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Review of New Testament Christological Hymns by Matthew Gordley

There’s a trend in the evangelical church today of reclaiming that which is old. Hymns and liturgy have been making a comeback. In terms of the church’s worship, what could be more ancient than reclaiming the worship of the first believers? Scholars have postulated that the NT contains ancient pre-existing hymns that were sung in early gatherings. However, a recent trend has been to reject the idea of NT “hymns” altogether. In New Testament Christological Hymns, Matthew Gordley—himself an expert in NT “hymn” passages—walks a nuanced balance between the two poles as he reconsiders these intriguing texts.

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September 27, 2018 / 0 Comments

Review: Covenant Relationships and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter by Adam Hensley

In the past few decades Psalms scholarship has begun to consider the Psalter as an intentionally arranged collection even with a overarching message or structure. Doing so has highlighted that the Davidic covenant takes pride of place, particularly in Psalm 89 which questions the state of this covenant. The role of David and the Davidic covenant is interpreted differently among scholars, so an in-depth study of the covenants in the Psalter is welcome. Thankfully, Adam Hensley’s published PhD dissertation at Concordia seminary—Covenant Relationships and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter—addresses this very topic. Adam Hensley seeks to defend and articulate “… the largely unexplored idea that the Psalter presents David as [sic] Moses-like agent of covenant renewal between YHWH as the community” (p. 211).

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September 20, 2018 / 1 Comment

Review: The Divine Christ by David Capes

One of the most significant factors in understanding Paul’s view of Jesus is the fact that he so easily applies “YHWH” texts—OT texts where the God of Israel is the referent—to Jesus. In 1992, David Capes released a book on this topic entitled Old Testament Yahweh Texts in Paul’s Christology. This year (2018), he has released The Divine Christ; a follow-up of sorts that returns to the topic in light of recent scholarship and Capes’ own maturing thoughts. That is not to say, however, that one must read his first book to appreciate this one. This is a solid work on Christology that stands on its own merit.

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September 13, 2018 / 0 Comments

Review: From Jesus to the Church by Craig Evans

If we were to travel back in time to the first century, would we recognize “Christianity?” How much of our imagination of the early church is inspired by our modern Western culture, whether it be our contemporary churches or movies such as The Passion? Or, asking the question in the other direction, would the apostles—even Jesus—recognize Christianity? Craig Evans’ From Jesus to the Church goes a long way towards addressing some of these questions. Evans himself presents his book as a study of “the clash between the family of high priest Annas and the family of Jesus of Nazareth” (p. 2), but the contents of his book far exceed this topic.

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September 6, 2018 / 1 Comment

Review: Conformed to the Image of the Son by Haley Goranson Jacob

Romans 8:28-30, among the most quoted passages in the Bible, has long been misunderstood. That is the thrust of Haley Goranson Jacob’s argument in Conformed to the Image of the Son. The problem: we do not properly understand glory, the glory of humanity, and what it means to be conformed to Christ’s image. This thorough and thoughtful book by a upcoming female scholar aims to set us right.

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August 21, 2018 / 1 Comment

Review of Micah (Two Horizons) by Stephen Dempster

I must admit I’ve delayed writing this review. It’s not that I didn’t like Stephen Dempster’s Micah commentary; in fact, it was the opposite. I liked it so much that I was intimidated to review it (even after writing so many reviews). It’s just that good. Micah all the expected features of a commentary in the Two Horizons series. A 50-page introduction discusses usual issues such as authorship, setting, and structure as well as Micah’s placement in the Book of the Twelve (interestingly, Micah’s prediction of the temple’s destruction is at the very center of the Twelve). A 120-page commentary follows; one that somehow doesn’t feel as brief as it may look. A 70-page theological reflection concludes the commentary, in which Dempster considers Micah’s themes (e.g. justice, land, temple, messiah), contribution to Biblical theology, and contemporary relevance (e.g. cheap grace, justice, idolatry).