   Here's the catalog description:

"This book features a number of autobiographical accounts as to how various persons have come to change their minds about women in leadership. Well-known Evangelical leaders—individuals and couples, males and females from a broad range of denominational affiliation and ethnic diversity—share their surprising journeys from a more or less restrictive view to an open inclusive view that recognizes a full shared partnership of leadership in the home and in the church based on gifts not gender. How I Changed My Mind About Women in Ministry offers a positive vision for the future of women and men together as partners of equal worth without competitiveness in the work of equipping this and the next generation of Christian disciples for the ‘work of ministry’ and service in the Kingdom of God."

Contributors include Stuart and Jill Briscoe, Tony Campolo, Bill and Lynne Hybels, I. Howard Marshall, John and Nancy Ortberg, and Cornelius Plantinga.  It should prove to be very interesting to see how each of these developed in their understanding of women in leadership.  It is edited by Alan F. Johnson. 

Watch for it this October.  How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership will be a paperback with 208 pages and sell for $16.99. 

Coming Soon from Crossway - Collected Writings on Scripture

Coming this July from Crossway is the Collected Writings on Scripture by D. A. Carson.  I've probably read most if not all of these since it is a compilation of previous published works.  But it will be nice to have them collected in one volume.  For many much of this will be new material.  The catalog description follows:

"God’s Word has always had enemies, but in recent years the inspiration and authority of Scripture have been attacked with renewed vigor. Respected scholar D. A. Carson has written widely on the nature of Scripture over the past thirty years, and here presents a timely collection of his work in two parts.

In part 1, Carson selects essays written on such themes as how to interpret the Bible, recent developments in the doctrine of Scripture, unity and diversity in the New Testament, and redaction criticism. Presenting a theologically balanced and confessional perspective, Carson defines the terms of a number of debates, critiques interpretive methods and theories, and suggests positive guidelines for future action.

Part 2 presents critical reviews of nine books dealing with the inspiration and authority of Scripture. Though substantial in content, Carson’s detailed reviews will foster careful thought and perspective in those who are relatively new to the debates surrounding biblical inspiration and authority.

This volume is a diverse collection that will prove to be a helpful resource to both seasoned pastors and scholars and those who are just starting serious study of the Bible."

Having the book reviews all together will be especially nice since they are scattered throughout various journals (if it's the ones I'm thinking of). 

Collected Writings of Scripture will be a hardcover book with 352 pages and sell for $27.99. 
Donald A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978.

Coming Soon from Eerdmans - Pentecostal Manifestos

Since this week celebrates the anniversary of the Azusa Street Revival it seemed appropriate to tell you about a new series coming from Eerdmans: The Pentecostal Manifestos.  Here's how the website describes the series:

"The Pentecostal Manifestos series aims to provide a forum for the rising, more outward-looking generation of Pentecostal scholarship. The series will bring together both high-profile and newly emerging scholars to address issues at the intersection of Pentecostalism, the global church, the theological academy, and broader cultural concerns. These various 'manifesto' volumes will be bold statements, marked by rigorous scholarship, reflecting a distinctly Pentecostal perspective on wider contemporary themes and debates."

The series editors are James K. A. Smith and Amos Yong.  The first one in the series is due out this June and is written by Smith and is titled Thinking in Tongues: Outline of a Pentecostal Philosophy.  Here's the catalog description:

"The past several decades have seen a renaissance in Christian philosophy, led by the work of Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, William Alston, Eleonore Stump, and others. In the spirit of Plantinga's famous manifesto, "Advice to Christian Philosophers," James K. A. Smith here offers not only advice to Pentecostal philosophers but also some Pentecostal advice to Christian philosophers.

In this inaugural Pentecostal Manifestos volume Smith begins from the conviction that implicit in Pentecostal and charismatic spirituality is a tacit worldview or "social imaginary." Thinking in Tongues unpacks and articulates the key elements of this Pentecostal worldview and then explores their implications for philosophical reflection on ontology, epistemology, aesthetics, language, science, and philosophy of religion. In each case, Smith demonstrates how the implicit wisdom of Pentecostal spirituality makes unique contributions to current conversations in Christian philosophy."

The table of contents looks very promising:

Introduction: What Hath Athens to Do with Azusa Street?

1.  Thinking in Tongues: Advice to Pentecostal Philosophers
2.  God's Surprise: Elements of a Pentecostal Worldview
3.  Storied Experience: A Pentecostal Epistemology
4.  Shattering Paradigms, Opening the World: Science, Spirit, and a Pentecostal Ontology
5.  From Beliefs to Altar Calls: A Pentecostal Critique of Philosophy of Religion
6.  At the Limits of Speech: A Pentecostal Contribution to Philosophy of Language

Epilogue: Pentecostal Contributions to Christian Philosophy

The other two in the series will be out in July.  They are Beyond Pentecostalism: The Crisis of Global Christianity and the Renewal of the Theological Agenda by Wolfgang Vondey and Justified in the Spirit: Creation, Redemption, and the Triune God by Frank D. Macchia. 

Smith's volume will have 184 pages and sell for $19.00. 

Coming Soon from Crossway - The Bible Story Handbook

John Walton has made a lasting impression on me as a student of Scripture.  One thing he impressed upon me was that we shouldn't be reading the Old Testament to glean moral lessons from David, Abraham, Sarah, Esther etc.  The Old Testament is a revelation of God.  Here's how he explains it in his Genesis commentary:

"Solomon is not offered as a model of setting up an administration (1 Kings 2), Esther is not offered as a model for how to change government policy (Est. 4-7), David is not offered as a model for how to get out of a rough spot (1 Sam 21:10-15)--though each is successful and receives no condemnation for how they conduct themselves.  We must take our lead carefully from what can be determined to be the agenda of the text."  (692)

I know what you're thinking.  "But doesn't the New Testament do this very thing?"  Walton has an answer.

"The fact that the New Testament in  few places (e.g., 1 Cor. 10:6-13; Heb. 11) draws its teaching based on role models does not thereby offer a blanket approval for us to do the same.  We can readily accept the New Testament's interpretation of the role models, but our confidence as a result of recognizing their inspiration does not necessarily make their hermeneutic repeatable."  (ibid 694 n.56)

Now this will, no doubt, open a can of worms and could destine a whole lot of sermons for the trash can.  But I think Walton needs to be heard.  Coming this September from Crossway is a book that John and his wife, Kim, have put together called The Bible Story Handbook: A Resource for Teaching 150 Bible Stories from the Bible.  Here's the catalog description:

"How do Sunday school teachers lead children through the stories of Cain and Abel or Judas’s betrayal in a way that reflects the authority of Scripture? Sunday school curricula often glosses over difficult lessons or focuses too much on characters in Bible stories, neglecting God’s self-revelation in Scripture. John and Kim Walton have created this handbook for 175 150 [I found three different numbers in various places.  I think the 150 is correct.] Bible stories to assist teachers and parents in knowing what each story teaches and how to present it in a God-centered way."

"As they work their way through the Bible, the Waltons examine seven elements in each story: focus, theme, application, place in the Bible, interpretational issues, historical and cultural background, and age-group appropriateness. The Bible Story Handbook includes introductory articles on why we teach the Bible, right and wrong ways to use the Bible, and ends with a two-year teaching plan. Every parent and Sunday school teacher will find this unique resource to be invaluable in teaching children to know and love God."

This may be a book primarily for Sunday school teachers but I think there is something here for all of us to learn from.  The Bible Story Handbook will have 352 pages and sell for $21.99. 

Great Article by Mark Galli and a Forthcoming Book by J. I. Packer and Gary A. Parrett

Readers of this blog know how much I appreciate Mark Galli.  His latest article in Christianity Today is superb.  Here's the opening paragraphs:

"In a therapeutic culture in which psychology is the lingua franca, it's easy to inadvertently subvert the gospel, to imagine we're talking about the gospel when we're really talking about the anti-gospel.

A few months ago when I was traveling, I attended a local church that was 'the' evangelical church in that suburb. The text for the day was the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The preacher began by reminding us of the context—the search of a shepherd for a valuable sheep; the search of a woman for a valuable coin. We were then told that the father in the parable, when he saw his wayward son far off, did not see someone who was selfish or a loser. Instead, through all the junk, he saw something valuable: a son. The sermon concluded with a reminder that God gives us the ability to see the treasure, the value in everyone we meet.

I am one with this preacher's motives and aims. But in his desire to proclaim the magnificent love of God, he inadvertently fell into language that actually proclaims bad news—all this talk of the intrinsic value in the object of love. This preacher did not go so far as to say it, but I've heard the following in sermons and read it in books by respectable evangelicals: 'You are unique and valuable. You were worth so much to God that he was willing to die to redeem you, so you could be in his family.' And this: 'We are worth the price God paid for us, the death of his Son.'

But of course this gets it exactly backwards. Unfortunately, in an attempt to convey the radical love of God, such well meaning Christians actually sabotage it.

For if we have some measure of intrinsic value to God, a number of things follow: First, it is our value, and not God's love, that forces God's hand. He looks at us and sees something of value, and being a reasonable fellow—one who knows and appreciates things of value—he pretty much has to redeem us. The love of God is not given freely in mercy to the undeserving, but instead to the deserving—because, after all, we are of infinite worth! God would be a poor judge of character if he did not choose to die for us."

The article is well worth reading:  Love Needs No Reason. 

In the current issue of Christianity Today we have an excerpt from a forthcoming book by J. I. Packer and Gary A. Parrett, Grounded in the Gospel.  In this important book Packer and Parrett argue for recovering the time-tested practice of catechesis. 

Here's what they say is the problem with Sunday School:

"Today, however, things are quite different, and that for a host of reasons. The church in the West has largely abandoned serious catechesis as a normative practice. Among the more surprising of the factors that have contributed to this decline are the unintended consequences of the great Sunday school movement. This lay-driven phenomenon swept across North America in the 1800s and came to dominate educational efforts in most evangelical churches through the 20th century. It effectively replaced pastor-catechists with relatively untrained lay workers, and substituted an instilling of familiarity (or shall we say, perhaps, over-familiarity) with Bible stories for any form of grounding in the basic beliefs, practices, and ethics of the faith.

Thus, for most contemporary evangelicals the entire idea of catechesis is largely an alien concept. The very word itself—catechesis, or any of its associated terms, including catechism—is greeted with suspicion by most evangelicals today. ('Wait, isn't that a Roman Catholic thing?')

We are persuaded that Calvin had it right and that we are already seeing the sad, even tragic, consequences of allowing the church to continue uncatechized in any significant sense. We are persuaded, further, that something can and must be done to help the Protestant churches steer a wiser course. What we are after, to put it otherwise, is to encourage our fellow evangelicals to seriously consider the wisdom of building believers the old-fashioned way." (emphasis theirs)

The book should be out next month.  It is from Baker Books with 240 pages and will sell for $16.99.

Sneak Peak at the HCSB Study Bible

You can get a sneak preview of sixteen pages of the forthcoming HCSB Study Bible which is due out this October.  My thanks to Jeff from the Scripture Zealot for providing the link who, in turn, found it at Anwoth who offers some of his initial observations.  Ah, the internet.  Here are some of my observations:

1) It’s full color. Zondervan’s Archeological Study Bible is the father of the full color study Bibles (The old Rainbow Bible is no comparison). The real test will be in the transparency. As much as I love the Archeological Study Bible often times the color pictures show through and become very distracting. Color maps also appear on the same page as the text. The same is done in the ESV Study Bible. Very helpful and extremely attractive.

2) It’s not red letter. I’ll have customers jump for joy and others who will complain. My guess is they will have a selection of both. But while the text is black the verse numbers are blue and the chapter and paragraph headings are brown/tan (?). This includes the cross references and the numbers at the bottom of the page beside the notes. I suspect this will be across the board in all editions which is unfortunate because there will be some who don’t like the extra color in the text since having a little blue number in the middle of a sentence will be a distraction for reading.

3) Word Studies. There are blocked off segments which offer a closer look at a particular word. They provide the Greek pronunciation, the HCSB translation, the number of uses in that particular book and the number of uses in the NT. It then gives a paragraph or so on the meaning of the word.

4) Essays. I’m not sure how many there will be but the sample shows one by Robert Stein on the “Differences in the Gospels.” If this is an indicator of the quality of the other essays we will not be disappointed.

5) Notes. Here’s where the real test comes with any study Bible. Sixteen pages is not much to judge by but I liked what I saw. I won’t be surprised by a theological bias since every study Bible has some bias to it. For the record I don’t know of a study Bible that has “just the facts” with no “man’s opinion.” I have had customers ask me for it. One test for me is how much the notes overlap with other study Bibles. After a while they start to repeat each other but with varying expressions. To some extent this should be expected.

Here’s one note I found interesting on Matthew 3:1 which reads “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea.” To understand the note better you should know “Archelaus” is mentioned in 2:22 (“But when he [Joseph] heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea . . .”

"In those days means “during the time of Jesus’ residence in Nazareth” rather than “during the reign of Archelaus.” After all, Archelaus reigned from 4 b.c. to a.d. 6, too early for John the Baptist to have begun his ministry since he would have been under age 12. In OT usage, “in those days” often referred to a time of prophetic fulfillment (Zph 1:15; Am 9:11; Zch 12:3-4; Is 10:20). Matthew probably used the phrase in conjunction with his references to fulfilled prophecy to emphasize that God’s promises were being fulfilled through Jesus and John the Baptist, herald and predecessor of Messiah. The location of John’s ministry (Wilderness of Judea) is reminiscent of the ministry of the prophet Elijah (1 Kg 17:3; 19:3-18; 2 Kg 2:1-12), whom many Jews believed would appear again to prepare the way for Messiah (Mt 17:10-13). Josephus described John’s ministry in a way that closely matches the gospel accounts (Ant. 18.114-119)."

The Bible is due out this October. As I get more information on it I’ll pass it along.

Coming Soon from Brazos Press - Good News for Anxious Christians

Are you ready for some good news? Let me tell you about a new book coming from Brazos Press called Good News for Anxious Christians: Ten Practical Things You Don’t Have to Do. Let’s start with the catalog description:

“Like a succession of failed diet regimens, the much-touted techniques that are supposed to bring us closer to God ‘in our hearts’ can instead make us feel anxious, frustrated, and overwhelmed. How can we meet and know God with ongoing joy rather than experiencing the Christian life as a series of guilt-inducing disappointments?”

“Phillip Cary explains that knowing God is a gradual, long-term process that comes through the Bible experienced in Christian community, not a to-do list designed to help us live the Christian life ‘right.’ This clearly written book covers ten things Christians don't have to do to be close to God, such as hear God's voice in their hearts, find God's will for their lives, and believe their intuitions are the Holy Spirit. Cary skillfully unpacks the riches of traditional Christian spirituality, bringing the real good news to Christians of all ages.”

Here are some of the chapter titles:

1. Why You Don’t Have to Hear God’s Voice in Your Heart, Or: How God Really Speaks Today.

2. Why You Don’t Have to Believe Your Intuitions are the Holy Spirit, Or: How the Spirit Shapes Our Hearts

3. Why You Don’t Have to be Sure You Have the Right Motivations, Or: How Love Seeks the Good

4. Why You Don’t Have to Keep Getting Transformed All the Time, Or: How Virtues Make a Lasting Change in Us

5. Why You Don’t Always Have to Experience Joy, Or: How God Vindicates the Afflicted

6. Why ‘Applying It to Your Life’ Is Boring, Or: How the Gospel is Beautiful

7. Why Basing Faith on Experience Leads to a Post-Christian Future, Or: How Christian Faith Needs Christian Teaching

I have read about the first 50 pages and I want to say this is a book you’re going to want to read. Cary is convinced that the Church is burdening people with unhealthy “techniques” which, while well intended, are doing more harm than good. What they are really doing is creating anxious Christians who are constantly worried about whether they're “doing it (whatever “it” may be) right.

Cary says the book got its start after he read one of his student’s papers on the topic of revelation. The student was frustrated with the concept because she said “you can never really tell if it’s the voice of God. For how do you know which voice you’re hearing is really God’s voice? And if you can’t tell if it’s God’s voice, then how can God reveal anything?” He quickly realized her concept of revelation was entirely wrong. She was anxious because she couldn’t be sure she wasn’t mistaking her voice for God’s voice. Here’s what he wrote on her paper, “I have good news for you: the voices in your heart are all your own. So you don’t have to get all anxious about figuring out which one of your voices is God. None of them is. The revelation of God comes in another way, through the word of God in the Bible, and this is something you can find outside your heart.” Now I know you’ve probably got a ton of questions (and maybe a few objections) but Cary says the two questions asked the most at this point are: “Are you saying God doesn’t speak to us today?” and “Are you saying God can’t speak in our hearts?” In reply he says . . . well, I’ll let you read the book.

It is very well written and should be on every pastor’s shelf. Maybe even more importantly it should make its way into every youth pastor’s library.

Look for it this October. It will be a paperback with 208 pages and sell for $14.99.

Phillip Cary (PhD, Yale University) is professor of philosophy and director of the philosophy program at Eastern University in Pennsylvania as well as scholar-in-residence at the Templeton Honors College. He is the author of Jonah in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible and of three critically acclaimed books on the life and thought of St. Augustine.

Coming Soon from Baker Academic - Constructing Jesus

Dale Allison is an impressive scholar and it is with great pride and excitement that Baker Academic is releasing Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History.  The catalog description follows:

"What did Jesus think of himself? How did he face death? What were his expectations of the future? In this volume, internationally renowned Jesus scholar Dale Allison Jr. addresses such perennially fascinating questions about Jesus."

"Representing the fruit of several decades of research, this major work questions standard approaches to Jesus studies and rethinks our knowledge of the historical Jesus in light of recent progress in the scientific study of memory. Allison's groundbreaking alternative strategy calls for applying what we know about the function of human memory to our reading of the Gospels in order to "construct Jesus" more soundly."

I admit I'm a bit hesitant about this work.  Allison did a previous work for Eerdmans called The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus which left me with a lot of questions.  Craig Blomberg gave a fairly positive review of the book.  He concluded:

"But his book remains so filled to the brim with common sense, lessons from history, profound insights, self-disclosure and self-effacement, refreshing candor and "equal-opportunity" criticism for all scholars that it is one of the few works I can recall reading with which I had fairly significant disagreements in key places but still absolutely loved and couldn't put down."

I responded to Blomberg with this comment:

"Thank you for the thoughtful review. I, too, enjoyed the book in spite of many disagreements. I thought Allison's conclusions were just a bit overly optimistic given the argument of the book. He critiques the traditional methods of criteria as too subjective, yet I found his own method of "repeated patterns" simply a variation of multiple attestation. If, however, the particulars of any given event are so unreliable on what basis can we formulate reliable general impressions just because they are repeated? To say that a "Jesus who sounds like us, makes us comfortable, and commends our opinions is no Jesus at all" is saying a lot given how little confidence Allison places on what we can know for sure what Jesus said or did. Who can say this wasn't the real Jesus? Finally, Allison seems to have a general distrust of much of the gospels as historically credible documents. He noted that the papers written by his students was rarely affected in their exegesis by whether or not something was historical or not (p. 43). Does this make the gospels little more than Aesop's fables? Should the historicity of an event affect our exegesis?"

Blomberg responded with simply "Good points!"  I had hoped for more but I appreciated his response. So with that as a background I'm anxious to see what Allison does in this new volume.  Here's are a couple of paragraphs from his first book which will give you an idea of my concerns:

"The temptation narrative may not be history as it really was, yet it is full of memory.  My judgment is that, taken as a whole, its artistic originator has managed to leave us with a pretty fair impression of Jesus, even if the episode does not contain one word that Jesus spoke or narrate one thing that he did.  Memory and legend are not easily disentangled, so when we try to weed out the fictions, will we not be uprooting much else besides?" (26-27) 

"I remain skeptical that we can very often show that any particular saying or story goes back to Jesus or does not go back to him.  We need to quit pretending to do what we cannot do.  The Gospels are parables.  When we read them, we should think not that Jesus said this or did that but rather: Jesus did things like this, and he said things like that."  (66)

"Do we not know that tradition always exaggerates and that a tendency to mythomania seems to be part of human nature?  How can anyone with a good education wholeheartedly believe that Jesus walked on water, that he fed five thousand with a few food scraps, or that he restored the dead to the land of  the living?  Such incredible things seem opposed to ordinary human experience.  Similar things do, however, often appear in archaic tales that everybody knows to be fictional."  (68-69)

The book will be released in November with 592 pages and sell for $54.99.  Make no mistake about it--agree or disagree Allison will be must reading for serious students of historical Jesus studies.

Dale C. Allison Jr. (PhD, Duke University) is the Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Coming Soon from Baker Academic - Ephesians

The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (BECNT) is one of my favorite New Testament commentary series.  It consistently delivers quality exegesis in an accessbile format.  One of my regular customers came in this week and asked for a recommendation on a commentary on 1 Corinthians.  She's never ever asked me a question like this before so I was tentative in my recommendation but told her I really liked David Garland's 1 Corinthians. I showed her a sample passage out of chapter 13.  It just so happened that that was the chapter she was studying so it was an appropriate choice.  She bought the commentary.  The next day she returned and said she was really enjoying it.  She was so impressed that she bought Grant Osborne's Revelation.

So I'm very excited to tell about the next contribution to the BECNT series: Ephesians by Frank Thielman.  The catalog description follows:

"Noted New Testament scholar Frank Thielman offers a substantive yet accessible commentary on Ephesians in this latest addition to the award-winning BECNT series. With extensive research and thoughtful chapter-by-chapter exegesis, Thielman leads readers through all aspects of the book of Ephesians--sociological, historical, and theological--to help them better understand its meaning and relevance."

"As with all BECNT volumes, Ephesians features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text. This commentary admirably achieves the dual aims of the series--academic sophistication with pastoral sensitivity and accessibility--making it a useful tool for professors, students, and pastors. The acclaimed user-friendly design includes shaded chapter introductions summarizing the key themes of each thought unit."

New Testament scholar and commentator, Craig Blomberg, says this about the BECNT series:

"In this age of unprecedented proliferation of biblical commentary series, it is an outstanding accomplishment for the Baker Exegetical series consistently to have produced what with only rare exceptions have become the best available commentaries on the Greek text of the New Testament book or books treated."--Craig Blomberg, Denver Journal

Look for it this November (I know for some of you I'm stretching the meaning of coming soon).  It will be hardcover with 592 pages and sell for $44.99.