"40 Questions about the Text and Canon of the New Testament" (Charles L. Quarles and L. Scott Kellum)

TITLE: 40 Questions about the Text and Canon of the New Testament
AUTHOR: Charles L. Quarles and L. Scott Kellum
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2023, (352 pages).
 

Where are the original manuscripts of the New Testament? If all the original manuscripts were lost, how then do we verify the authenticity of the copies? Are the copies we have today reliable? How many manuscripts are there? What is Textual Criticism? How do we know if the New Testament is accurate? What about the Canon and the canonization process? How did the Bible get canonized? What about the gospel of Thomas? How do we deal with claims that there are more books that ought to be added to the canon? These questions and more are part of the 40 questions to deal with the text and canon of the New Testament. For the authors, they simply condense all of these into one question: "What is the New Testament?" Charles Quaries is the key person answering the questions about "The Text of the New Testament" (Part One) while Scott Kellum deals with questions pertaining to "The Canon of the New Testament" (Part Two). 

"Galatians" (Kathryn Greene-McCreight)

TITLE: Galatians (Brazo's Theological Commentary on the Bible)
AUTHOR: Kathryn Greene-McCreight
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2023, (204 pages).
 

If one is asked to summarize what the letter to the Galatians is about, many people might conclude that it is all about justification by faith. Yet, there are many alternative interpretations that range from freedom in Christ to anti-semitic accusations. How do we practice discerning which best approaches the Truth for such a range of interpretations? Humbly speaking, we need help. The commentators in this series of commentaries believe that this help comes from interpreters from the Nicea-Constantinople tradition. They might not give us the full revelation of Truth but they can surely clear the way for us to approach it. 

Dogmas clarify rather than obscure. This is the conviction behind this series of theological commentaries. Based on the Nicene tradition, the authors in this series affirm the Scriptures amid a tide of modern scholars who insist that ancient doctrinal persuasions are barriers to the "purity" of the biblical text. The intent of these modern interpreters is noble but it masquerades the fact that such modernist thinking is also a form of "doctrinal persuasion" in itself. The underlying belief is that the Nicene tradition "provides the clarifying principles" to guide our understanding of the Scriptures. After all, these ancient fathers are definitely closer to biblical times than we are. If Bible reading is communal, why not include these Nicean fathers in our interpretive process? Adopting a Both-And framework has more benefits compared to an Either-Or option. Preferring to engage theologians instead of biblical scholars, the commentary is essentially one that resembles "systematic theology" style instead of  "biblical theology." 

"Pentecost" (Emilio Alvarez)

TITLE: Pentecost: A Day of Power for All People
AUTHOR: Emilio Alvarez
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023, (144 pages).
 

What is Pentecost? What is the meaning of the word "Pentecostal?" Why do Christians celebrate this event? Has this event any connection to the Old Testament? What is the significance of such an event? These questions are dealt with in this book. Pentecost Sunday is one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. Celebrated 50 days after Easter, it commemorates the day the Holy Spirit came down upon believers in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 2. With the coming of the Holy Spirit witnessed by thousands, the full identity of the Trinity has been revealed to all. The key events in the Church Calendar are Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. This book focuses on the latter, to show us the significance and provides us basic things we ought to know about Pentecost. Calling it a "Day of Power," author Emilio Alvarez takes time to unwrap the meaning of what Pentecostal power means. It is not a power about race to the top echelons of society but about the grace of God given to all believers. It is about that spiritual renewal that we need. Pentecostal power proclaims the work of Christ and the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Alvarez asserts that believers should see themselves as pilgrims rather than tourists when celebrating Pentecost. What's the difference? One is about entitlement and the other is about growing in spiritual experience. Beginning with the meaning of the Pentecost festival, Alvarez shows us how Pentecost and the Old Testament are connected through three festivals: Festival of Weeks, First Fruits, and Harvest. He tells us that we do not have to wait until the Day of Pentecost to celebrate. We can be celebratory in the days leading up to the Day itself. 

"Wisdom for Faithful Reading" (John H. Walton)

TITLE: Wisdom for Faithful Reading: Principles and Practices for Old Testament Interpretation
AUTHOR: John H. Walton
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023, (248 pages).
 

The Bible is not simply a book of good advice. Neither is it just a book of archaeology, cultural, or historical discourse. It is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recorded for the world through many human authors, and fully revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the Bible has consistently been a bestseller. With modern electronic Bibles, the Word of God has also gone digital. Whatever the medium or the language used, we need wisdom in order to read, interpret, and understand the Word. With genres ranging from apologetics to history; narratives to proverbs; genealogies to parables; prose to poetry; etc, the Old Testament alone can prove challenging to interpret. We need not mere techniques or methods of interpretation. We need wisdom even to read the Old Testament properly. What better way than to learn from one whose life's work is all about learning from the Old Testament, and teaching us from the fruit of his labor. Professor Walton begins with a general overview of the interpretive process, giving us one quest, two caveats, three essential commitments, four fundamental concepts, and five principles for faithful interpretation. The "quest" is about "faithful" interpretation. The caveat explains the need for faithful rather than "absolutely right" interpretation, simply because imperfect persons cannot claim to be absolutely right. The commitment is toward basic accountability, consistency, and controls. The four concepts are about the need to recognize the four basic contexts (linguistic, literary, cultural, and theological); the need for interpretation; the awareness of gaps; and while acknowledging the complicated nature of interpretation, one also needs to see the clear big picture of the Bible. The five principles revolve around the authors' audience, background, contexts, intent, and how to find our place in God's story.

"Incurable Faith" (Andrea Herzer)

TITLE: Incurable Faith: 120 Devotions of Lasting Hope for Lingering Health Issues
AUTHOR: Andrea Herzer
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Waterbrook & Multnomah, 2023, (304 pages).
 

"You have cancer!" These three words can easily strike fear even for the most stoic minds. How does one deal with bad news? What if the prognosis is mostly negative? How then do we bear living in an increasingly unbearable situation? Like in a dark and gloomy tunnel, life through chronic illness can be downright depressing. In times like these, hope becomes that crucial light at the end of the long tunnel. One of the ways to remind us of hope in Jesus is through devotionals. Here, author Andrea Herzer gives us 120 devotionals to guide us through hardships any of us might encounter from time to time. These devotionals are conveniently categorized according to length. Section One is "snack size" meaning the devotional is about 1-2 pages long. Intended for people who might not be able to sustain a longer read, they are given in bit-size format for ease of reading and reference. The introductory passage, prayer, and invitation to worship are brief and to the point. Section Two is a little more substantial called "A Marvelous Meal." The passages are slightly longer, about 2-3 pages in length. This allows readers who have the energy to read a longer passage to do so. It gives us more time and space to reflect on the passages read. Section Three contains devotionals that are the most dense of all. It is written particularly for the lonely in mind. It is also suitable for those who want a longer quiet time. 

"Life After God" (Mark Feldmeir)

TITLE: Life After God
AUTHOR: Mark Feldmeir
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2023, (220 pages).
 

As the spiritual climate in the West becomes more secular and anti-establishment, the Church at large is entering a Post-Christian era. With declining membership in churches and an ever-increasing number of people who call themselves NONES, it is becoming more difficult to see what faith and belief look like. Some Christians even doubt what they believe as they toggle between faith and doubt. Dealing with such situations can be tricky. How does one nuance the historic faith without sweeping contemporary doubts under the carpet? Here lies the challenge that author, pastor, and professor Mark Feldmeir boldly tackles. Starting with a professor using an imaginary gun to challenge a student's faith, he articulates the classic problem that pits the doctrine of God's love against the reality of human pain and suffering. Where does free will come in? If God already knows why certain events are bound to happen, why did He not intervene according to His Goodness? His musings about theodicy take us through history and contemporary times. In the former, he mentions the writings of CS Lewis, Pascal, Nicholas Wolterstorff, and the biblical book of Job.

"Personality and Worldview" (Johan H. Bavinck)

TITLE: Personality and Worldview
AUTHOR: Johan Herman Bavinck (translated by James Eglinton)
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023, (208 pages).
 

When doing studies about comparative religion, one of the most common ways is to use the term worldview. Sometimes, we tend to think that worldview is something objectively understood. That is only half the story. What equally matters is the person holding that worldview, for the subjective and the objective are related in more ways than one.  In other words, personality affects worldviews. The condition of the soul affects one's outlook on life. More importantly, any understanding of the world is only as good as one's personality. This is the crux of the book about the relationship between the subjective and the objective. Some people think that worldviews are objective while personalities are subjective. The problem is that such dichotomies are false. Both are linked in some or more ways. The gospel breaks down these false dichotomies to give us a concrete understanding of both the self as well as the worldview. Every philosophy, religion, or spiritual quest is a form of searching for God, so says Bavinck. One might want to argue the Person of God, but it is no denying that one searches for some form of transcendence in the name of Truth. Bavinck goes into the quest in two ways.