Archives: review

New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ

Review

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New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ

Thomas R Schreiner

Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2008, 976pp.

 

It seems obvious what we mean when we say “Paul teaches” or “Jesus says”, but what do we mean when we say “the New Testament teaches”? The New Testament is a small library of books by several authors—authors who, it is popularly argued, apparently did not share each other’s manuscripts or they would be more in agreement with one another! While they share a common subject and a common context, is there really a coherence to this group of texts to the point at which we might say “This here is the teaching of the New Testament”? For example, influential Durham scholar James Dunn has argued that the New Testament is more diverse than unified—more a cacophony than a harmony. Many scholars remain persuaded of his case. (more…)

Just Start Talking

Review

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Just Start Talking: Introducing Jesus into
your Conversation

Evangelism Ministries, Sydney, 2008.

Available from Moore Books

E info@moorebooks.com.au
W www.moorebooks.com.au

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The tract is back

Resource Talk, Sola Panel

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Quick quiz: of all Matthias Media’s different resources—now more than 200 of them—which do you think is the all-time bestseller? Is it:

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“Evangellyfish” by Douglas Wilson

Review

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What do you get when you mix up a megachurch sex scandal, a Reformed pastor in a fistfight, an ambitious blonde TV reporter, a zealous but slightly misguided youth worker who likes Brandy (a girl, not a drink), an officiously small-minded middle-ranking accountant, a seasoned detective and an ageing ex-Christian New Ager called Mystic Union? The answer is Evangellyfish, a web novel by American author and pastor Doug Wilson. (more…)

Review: “Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament”

Review

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It always bothers me when the author or editor of a book starts by telling me what their book is not. So it was with some concern that I began my reading of Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament—a book that, the editors say, neither surveys, summarizes nor takes a position on the debates over the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. However, it was not long before I became pleased with it. (more…)

Walking with Gay Friends

Review

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Walking with Gay Friends
Alex Tylee

Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, 2007, 160pp.

Suggesting that homosexuality is a sin is unpopular. Going further and suggesting that change and healing from homosexual sin is possible is always going to be a tough sell. Nevertheless, this is exactly what Alex Tylee manages to achieve in Walking with Gay Friends. (more…)

Where to from here?

Resource Talk

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As part of the 21st anniversary issue, Paul Grimmond shares his vision for the future of The Briefing, and tells us how we can be a part of it.

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

Review

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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…)

The first 21 years are the hardest

Resource Talk, Sola Panel

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There’s no doubt about it: this 21st birthday Briefing has put me in a nostalgic frame of mind. I’m finding myself daydreaming about the late 80s when New Zealand wore beige and brown body shirts in one day cricket, when U2 was a young, emerging supergroup, and when the book to give away to a non-Christian friend was John Chapman’s bestselling A Fresh Start. (more…)

Review: “Living the Cross Centered Life”

Review

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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

Review

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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

Review

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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…)

Son of encouragement

Resource Talk, Sola Panel

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In late 2003, when we were talking to Gordon Cheng about coming to work at Matthias Media, I remember asking him casually about how many of our resources he had used in his many years of ministry up to that point.

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