The Narnia 3 Book Review Blog

by Robert Backhouse, Tim Dowley (ed). The Kregel Pictorial Guide to: The Temple (1996), 32pp $9.99 (paper).

In Biblical studies the typical tools (Bible dictionaries, commentaries, and other reference works) are indispensable for any serious student. They are full of detailed information and factual material and bibliographic sources that are essential for a thorough understanding of a particular passage or theological concept.

However, many of the reference tools are often inadequately illustrated with visually orientated material. This is understandable, since the creation of excellent graphics and printing in full color adds a considerable expense to the overall cost of a book; costs which are already quite high in some cases. However, excellence in graphic design can really put a book over the top. The cliche, "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true. With this series of Guides, the editor, Tim Dowley and Kregel Publications fill a gap in Bible teaching tools with excellence of concept and presentation.

Dowley had been in the forefront of providing high quality illustrated works, mainly in church history, for many years. His Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s, 1978) in many ways was the prototype for the well illustrated and innovative formatting. That particular work was about 20 years ahead of its time, but Dowley has seen his concepts become standards with many publishers.

These Guides are larger sized (8x10), of high quality paper, and are mainly charts, graphs and pictures and artist recreations. All of the illustrations are exceptionally well done. While the Guides are dominated by illustrations, there is some explanatory text and explanations. The Guide on The Story of the Bible, is particularly useful detailing the history of Bible translation, including early alphabets and the process for creating papyrus. The Guide for The Temple has excellent artist reconstructions of the Solomon’s Temple and the enlarged Temple complex of Herod along with details of the various Temple rituals. One lack is any depiction of the post-Babylonian Captivity Temple of Ezra and Nehemiah's era.

These little volumes (32 pages each) will serve as excellent supplements for any student of the Bible or church history. They would work well as references in a Sunday school or home Bible study setting. Even though they are short the editor included a helpful topical index in each volume. A CD product that made the charts and artwork available for sermon illustrations or use in the classroom would also be a welcomed addition to the series.

These Guides are well done and they are a series that should continue to expand for some time. Other Guides on Church History (two volumes) and The Christian Heritage in England, The Tabernacle, The Bible, and Everyday Life in Bible Times, are also available and follow the same format. This series is accomplished with the excellence one expects from this editor and publisher and we highly recommend it for all students of the Bible.

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Danny E. Olinger (ed). A Geerhardus Vos Anthology: Biblical and Theological Insights Alphabetically Arranged. (Philipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2005. Paper xxii + 375pp $19.99.

The over-used phrase “father” of one movement or another, is tossed around often with little regard to history or even whether or not the particular movement is important enough to even deserve a “father.” However, in the case of Geerhardus Vos, the term “father of Reformed Biblical Theology” is both historically accurate and the movement he birthed is indeed significant.

In 1891 the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary asked that a professorship of biblical theology be created and in 1894 Vos began a tenure at Princeton that would last until his retirement in 1932 (Vos, Caspar Wistar Hodge and William Park Armstrong were the three conservative faculty members who, for various personal reasons, did not resign from Princeton to join the newly formed Westminster Theological Seminary after the reorganization of Princeton in 1929).

Vos brought the discipline of “Biblical Theology” to both Princeton and Reformed theology despite the concerns that it, according to Benjamin Warfield, that “it came to us wrapped in the swaddling clothes of rationalism, and it was rocked in the cradle of the Hegalian recasting of Christianity” (Calhoun, Princeton Seminary: The Majestic Testimony, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1996], 137). Warfield, however, was both a supporter and close friend of the somewhat shy and self-styled "mystic" and who, along with C. W. Hodge, had given the impetus that led to the formation of the professorship that Vos filled.

Vos’ writings were not particularly influential during his lifetime, because as Olinger states, “liberals dismissed his writings while his conservative brethren did not understand them" (2). Because Vos also shied away from the larger denominational and church matters, focusing on duties at the seminary, he was not widely known outside the academic world. However, through his students, notably Ned Stonehouse, John Murray, and Cornelius Van Til; Vos’ concepts and constructs in Biblical theology enjoyed a wide hearing to generations of students at Westminster. In recent years his works have enjoyed a significant resurgence, particularly, in this reviewers observation, among the younger generation of Reformed pastors and students.

The author has produced an eminently readable and practical introduction to the works of Vos. The introductory chapter (1-27) serves as an excellent window into his life and works. The anthology itself is a series of excerpts from his writings arranged in alphabetical order by topic (the topical categories are listed in the front matter). Each excerpt is clearly identified allowing a deeper examination of the material by the reader. The editor has included a clear list of abbreviations of Vos’ works, and a detailed bibliography, but a complete bibliography of Vos' writings would have been a useful addition.

While we recommend this work as a survey of Vos; there was also a sense of dissatisfaction with the overall concept of the book. Vos simply is not the type of author whose works lend themselves well to the “sound bite” approach taken in anthologies. However, significant quotes such as, "Once the sense of allegiance to the Word of God as the old authoritative rule of faith as become weakened, or, while still recognized in theory has ceased to be a loving force in the mind of believers, then the hope of return to the truth once forsaken is reduced to a minimum" (308), will hopefully serve both as an inspiration and a warning to a new generation.

Vos' writings are detailed and tightly wound both in logic and argumentation, grounded in the redemptive-historical hermeneutics of Reformed Theology. His works in Biblical theology, from a thoroughly inerrantist position, was ground-breaking and provocative; and whether or not one agrees with either his methodology or conclusions, interaction with Vos demands deep reading not light skimming of interesting quotations.

Still, this work opens the door to the works of one of the most original thinkers in the Old Princeton tradition, one whose influence some 70 years after his death is perhaps greater than during his life.

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Chad Owen Brand and R. Stanton Norman Ed’s). Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity. (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2004. Paper, xiii + 353pp. $19.99

The issue of church polity is perhaps one of the most divisive issues in local churches in America. Churches have split over the issue of “elder rule” versus some form of congregationalism (since the late 1970’s this has been a major flashpoint issue in the ministry of TMS president Dr. John MacArthur and different Baptist associations because of his advocacy of an elder system). Churches in Episcopal systems have seen their congregations locked out of their church facilities by a “headquarters” who did not like the way a particularly local congregation was going. And in Presbyterian systems local congregations have seen church discipline decisions with clear Biblical warrant reversed by Synod and General Assembly courts.

Congregations and their leaders wonder what is the “biblical” form of church government, how should they be organized and how should decisions be made. Certainly, it seems, that this is a foundational issue for the local church that seeks to conduct it’s affairs in a manner that pleases God.

Historically, several forms of church polity have developed, and many variations and nuances exist within those established positions. A local church struggling with its own organization or a new assembly wondering how to “get off on the right foot” is often left with a “blithering array of competing models, all of which lay claim to biblical authenticity” (p. 22) which are often by presented by respected evangelical leaders, pastors, and theologians. One work that escapes from the “blithering” category is this “five view” work. Here five options of polity are presented clearly, forthrightly and in a generally irenic manner. Brought together by the editors, five respected evangelical leaders present their case for local church polity. They and the positions they affirm are as follows:

• Daniel Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, defends “The Single Elder-Led Church: The Bible’s Witness to a Congregational/Single-Elder-Led Polity,” (25-86).

• Robert L Reymond, Professor of Theology at Knox Theological Seminary, defends the “Presbytery-Led Church: Presbyterian Church Government,” 87-156).

• James Leo Garrett, Jr., Professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, defends the “Congregation-Led Church: Congregational Polity,” 157-208).

• Paul F. M. Zahl, Dean and President of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, defends the “The Bishop-Led Church: The Episcopal or Anglican Polity Affirmed, Weighed, and Defended” (209-54).

• James R. White, Director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, defends the “Plural Elder-Led Church: Sufficient as Established –The Plurality of Elders as Christ’s Ordained Means of Church Governance,” (255-96).
  

As normal in this genre there are responses by the other contributors at the end of each major presentation. There are useful indexes (name, subject, and Scripture) and a clear introductory chapter by the editors dealing with the key issues and a brief history of the history of church polity.

The contributors uniformly present clear definitions, Biblical defenses, and generally offer detailed research in their efforts. The publisher opted to use endnotes instead of footnotes which often breaks up important points that the contributors were making in their articles. Each author supports his position from Scripture and with a wide array of material. For instance in his chapter, Garrett utilizes 318 notations which encompasses 19 pages of material.

In evaluating the presentations certainly that by Akin should be judged as superior. He is both current in his scholarship and, while making an affirmative case for his position, still acknowledging room for flexibility (p.73). Reymond makes a detailed presentation of the Presbyterianism and defends it, in large part, as a means to maintain church and ministry “balance.” He states, that, “it provides the most trustworthy, just, and peaceful way for the church to determine its principles, its practices, and its priorities and to resolve its differences” (p. 135). Reymond’s point that within a congregational model there are, “too many ministers and too many churches that are accountable to no one” (ibid) is well stated; however, he weakens his position considerably by attributing the tragedy of Jonestown and the scandals of Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart and Jesse Jackson directly to a congregational model (p. 136). In doing this he likewise fails to note that Presbyterianism, as a system was not able to deal with the liberalism that eventually led to the reorganization of Princeton Seminary in 1929 and the wholesale departure from orthodoxy of several Presbyterian denominations.

While thoroughly noted and detailed, the article by Garrett is more of a laundry list of quotations and people who have supported some form of congregationalism. His criticism of “mega-churches,” the ministry of John MacArthur, and Dallas Theological Seminary, as part of the “crisis” or “major erosion or overt rejection of congregational polity” (p. 190) is a tired old canard. However, his point that individual members need to be more active in the affairs and ministries of their churches is a worthwhile contribution (p. 192).

In presenting the Episcopal model, Zahl centers on the Anglican Church, which is not a particularly major force in American evangelicalism. His presentation is clear and perhaps one of the best affirmative presentations of that system this reviewer has encountered. However, it would have been helpful had he expanded his horizons to include the Methodist, Lutheran and perhaps even the Roman Catholic schemas.

The final presentation by James White on the plurality of elders is perhaps the most disappointing in terms of presentation. His argument is often pedantic and has an air of “my way or the highway” to it. He utilizes Sola Scriptura in such a manner that he makes it clear that a rejection of his position on polity is a de facto moving away from or rejection of the Sola as well. His notations are weak (he uses only 11 footnotes) and he offers little in the way of affirmative support. In fact his is the only article that fails to cite or quote any supporting source outside of Scripture.

There are certainly other points of disagreement and issues that could be mentioned, but, for the most part, the individual authors dispatch these in their responses to one another. There are a couple of issues that we would mention however. In assessing Congregational model position, Akin appears to correct Garrett’s assertion that John MacArthur is Presbyterian (p. 196) but points to a reference that he identifies as “Note 99” which has no bearing on that point, and in fact in the section discussing MacArthur (whose ministry Garrett views as a major reason Baptist churches have moved towards “elder rule”, p. 191), does not make a claim that MacArthur is a Presbyterian.

This book, while covering a large swath of evangelical church polity, it is not complete. There is no discussion of a minimalist polity such in Plymouth Brethren assemblies, and as already mentioned there is no discussion of the non-Anglican systems that practice the Episcopal model. An additional issue is that there is no discussion of the inherent weaknesses in each system and how, on a practical level, those are overcome. There is also no discussion of how one might practically implement one system or the other if you were starting from scratch, how one might move a congregation from one model to another, or under what circumstances such a change might be a good or bad idea.

This is an important work and a valuable contribution to the literature of polity and we recommend it highly. That being said, this reviewer agrees with the great Anglican expositor and theologian, Bishop J. C. Ryle, who stated, “There is not a text in the Bible which expressly commands churches to have one special form of government, and expressly forbids any other” (Ryle, Knots Untied [reprint, Moscow, ID: Charles Nolan, 2000], 234). The diversity of polity within local churches that God has chosen to bless in history make it clear that outside of the Biblical commands that everything should be done “properly and in an orderly fashion” (I Cor 14:40); that godly men be given the task of local church leadership (1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9); and that those leaders must dispatch their duties with humility before God (1 Pet 5:2-3); the exact structures of church polity enjoys freedom of expression to meet the needs of a local assembly.

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Justo L. Gonzalez. Essential Theological Terms (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2005). Paper xii +187pp, $24.95.

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Henry W. Hollomon. Kregel Dictionary of the Bible and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2005), Cloth 600pp, $21.77.

In the ever-changing theological landscape it seems that new terms are appearing (and disappearing) at a faster rate than at any time in history. At the same time even terms that seem to be established in the evangelical mind are being altered, either by wholesale or by slight nuance. It is important that the pastor’s library have solid reference works available to be able to accurately understand the meaning of theological terms.

In Essential Theological Terms, the author, a long time professor and prolific writer in church history, has undertaken to provide definitional clarity to about 300 theological terms and phrases. He acknowledges that, “theological language evolves’ (p. xi) and understands that this work will eventually become dated, but hopes that the book will provide, “the essential theological vocabulary necessary for a budding theologian to be in dialogue with the theology of centuries past” (p. xii). In this task the author has largely succeeded.

The work is laid out in normal dictionary format and there is a listing of article titles and page numbers in the front. However, there are no other indexes, which would have been of significant help to the reader. The articles are generally detailed (some are nearly a full page in length) and reflect the author’s refreshingly clear writing style. The strength of the work is the underlying expertise of the author in historical theology which are reflected in the articles. It is interesting though that the same publisher produced the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (by Donald K. McKim) only a few years ago. That work and this one deal with the same type of material (the cover motif for both is similar) and this reviewer could find no entries by Gonzalez that were not also in the earlier work. The articles in this work are often more detailed than McKim, but there are also about 200 fewer entries.

Gonzalez is neither conservative in his theology nor seemingly friendly to evangelical theology. His entry on “Fundamentalism” (p. 66), while giving the basics of its origination, he goes on to make a link between Christian Fundamentalism and Islamic Fundamentalism. This represents an egregious misrepresentation of Christian or Biblical Fundamentalism. This idea, that all “fundamentalisms” are “bad” has even become popular with some evangelical leaders as well, most notable in recent months, Rick Warren (see R. Albert Mohler’s response to Warren’s jejune assertion at http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=453). Another entry on “Dispenationalism,” is equally misguided. Gonzalez states that, “most biblical scholars dismiss dispensationalism as uninformed and as a misguided interpretation of Scripture” (p. 46). He then goes on to state that dispensationalism does enjoy “adherents among the masses” and uses the popularity of the Left Behind novels to support his assertion and bolster his notion for a lack of credibility for dispensational theology.

However, despite these obvious lacks, the author does give some definitional clarity to a good number of terms that have arisen in the few decades as well as those for standard terms and movements. The entries, however, lack any bibliographic notations, which is a disadvantage for the reader desiring to do more research.

While the author has a produced a worthwhile book that provides a useful reference for students or busy pastors, the intermediate size of the articles is somewhat unsatisfying. It has neither the breadth of terms that the “ready reference” style of the work of McKim affords, nor does it have the depth of information that, for instance, the far superior, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Baker, 2nd ed, 2001) offers. The rather high price of this book is also somewhat unappealing given its relative short size.

Although slightly different in focus and scope, we would recommend the second book of this review, the Kregel Dictionary of the Bible and Theology as a superior investment.

Hollomon, the longtime professor of systematic theology at the Talbot School of Theology of BIOLA University, has produced an excellent dictionary of “over 500 key theological words and concepts” (subtitle) that is unique in the recent reference literature. The articles are generally quite detailed with several being over two pages in length. Many, but not all, have an introductory bibliography. In the beginning of the work there are a set of abbreviations noted, which is more important than normal, as the author acknowledges that they are not the “designations normal to biblical scholarship” (p. 5). The articles themselves have the useful feature of offering the Biblical terms in separate sections at the end of the articles. The Hebrew and Greek words are given along with transliterations and the word meanings are detailed. All of the articles have extensive Biblical references.

One might question the title of the book in relation to the content. While called a “Dictionary of the Bible and Theology” it would probably be more accurate to call it a dictionary of “Biblical Theology.” There are no articles on traditional theological terms such as “Calvinism” but rather the entry points are the Biblical terms (e.g. “Election,” “Justification,” and “Predestination”) related to those positions. There is little effort at developing historical development of the terms as it occurred in Church history, and allusions to historical theology are often simply illustrative (e.g. “Deism” p. 178). This is not to say this work ignores current issues in theology; however, they are developed from within the framework of the Biblical terminology (e.g. the issues related to “Open Theism” are developed within the article on “God” [p. 171-78]; the issues related the Christological controversies are examined within the article on “Incarnation” [p. 230-34]; the classic definition of “creationism” as it relates to the origin of the soul occur within the article on “Soul, Spirit” [p. 509-13, one of this work’s excellent articles]; while the issues related to the creation of the earth and universes is dealt with under “Creation” [p. 88-93]). While we understand the space limitations that the publisher was under, the model that this book is built upon would have been greatly enhanced with a subject index, and despite the massive amount of biblical references contained in the articles, a Scripture reference would have been of inestimable value.

Within the articles Hollomon is thoroughly even-handed in presenting the differing interpretations (e.g. millennial and rapture views, classic vs. progressive dispenationalism) and practices (e.g. baptism and communion). The articles are written in a clear and engaging fashion and there is a generous use of “see also” references to point the reader to additional information.

This is certainly one of the best reference works of its kind to be produced in many years. It is a thoroughly refreshingly Biblical exposition of theological concepts that reflects the author’s breadth and depth of study. It deserves a place at the right hand of every pastor and student of the Bible. It is a significant and major contribution to the reference literature for Biblical studies and we cannot recommend it highly enough.