The Lost Letters of Pergamum by Bruce Longenecker (A book review)

Sight Magazine has just published a book review I just wrote. It is a review on Bruce Longenecker's The Lost Letters of Pergamum (Baker, Grand Rapids, 2003). Here are parts of the review.

"The genius of this book is Professor Bruce Longenecker’s ability to narrate a powerful tale through the lens of early church history. At the same time the story of Jesus is retold through the fictional accounts of Antipas and the early Christians in Pergamum. As a result, we modern readers reap the benefit of learning from Longenecker (a prominent Biblical scholar) important elements of New Testament history through a very user-friendly story. We are indebted to Longenecker for teaching us something about Luke’s Gospel, the background of Revelation, and the ancient letter writing style that shaped much of the New Testament."

"The Lost Letters of Pergamum is not so much a light bedtime reading. But neither is it an academic book that demands a heavy intellectual engagement. Rather, it is for Christians, pastors, theological students, and even children (from upper primary onwards), who want to gain insights into the New Testament and the power of the Gospel through a superb storyline that is both intriguing and engaging. I highly recommend this book."

Click here to read the entire book review.

Scot McKnight on some reviews of Rob Bell's new book Love Wins

In Scot McKnight's blog there are a few reviews on Rob Bell's new book Love Wins. Click here for the link.

A few days ago McKnight said this:

"As you may know, I consider the issues surrounding universalism, the love of God and the justice of God, the relationship of our life now and our life then … I consider these issues to be the most significant challenge to the Christian faith today. Pounding the hell pulpit or knee-jerk defenses of what Rob says aren’t going to satisfy the aching questions so many have about this topic today." (Click here for the full post.)

I think the last sentence here is wise.

Book review: The God I Don't Understand

Book Review: The God I Don’t Understand by Christopher J H Wright (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2008)

I wholeheartedly recommend Dr Christopher Wright’s The God I Don’t Understand to everyone. Christopher Wright is a respected scholar in the Old Testament, and was formerly the principal of All Nations Christian College, a leading mission training college in England. Currently he is the Director of Langham Partnership International, and the chair of the Theological Resource Panel of TEAR Fund, UK.

The God I Don’t Understand is easy-to-read, honest, and full of insights. It seeks to answer four questions:

• What about evil and suffering?
• What about the Canaanites? (That is, how come such violence can be found in the bible?)
• What about the cross?
• What about the end of the world?

Christopher Wright deals with the problem of evil and suffering skilfully. He is gentle, biblical and not dogmatic. He insightfully says that while we often ask ‘why?,’ the people in the bible more often ask ‘how long’. This is so true!

The theology of the cross is both simple and complicated. On the one hand it is simply about the death and resurrection of Christ, which is, in turn, the foundation of the gospel. On the other hand the mechanics of how it works can be hard to understand. But Wright manages to explain it in three user-friendly chapters, covering some rather controversial questions. Is the cross an expression of God’s love or anger, or both? Should sin be understood in terms of ‘personal and objective guilt’? Or is it concerning ‘subjective and social shame’ in a given cultural context? Interesting and important questions for 21st-century Christians in a pluralistic world, and Wright provides us with good answers.

He honestly says that there are a lot of things in the scripture that he doesn’t understand – hence the title of the book. But what he does understand he explains clearly, helpfully and in a simple language. He does this exceptionally well in the three chapters about the end of the world under the titles ‘Cranks and Controversies’, ‘The Great Climax’, and ‘The New Beginning’.

Often I find that authors on these topics tend to write from their own doctrinal and ideological perspectives. But for Wright, it’s primarily scriptural. I particularly like his humility. He does not shy from affirming biblical truths, but at the same time he does not claim to have all the answers.

The book has clarified plenty of questions for me. But it is not a book of deep theology. Instead, it contains lucid bible teaching that has huge implications to how we live today. We are indebted to this fine book for its contribution to the church.