"Religions on Trial" (William Mark Lanier)

TITLE: Religions on Trial: A Lawyer Examines Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and More
AUTHOR: William Mark Lanier
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023, (240 pages).
 

Most books on comparative religion and apologetics have been written by academics, famous authors, theologians, and passionate believers. Some have been written by detectives and investigators of crime scenes. Others are written by people from different professions. This book is written by someone from the legal profession. Using his legal training and experience, author William Mark Lanier helps us adopt a legal lens to probe evidence with questions and to analyze answers like a trial jury. He begins by giving us a legal primer to understand the duties of jurors, the examination of evidence, scrutinizing witnesses, and other sources for credibility and consistency. He examines evidence from both angles: "association" and "causation." Using the "Bradford Hill Criteria," readers learn about adopting the criteria to establish reasonable causation. Recognizing there are elements of truth within each religious persuasion, the goal becomes learning how to sieve the truth from flaws. He puts these "religions on trial" so as to uncover any layer(s) of truth. Unlike those who insist on having all the complete answers before believing, Lanier believes that it is not necessary to examine each and every aspect of all faiths before one can make a faith decision. Like how attorneys learn to cross-examine and identify major tenets of various witnesses' testimonies, all one needs to do is to identify the key facts. Inspired by the apostle Paul's example at Athens, who constantly met and debated with the philosophical groups that day, he hopes to use this book as a way to debate the philosophies and religions of today. He does this via six questions:

"Returning from the Abyss" (Walter Brueggemann)

TITLE: Returning from the Abyss: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Jeremiah
AUTHOR: Walter Brueggemann
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2022, (170 pages).

What does it take to do a sustained study of Jeremiah? What is the "primary plotline" of this major prophet? What has the book of Jeremiah has to say to modern society, and in particular to the modern USA? How would Jeremiah speak into a culture constantly tarnished by incidents of racism and economic injustice? Reflecting on chosen passages from the book of Jeremiah, author Walter Brueggemann aims to highlight how the ancient prophet's message to Israel then is also applicable to us today. Beginning with how Jeremiah describes the time of the kings, the author looks at the reign of several kings of Judah and Israel and extrapolates God's message of intent into the 21st Century. He invites readers to enter the abyss of the Israelite exilic experience, to show us the inexplicable gift of being able to return from such dire circumstances. Instead of a verse-by-verse or a passage-by-passage commentary style, Brueggemann opts for selective verses that help us pause and read via the ancient practice of Lectio Divina. With each verse, Brueggemann provides us a context for the thought process. He then highlights some of the spiritual ills or challenges facing ancient people of God and challenges us to recognize any modern equivalents. Brueggemann challenges us to identify the threats of atheism and idolatry, warning us against the mistake of identifying the lesser enemy.

"Five Views on the NT Canon" (Stanley E. Porter and Benjamin P. Laird)

TITLE: Five Views on the New Testament Canon
AUTHOR: Stanley E. Porter and Benjamin P. Laird
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2022, (288 pages).

How was the Bible put together? What are the criteria to determine which books are legitimate? What prompted the canon process? What about authorship and apostolic authority? These are some of the critical questions dealt with in this book. The canonization of the Holy Bible has become one of the most controversial issues in modern times. With rising suspicion of the institutional church and the growing intellectual climate of mistrust, it has become increasingly necessary to re-examine old assumptions and historical evidence. In the pre-enlightenment age, societies in Christendom jurisdictions mostly accepted the authority of the Church in all things religious. Today, contemporary society does not share such trust. Instead, suspicion and skepticism tend to be the default paradigm. Who gives any human being the right to canonize anything? What about perceived and actual authority? These questions are some of the issues dealt with by five different scholars and theologians from different backgrounds. With five views, readers can get a better idea of the complex issues and why they are so controversial. The five views presented are:

1. Conservative-Evangelical (Darian R Lockett)
2. Progressive-Evangelical (David R Nienhuis)
3. Liberal-Protestant (Jason David BeDuhn)
4. Roman Catholic (Ian Boxall)
5. Orthodox (George L Parsenios)

"1 Corinthians" (Kimlyn J. Bender)

TITLE: 1 Corinthians (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible)
AUTHOR: Kimlyn J. Bender
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2022, (320 pages).
 

Traditional apostolic interpretation examines scriptures from the mindset of doctrines with the Church leading the way in Bible interpretive matters. Modern interpreters critique the use of tradition and dogma. Postmodern interpreters criticize the critics. A lot of modern scholars understand the Bible from the perspective of a reader-response attitude. By giving us an overview of the broad strokes of biblical interpretation through the ages, we are reminded that there are still many strengths in letting these clarify rather than obstruct our interpretive paradigms. In other words, instead of adopting a hermeneutic of suspicion which many modern and postmodern scholars adopt, believe rather that "dogma clarifies rather than obscures." Recognizing the increasing secularization of Western society, and the rising fragmentation of Christendom, author and professor Kimlyn Bender seeks to bring us back to the importance of Church doctrine in interpretive matters. Instead of jettisoning historical interpretive strategies, this commentary combines the heritage of the Nicene tradition and marries them with modern biblical scholarship. Use the old to understand the new; and to use the new in the old, in the light of Christ. Theologically, Bender shows us the critical need to take every thought captive to Christ. Textually, we are called to harness the best of historical-critical studies in the past and combine them with modern exegesis. 

"Faith-Driven Investing" (Various Contributors)

TITLE: Faith Driven Investing: Every Investment Has an Impact--What’s Yours?
AUTHOR:  Tim Keller, Andy Crouch, Cathie Wood, Henry Kaestner, Obie McKenzie, Finny Kuruvilla, Luke Roush, Greg Lernihan, John Marsh, Ashely Marsh, Will Thomas, Efosa Ojomo, Richard Okello, Jessica Kim, Bryce Butler, Casey Crawford, Ron Blue, Rob West
 PUBLISHER: Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2022, (240 pages).
 

There are many Christian books teaching us how to disciple, live, serve, give, and how to exercise various other Christian virtues. However, when it comes to investment and investing, resources are few and far between. Apart from the Word-of-Faith adherents or the Health-and-Wealth gospel proponents, the rest of the evangelical world remains cautious when it comes to things related to money, stocks, and wealth-making capital investments. From a conservative biblical standpoint, that is understandable because of the belief that the love of money is the root of all evil. Yet, there are parables that teach us to be faithful with our gifts and talents as well, such as the parable of the talents and the shrewd manager. This book fills in the gap to show us that it is possible to have "Faith-Driven Investing." The "Faith Driven Investor Team" aims to help believers become better stewards of their gifts, talents, and various financial resources. All of these have one common theme: Faith. The team's conviction is that our faith affects the way we invest. The contributors come from all walks of life. Not only are there business professionals, and investment gurus, but there are also stories from entrepreneurs, leaders, teachers, preachers, and others. The contributors deal with questions like:

"A Short Guide to Reading the Bible Better" (George H. Guthrie)

TITLE: A Short Guide to Reading the Bible Better
AUTHOR: George H. Guthrie
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2022, (176 pages).
 

Christians believe in the Bible. They declare it in their creeds. They study it in small groups. Many would spend their devotional time with an open Bible. Some would also be inspired to go to Bible School. For the layperson, while the spirit is willing, the know-how is weak. Many of us can read but not many know how to appreciate the different genres, interpretive methods, or basic reading skills. God's Word is life-giving but do we know how to receive this life-giving Word? Whatever it is, all if not most of us would agree on one thing: Whatever our stage of expertise, we all need to take our Bible reading to the next level. This short book helps us to do just that. Author and professor George Guthrie is a well-known teacher of the Bible. Having been involved in several Bible translations, he knows the nuances and skills necessary to read the Bible well. He starts off the book with an invitation to consider and ponder the power of words. Subtly, he hints at the following: If words can be such powerful tools to move the human heart, what about God's Word? Surely, that would move not only human hearts but inspire them to do greater things that no ordinary mortal being could do. Guthrie focuses on: