Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, by Richard Bauckham, Eerdmans, 2006. Reviewed by Pastor Bill Edgar.

Nine books have shaped my understanding of the Christian faith and the world I inhabit: Athanius, On the Incarnation; Augustine, Confessions and The City of God; C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man; John Milton, Paradise Lost; Francis Schaeffer, Escape from Reason; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together; and G.K. Chesterton, Heretics.

Bauckham’s new book on the Gospels, because it is weighed down by citations and encumbered by repetitive argumentation, cannot join my list. But few books have made me happier as I read them.

It’s done! Bauckham has decisively rejected the 100-year-old form and literary criticism of the Gospels, an approach that was steeped in skepticism and led to unbelief. He draws on an astonishing array of evidence: the ancient ideal of eyewitness testimony in writing history, how ancient Greco-Roman historians indicated eyewitness testimony in their histories, careful examinations of the Synoptic Gospels, John’s Gospel, and early Christian writings to demonstrate their status as eyewitness reports of the career of Jesus, recent studies of oral history and how it operates, the psychology of memory, how Gospel criticism of the last 100 years tried to ape a misguided effort to write history “scientifically,” and how only eyewitness testimony can convey the reality of unique events such as the Holocaust and Jesus Himself.

If you found the Jesus Seminar perplexing in its extreme skepticism of the words of Jesus, if you remember a college course that left you wondering who really wrote the Gospels and why, if you want to know what to make of Time and Newsweek’s annual Easter stories that insinuate the unreliability of the Gospel accounts of Jesus, if you lament the hold that radical skepticism has on so much of our intelligentsia and wonder what can be said to it, then get hold of Bauckham’s new book. It should put an end to the long-reigning nonsense about a gulf between the historical Jesus and the Christ of faith. The Jesus of the Gospels is the true Jesus. Bauckham’s book also implicitly undermines the Roman Catholic claim that the Gospels stand only when they are supported by the testimony of the Church and her magisterium. The four Gospels are, in fact, what they seem to be: the eyewitness testimony of those who accompanied Jesus, saw His glory, and heard His words. Get this book and give it a lot of time.

Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation. Volume 1: 1523-1552, by James T. Dennison, Jr., Reformation Heritage Books, 2008. Hardcover, 820 pp, $50. Reviewed by Nathan Eshelman.

Reformation Heritage Books has recently launched an academic division. Dennison’s book, Reformed Confessions, is the first to be published under this arm. This is volume one of four that will be released as they are completed.

James Dennison, professor of church history and biblical theology at Northwest Seminary, has undergone a huge task with this publication. The goal is to provide for the first time in English all of the Reformed confessional statements and catechisms of the Reformation era in a four-volume set. This set will show the unity and the biblical nature of the Reformed movements during the Reformation era.

Dennison writes, “If we may label the Protestant Reformation a mega-shift in human learning and belief, then these artifacts…are part of the ethos of that re-formation [sic]. Here in English are the paradigms of that immense mega-shift.” In other words, this work is important because we see how Europe erupted and transformed into a God-honoring society, and these statements document this shift for all of us to grapple with.

Reformed Confessions, volume I covers 33 confessions and catechisms from the years 1523-1552. Even though the book exceeds 800 pages, the reader will find that much of the reading is fresh and experiential as he or she is taken through 19 years of Reformed theology. The book proves to be exciting in that much of this material has never been seen in English until now. Fifteen of the 33 writings are first-time translations by Dennison and his collaborators. One area that this book covers will, I believe, open a whole new interest in the Reformation among Spanish-speaking believers. At least three Spanish creeds are included in this volume, and they express the need for further study in the area of Spanish-speaking Reformed theology. There are many other areas that will be of interest to various readers. Although this book is academic in nature, it contains so much practical religion that it would be my desire to see Christian families taking up these volumes for instruction in both practical Christianity and the historic nature of our beloved Reformed faith. It is a great joy of mine to recommend this volume and these 33 works by our Reformed forefathers.

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, by Bob Bell, Zondervan, 2005. Reviewed by Pastor Michael LeFebvre.

Rob Bell is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., which is described on the back of his book as “one of the fastest-growing churches in American history”. Bell takes the title for his book from a velvet Elvis painting in his basement. It is the kind of portraiture that was especially popular in the 1970s but is out of date now. Bell says that Christianity also becomes outdated if it is not repainted from generation to generation. His book is an attempt at a 21st Century repainting.

Like the rest of the Emerging Church movement, Bell’s vision of Christianity is one urgently engaged in practical service, caring, and recognition that Jesus’ kingdom is among us now. He urges humility in discussing doctrine, community counsel when interpreting Scripture, and a faith that makes us more Christlike in our living.

Unfortunately, like so many of the Emerging Church proponents, Bell also leaves a number of casualties along the way. For instance, the doctrine of sola scriptura has to go (p. 67), conversion must be recast as an “awareness” of the new nature one already has (p. 139, 143), and more significant than believing in Jesus is coming to realize that “Jesus believes in you” (chap. 5). Furthermore, because Bell believes that Jesus’ death atoned for every individual, he concludes, “Heaven is full of forgiven people….Hell is full of forgiven people….The difference is how we choose to live” (p. 146). I’m not sure I’ve ever heard salvation by works more frankly stated.

In the end, rather than giving us a new picture of the Christian faith, Bell has actually given us an updated rendition of the old social gospel. Bell’s book reminds us that cold doctrine and uncaring faith are genuine problems in the church today. However, Bell abandons too much of the gospel in his effort to address those problems.

The Suburban Christian, by Albert Hsu, IVP Books, 2006. Reviewed by Pastor Jared Olivetti.

Very few would deny that where we live has a large part in determining how we live. Therefore, giving deep thought to how our personal environments impact living for Christ is a worthy enterprise. This was the task of Albert Hsu, a suburbanite of Chicago, who writes:

The suburban Christian ought not uncritically absorb all the characteristics of the suburban world but rather should thoughtfully assess and discern how Christians ought to live in this environment, without either capitulating to the culture or abandoning it by fleeing the suburbs and relocating in the country.

Toward this end, Hsu begins by examining the history and characteristics of suburbs—which contained less than a quarter of the population in the 1950s but now house well over half of all Americans. He looks for some of the reasons for this growth, especially pointing to American individualism. He discusses the impact of living in a commuter culture, recognizing that few of us could be pedestrians even if we wanted to. He writes about living in a consumer culture, though he doesn’t explain if this is any different from the urban to the suburban or rural. At the halfway point of the book, he moves to suggesting ways to live more Christianly in the suburbs: increasing community, deepening spiritual disciplines, customizing the church to meet suburban spiritual needs (here landing squarely in the middle of the ecclesiastical road), and reaching out from the suburbs to the cities and the world.

While the topic of the book is vital and important, I was left ultimately unsatisfied. I had read one man’s thoughts—most of them good, a few not so much—about living in the suburbs. What I didn’t read was a book looking to the Scriptures for direction and wisdom in this timely task. What does God have to say about individualism or life in a consumer culture? Hsu has clearly read many books and studies on suburban living, but he rarely refers to Scripture, even when using terms like “Christianly” and “church,” instead assuming we all agree on the basics. What’s left is an okay book filled with ideas and suggestions very few unbelievers would dispute: watch less TV, drink fair-trade coffee, exercise more, meet your neighbors, minister to the poor, etc. Despite this great shortcoming, many of you who live in the suburbs should still read this book. Why? Because this conversation is too important to forsake, and it remains to future authors to bring this important conversation into the light of God’s Word.

Living For God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, by Joel Beeke, Reformation Trust Publishing, hardcover, 416 pp., $24. Reviewed by Nathan Eshelman.

With next year’s 500th birthday of John Calvin being commemorated in various ways, the Christian bookstores are stocking more and more books that discuss the legacy of John Calvin. This should be bittersweet to those of us that are called Calvinists. We are more than happy to see the amount of Christian publicity that this is making for the Reformed faith. On the other hand, we do not want to put too much emphasis on a man—even one that God used mightily. We should rather look to the Christ that John Calvin adored and wrote about so extensively. Calvin’s life motto was, “My heart I offer promptly and sincerely to you, O Lord.” Through all of the Calvin studies, this should be our goal as well.

Amidst all the books that are commemorating Calvin and his work, Dr. Joel Beeke has written a handy volume (with the help of other Reformed authors such as Sinclair Ferguson, Michael Haykin, Derek Thomas, and the RPCNA’s Ray B. Lanning) that emphasizes the theological and practical aspects of the faith of the Calvinists—the Reformed faith. This beautifully bound volume will prove to be the book that many of us have been looking for. This book covers what it means to be Reformed, not just what it means to hold to five points.

We all have evangelical friends that ask what it means to be Reformed. Sometimes they even ask what they could read to better understand what separates us from them. A little TULIP book will not explain all that we mean, and Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics would overwhelm the most innocent of inquirers. Now we have a book that we can give to them. Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism shows the depth, height, and breadth of the biblical faith we call being Reformed.

Beeke begins with the history of how Calvinism spread throughout Europe and North America. He discusses both the Presbyterian and the Continental tradition of the Reformed faith and its globalization. He then discusses the confessional aspects with a church-unifying discussion on the Three Forms of Unity and the Westminster Standards. After he gives the biblical defense of the five points, he moves into many other areas of the Reformed faith, in each one showing how the central theme of our faith is bringing glory to God. Topics such as Scripture, piety, Reformed worship (written by Ray B. Lanning, First RPC, Grand Rapids, Mich.), sanctification, preaching, evangelism, work ethic, family, and many more are discussed biblically, confessionally, and with an emphasis on bringing God the glory alone.

This book is a fresh look at the ideas that shape our theology and practice. It is written in a warm, pastoral way that will show readers that Calvinism is not cold determinism but a God-honoring and people-loving religion of both the heart and the mind.