Category Archives: Book Review

Review: “Evangelical Feminism: A new path to Liberalism?”

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Evangelical Feminism: A new path to Liberalism?

Wayne Grudem

Crossway, Wheaton, 2006, 272pp.

Evangelical Feminism

Writing or even reviewing a book about the Bible’s teaching on male and female responsibilities within marriage or the church is a task fraught with difficulty. The issue is more emotionally charged than most doctrinal or church practice issues because it reaches to the very heart of what it means to be human. In addition, it is an area that is alien to our culture and a possible impediment to the spread of the gospel in the world. So how important is it to get the role of women in the church right? Is it a so-called ‘gospel’ or ‘first order’ issue, or is it fine for Christians to have a wide range of views on the subject? (more…)

Review: “Living the Cross Centered Life”

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Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the gospel the main thing

CJ Mahaney

Multnomah, Sisters, 2006. 176pp.

Living the Cross-centered Life

Is there anything more important than the cross of Christ? Each of the Gospels centres on Jesus’ journey to the cross. Jesus’ wonderful mission statement in Mark 10:45 describes the goal of his ministry as the giving of his life as “a ransom for many”. The Apostle Paul resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor 2:2). The cross is the centre of God’s plan for humanity. (more…)

Engaging with Barth

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Engaging with Barth: Contemporary Evangelical Critiques

Edited by David Gibson and Daniel Strange

UK edition: Apollos, Nottingham, 2008, 416pp.

US edition: T&T Clark, New York, 2009, 408pp. (more…)

Review: “The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment” by Tim Challies

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The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment

Tim Challies

Crossway Books, Wheaton, 2007, 208pp.

 

DisciplineSpiritualDiscernment

Here is an exercise for you: open your purse or wallet and remove a bank­note. Now rub it between your fingers. Look closely at the various markings. Hold it up to the light. Is it genuine, or is it counterfeit? How can you tell? This is the analogy Tim Challies uses in his book The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment to set up the task of Christian discernment. Christian discernment, he says, is “the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong” (p. 61). Doctrine and practice, like currency, can be the real deal, or they can be ‘funny money’. Only the discerning person can tell the difference. (more…)

Review: “The Gospel and Personal Evangelism” by Mark Dever

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The Gospel and Personal Evangelism

Mark Dever

Crossway, Wheaton, 2007, 128pp.

GospelPersonalEvangelism

There is much to commend about The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. It is warm, engaging and theologically accurate, and it left me encouraged to speak to friends about Jesus. However, it also left me with questions about the best way to mobilize us for this task. (more…)

Review: “Vintage Jesus” by Mark Driscoll

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Vintage Jesus: Timeless answers to timely questions

Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears

Crossway Books, Wheaton, 2008, pp. 256.

VintageJesus

It is easy to like Mark Driscoll. How can you not like someone who founded a megachurch in his 20s, who has the flare of a stand-up comedian, and who can speak for an hour without wearying his audience? Minor differences aside, he is the poster boy for 21st-century Evangelical­­ism. And having spent considerable bandwidth downloading his sermons, I am constantly impressed at his sparkling use of language and his passionate conviction of the centrality of Christ. (more…)

Humility: True greatness

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Humility: True greatness

CJ Mahaney

Multnomah, Colorado Springs, 2005, 176pp.

 

Humility and pride are funny things. It’s amazing how often I catch myself taking pride in my humility. Actually, I catch myself taking pride in my public displays of humility. When someone pays me a compliment, I know just how to affect the right degree of nonchalance—the right shrug of the shoulders—the right words to deflect the glory away from me—while, on the inside, I am proud that my efforts have been recognized—proud (and perversely so) that they think I’m humble. At the same time, I convince myself that pride is not that serious—certainly not as bad as other more obvious sins. In my sophistry, I convince myself that surely pride is a good thing (when it is deserved); it’s arrogance that is the sin. Yet, when I read the Bible, I know I am kidding myself: as Proverbs 16:5 makes clear,
(more…)

We need more shack time

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It has topped The New York Times’s bestseller list and has been called The Pilgrim’s Progress of our generation. But what is it about William P Young’s The Shack that has captivated so many people—Christian and non-Christian? Paul Grimmond investigates.

The Shack
William P Young
Windblown Media, Newbury Park, 256pp. (more…)

Christ and culture re-thought

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For the last 50 years or so, H Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture has dominated most Christian thinking on the relationship between Christ and culture. Scott Newling examines two books which seek to break away from this paradigm.

Culture Matters: A Call for Consensus on Christian Cultural Engagement (more…)

One Land, One Saviour

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One Land, One Saviour: Seeing Aboriginal lives transformed by Christ

Peter Carroll and Steve Etherington (eds.)

Church Missionary Society, (www.cms.org.au)
Sydney, 2008, 246 pp. (more…)

Duty first

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Men: Firing Through All of Life

Al Stewart

Blue Bottle Books, Sydney, 2007, 168pp.

Available for ordering from Moore Books

02 9577 9966 (more…)

The Word Became Flesh

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The Word Became Flesh: Evangelicals and the incarnation

Edited by David Peterson

Paternoster Press, Carlisle, 2003, 216pp.

 

Available for ordering from Moore Books (more…)