Recent

        Pietersen sketches the historical and hermeneutical perspectives of the bible and its interpretation: the early church (first three centuries), Christendom (Constantinian political emphasis), post-Christendom, the Anabaptist option.

        A major part of the book does a book-by-book comment of major content and perspectives of biblical writings. Two chapters focus on reading the bible for spirituality (discipleship) and mission. He strongly emphasizes the need for bible reading to be a communal venture, recognizing its prophetic (eschatological version of G-d’s shalom, as subversive (proclaiming the kingdom of G-d as against the kingdom of the Caesar), and as sustaining (providing and equipping us for the journey).

        Christendom is the concept of western civilization as having a religious arm (the church) and a secular arm (civil government), united in their adherence to Christian faith. This meant the church moved from the margins of society to the centre, and the bible was read in ways alien to its interpretation by the early church.

        Another major shift was to post-Christendom when the church moved from the centre to the margins; Christians were now in the minority and (as did the early church) lived in a pluralistic society. Post-Christendom calls for a critical scrutiny of long established readings of scripture, develop fresh angles with which to approach biblical texts, and read them in ways that speak to changing contents (p 26).

        An example of this is his exegesis of Luke 19:11-27, the Zacchaeus account (p 54ff), that demonstrates that readings from the margins completely subvert the natural Christendom reading (p 56); Christendom became increasingly hierarchical and patriarchal. Thus there is a need to open the discussion on the creeds themselves, because of the coercive elements involved in their origin (p 58).

        Personal note: Rather than develop a six-fold hermeneutical paradigm (p 67), why not use a simpler two-fold hermeneutical perspective (eg exile and empire) for biblical exegesis.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        I know: this is a book dealing with the church in Canada, but this review is carried in a United States journal, but the similarities of the churches on both sides of the 49th parallel keeps relevant the material written by both for both. The same questions apply to both sides: what is the role of Sunday worship? What is the place of the sacraments? What is the role of the ordained and what is the preparation required for ministry today? What are the lines of oversight and authority? (p 281).

        What the book is looking for is adaptive leadership and not technical quick fixes. No single model, or searching for the latest gimmick, but dealing with the target and citing examples of ‘successful innovation’.

        To there are chapters dealing with specific issues: rural possibilities, inner city dynamics, creation care, spirituality, leadership and young families. A useful approach is the sharing of information of organizations who have developed ministry options, program s and media resources. Eg there is a page of eight questions helpful in developing ‘resources for mission’ (p 266) for local congregations.

        The book deals with the changes to Canadian/American culture that impacts the church. In the last 20 years, political structures have changed (eg the role of political options—the Republican party). Population has grown (largely through immigration), but the churches are small and on the fringes of power culturally. Relationship patterns have changed (eg internet). The religious landscape has shifted (secularization and pluralism). For church planting, relationships in the community are more crucial than institutional structures and paradigms.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        Most of the essays in Evangelicals and Nicene Faith were presented at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., holding to the confessional and unifying purpose of the creeds as experiences of Christian belief and identity; the book is dedicated to the memory of Jaroslav Pelikan, one of whose memorable statements was ‘tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.’

        This volume deals with the historical and theological basis for a robust confession of faith today. Some of the papers have questionable perspectives, and this present exercise is an attempt to sharpen the debate by seeing interpretational problems. Eg its critique of the emerging church movement as embodying patterns of ‘Protestant liberalism’ (p 184).

        Pluralism is dismissed out of hand, and the church is said to have suffered by the shift from Christendom to pluralism (p 171)! Strange picture of the faithful, early church! ‘The creeds were dominated by the NT expression of the historical facts of Jesus Christ’ (p 173). How can this be held seriously when the creeds have virtually no biographical details of Jesus. An astounding claim is made: ‘The Trinity was taught after being revealed by Jesus himself’ (p 177). The theory of substitutionary atonement becomes the only atonement theory acceptable (p 191).

        An interesting book but one that lacks careful attention to alternative theologies.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        Hall challenges us ‘Christians’ to take seriously the theology of the cross, a theology we have ignored in favour of seeking power. ‘It is the theological triumphalism of Christendom that must be altered if the Christian faith is to exist in the world of today and tomorrow as a force for life and not death’ (p 5).

        Historical Christianity—Christendom—has steadfastly avoided the ‘theology of the cross’ because such a theology could only call into question the whole imperialistic bent of Christendom’ (p 6). Christendom has opted for triumphalism, not for a theology of glory (theologia gloriae); the tendency in worldviews to present themselves as full and complete accounts of reality; this temptation infects every genre of human thinking, not only religious thought (p 17).

        ‘The ‘birth’ of Christendom brought about a species of Christianity that could be practised without any threat or hint of its being a process of identification with the one who was ‘despised and rejected’’ (p 141).

        An imperial Christianity with a triumphalist theology just does not work in Jesus’ kind of world, that is at odds with ‘the official cult of the imperial culture’ (p 174,175). Hall calls on the church to recognize the theology of the cross as a theology of worldly engagement. And it is expressed in discipleship as outreach in mission and ethics, based not on natural law (religion) but on faith. And this ethic will take seriously the created order: ‘the world is purposed, its existence is neither random nor capricious…. This world is the beloved of G-d and must not be abandoned’ (p 220); a theology of the cross will use the prophetic stance, not the apocalyptic (p 228).

        Hall’s book is a wonderful treatment of Christian witness and faith.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        It’s an old book but it remains relevant and readable on the origins of Judaism and on the Jewish world in New Testament times. The book begins at the Babylonian exile (586 BCE) at which time characteristics of Judaism emerge, and concludes with the destruction of Jerusalem in 135 CE.

        Foerster reiterates the factors common to all Jews, but sketches the various parties in Judaism (Zealots, Essenes, Pharisees, etc). The Babylonian exile is key to understanding Judaism: the waning of prophecy, the stress on the Law, circumcision and the Sabbath, and the emerging of ‘the three pillars’ (canon, synagogue, rabbis). The exile and the history of the next several centuries subjected the Jewish people to significant presses politically, culturally, socially and geographically.

        The multiplicity of political forces on the Jewish community is staggering; they were in exile in, or occupied by—in the 400 years period—by the Babylonians, Persians, Syrians, Hasmoneans, Greeks and Romans, each emphasizing different social and cultural forces. New groups emerged: zealots, Sadducees, Essenes, Pharisees. New historical paradigms and theological perspectives developed. Of special note are the ‘three pillars’: the canon of scripture, the synagogue, and the rabbis (teachers); there was a corresponding drop in the importance of the priests.

        It was also during this time that translation of the Hebrew biblical text into the Greek language took place, translating for the first time the scriptures of the biblical revelation into ‘a pagan’ language.

        A good summary of a pivotal time in Jewish history.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        Wright takes a fresh look at Paul, based on his Jewish roots, his Hellenistic environment, his attitude to the Roman empire and his reinterpretation of Jewish symbols and theology. The two major topics of this interpretation are Paul and the empire, and Paul’s eschatology.

        The traditional approach to apocalypticism held to G-d’s action in the demolition of this world and the establishment of something totally different. Eg the created order is divided into two, earth and heaven, in which the present wicked world is left to stew in its own juice while the saints are snatched to heaven to watch Armageddon from a ringside seat (p 141).

        In opposition to ‘rapture theology’, Wright carefully explicates 1 Thessalonians 4. The parousia is a court term. ‘It is what happens when a king is making a state visit to a city and he is thus ‘present’. As he approaches, the citizens come out to meet him, not to hold a meeting there but to escort him into the city (p 55). And the citizens welcome the king into their city—‘rapture theology’ has the people leaving the city, Wright’s exegesis sees a continuum of heaven and earth, not a dualism.

        Wright also points out the claim of Jesus, not Caesar, as Lord. ‘The symbol which had spoken of Caesar’s naked might now spoke of G-d’s naked love’ (p 73). And in all this, Wright keeps reminding the reader of the Hebrew theology speaking to these same issues.

        A wonderful look at major Pauline themes.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        Boyd invites evangelical Christians to look carefully at how they make political choices and invites us to return to the love of Calvary and the way of the cross for life in our pluralistic society. ‘If we are to take our society back for G-d, it must have once belonged to G-d, but it’s not all clear where this golden Christian age was’ (p 98). ‘America as a nation has never looked remotely like Jesus’ (p 90).

        The way this nation was discovered, conquered and governed was a rather typical barbarian, violent, kingdom of the world affair. The Doctrine of Discovery and its applications had its origin in the Enlightenment, not in scripture.

        The concept of power is key to understand the political options; ‘power over’ marks the kingdom of the world, and ‘power under’ marks the kingdom of G-d (lion power versus lamb power).

        The Jesus way of ‘power under’ reveals the humble character of a servant: to become like children (‘there is no place for evaluating how important someone is on the basis of their power, possessions, money or social respect. Children have none of these’ (p 36), to wash feet, to heal an enemy, to live in love not because it works but because this is what G-d is doing). The two kingdoms are in contrast to each other: contrast of trust, of aims, of scope, of response, of battles (pp 47,48)—demonizing one’s enemies, whether from the right or from the left.

        A final chapter deals with five questions about how this applies to issues such as personal and public safety questions, and to the military complex in our society.

        A good treatment of the Jesus way of ‘power under’.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        State and church! Two entities in which we seek security. But Kavanagh is not so confident of that trust. The state has colonized the political imagination of Christians; we find it easy to assume that the nation-state promotes the common good, expecting salvation from that perspective and resorting to violence to defend them, thereby obscuring our identities as members of a different body, the body of Christ. The nation state is but relatively recent way of organizing bodies in space. What we need is a radical pluralism that allows for a plurality of states.

        And to keep our resources identifiable. The easiest option, eg in dealing with poverty, is for the church to mobilize new lobbying initiatives in the state legislature, rather than modeling Christians in a program of involvement, bypassing the people of G-d. The common good could mean the creation by the church itself of relationship in the community as opposed to advising the state on technocratic solutions to poverty.

        Cavanagh develops powerful metaphors to focus in the contribution of individuals: migrant, tourist, pilgrim, monk, and points out how easily we write people off as illegals; ‘the identity of the universal Christ is found in the one lonely migrant who knocks at the door, looking for rest (p 87).

        He pleads that we need an ecclesiology that is robust enough the counter the powers that be, but humble enough not to reproduce the exclusion and pride of those powers.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        The Judaeo-Christian bible has wonderful material: G-d as caring shepherd, erotic love poems. But it also has blessing for those who would seize Babylonian children and smash their skulls against the rocks (Psalm 137).

        The Qur'an, sacred scripture of Islam, urges believers to kill non-believers, but also commands that enemies should be shown mercy if they surrender. In contrast, some portions of the bible order the total extermination of enemies—of men, women and children and even the livestock, with no survivors. Or lauds a suicide attack by Samson (Judges 26).

        The problem of G-d and the presence of suffering asks, ‘how could G-d let such terrible things take place eg the holocaust. But the virtuous listing of ethnic cleansing demanded by G-d is not an example of ‘why do bad things happen to good people?’ but rather ‘why does G-d drive his people to do worse and worse things to selected groups?’ (p 8)

        Jenkins makes no attempt to see whether across the centuries more aggression and destruction have been undertaken in the name of Islam than of Christianity. But in terms of the violent focus of the fundamental scriptures, differences between the faiths are minimal (p 12). Those who see the bible as the authoritative book to follow omit major sections in an attempt to deal with unpalatable texts (the practise of ‘holy amnesia’).

        We need to be aware of the biblical tales of mandated atrocities, and to appreciate the different strategies Christians have used to deal with these stories. The more honestly believers comprehend their faith, including its most unsettling components, the better we can engage constructively with other religions, especially Islam and the Koran.

        A good book encouraging a careful look even at unsavoury sections in the bible and other faith depositories.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

        ‘The ecological crisis is a spiritual crisis. It comes as a result of our alienation from nature…. Most of us no longer have a sense belonging to the earth, an experience of solidarity with plants and animals…. We have reduced nature to things’ (xiv).

        From this perspective comes Rhoads publication, with contributors writing from a spirituality rooted in creation. Eg the seminary where he teaches is designated a ‘green zone’, that attempts to identify what it means for his community and space to be ‘earth friendly in worship life, the educational program, the care for property, the personal commitment of the community members, and the responsibility to bring this concern before the wider public (xvii).

        Earth and Word contains 36 sermons on ‘Saving the Planet’. All of these are eminently worth reading (as they were worth listening to initially) and are faithfully exegetical (drawing heavily on Genesis, Psalms, the gospels, John. Far too large a range to deal with in a review, but a range that will provide resources for the pastor to be read as devotional literature, theological reflection, sermon projection, building worship material, and citing further resources.

        Among the most evocative of the best are James Cone (“Whose Earth is it, Anyway”), Ted Hiebert (“First Things First”), Ched Myers (“The Cedar Has Fallen: the Prophetic Word versus Imperial Clear Cutting”), Larry Rasmussen (“First and Everlasting Covenant”), George Tinker ( “Creation as Kin: an American Indian View”).

        But all helpful in focusing a theology of the created order and our part in it.

Vern Ratzlaff is a pastor and professor of historical theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.