Jesus and the Feminists: Who Do They Say He Is?

I can't say that I've ever had a big interest in Feminist theology but I found this book fascinating, easy to read and extremely helpful. Kostenberger provides a survey of various feminist theologians ranging from the radical feminists to evangelical feminism. Radical feminists are those who feel no obligation to be guided in their theology by the Bible or Jesus. Included in this category would be Mary Daly, Virginia Mollenkott and Daphne Hampson. "Reformist Feminism" are those who selectively use the Bible to reconstruct a "positive theology" for women. Included in this category would be Letty Russell, Rosemary Radford Ruether and Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza. In the "Evangelical Feminist" camp Kostenberger includes Aida Spencer, Ruth Tucker and Linda Belleville. These authors are those who believe the Bible "rightly interpreted, teaches complete gender equality."
This book is primarily a survey although Kostenberger does provide critiques along the way. Those looking for hearty critiques may sometimes be disappointed but she does provide further resources in numerous footnotes. As the title suggests the book focuses on Jesus and therefore most of the discussions are on the Gospels. A number of times I had to remind myself of this as I kept wondering why she wasn't dealing with this or that passage from Paul. Furthermore, I sometimes wished for more interaction with certain authors like William Webb. However, because Webb does not work much with the Gospels she concludes the "Gospel evidence does not feature prominently in [his] hermeneutical scheme." (169) She does interact with other prominent evangelicals such as Grant Osborne, Douglas Groothuis, Ben Witherington, and R. T. France.
An important issue for Kostenberger is Jesus' selection of twelve men as apostles. She asserts "Despite advancing various explanations, feminists have not been able to account satisfactorily for the fact that Jesus appointed twelve men as apostles." (213) Egalitarians will counter that Kostenberger is overstating her case and simply dismissing their responses as wrong without sufficient argument. Kostenberger devotes one chapter to various passages from the Gospels of Jesus and women. Here she persuasively demonstrates how difficult it is to portray that Jesus was in any meaningful sense a feminist by 21st century standards (radical, reformed or evangelical). It appears that if a strong case is going to be made for feminism then it can't be found on the basis of anything Jesus said or did. The case must be made elsewhere and this is precisely how so many today are arguing. Most prominent have been those who follow along the lines of Webb in his redemptive hermeneutic. See for example Scot McKnight's most recent book The Blue Parakeet.
Because the feminist debate so frequently ends up centered around Pauline texts (at least in evangelical circles) this is a refreshing volume to remind us that the Gospel evidence must not be neglected. For those interested in the spectrum of ideas represented in Feminist Theology this is an excellent introduction.

Baker Staff Pictured in Time Magazine

Three staff members of Baker Book House were recently pictured in Time Magazine (although unnamed the woman writing the Bible verse is our manager Sue Smith, in the background and to her right you see our assistant manger Sally Holefca and me, Louis McBride) in conjunction with Zondervan's Bible Across America Campaign . We were excited to be a part of this historic event. Zondervan is crossing the nation and having each verse of the Bible handwritten by people from across the nation. My verse was Genesis 1:3 "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." Zondervan will actually make two copies (I wrote the verse twice). One will be auctioned and the proceeds will go to the International Bible Society and the other will be given to the Smithsonian Institute. You can go to the link above and see exactly where the traveling four-person team is located. If you have an opportunity to take part of this I would highly encourage it. Go to the above link and click on "Route" and then "Timeline" to find out when they will be close to your neighborhood.

Jonah - Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible

Brazos Theological Commentaries are designed to be theologically creative, broadly ecumenical, Biblical commentaries, which offer variant readings and methodologies for approaching Biblical texts. They are minimally technical in presentation, while offering rich theological insight for the laity and theologically trained student of scripture. The editors, which include R. R. Reno and Ephraim Radner, believe that the way we teach and approach scripture has been reformulated to exclude most people who have not been “trained” theologically by an institution of higher education. In this sense, BrazosTheological Commentaries are a corrective to the dominance of professionalized theology where one must first do the hard work of hermeneutics, exegesis, textual studies, in order to correctly interpret the text. A commentary’s role, according to Hauerwas (in His Brazos commentary on Matthew) is to make a better follower of Jesus Christ and his church. The author of each commentary chooses his/her own interpretive methodology. Thus some authors choose to depart from the standard and modern historical critical method of interpretation, and fully choose a more historically based (if I can use such a judgment) method, such a typology. As a whole, the series assumes that the tradition of the Church, which includes the Apostles and Paul, still have legitimate reasons and approaches to the meaning of textual studies.

The Brazos series also blends this interpretation with today’s culture for a commentary that is sensitive and engaging to modern readers. Brazos is a creative, theologically sensitive, imaginative series sure to invoke piety and passion to worship and serve God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with heart and mind.

The seventh commentary in the Brazos series is on Jonah by Phillip Cary. His basic approach is to see Jonah through a typological reading, as it is related to/fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As an Old Testament Studies professor I get a little nervous when I hear this approach is being used, partially because the original text is usually neglected and any interpretation is offered. I was ecstatic to read that Cary’s approach tries to link the historical account to the typology itself. He believes typology is only valid if you can connect it with the original historical reading of the text. Jonah was written after the return from the exile, and the book itself is a parable, which tries to connect the historical account of Israel with the story of Jonah. Don’t understand how? Read it and you will see that Phillip Cary did his homework. Even better, the parable connects the gourd at the end of the story (which withers away) with the messianic line. Many people who read Jonah closely point out the abrupt ending. But through Cary’s reading of Jonah, the end of the story does not reveal a fickle and pouting prophet who is upset that God took away his comfort and shade, but rather he represents the anger of Israel that there is no messianic line for the messiah to come, and God is saving gentiles! This also has connections with Isaiah’s vision for a new humanity in chapters 56-66. Cary points out the comedic elements in the book, which are abounding! He writes with passion, intelligence, creativity and the ability for anyone to pick up the book of Jonah and immerse themselves in it.

- Eric Karloski works in the Used Book Department at Baker Book House and has recently been accepted for a position as Professor of Old Testament Studies at Life Theological Seminary, Bhubaneswar, India

Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden

Biblical scholar, Ben Witherington III wrote an extensive review on Jesus Wants to Save Christians. I recommend taking a look at it, read it right here.

Andrew Rogers is a promotions manager for Zondervan. Check back every Friday for what's new from Zondervan.

ESV Study Bible - Available Now

The long-awaited ESV Study Bible has arrived. This study Bible has several features you won't want to miss. There are over 200 full-color maps which are printed alongside the text and notes throughout the Bible. In addition to this are 15 full-color maps at the back of the Bible with the first one being "The Middle East Today." Over 50 articles are included which cover a wide range of topics from Theology of the Old Testament, Theology of the New Testament, Biblical Ethics (13 articles), The Canon of the Old Testament, The Canon of the New Testament, The Septuagint, and many more.
The contributors of the study notes represent some of the finest in contemporary conservative Christian scholarship. Among them are Gordon Wenham, Duane A. Garrett, C. John Collins, Andreas J. Kostenberger, Clinton Arnold, Grant Osborne, Robert Yarbrough and Thomas R. Schreiner to name only a few. Finally, these Bibles have been printed on the finest paper and are all Smyth-Sewn to ensure a quality final product. With your purchase of the print edition you will always have access to a FREE ESV Online Study Bible which offers the full content of the print version, plus additional unique features. You must see these first hand in order to appreciate it fully so stop in today and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

The latest in the BECNT Series is in!

Robert Yarbrough's commentary on the Epistles of John is now in stock. The highly-acclaimed series (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) is now joined with another outstanding contribution. Yarbrough brings a unique blend of academic scholarship and pastoral warmth to these often neglected New Testament books. He is clearly in his element as he weaves the thought of the Epistles with John's Gospel. A regular feature of the series is to comment on textual variants. Yarbrough takes this one step further in that he addresses every textual variant in John's Epistles found in NA27. This is, in part, to show there is "no reasonable grounds for suspicion of the soundness of our knowledge of what the author. . . wrote" and demonstrates that the inferences drawn by scholars such as Bart Ehrman are "considerably overstated." Some Calvinists will anxiously turn to I John 2:2 to see what Yarbrough does with this controversial text. I found his treatment sound and fair and most Calvinists, I suspect, will be happy with his exegesis. Others will look at his treatment of the "sin unto death" (I John 5:16). Here Yarbrough must be read carefully. His own translation is a bit awkward: "There is sin that is unto death. Making request in prayer for those committing that sin is not something I am saying to do." But this translation is an attempt "to emphasize what John's diction may seek to stress in Greek." Yarbrough wisely interprets this passage "in a way that comports with a close reading of the entire epistle." Essentially he believes the sin unto death is "to have a heart unchanged by God's love in Christ and so to persist in convictions and acts and commitments. . ." Overall, so far I've found Yarbrough to be sensitive to the complexities of the text throughout the book of I John (I've not had a chance yet to get the 2 and 3 John) without bogging the reader down with too many details. This series has been one of my favorites and I am already impressed with this latest addition. See an interview with Robert Yarbrough by Colin Hansen here.

Bringing the Bible to Life - Study Guide Series

The Bringing the Bible to Life series is an exciting new line of study guide curriculum that launched this fall with six different guides: Genesis, Esther, John, Romans, Ephesians and Hebrews.

These guides were based on the award-winning NIV Application Commentary series. This means that each guide brings with it the insights of top evangelical scholars like Douglas Moo, John Walton and Karen Jobes to name a few.

But enough with the basic facts, I should tell you why I recommend this series: because for someone who has grown up in church (like myself) this study guide curriculum goes refreshingly deeper than other series. I don't say that to put down other books, or to exonerate myself, but just to recognize that when you grow up in the church it's easy to know all of the "right answers" to common Bible study questions and it's easy to get bored with Bible study. Because this series focuses on scholarship (but still maintains accesibility) it is challenging me to think more deeply about verses I've heard many times, and exposing me to knowledge about the text that you only typically find in commentaries.

I recommend this series to those who want something "deeper" in their small groups and Sunday school classes, and I especially recommend it to those who have been through numerous study guides and programs before - these might reignite your passion to study the Bible again. My Bible study group just started Romans. As we work through it, I'll add other thoughts about the series to this post, so check back!

Andrew Rogers is a Promotions Manager for Zondervan. Check back each Friday for his New From Zondervan reviews.

Theology in the Context of World Christianity - Timothy C. Tennent

It's not something you think about every day, and it might not be something you have ever considered, but the center of Christianity has shifted away from the Western world to the global South and East. Initially it was hard for me to wrap my mind around this idea as I read Dr. Tim Tennent's book, but as he systematically and accessibly presents his argument I began to agree, the Church is not what I thought it was. Theological developments are being made by leaps and bounds in other parts of the world, and as thinking Christians in the West we should be looking to other Christian communities, indeed other continents as we "do" theology.

"...The lifeblood of Christianity is found in its ability to translate itself across new cultural and geographic barriers and to recognize that areas that once were the mission field can, over time, become the very heart of Christian vitality, while those areas that were once at the heart can lose the faith they once espoused...places like Lagos, Nigeria, and Seoul, South Korea, where the presence of Christianity at one time seemed almost unimaginable, are today vibrant centers of the Christian faith." (p.6)

Though this text is not brand new (2007), considering it as a textbook it is still new enough to merritt a review, and I was so impressed by Tennent's work I felt I had to mention it here.

There is much to learn from the global Church. It's easy in developed countries, where church is perfected and polished, available in a thousand flavors and expressions, to assume that we have the corner on theology. But as Tennent asserts it is often in those places that seem to be less churched where the Church is often at its most vibrant, relevant, and offering fresh insights on who God is.

This book is completely accessible for lay readers and the general audience. It looks and feels like a textbook but Tennent's passion for his beliefs come through in a powerful way. I would recommend this for Sunday School classes, Missions classes, and if you have an ambitious small group it could be used there as well.

"Those of us from the older northern churches of Christendom must listen attentively to these new southern Christians. We are no longer the only, or even the central, players on the filed. Admittedly, this is not an easy adjustment for us. We are not accustomed to living in a world where the heartlands of Christianity are located in Africa, Latin America and Asia. nevertheless, twenty-first-century Christianity will largely be determined by the faithfulness of those outside our primary sphere of influence. After all, the theology that matters the most is wherever the most Christians are located." (p. 272)

Andrew Rogers is a Promotions Manager for Zondervan. Check by every Friday for his posts on Zondervan's new books and resources.

How to be Evangelical without being Conservative - Roger Olson

"Gradually the impression has sunk into the American mind that being a conservative Christian, being evangelical, and being narrow, rigid, militant, and angry are the same."


So begins Roger Olson in How to be Evangelical without being Conservative.

In this short book Olson manages to tackle a number of religious/social/political issues that are often unnecessarily used to polarize viewpoints, while attempting to redeem words like "evangelical." Each chapter begins by asking a relevant but often unspoken question: What does it mean to "Take the Bible Seriously Without Literalism"? Or to "Celebrate America without Nationalism"? To even to be "Religionless without Secularism"?

As we enter the final stages of the Presidential race I encourage you to read this book. Olson does not present a partisan argument, but encourages readers to think beyond pundit labels and media slant. You may not agree with all of his thoughts, but his reasoned approach and personal tone are worth reading. This book also includes a glowing foreword by Scot McKnight in which he says:

"This book reminds us that the two-option approach so popular in our world today, two options that are held with utter certitude by both sides, is not always the right one. Sometimes, in fact, there is a Third Way, a way that might not be so cocksure and certain, but just might be 'Here I stand, so help me God.'"

Check back every Friday for Andrew's updates on new Zondervan resources for ministry and Bible study! Andrew Rogers is a Promotions Manager for Zondervan.

African Christian Ethics - Samuel Waje Kunhiyop

Zondervan is proud to announce the second book in the "HippoBooks" line, African Christian Ethics by Samuel Waje Kunhiyop.

HippoBooks is a shared imprint among several publishers and partners including Zondervan and African publishing houses. The vision for HippoBooks is to stimulate growth in the African Church by enabling African scholars to address their native realities from an evangelical perspective.

As the world grows smaller through the Internet and easier travel, African issues grow in importance for the Western Church. HippoBooks allow us to get a firsthand look into a larger vision of the body of Christ, and its problems, guided by trustworthy scholars.

If your church has a multi-ethnic congregation, then I would especially recommend this book to you. It's emphasis on understanding cultural sensitivities and it's concise dealing with each topic make it a handy reference tool.

Speaking of the topics, I was particularly intrigued when I saw this book because of the variety of ethical issues it covers: Church and State, War and Violence, Striking, Contraception, Polygamy, Domestic Violence, Incest, Rape, Witchcraft and many more. Often reading a non-western perspective on these topics is enlightening and gets me thinking about the Church and faith issues in new ways.

This would also be great reading for anyone travelling, even just short term. in Africa. It would also be good for students entering a missions program this fall. Kunhiyop's writing is in-depth but not overly academic. (Don't balk at the book's 400 pages, it reads much faster than it looks.)

Thanks to Baker Book House for allowing me to be a guest blogger. Check back next Friday for more news about Zondervan's ministry and Bible study resources. I'll be posting weekly and if you use any of the resources mentioned don't hesitate to leave a comment, we want to know what you think!

Andrew Rogers, Promotions Manager, Zondervan

A Visual History of the English Bible

Donald Blake's new book A Visual History of the English Bible is not only a gorgeous book but it is a stimulating history of the English Bible. Blake surveys the major English Bibles from Wycliffe to the TNIV. Beautiful illustrations are replete throughout and the personal anecdotes of the author's acquisitions of first editions and rare Bibles offer a uniquely personal touch. I especially enjoyed the discussion of the King James Version and the problems surrounding its original publication and the various editorial changes through the years. The discussion of Bible translations starts off fairly neutral but then seems to end up favoring the word-for-word style of translation. A chart provides a comparison of the the major English Bibles with the author's evaluation. Some may question how the KJV rates a "good" on "clarity of reading" which is the same evaluation given for the NASB, Good News Translation, TNIV and other contemporary translations. But this is only a minor quirk compared to the wealth of what this volume offers. This would be a great gift for any pastor or someone with an interest in the English Bible.