David VanDrunen
*** Eerdmans | 2021 | 368 pages (hardcover) | $45.00 As the title indicates, this book examines Roman Catholic moral theology in the twentieth century and beyond, with a special focus on conscience. (“Moral theology” is roughly equivalent to “ethics,” although the former sometimes indicates a broader range of subjects.) Readers of Modern Reformation, surely […]
History and Eschatology: Jesus and the Promise of Natural TheologyBy N. T. WrightBaylor University Press, 2019365 pages (hardcover), $34.95 History and Eschatology presents N. T. Wright’s 2018 Gifford Lectures, a prestigious Scottish lecture series established in the late nineteenth century. The purpose of the series is to promote the study of natural theology. “Natural theology” […]
“The Making of Christian Morality: Reading Paul in Ancient and Modern Contexts” by David G. Horrell
This work is a collection of essays written over the past two decades by the prominent British New Testament scholar, David Horrell. In the not-so-distant past, mainstream scholars typically tried to study the New Testament merely in an objective, historical way. More recently, many of these scholars have shown renewed interest in how biblical texts […]
Almost every Christian will readily agree that the family is important. Family is the one truly natural institution, and of all the many institutions that influence us through our youth, our families’for better or worse’usually end up shaping us the most. Recent decades have witnessed rather profound changes in cultural attitudes and practices regarding family: […]
"Friends of the Law: Luther's Use of the Law for the Christian Life" by Edward A. Engelbrecht
This useful and well-researched volume addresses an issue familiar to most readers of Modern Reformation: the threefold use of the law of God. Although Edward Engelbrecht's primary concern is with Martin Luther and the Lutheran tradition, his consideration of how theologians in the early and medieval churches handled this issue, as well as a brief […]
By God’s grace I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ. As such, I have a share in the church’s life, work, worship, and fellowship. I am blessed by them and contribute to them. Yet I cannot put an equal sign between the church and me. The church is and does far more […]
The relationship of Christianity and culture and its implications for education continue to be fascinating topics. In Desiring the Kingdom, James K. A. Smith, philosophy professor at Calvin College, has written one of the most interesting and thought- provoking studies of Christianity and culture in recent years and provides, by his own admis-sion, some fairly […]
In recognition of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth, Modern Reformation editors have solicited essays from a number of authorities on Calvin's life and work. Not all of our writers are "Calvinists" (that is, they would not all necessarily agree with him or follow in his theological footsteps), but each has identified a particular […]
"Politics & the Order of Love: An Augustinian Ethic of Democratic Citizenship" by Eric Gregory
This is a significant and learned book. Its basic concern is the theology of Augustine and its implications for citizens seeking to live responsibly in a liberal democratic society. Before I get to Eric Gregory's argument, a few words of explanation about Augustine and "liberalism" may be helpful. As most readers of Modern Reformation know, […]
The claim that justification comes sola fide was central to the debates of the Reformation. When the matter of sola fide is raised, however, attention tends to focus on the first of these words: alone. We remember that the reformers taught that justification is by faith alone while Roman Catholics countered that justification is by […]
This work promises to be the first volume of a multi-author series entitled Foundations of Evangelical Theology. The title itself may raise some eyebrows, in light of the spectrum of theological opinions expressed in the evangelical community. Is there any distinctive system of doctrine that can coherently be called "evangelical theology"? This question is never […]
Investigating the nature of the kingdom of God means that one must come to grips with the nature of the world outside the kingdom. How Christians evaluate the spiritual status of non-Christian cultures and religions inevitably shapes their understanding of the Church, the Gospel, evangelism, and cultural engagement. A recent Roman Catholic address directly addressing […]
Books are never written in a vacuum, and the context of both author and audience often determines the interest that a book generates and the reception it receives. In the case of Norman Shepherd's The Call of Grace: How the Covenant Illuminates Salvation and Evangelism, the context can hardly be ignored. Shepherd was involved in […]
The energy and accomplishments of Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) are undeniably impressive. After beginning his career as a Reformed pastor and theologian, he expanded his work into the realms of journalism, education, and politics. His ultimate achievements included the formation of a new ecclesiastical denomination, the founding of a university, and a stint as Prime Minister […]
This book is a posthumous publication of one of America's foremost theologians of the later twentieth century, John Howard Yoder. Yoder, who died in 1997, was a Mennonite who taught both at Goshen Seminary and the University of Notre Dame. Yoder's association with these two institutions itself indicates something of the fascinating nature of Yoder […]
