The summer of Lindsay is continuing, with a number of review books arriving from Zondervan and IVP (USA). The two IVP books will help me with teaching Christ & the Cross again next semester, and the two from Zondervan are part of the new Hearing the Message of Scripture series, which looks absolutely excellent.
I’ve put the publisher’s blurb below.
Powers of Darkness (Clinton Arnold)
Satan worship. Witches. New Age channelers.
The last two decades have witnessed a vast upsurge in occult activity. Scores of popular books have warned Christians of the dangers and urged them to do battle against these spiritual forces. Few books, however, have developed a careful biblical theology on demons, principalities and powers.
Clinton Arnold seeks to fill this gap, providing an in-depth look at Paul’s letters and what they teach on the subject. For perspective, he examines first-century Greek, Roman and Jewish beliefs as well as Jesus’ teaching about magic, sorcery and divination. Arguing against many recent interpretations that have seen principalities and powers as impersonal social, economic and political structures, Arnold contends that the New Testament view is that such forces are organized, personal beings which Jesus defeated at the cross and will bring into full subjection at his return.
In his concluding section Arnold suggests practical ways in which Christians today can contend with the forces of evil.
A thoughtful, biblical look at an urgent challenge facing the church.
Adopted into God’s Family (Trevor Burke)
The relationship between God and his people is understood in various ways by the biblical writers, and it is arguably the apostle Paul who uses the richest vocabulary.
Unique to Paul’s writings is the term huiothesia, the process or act of being “adopted as son(s).” It occurs five times in three of his letters, where it functions as a key theological metaphor.
Trevor Burke argues that huiothesia has been misunderstood, misrepresented or neglected through scholarly preoccupation with its cultural background. He redresses the balance in this comprehensive study, which discusses metaphor theory; explores the background to huiothesia; considers the roles of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; examines the moral implications of adoption, and its relationship with honor; and concludes with the consequences for Christian believers as they live in the tension between the “now” and the “not yet” of their adoption into God’s new family.
Obadiah (Daniel I. Block)
Obadiah, part of the Hearing the Message of Scripture series, serves pastors and teachers by providing them with a careful analysis and interpretation of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament book of Obadiah, quickly allowing pastors to grasp the big idea of the passage and how it fits in its larger context.
Jonah (Kevin Youngblood)
Jonah, part of the Hearing the Message of Scripture series, serves pastors and teachers by providing them with a careful analysis and interpretation of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament book of Jonah, quickly allowing pastors to grasp the big idea of the passage and how it fits in its larger context. The author demonstrates many linguistic connections between words and expressions in the book of Jonah itself, and with many other passages in both the Old and New Testaments.
Many thanks to IVP and Zondervan for providing copies of these books in exchange for fair reviews. I am already working on Obadiah and thoroughly enjoying it.
