Given my theological journey, if anyone is open to a book about the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Paul, I am. But in the end, I think there are better books out there to tackle this important subject.
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Over 4k of Wright for less than $40? Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. However, therein lies the rub. If you read all five books that is 4,145 pages. Just the 4 volumes is 3739. That is a lot of reading. And this is not light reading by any stretch of the imagination.
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How can we recontextualize the old, old story of the gospel in the new, new world of postmodernity? How can we fulfill our missional calling in a world that cannot any longer understand or relate to what we are saying?
Continue readingReformed theology regards justification by faith as a central soteriological principle that determines the final destiny of the individual. It stands in absolute antithesis to the supposedly universal but futile endeavour of humanity to justify itself by its ethical and religious works. It assumes a forensic or judicial framework: at the final assize no one will be be justified—and therefore escape condemnation to hell—by anything that he or she has done; only those who have faith in the atoning death of Christ, etc., will be justified. It is essentially a metaphysical notion. Narrative has nothing to do with it.
My pragmatic-eschatological interpretation is that justification by faith presupposes the call of God to pursue a hazardous and uncertain course or to stand firm under threatening conditions. The right response to such a call is belief, trust, faith, faithfulness. Habakkuk 2:4 is seminal: when the wrath of God comes upon Israel, the righteous will live by their faithfulness (cf. Rom. 1:17). At some point in the future those who take that difficult and narrow path will find that they were right to do so—they will find that they were justified all along, despite the incredulity and antagonism of those around them.
If you are looking for a book that seeks to highlight the awesome holiness and majesty of God and yet connect that to his infinite love and pursuit of His people you will enjoy this book. That said, I think the story of scripture is a bit more complicated than what is presented here; but perhaps that is asking too much of a book of this nature.
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I found it to be an interesting and thought-provoking look at the subject of the authority of scripture. Anyone wrestling with the place of scripture in the life of the church and in the wider world would do well to read this book.
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I found it to be an interesting and thought-provoking look at the subject of the authority of scripture. Anyone wrestling with the place of scripture in the life of the church and in the wider world would do well to read this book.
Continue readingOn Wednesday we kicked of the new year by listing the top five fiction books I read in 2013. Today let’s move on to non-fiction. I read 24 non-fiction books last year and I picked five that stood out as my favorites.
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