Genesis:  A New Commentary, by Meredith G. Kline

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Hendrickson Publishers.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

Upon reading this book, I was somewhat surprised that this was the first book I remember reading from the noted and late Presbyterian theologian.  Upon reading, for example, his breakdown of the chiasmic structure of the book of Genesis, I was immediately reminded of previous readings of books likely influenced by his instruction of other conservative Presbyterians [1] in decades of faithful teaching work.  Given the fact that this work was a very refreshing and thoughtful commentary on the book of Genesis, although given that Kline has been dead for eight years, it is hard to tell how new this commentary is in some senses, it is likely that this will not be the last book I read from this author by any means…

This is the final volume of an unique set. Editors Edwin Yamauchi and Marvin Wilson continue the high quality of work, here  covering O-Z, that we found in the previous volumes. Many scholars joined forces to provide us with this special resource. The setup that even includes a few pictures at the end matches the previous volumes. Together these volumes make an attractive paperback set.

The feature that makes this a special set is what it chooses to cover. It does not limit itself to specific Bible words, but addresses daily life issues in the way we think of them.  That means that things like sanitation, spectacles, trade, and viticulture get covered. There are also things that you would expect like slavery, taxation, and threshing and winnowing, but at more detail than you would imagine. Touchy subjects like prostitution and same-sex relations are well covered too. Those articles were solidly…

Few things should be more exciting to contemporary readers of the Bible than a previously unpublished work by Meredith G. Kline. Kline was an influential American Old Testament scholar and a formative voice of Covenant theology within the Reformed tradition. Kline received a ThB and a ThM from Westminster Theological Seminary, and a PhD from Dropsie University. With a teaching career that stretched over five decades and a list of publications that is equally as impressive, it is hard to imagine exactly how far the influence of Kline has reached. Nevertheless, Genesis: A New Commentary, edited by Kline’s grandson, Jonathan G. Kline, is yet another shining reminder of a legacy that sought nothing more than to illuminate the Savior through an unquenchable passion for the Old Testament Scriptures.

Genesis: A New Commentary is in many ways a brief, more distilled companion commentary to Kline’s well-known magnum opus Kingdom Prologue:…

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction To His Thought, by Sabine Dramm

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Hendrickson Publishers.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

As someone who has read a fair amount by and about the noted German theologian and anti-Hitler conspirator Dietrich Bonhoeffer and who will likely read much more by and about him in the future [1], I found this book to be a highly quotable and thoughtful introduction to his thinking concerning matters of theology, philosophy, and culture.  The author of this book wonders aloud about the various factors that could keep Bonhoeffer’s thought and practice, some of which is admittedly radical and much of it is rather deeply complicated and even paradoxical and conflicted, on the sidelines and in the ghettos of Christian thought.  However, as biased a reader as I am, I think that these worries are overblown, because as long…

I am not a huge comic book fan. I have never been one to be interested in comics. This book is different. It is 31 stories from both the Old Testament, and the New Testament, in graphic, comic book style. Stories that I have heard all my life, to those I may not understand so well are illustrated in such a way, that I can finally put an image with words! This is so exciting to me! I am so thankful someone was inspired and responded to the call of God to create this wonderful book! This is a great way to spread the word of God to those who may never have picked up a bible otherwise! The illustrations are phenomenal. They correspond perfectly with the stories, and are bright and attention-catching. The wording is simple, and easy to understand.

I highly recommend this this book to all. Comic…

Keith Warrington is Vice-Principal and Director of Doctoral Studies at Regents Theological College, Malvern, United Kingdom. Warrington did graduate work under R. T. France and James D. G. Dunn, received a PhD from King’s College, London, and has authored numerous articles and books, including Pentecostal Theology: A Theology of Encounter (T&T Clark, 2008) and The Message of the Holy Spirit (IVP Academic, 2009). Most recently, Warrington has published a landmark exploration on Jesus and the recorded miracles of the Gospels.

The Miracles in the Gospels: What Do They Teach Us About Jesus? takes the reader on a comprehensive journey through every miracle performed by Jesus in the Gospels and offers an intentional look into how each demonstrates the divinity of Christ. As Warrington explains, “to miss this portrait of God as he is radiated in Jesus through the writings of the Gospels is to rob oneself of extraordinary opportunities to…