Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Book Review: Pursuing Justice by Ken Wytsma


As Ken Wytsma unwraps his argument for Pursuing Justice, one sees that he speaks from a place of deep personal conviction and passion. Beginning with a story for background and context, Wytsma recounts how his grandfather had immigrated, with his family, to the United States following World War II. His father, just 8-years-old at the time, “never forgot where he came from” (xvii). He told the ways his father and mother reached out to the needy and downtrodden with a heart to help the hurting. Wytsma himself, however, confessed he grew up with a western sense of entitlement. He viewed life as being about him and for his pleasure and he lived accordingly. Upon God grabbing hold of his life, Wystma began studying the Word and drawing nearer to God. Through this time, he became more and more convinced that all of Scripture points toward the pursuit of justice – noting the continual concepts of caring for widows, orphans, and foreigners.

Personally, I find myself leery anytime someone tries to explain the entire Bible through one key motif which they hold dear. Certainly one reads a heavy emphasis on justice for the downtrodden throughout the Bible – the law of Moses, the work of kings and the teaching and miracles of Jesus all bear this element. But to say it is the one thing that holds all Scripture together may be a little too strong. That said, Wytsma does a nice job of walking the reader through different theological and exegetical principles in Scripture.  He points out the many instances where social justice seems to factor into the situation in a sometimes quite profound way.

With a caution against casting all of Scripture into one light that may be too focused, I would encourage reading this book. With many excurses which bring light from other authors and Wytsma’s own very readable and passionate style, this book can challenge the reader to further embrace care for the downtrodden which may slip by unnoticed.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Book Review: A Reader's Hebrew and Greek Bible by Zondervan


In April of 2010, Zondervan released A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible. Finally, this work combined their reader’s editions of Old and New Testaments into one volume. For those not familiar with the concept of a “reader’s” Bible, I’ll take a moment to explain. For those that do know, on to the next paragraph. (For those that don’t care, well you probably won’t read this for much longer anyway, though you are most welcome.) A reader’s edition of an original language Bible is a little like a bike with training wheels. Open up the front cover and you’ll find the Greek New Testament. As a student new to the Greek language (or even not so new), you will come upon words that are not used very frequently in the NT. For these words (specifically those used 30 times or less), the notes at the bottom of each page will show you the word with an English gloss. Handy, right? I know. If you begin at the “back cover” (or the other front cover, since Hebrew is read right to left), you’ll find the Hebrew Old Testament with similar notes for words appearing 100 times or less in the OT. Like I said, a bike with training wheels – you’ve still got to put in work to read, but it provides that little bit of extra stability right there on the page, rather than sending you off to check a lexicon several times per paragraph.


The OT is based off the Westminster Leningrad Codex, the accepted official text of the Hebrew Bible. The font is clear and readable. And notes are clear and straightforward with numbers in the text coinciding with the Hebrew word and English gloss in the notes below. For a verb, they also supply the stem (Qal, Nifal, etc.) with the gloss to aid in your reading. Proper names are grayed out just a bit in order to save you from spending a great deal of time trying to parse Amalek. The NT text is “the eclectic text that underpins the Today’s New International Version” (page 9 of the Introduction). This gave me pause when I originally looked at this Bible. I found, however, that any place their “eclectic text” differs from that of the United Bible Society, they’ve placed a note marking the discrepancy and stating the UBS reading. The notes for the NT are not quite as clear as those in the OT. The italic font that they use is a little difficult to read at a glance, but it stands as a great improvement over Zondervan’s first edition for a NT reader (which I declared I would not even consider buying until they fixed the text). The content of the notes are fairly simple – the Greek word, English gloss or two with a note on the passive gloss (if directly applicable).

Dividing the two testaments is a brief lexicon for the Greek words used over 30 times and Hebrew over 100 (based on the BDB). Let’s face it, just because I learned the word in class, doesn’t mean it’s always going to spring to mind while I’m reading. 8 full color maps grace the center of the division between the testaments.

This volume makes a great addition to a student’s library. It serves now as the Bible that I take to church with me. That offers the chance to be able to practice the language skills into which we’ve invested so much time and money in a great setting. If the pastor ever called on me to read before the church, you’d better believe I’d be borrowing my wife’s Bible. But for reading along during the sermon, this is a great exercise.  The notes are ok. I prefer the way the UBS has parsing and, in my opinion, a better format for their notes (columns rather than inline notes), but they only offer the NT. For a whole  Bible reader, this offering from Zondervan is my go-to.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Book Review: Jesus: A Theography by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola


Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola work together to bring this volume on the life of Jesus, perhaps the first of its kind. What makes this piece unique from biographies of the life of Jesus is that Sweet and Viola highlight their way from Genesis through Revelation identifying Jesus throughout the pages of Scripture. In considering the reason this differentiates it from other works, they point out that those writing such biographies are usually by individuals pursuing the question of the “historical Jesus” and they rarely regard the entire canon for their purposes (though I certainly would not accuse them of not reading it). Those who do look to bring the whole Bible into a unified work are often tracing the metanarrative and are not focused simply on Jesus. Yet, these men set out to do just that. And why? As they point out, because Jesus Himself did so (xiii). Among other justifications for this hermeneutic, they note the Emmaus Road pericope at the end of Luke’s Gospel where, “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). So that is precisely where these men head.

Beginning in eternity past, they note the pre-existence of Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity. Following this are two chapters on creation where they parallel the days of creation with epochs of Jesus’ life in the first and regard specific details of creation noting parallels in Christ’s life in the second. The bulk of the book are taken up with chapters that do work through different segments of Jesus’ earthly existence but with a heavy look back to the First Testament (Sweet and Viola’s term for the Old Testament, meant to reveal the two parts of the Bible not as separate and distinct writings but as the continuation of one story). They round out their work with a look to the “Return of the King” in Revelation.

It is a well-crafted book. It is easy to read and has some interesting appendices and notes for further study. The authors define their audience early and well. They admit whole-heartedly that they are writing to the general Christian population. This book is not overly academic and it does not spend much time defending a Christian worldview. Those are discussions for a different time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Monday, September 24, 2012

Book Review: Twelve Unlikely Heroes by John MacArthur


In his latest release, Twelve Unlikely Heroes, John MacArthur examines the lives of some great figures from Scripture. He highlights the ways God chooses to act for his glory by taking ordinary, flawed human beings and using them in magnificent ways to accomplish His purposes.

The message is a moving one. It is very possible (even common) that one may look to characters such as these and focus too heavily on them so as to make an idol of men. The other common problem is that we despair in looking at the accomplishments of which they’ve been a part and determine that there is no hope for us to be used by God. In looking at the lives of OT and NT characters alike, MacArthur looks to find the God-honoring middle ground. He leads the reader in a careful and honest look at these men and women, noting their flaws and imperfections as well as their faithfulness. And above all of this, he points out the way God positioned them and used them for His glory. JMac brings to bear his considerable gifts as an expositor of the Word as he mines the depths of key passages, revealing beautiful elements that are right there to be read, but are often overlooked.

In a time where we tend to make heroes of any celebrity, athlete or cool cat around and press until “hero” has next to no meaning, it is refreshing to see what God identifies as a hero. 

Monday, August 6, 2012

Book Review: The Jesus We Missed by Patrick Henry Reardon


Who is Jesus? It has been said that this is the biggest question facing Christianity today. Attacks on the person and historicity of Jesus are nothing new; they’ve been weathered for centuries. It seems that the arguments swing like a pendulum – denying His deity or his humanity alternately.

Reardon noted a perceived emphasis on the deity of Christ to the neglect of His humanity. It is to this setting that he writes his book, The Jesus We Missed. He works his way through key events in Jesus’ life highlighting the role that His humanity played in each. Predictably the pericope from Luke regarding Jesus sitting in the temple talking with the teachers is among those considered, especially the phrase that Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52). Reardon also discusses Jesus’ baptism, early ministry, relationships, prayer life and death and resurrection, all the while digging into the effect of His humanity upon the various circumstances.

While he brings some intriguing points to consider, it feels like Reardon may push a bit far at times. He goes so far as to deny that Jesus was omniscient in His earthly incarnation. When Scripture speaks of Him knowing what is in the hearts of men or telling His disciples how to locate the room to share the Passover, (according to Reardon) it is through a special and temporary dispensation of knowledge from the Father.

I believe that throughout his study and writing, Reardon was keenly and reverentially aware of the Biblical teaching as evidenced in the creeds of the early church regarding the person of Christ. The council at Chalcedon said that He has two distinct natures. These two natures exist perfectly within the person of Christ “without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other, without dividing them into two separate categories … the distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union.” While, as I said, I believe that Reardon believes and affirms this, his book seems to drift a bit toward over-emphasizing the humanity.

If you are looking for one great book on the person of Christ, this is not the one for you. If, however, you are looking for a read that may challenge your beliefs and encourage you to think anew about some aspects of Christ’s person, this may be one to consider.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Pancakes and Lessons

Lately we've been hearing "I just want to do things my own way" a lot. Today I came up with an idea for demonstrating why we don't always let the kids do things their own way. It's Saturday, so pancakes for breakfast sounded like a great plan. (They were, in fact, pretty great.) I made a large batch of regular pancakes, and then a single one from a new recipe ... "my own way."
Starting with flour, I added some ricotta cheese (for the creamy texture), a little apple cider vinegar (to thin it out), a generous dash of salt and pepper as well as little oregano and cumin. Hot off the griddle we served that beauty up, making sure to explain the difference between the one I did "my own way" and the ones which I submitted myself to the recipe and followed directions.
I had the first bite, then each of the kids took a bite from this special little pancake ... pretty awful. Throughout the rest of breakfast, the kids were careful to ask for the "follow the directions pancakes." Lesson (hopefully) landed.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Book Review: Job - Word Biblical Commentary 18B by David Clines


Professor David Clines, Emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield completes his massive commentary on Job with this tome.  In the volume, Clines examines Job 38-42, Yahweh’s response to Job and Job’s replies.  He brings his expertise in Hebrew literature to bear as he illuminates this last portion of text and the format of the Word Biblical Commentary series provides him the space to explore some difficult sections and deal with them thoroughly. 

As with other volumes from the series, the text is divided into appropriate sections of study.  Each section opens with a specific bibliography that is followed by the author’s personal translation of the original language. Subsequent to the bibliography and translation, are two sections in which the author deals with specific textual notes and issues of form and structure. These can be a bit technical but it is great for experiencing the intricacies of the Hebrew text.  After spending some time specifically with the language and writing style, Clines moves into the Comment section. Here is where you find the running verse-by-verse commentary on Job.  Yet, to his credit, Clines does not immediately move into verse-by-verse but rather deals with the section in smaller subsections to help the reader see the movement of the passage.  Finally, comes the Explanation section where Clines sums up the work he’s been doing.  If you find yourself pressed for time, this is a great place to start – you’ll get the flow of what he’s saying and it may alert you to things you’d like to go back and study further.

The sections Clines identifies here (in agreement with almost every other commentator on Job) are: 1) Yahweh’s first speech, 2) Job’s response, 3) Yahweh’s second speech, 4) Job’s response, 5) Epilogue.  He argues (in his previous volume, Job 21-37, and mentioned in this volume) for a rearranged order of the speeches prior to this section.  He argues that Elihu’s speech in chapters 32-37 should originally came before Job’s final speech in 29-31 (p. 1088), so that when the LORD asks “Who is this…” it is in reference to Job’s demand for answers.  Reading along as Clines analyzes the speech-response pattern of the book is delightful.  One almost cannot help but be filled with greater reverence for our incredibly powerful and very personal God.

Fully the last half of this volume is an extensive bibliography of possibly every written work on the book of Job as well as specific items addressed within it.  Clines analyzes literature from the patristic fathers all the way up to the 21st century.  He also includes works on Job in music, dance and drama.  It’s an incredible list.

WBC is a technical commentary series and Clines certainly rises to those expectations.  He does a great job of mining the riches of the language and presenting the gems of his work.  He cites Biblical and extra-biblical literature in defense of his linguistic work.  But he also does a nice job of (as my professor says) putting some of the cookies on the bottom shelf.  It wouldn’t be the first choice of commentary for a lay-person, but they would not come away from it empty-handed.