I haven’t done a book preview since last fall. I have a number of books on the review stack from various Christian publishers that I will be reviewing in the next months but would love for you to have the chance to know about them now. You might want to get some of these on your summer reading list! I’m just going to down the stack and give you a quick preview. Today I will do the top half of the stack with the remainder to follow tomorrow.
St Francis of Assisi, G.K. Chesterton. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2013. I requested this for review this summer to go with a program in the ministry I work with focused on the life of St. Francis–and it is by G. K. Chesterton!
Four Views on Heaven, Contributors: John S. Feinberg, J. Richard Middleton, Michael Allen, Peter Kreeft. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2022. There is actually quite a lively conversation going on about the nature of heaven, and the nature of our future hope. This is a great lineup of interlocutors representing traditional Protestant and Catholic perspectives and newer “new earth” and “heaven on earth” perspectives.
The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa of Avila. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2009. Earlier this spring, I reviewed an edition of this work from the same publisher now out of print. They saw this and sent me a newer edition with the full text and a modern translation by Henry L. Carrigan, Jr.
Face to Face with God (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology), T. Desmond Alexander. Downers Grove: 2022. A study of the Hebrews looking at the question of how sinful humans can approach a holy God.
The Qur’an and the Christian, Matthew Aaron Bennett. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2022. The author believes understanding Islam’s sacred text and how to converse with Muslim friends are important for Christians seeking to relate the Christian gospel with those friends.
With or Without Me, Esther Maria Magnis. Walden, NY: Plough Publishing, 2022. Esther Maria Magnis describes a tortuous road to faith, wrestling with the reality of human suffering and critiquing the clichés religious people use, daring to believe in God when it is anything but easy.
Fight Like Jesus, Jason Porterfield. Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2022. Looks at Holy Week as Jesus’s way of peacemaking, in sharp contrast to the religious authorities.
God Dwells Among Us (Evangelical Studies in Biblical Theology), G.K. Beale and Mitchell Kim. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2021. A study of the temple in scripture and what it means for the ongoing mission of the church.
The Psychological Roots of Christian Nationalism, Pamela Cooper-White. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2022. Explores the extent of Christian nationalism, its psychological roots, and how we talk across our divides.
Inalienable, Eric Costanzo, Daniel Yang, and Matthew Soerens. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2022. A discussion of the crossroads confronting an American church as its witness has been sullied and its numbers are declining and our choice between idolatry and God’s global and transcultural kingdom of God.
Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology), Randy S. Woodley. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2022. A critique of the Western theological worldview from an Indigenous perspective emphasizing place, community, and our lived experience in this world.
The Anxiety Field Guide, Jason Cusick. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2022. Based on the author’s own history of anxiety, offers healthy practices addressing our anxiety crisis.
That’s twelve of the titles in the stack. Tomorrow I’ll be back with twelve more ranging from grief to flourishing and from the Herods to parenting.
Bob on Books 