Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Systematic Theology

Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels

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CCCI read this book three months ago, but I’ve been waiting to highlight it because I wanted to see what my wife thinks of it:

J. Wallace Warner. Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. Colorado Springs, CO: Cook, 2013.

Jenni recently listened to the audiobook, and we agree:

  1. This is an edifying book with a creative, engaging angle.
  2. The first half is far more engaging than the second half. (I carefully read the first half but ended up skimming the second half.)

We enjoy listening to detective stories (e.g., here and here), and Warner fills the first half of the book with interesting stories that illustrate how to investigate what other people claim to be true.

The author has been a detective for nearly 25 years, and he earned a master’s degree in theology from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

What initially caught my eye are the glowing endorsements from people like Greg Koukl and J. P. Moreland and the foreword by Lee Strobel. [Read more…] about Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels

Carson on Presuppositional vs. Evidentialist Apologetics

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gaggingD. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism  (Fifteenth Anniversary Edition; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 184–88:

[P]artly under the impact of postmodernism, the various “schools” of Christian apologetics have an opportunity to draw closer together than they have usually been in the past.

At the risk of oversimplification, let us restrict ourselves to presuppositionalism, rational presuppositionalism, and evidentialism. All three labels are loaded, and various proponents mean slightly different things by them. Moreover there is a tendency, especially among more popular writers, to caricature the other positions. Thus:

(1) The presuppositionalist may charge the evidentialist with superficiality. You can line up evidence to support the truth of Christianity until you have exhausted yourself by your efforts, but no amount of evidence is sufficient to compel belief. Did not Jesus himself say that even if someone came back from the dead, they would not believe? Evidentialism simply does not understand the implications of human finitude or the profound noetic effects of the Fall—and both limitations are exacerbated by postmodernism. [Read more…] about Carson on Presuppositional vs. Evidentialist Apologetics

A Pastorally Sensitive Book on God’s Sovereignty

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chaseSam Storms calls this book “refreshingly honest, ruthlessly biblical, pastorally sensitive, and above all else, altogether persuasive”:

Mitchell Chase. Behold Our Sovereign God: All Things from Him, Through Him, and To Him. Brenham, TX: Lucid, 2012. [Kindle: $2.99]

It’s dedicated to John Piper and endorsed by Sam Storms, Tim Challies, Jim Hamilton, and Bruce Ware. [Read more…] about A Pastorally Sensitive Book on God’s Sovereignty

A Book on Heaven That Doesn’t Speculate

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heaven_cover“Dan Barber and Robert Peterson’s Life Everlasting is clear, timely, and important. It is biblical, too, both in content and in structure, as it refrains from speculation and highlights the Bible’s own key themes of heaven.”

That endorsement by Chris Morgan sums up this book well:

Dan C. Barber and Robert A. Peterson. Life Everlasting: The Unfolding Story of Heaven. Explorations in Biblical Theology. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2012.

  • 238 pp.
  • 19-page PDF available here (includes the table of contents)
  • Endorsements by Darrin Patrick, Sam Storms, Stephen Wellum, Stephen Nichols, and others

The authors give a road map to the book: [Read more…] about A Book on Heaven That Doesn’t Speculate

Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study

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ConCoverUnion with Christ is a massively important theme that connects various elements of Paul’s theology.

When I was first deciding on a dissertation topic, my pastor at the time, Mark Minnick, suggested “union with Christ.” I gave it serious thought, but I ended up going another direction. But until this month I have been unaware of a resource that comprehensively treats this topic.

The most comprehensive online bibliography on union with Christ that I’m aware of is by Phil Gons.

And now this is the most comprehensive book:

Constantine R. Campbell. Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.

  • 480 pp.
  • The 19-page sample PDF available here includes the 9-page table of contents. I love how Con outlines the book; it makes his argument much easier to follow.
  • Endorsements by Don Carson, Peter O’Brien, Doug Moo, Mike Bird, Mike Horton, Howard Marshall, Francis Watson, and Morna Hooker
  • Video:

[Read more…] about Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study

12 Maxims of Symphonic Theology

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poythressChapter 7 of this book lists “Twelve Maxims of Symphonic Theology” (pp. 69–91):

Vern Sheridan Poythress. Symphonic Theology: The Validity of Multiple Perspectives in Theology.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.

  1. Language is not transparent to the world.
  2. No term in the Bible is equal to a technical term of systematic theology.
  3. Technical terms in systematic theology can almost always be defined in more than one way. Every technical term is selective in the features it includes.
  4. Boundaries are fuzzy.
  5. No category or system of categories gives us ultimate reality.
  6. Different human writers of the Bible bring differing perspectives to bear on a given doctrine or event.
  7. The differences between biblical writings by different human authors are also divine differences.
  8. Any motif of the Bible can be used as the single organizing motif.
  9. We use different motifs not to relativize truth but to gain truth.
  10. We see what our tools enable us to see.
  11. Error is parasitic on the truth.
  12. In theological debates, we should preempt the other person’s strong points.

How to Write a Theology Essay

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jensenTheology professors may want to assign this new little book as required reading:

Michael P. Jensen. How to Write a Theology Essay. London: Latimer Trust, 2012. 78 pp.

Each of the twenty chapters (titles in bold below) ends with a bullet-point summary:

1. How not to lose heart before you start

Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy

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whomeverIn 2010, B&H published Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism (ed. David L. Allen and Steve W. Lemke). It arose from the 2008 “John 3:16 Conference.”

This book is much better:

Matthew Barrett and Thomas J. Nettles, eds. Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy.  Cape Coral, FL: Founders, 2012. 401 pp.

Here’s the lineup: [Read more…] about Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy