I just received Scot McKnight’s book, Praying with the Church, in the mail yesterday. Scot writes simply and with great clarity, so I finished it over the course of the day. I would highly recommend this for anyone who is considering fixed-hour prayer. McKnight gives a helpful biblical foundation for this practice, and suggests that … Continue reading »
Filed under Books: Reviews and Remarks …
The Eucharist of Solomon – 1 Kings 4
I’ve finished Hauerwas’ commentary on Matthew and have turned to Peter Leithart’s work on 1 & 2 Kings. So far, so good. Even though I disagree with Leithart on some of the theological implications he draws at a few points, this is still an extremely rich theological commentary on 1 & 2 Kings, a book … Continue reading »
Christian Objections to Intelligent Design
Francis Collins, one of our leading geneticists and the longtime head of the Human Genome Project, has a new book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. The book gives an interesting account of Collins’ journey to the Christian faith and is an exploration of his thoughts on the interaction between faith … Continue reading »
A Good Man is Hard to Find on Ash Wednesday
On Ash Wednesday, I’m going to weave my sermon together with Flannery O’Connor’s short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find. This story follows an escaped murderer, the Misfit, and his encounter with a family on their way to vacation in Florida. The grandmother of this group is tranformed in a moment at the … Continue reading »
Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible
The new theological commentary on the bible by Brazos Press is something I’m incredibly excited about. The first commentary on Acts by Jaroslav Pelikan was good in its own way, but it seemed to use Acts as a springboard for theological exposition more than what I would expect in a theological commentary. Then again, there … Continue reading »
Breviary Envy
During my Clinical Pastoral Education stint at the University of Kentucky, I had the pleasure of working with three Catholic seminarians. They were great guys and as different as you can possibly imagine. Yet, one thing they held in common was a large black book called a Breviary. As you may know, the Breviary is … Continue reading »
Christian Preaching as a Traditioned Practice
The third chapter of Christian Preaching: A Trinitarian Theology of Proclamation touches on the importance of seeing preaching as a traditioned practice. According to Pasquarello, our preaching should drink deeply from the wells of Tradition and look to those who have exhibited faithfulness throughout their lives. Here a citation of John Henry Newman summarizes the … Continue reading »
Christian Preaching as a Theological Practice
In the second chapter of Christian Preaching: A Trinitarian Theology of Proclamation Pasquarello speaks of preaching as a practice (in the McIntyrian sense) that is theological. He borrows heavily from Augustine’s De doctrina christiana and suggests that preaching is a theological and spiritual journey for the preacher. Preaching is therefore an act that begins in … Continue reading »
Christian Preaching
I just recieved a new book that I’m very excited about. Christian Preaching: A Trinitarian Theology of Proclamation, written by my preaching professor Dr. Mike Pasquarello, is an attempt to change the subject of preaching from ourselves to the Triune God (p. 10). Pasquarello believes that, “…much popular, pragmatic preaching reduces the church’s affirmation of … Continue reading »
Advent with Robert Jenson
For Advent, I am reading Robert W. Jenson’s Systematic Theology. What better way to prepare for our Lord’s arrival! So far, I am floored by Jenson’s breadth, depth, and at times…clarity. He is a terrific writer and the only reason there aren’t more of these crystalline moments is my own lack of breadth and depth … Continue reading »
