andygoodliff

The Must Read New Testament Commentaries

Having thought about the must read theological books, what's the one commentary you couldn't do without for each book of the New Testament. The one's in bold I'm sure on. Obviously different commentaries serve different functions, some are more academic, some are more aimed at the preacher. I think a good commentary brings the text alive and offers new insights. Interestingly recent editions of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament and Pro Ecclesia ask precisely the question what is a commentary.

Matthew - Stanley Hauerwas' Brazos Theological Commentary (2006)

Mark - Ched Myer's Binding the Strong Man (1989)

Luke - Joel Green's NICNT commentary (1997)

John - Andrew Lincoln's Black's New Testament Commentary (2005)

Acts - William Willimon's Interpretation commentary  (1988)

Romans - Robert Jewett's Hermenia commentary (2006)

1 Corinthians - Anthony Thiselton's NIGTC (2001)

2 Corinthians - Murray Harris' recent NIGTC

Galatians - J. Louis Martyn's Anchor Bible Commentary (1997) (see also Richard Longenecker's Word Biblical commentary [1990] and Richard Hay's Interpretation commentary [1998])

Ephesians - John Muddiman's Black's New Testament Commentary (2001)

Philippians - Stephen Fowl's Two Horizon's Commentary (2005)

Colossians - Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmatt's Colossians Re:mixed (2004)

1 & 2 Thessalonians -

1 & 2 Timothy, Titus - Phil Towner's NICNT

Philemon -

Hebrews -

James - Timothy Luke Johnson's Anchor Bible Commentary

1 & 2 Peter -

1, 2, 3 John -

Jude -

Revelation -  Wes Howard-Brook and Anthony Gwyther's Unveiling Empire (1999)

Book Review: The Theology of John Zizioulas

Douglas Knight (ed.), The Theology of John Zizioulas: Personhood and Church (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007) 204pp. (with thanks to Ashgate for a review copy)

I first read John Zizioulas a few years back when I was a 1st year theology undergraduate. His two respective essays in Persons, Divine and Human and Trinitarian Theology Today were part of my introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity and especially the Cappadocian Fathers. I've enjoyed reading Zizioulas ever since. This collection of essays, edited by Douglas Knight, is a welcome addition to Zizoulas' theology. They are an attempt to offer a critical but appreciative assessment of his theology so far.

For the uninitiated, John Zizioulas is an Orthodox theologian and Metropolitan of Pergamon. He  is best known for the book Being As Communion (first published in 1985) which was part of the trinitarian revolution in theology that has taken place in the last thirty years (accompanying the likes of Moltmann, Jenson, Torrance, Jungel, Gunton amongst others).

After a helpful introduction from Douglas Knight, that provides an accessible summary of the main themes and concerns of Zizioulas' theology, as well as some of the criticisms, we are offered twelve chapters that interact with nearly every aspect of Zizioulas' work. The highlights are Alan Brown's detailed defence of Zizioulas against those who have criticised his reading of the Cappadocian Fathers, Colin Gunton's discussion of whether there Zizioulas provides a strong enough doctrine of salvation, Douglas Farrow's exploration of Zizoulas' dialectic between necessity and freedom and whether this distorts his christology and ecclesiology and Demetrios Bathrellos' examination of Zizioulas' doctoral thesis Eucharist, Bishop, Church and the tensions in his theology between the local and universal church. I found Brown's essay especially helpful as he argues that the criticism of John Zizioulas arises out of "Postliberal Anglican" theologians (like Rowan Williams and John Milbank) who 'have spent considerable time arguing for an interpretation of particular Greek Fathers which is not at odds with their own interpretation of Augustine' (p.39). How they read Augustine affects their reading of the Cappadocian Fathers and leaves them in opposition to Zizioulas (and others like Gunton).

I was disappointed with Wolfhart Pannenberg's contribution. In a book called The Theology of John Zizioulas, he does not really engage with Zizioulas and only mentions him as once drawing his attention to an important line in Athanasius. It would have been interesting for Pannenberg to discussed the convergences and divergences between their two respective theologies. The blurb claims to 'represent an unrivalled introduction', but I think some knowledge of Zizioulas is helpful beforehand, despite the majority of essays offering summaries. Like Gunton said about Barth: 'you should try and read the man himself', so I suggest is the case with Zizioulas. This is not to suggest the book is not good, but that it will make it easier and more worthwhile having read Being As Communion and his more recent Communion and Otherness.

Zizioulas is an extremely important theologian, so have suggested he is a modern day church father and therefore this book makes a valuable contribution to the assessment of the impact and future of Zizioulas' theology. Despite severals dissertations and books, (which the book helpfully catalogues at the end), this is the first real book that solely discusses the theology of John Zizioulas. I'm looking forward to many more.

Brevard Childs (1923-2007)

The biblical scholar Brevard Childs has died (23rd June). He was at the centre of the biblical theology movement and argued for a canonical approach to reading scripture. He was a giant of Old Testament studies. He was until his retirement in 1999 Sterling Professor of Divinity at Yale University. He studied under Karl Barth and received his doctorate from Basel. He was a major dialogue partner for both Walter Brueggemann (see his Theology of the Old Testament) and Francis Watson (see his Text, Church and World and Text and Truth) amongst others.

He was he author of  string of important studies in the 1970s and 80s: Biblical Theology in Crisis (1970) Exodus: A Critical, Theological Commentary (1974), Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (1979), The New Testament as Canon (1984), Old Testament Theology in Canonical Context (1985), Biblical Theology in the Old and New Testaments (1992).

Watson writes in Text and Truth (1997):
'His rediscovery of the hermeneutical significance of the canon is his most important contribution to a renewed "biblical theology" (211)

'It is the great merit of Brevard Childs' work that he has pursued the question of authentically Christian Old Testament interpretation with a single-mindedness and tenacity unprecedented in modern Old Testament scholarship ....' (218)

... Off to Oxford

So in September I will begin training for baptist ministry and study for a MTh at Regent's Park College, Oxford. Today and yesterday I was being interviewed and testing my call to ministry. Almost nine months since I started the process towards baptist ministry it has been confirmed. So I will be laying down teaching and youthwork for more theological study and ministerial formation. I'm really excited, I love studying, I love doing and talking theology with others. We will stay in Stevenage and I'll commute to Oxford three days a week as a full time residential student (a quirk of Oxford is you can be a residential student as long as you live fifty miles as the crow flies of the city and Stevenage is forty-seven!!!). Thanks to everyone who has supported me and prayed for me through the process, the hard begins now (or in few months).

Regent's Park is one of the five Baptist colleges in the UK. Professor Paul Fiddes has just stepped down after 18 years as principal, but will remain in the college developing its research. Rob Ellis is the new principal. It is the home of the centre for baptist history and heritage and the centre for christianity and culture (my first visit to regent's was in 1995, when I attend a lecture by William Horwood on spirituality and the novel as part of the centre's series of lecture for that term).

Modern Theology, July 2007

DIVINE CAUSALITY AND THE NATURE OF THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONING - Paul Janz

EBERHARD BETHGE: INTERPRETER EXTRAORDINAIRE OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER - John W. de Gruchy

"DEPRIVE THEM OF THEIR PATHOS": KARL BARTH AND THE NAZI REVOLUTION REVISITED - Arne Rasmusson

BETWEEN BARTH AND WITTGENSTEIN: ON THE AVAILABILITY OF HANS FREI’S LATER THEOLOGY     - Jason A. Springs

TOWARDS A POETICS OF THEOLOGICAL CREATIVITY: ROWAN WILLIAMS READS AUGUSTINE'S DE DOCTRINA AFTER DERRIDA     - Jeffrey McCurry

CHRISTIAN ORTHODOXY AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM: A RESPONSE TO TERRENCE W. TILLEY - Gavin D'Costa

"CHRISTIAN ORTHODOXY AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM": A REJOINDER TO GAVIN D'COSTA - Terrence W. Tilley

"CHRISTIAN ORTHODOXY AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM": A FURTHER REJOINDER TO TERRENCE TILLEY     - Gavin D'Costa

CONCLUDING OUR QUAESTIO DISPUTATA ON THEOLOGIES OF RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY - Gavin D'Costa and Terrence W. Tilley

Plus reviews of Mark Thiessen Nation's         John Howard Yoder: Mennonite Patience, Evangelical Witness, Catholic Convictions, Graham Ward's         Cultural Transformation and Religious Practice and Christ and Culture and others

5 things I dig about Jesus meme

Brodie has tagged me in this meme (see his post for an explanation). I've actually found it quite hard.

1. the sermon on the mount (the teachings collected in matthew 5-7). These words of wisdom
continually leave me wondering is a life based like this possible and that leads me to 2.

2. that Jesus didn't bring a social ethic, but his life was a social ethic (see hauerwas' a community of character), a way of living before God and neighbour, friend and enemy

3. he's constantly surprising, there's always more to discover. 2007-ish years later, the person and life of Jesus has not been exhausted and demands us to read and encounter him again

4. his knowledge of scripture. Jesus is one who knows the old testament, whose life can be read as embodiment of isaiah 40-55 (see nt wright's jesus and the victory of God). Jesus is the one who interprets the old testament, enabling those who follow him to know the God of Israel

5. Jesus is the one who overaccepts all offers (see sam wells' improvisation)

Now I tag,

Stuart Blythe

Ashley Beck

Douglas Knight

Maggi Dawn

Scott Prather

theological giants

Having asked whether Moltmann was a theological giant, I had already prepared this further post, for when the comments, but delayed posting it till now.

There are of course other extremely important theologians, I think especially of Irenaeus and the Cappadocian Fathers and I guess some might say that Luther and/or Schleiermacher should be included. Should my original list be bigger?

Are there some current or other recent theologians who are "giants", that is, should I include the likes of Pannenberg, Torrance, Jenson or even Webster? Ben Myers thinks Pannenberg is a contender.

I guess we should ask what does it mean to be a theological giant? I would contend that Barth's theology towers over any other in the 20th century, in the same way that Calvin's did in the 15th and 16th, and Aquinas' in the 13th. In many ways the theology of theological giants is far-reaching - Augustine, Calvin and Barth dominate Western Protestant theology and in a similar way Aquinas still shapes much Roman Catholic theology.

Is Moltmann a theological giant?

In the history of the church, in my view there are four theological giants.   Theologians who you cannot ignore because they have changed the theological debate.   

Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin and Barth ...

... is Moltmann a fifth? His contributions to eschatology, creation, the Trinity and pneumatology have been huge.  I'm not sure you can currently do theology  and ignore Moltmann. His books were listed by many in the previous post on 'a book for each doctrine'. Of course, his theology is not without its imperfections, but in 50 years or 100 years will theologians still be reading Moltmann, like they read Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin or Barth.

The Promise of a Christian University?

In recent times discussions of the place and role of universities and of theology have been a huge topic of conversation, with the likes of David Ford and others involved in the Cambridge Inter-Faith Project arguing for the importance of theology and religious studies in universities, and others like Gavin D'Costa arguing for Christian universities.  Some of the major books or essays are:

John Milbank, 'The Conflict of the Faculties: Theolgoy and the Economy of the Sciences' in Faithfulness & Fortitude: In Conversation with the Theological Ethics of Stanley Hauerwas, eds. Mark Thiessen Nation and Sam Wells, pp.39-58 (T & T Clark, 2000)

Colin Gunton, 'Doing Theology in the University Today' in The Practice of Theology. A Reader, eds. Colin Gunton, Stephen Holmes and Murray Rae, pp. 441-455. (SCM, 2001)

(eds.) Andrew Walker, Jeff Astley, Leslie Francis and John Sullivan, The Idea of a Christian University: Essays on Theology and Higher Education (Paternoster, 2004)

Gavin D'Costa, Theology in the Public Square: Church, Academy and Nation (Blackwell, 2005)

(eds.) David Ford, Ben Quash and Janet Martin Soskice, Fields of Faith: Theology and Religious Studies for the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge, 2005)

John Webster, Confessing God: Essays in Christian Dogmatics II (T & T Clark, 2005)

Paul Fiddes, 'The Place of Christian Theology in the Modern University', Baptist Quarterly, 42/2 (April 2007)

Stanley Hauerwas, The State of the University: Academic Knowledges and the Knowledge of God (Blackwell, 2007)

David Ford, Christian Wisdom (Cambridge University Press, 2007) and Shaping Theology (Blackwell, 2007)

one book for every doctrine

Having read Ben Myers' great post today A dogmatics for every occasion, I was thinking, if you had to choose one book for each major doctrine, what would you choose? (I've probably missed some doctrines out). There's too much Colin Gunton, but that just reflects my current lack of wider reading (which I hope to correct from September onwards if I'm back studying)

Doctrine of the Trinity - Being As Communion (John Zizioulas) or The Doctrine of God (T.F. Torrance)

Doctrine of the Divine Attributes - Church Dogmatics 2/1 (Karl Barth)

Doctrine of Christ - Jesus - God and Man (Wolfhart Pannenberg)

Doctrine of the Holy Spirit - The Giving Gift (Tom Smail)

Doctrine of Creation - The Triune Creator (Colin Gunton)

Doctrine of Atonement - Church Dogmatics 4/1 (Karl Barth), Self and Salvation (David Ford)

Doctrine of the Church - After Our Image: The Church as the Image of the Trinity (Miroslav Volf)

Doctrine of Scripture - Holy Scripture (John Webster) or Engaging Scripture (Stephen Fowl)

Doctrine of Eschatology - The Coming of God (Jurgen Moltmann)

Doctrine of Sin - Bound to Sin (Alistair MacFayden)

Doctrine of Humanity | Personhood - The Call to Personhood (Alistair MacFayden), Persons, Divine and Human (eds. Christoph Schwobel & Colin Gunton)

Doctrine of Sanctification - Holiness (John Webster)

Doctrine of Revelation - A Brief Theology of Revelation (Colin Gunton)

Doctrine of Evil - Raging with Compassion (John Swinton)

Doctrine of the Imago Dei - The Liberating Image (J. Richard Middleton)