Category: Books

This is a wonderful book. I love Don Carson and nearly everything he has written is pure gold. This book is a wonderful exploration of the significance of “Son of God” within biblical theology (mostly messianic/Davidic themes) and systematic theology (doctrine of the Trinity and Christology). He weaves the two together beautifully.

Carson makes this observation from the NT:

New Testament texts quote Psalm 2:7 to prove Jesus is superior to angels, to prove Jesus did not take on himself the glory of becoming high priest but was appointed by God, and to demonstrate that God has fulfilled his promises to the Israelite ancestors by raising Jesus from the dead – even though, on the face of it, Psalm 2 does not mention angels, has no interest in the high priest’s office, and makes no mention of the resurrection of the Messiah. (p45)

Carson goes on to show using typology and Biblical theology how all these themes are woven together in a way that respects the original intent of the Psalm. Read the book to get the full explanation!

In fact, I’m surprised that Carson doesn’t make reference to the 1986 article by Douglas Moo entitled “The Problem of Sensus Plenior” (in “Hermeneutics, Authority and Canon” edited by Carson and Woodbridge, 1986, Zondervan). Moo has an excellent discussion of the struggles in trying to be sympathetic to the NT usage of the OT – but Moo gives up on the use of Psalm 2:7 in the NT as a kind of impossible-to-justify case. It is marvelous to see Carson so capably shows how the Psalm really is used that is within the realms of authorial intent and the progression of biblical theological themes without conceding an uncontrolled Sensus Plenior (i.e.: hidden meaning).  With humility Carson writes:

Many is the Christian who has thumbed through Old Testament pages to find the passage that has been quoted by the New Testament and applied to Jesus, only to feel let down by the fact that the connection is at best obscure, and in some cases seems to be talking about something radically different. It takes some hard work to uncover how these trajectories, these typologies, actually work. But when we take the time and effort to examine them, we are hushed in awe at the wisdom of God in weaving together intricate patterns that are simultaneously so well hidden in their development and so magnificently obvious in their fulfillment (pp76-76)

I’m so glad to see this material published which Carson has been lecturing on around the world for a long time. I remember him going through this material at a preaching conference in Melbourne in 1998.

Classic Carson with some real sting.

The Christian gospel is news to be preached:

‘… it is not surprising that Paul speaks of the foolishness of what was preached rather than the foolishness of what was taught, or discussed, or reasoned over…  the gospel is primarily displayed in heraldic proclamation: the gospel is announced, proclaimed, preached, precisely because it is God’s spectacular news.

So when one hears the frequently repeated slogan, “Preach the gospel – use words if necessary,” one has to say, as gently but as firmly as one can, that this is smug nonsense,’ page 158.

His footnote references the apocryphal link of this phrase to St. Francis of Assisi.

In contrast to so many today that seek to extract an ethical ‘gospel’ from the teaching corpus of the Gospels, Carson rightly challenges:

‘All that the canonical Gospels say must be read in the light of the plotline of these books: they move inevitably toward Jesus’ cross and resurrection, which provides forgiveness and the remission of sins. That is why it is so hermeneutically backward to try to understand the teaching of Jesus in a manner cut off from what he accomplished; it is hermeneutically backward to divorce the sayings of Jesus in the Gospels from the plotline of the Gospels,’ page 160.

Great stuff.

The article can be found in the anthology: “For the Fame of God’s Name – Essays in Honor of John Piper”, edited by Storms and Taylor, Crossway Books 2011.

 

I love books. Here are just some of the best books I have enjoyed this year:

The Trellis and the Vine – Colin Marshall and Tony Payne.

No frills exhortation towards 1-1 ministry of the word and a discipling culture.

There are no magic bullets in this book, but it is very good tonic for sanity in the programmatic avalanche that churches find themselves under.

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Leadership on the Front Foot – Zac Veron

I read this at the start of the year and loved it. Hard hitting and practical yet grounded solidly on an evangelical theology. A breath of fresh air.

Probably need to reread given I am now in charge in my own parish..

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The Rage Against God – Peter Hitchens

Ignoring issues to do with his famous atheist brother, this book is a wonderful testimony from a convinced leftist atheist who became a committed Christian.

Great insights into the heart of polemic atheism from one who was on the inside and is now a committed, intelligent and educated Christian.

(I wrote a review of this book for EFAC Essentials but it hasn’t appeared online yet, only in the print edition)

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The Reason for God – Belief in an Age of Skepticism – Tim Keller

Articulate and humble, this is a very compelling read. The new giveaway book.

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The Core – Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education – Leigh A. Bortins

A great little handbook out of the resurgence of interest in classical education.

Not as detailed and useful as The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. The best books on this topic are still those by Doug Wilson: Recovering the Lost Tools of Education and The Case for Classical Christian Education.

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Some of the more enjoyable recent books I have read or used this year:

(some wordpress bug is causing the images to cascade unless I put full stops in to space them out – bleh)

The Acts of the Apostles,  David Peterson, Pillar New Testament Commentaries, IVP.

Preaching through the final third of Acts this year, this new commentary has been invaluable.

Peterson has an excellent grasp of the use of the OT in Acts, and of the Lordship of Jesus as the pivotal theme.

Excellent and insightful.

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The Word of His Grace, A Guide to Teaching and Preaching from Acts

This is a really enjoyable summary of the theology and structure of Acts.

Exemplifies the very best of the Proc Trust tradition, really giving you a good sense of the ‘melodic line’ of different parts of Acts – to use the David Jackman phrase.

A great big picture look at Acts.

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Keller – The Prodigal God

Excellent confrontation with ‘elder brother’ legalism that pervades today.

Many wonderful exegetical insights that could only be discovered by a pastor-evangelist.

Destined to be a Christian classic.

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Notes from the Tilt a Whirl – ND Wilson

If you like philosophy then this is a fun ‘ride’.

Solved one theological puzzle I’ve been wrestling with for many years. That alone was worth the price of the book for me.

(I’ll have to blog the ‘puzzle’ another time)

Could be a good book to give away to well-read unbelievers. It gets under your guard.

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Calvin Sermons on Genesis 1-11

This new translation from Banner is wonderful.

So often people miss out on the best of Calvin because most retailers hock a crappy 19th C public domain facsimile translation.

This translation is readable and quotable.

His sermons have alot more applications than his commentaries, great for preachers.

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Making It All Work, David Allen

Not a Christian book but I did really enjoy the follow up to his productivity classic “Getting Things Done”.

Unfortunately Penguin Australia has a grammar nazi in management. They renamed the books as “How to Get Things Done” and “How to Make it All Work“. Lessons from rulebook of “How to Make Books Sound Dumber as if People Don’t Know the Real Title from the Net”.

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