Richard McCallum, Evangelical Christian Responses to Islam: A Contemporary Overview (London: Bloomsbury, 2024)

reviewed by Tom Wilson, Leicester

This is an invaluable resource for academics and students who are seeking to understand evangelical Christian responses to Islam. It is divided into three parts. First, McCallum builds on the work of Habermas, Fraser and others to argue for an “Evangelical micro-public sphere”, one of many “that together form a global network of spheres making up broader transnational macro-public spheres” (p. 15). McCallum establishes the nature of the evangelical micro public sphere on Islam, documenting the issues, participants and texts that are discussed. In the second chapter of part one he explores typologies of encounter, outlining the breadth of what it means to be evangelical and how those who identify in this way respond to Islam.

Part two dives into the issues of: Allah, Muhammad, Qur’an and Hadith, Sharia, Islamisation, persecution, violence and Israel–Palestine. Various evangelical responses to each issue are set out clearly and the subtleties and nuances of the differences between them are explained. At the end of each chapter is a helpful one- or two-page discussion, where McCallum draws together the threads of the argument and poses questions and challenges for the reader. The chapters range broadly across the globe. White men from the US and UK do dominate but other voices are present. A real strength of this book is that McCallum has gone beyond the “usual suspects” to ensure a genuine plurality of voices are heard. The final chapter outlines the range of different answers that evangelical writers give to the question “What is Islam?” The answers given are a religion, a heresy, a political ideology, a conspiracy, the enemy, demonic, an essence, diverse, Muslims and a social construct.

In part three McCallum explores how evangelical Christians talk to and with Muslims, as well as methodologies for evangelism and conversion, friendship and dialogue, and apologetics and polemics. As in part two, a wide range of strategies, approaches and global contexts are discussed. McCallum does not shy away from the difficult issues, raising the question of the ethics of any outreach or evangelism for example. The final chapter discusses types of evangelical response to Islam. As with any typology, it presents a series of theoretical constructs that may not map to real life but are nevertheless useful for opening up conversation.

In his conclusion McCallum recapitulates his argument to date and draws together the threads of his discussion, including issues such as convert care, geographical difference, race, gender, sexual orientation, and climate and environment. He sets out for the directions of future activity including the importance of education, research, hospitality and humility. He ends by suggesting Christianity is at a crossroads both in terms of what it means to be Christian and what it means for Christians to engage with Islam.

Evangelical Christian Responses to Islam is a meticulously researched and lucidly written book. Not just the discussion, but also the lists of references, make this a go-to resource for all students of Christian responses to Islam in particular, and mission studies in general. Since it is currently only available as an academic hardback, sales may be limited for the moment to libraries, but once the more affordable paperback edition is out, I would urge anyone with serious interest in Christian-Muslim relations to buy a copy of this book.

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Elizabeth Phillips, Apocalyptic Theopolitics (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2022)

reviewed by Wing Yin Li, PhD student in Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary

Apocalyptic Theopolitics is a selective collection of academic essays and sermons by Elizabeth Phillips, the public engagement fellow for the Woolf Institute in Cambridge. This book comprises 14 chapters organised into four major parts. Each part encompasses the author’s scholarly analysis of specific subject matters, alongside corresponding sermon(s) delivered on various occasions. Within this slim volume lies a dense yet profound exploration of the intersection between eschatology, Christian ethics and political theology.

In part I, Phillips offers a compact survey of the notions of eschatology and the apocalyptic in Scripture, Augustine, Aquinas, early liberation theologies, millennialism and postmillennialism. While acknowledging the value of the historical turn in Reinhold Niebuhr’s eschatology, Phillips argues that the shift away from the apocalyptic is a misguided one. Despite the dangerous employment of apocalyptic rhetoric and ideology in some sociopolitical movements, Christian Zionism for example, such usage bears “no direct relationship to the overarching contents and functions of apocalyptic texts, nor necessitate[s] any connection whatsoever with them” (p. 19). Therefore, to reject the apocalyptic as dangerous because of some erroneous use of the apocalyptic is a syllogistic fallacy. One of the central objectives of this book is to reclaim the value of the apocalyptic, drawn from the apocalyptic texts, as a normative resource for political theology. In this section, the author also critiques the existing conceptual, disciplinary and methodological separation between theology and the political and between theological ethics and social ethics. Engaging with the political theology of M. Shawn Copeland, Phillips contends that the theological engagement of discourses outside the ethical (problem-solving) frame can help broaden our political considerations, which are deeply ethical in the sense that they have a direct influence on our concrete political praxis.

In part II, the author presents her ethnographic study of Christian Zionism, which she conducted in an American congregation in 2007. According to her observation, eschatology plays a key role in shaping the theopolitical imagination of this congregation, where eschatological language is often invoked at worship, prayer meetings and other church events to express a hope of militant victory of Israel as a nation-state. However, contrary to the common assumption that Zionism is offering support to Israel simply for the sake of hastening the second coming of Christ, Phillips discovers that this congregation exhibits a more complex understanding of divine revelation and eschatology. To these Christian Zionists, the militant victory of Israel, as promised by God to Abraham in Gen. 12 and prophesised by Ezekiel to the dry bones (Ezek. 37:3), is a sure reality that will be fulfilled in the near future. This military success, including not only the establishment and expansion of the state of Israel but also the failure and fatality of Israel’s “enemies”, is not a means through which Christ shall return but the ends itself that occurs at the second coming of Christ, a time when the sovereignty of God is revealed to the world. Their political activism in funding Israeli settlement and war in the land of Palestine is, therefore, understood by the community as a participation in carrying out God’s ultimate will for humanity and all creation. As Phillips rightly points out, this literal interpretation of biblical texts as predictions to be fulfilled through nationalist militarism, disregarding “Scripture’s own critiques of militarism, nationalism, violence, and injustice,” is highly problematic (p. 72). Notably, the grave consequences yielded by such dangerous theology is now tragically unravelled in the genocide taking place in Gaza against the Palestinians.

In part III, Phillips compares Christian Zionism and its dispensationalist eschatology with the theology of John Howard Yoder, whose eschatology and view of a political Jesus rest not on the militant triumph but on the very suffering of the Lamb slain by the imperial regime. Concurring with Yoder’s analysis of the deconstructing function of the apocalyptic, Phillips argues that definitive forms of the apocalyptic should manifest in 1) deconstruction – disclosing the possibility of a different reality, 2) proclamation – proclaiming the sovereignty of God against oppressive power and 3) empowerment – enabling the community of faith to speak truth to power. In this section, she discusses the doctrines of “The Two” with a creative approach to put Yoder as an interlocutor with Augustine, examining the boundary between the sacred and secular, public and private, church and world, and church and state. Regardless of the numerous insights present in Yoder’s academic contributions, Phillips makes note of Yoder’s sexual misconducts and discusses the complicated legacy left by Yoder in shaping Anabaptist theopolitics in the twentieth century.

In part IV, Phillips engages with the work of Herbert McCabe, Anathea Portier-Young and Judith Herman to explore the element of hope as a theological virtue in the apocalyptic. She argues that an apocalyptic imagination and praxis that “emphasizes the integration of the political, linguistic, narrative, and bodily essence of our human nature and morality” (p. 149) can not only provide comfort to a people who are undergoing great suffering but also empower them to reclaim their agency and resist the domination and hegemony of the oppressive powers with a counter narrative grounded in God’s providence and sovereignty. The Eucharist, the author proposes, is one of such apocalyptic practices that allow the participants to see “how the depth of catastrophic human oppression is met and overcome by what Herbert McCabe called the ‘revolutionary depth’ of our future in God and how it impinges on our present life” (p. 156). While Phillips asserts that the Eucharist is not a “moral magic… [that can] make us more moral and make social ills disappear” (p.157), it does make one wonder if the apocalyptic hope expressed through this Christian liturgy might resonate with those outside the Christian community who are experiencing suffering.

Apocalyptic Theopolitics is a rich and timely read that provides invaluable and constructive insights into the apocalyptic and its relation to political theology. It is particularly relevant amidst the ongoing genocide carried out by the Israeli–US coalition with a Zionistic tone. While this book warns us of the perilous use of apocalyptic eschatology in Christian Zionism, it advocates for a reimagined apocalyptic that takes roots in the textual–historical analyses of the apocalyptic texts and centres in its function of unveiling the oppressive narratives in the world. Bringing together intellectual depth and pastoral and homiletic wisdom, this volume stands as a visionary resource for scholars, church leaders and Christians wrestling with the apocalyptic literature in the Bible and seeking to embody their faith in response to the contemporary sociopolitical complexities and challenges.

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Jose Mario Francisco SJ and Jayeel Cornelio, People’s Christianity: Theological Sense and Sociological Significance, (New York: Paulist Press, 2022) 

reviewed by Tom Wilson, Leicester

This interesting read from two Catholic scholars is a useful addition to the library of any theological or Bible college. The main stimulus for writing comes from Pope Francis’ exhortation that pastors must “smell the sheep”, that is, they must get up close and personal, discovering how Christians actually live out their faith. 

Part one, “smelling the sheep,” is divided into two chapters. Chapter one discusses the authenticity of the popular. That is, that lived religion is still an authentic experience of Christianity, even if it contains elements that religious authorities disapprove of. The authors are at pains to point out that there is no hard and fast distinction between institutional and lived religion, but rather a continuum, for institutional religion is practiced by people. They also outline their four key themes: worship, liberation, agency in tradition and the ability of the faithful to discern the things of God (p. 19). Chapter two explores the diversity of lived Christianity, which begs the question are there “correct” and “incorrect” expressions of faith, and if so, how are they distinguished? Another key point is that lived religion is primarily communal. The authors argue for four elements of lived Christianity: authenticity, the location of the sacred, the presence and meditation of sacred power, and practical rationality (p. 34). 

Part two concentrates on reading between the lines, discussing lived Christianity as worship and promotion of liberation. The chapter on worship begins with a discussion of the Vatican’s “Directory on popular piety and the liturgy,” a strategic document which seeks to control and regulate lived Christianity. In the authors’ view, it does so with limited success. The chapter also explores the controversy over Chinese rituals related to veneration of ancestors. It discusses whether these are compatible with Christianity. The chapter on liberation concerns two streams of thought: the Spanish-language writings, primarily from South America, and the specifically Argentinian theology of the people. The interrelation of these two streams is explored and the question of who exactly performs liberation theology is discussed. 

Part three is devoted to “sensing the people’s faith,” combining theological reflections with ethnographic interpretations of observed lived religion. Chapter five gives the theoretical framework, arguing that lived Christianity has always had a place within Christian tradition because it is the manifestation of divine self-disclosure. The faithful are actively working out the nature and purpose of this revelation. Chapter six then gives a practical outworking through discussion of devotion to Mary across different times and places. The authors argue this demonstrates the Holy Spirit disclosing the nature of God to the faithful. Chapter seven rounds off the discussion through an exploration of sensus fidei, referring both to the sense for the faith and the sense of the faith. The authors concentrate on a 2014 document, Sensus Fidei in the life of the church. This is a liminal and marginal activity, where those who live faith on the edge have much to contribute. 

Part four focuses on “journeying with the sheep.” Chapter eight draws together theology and sociology, arguing for symbiosis not dissonance. The authors’ shift to “living religion,” is particularly interesting, as is their argument that sociology is a form of theology because everyone operates from a worldview. Their exploration of pastoral sociology and public theology are both very stimulating. The final chapter draws the threads together, arguing for dynamism and creativity as we all travel together. They conclude that the people of God need courage, but also to love and serve on another, to imbue the Christian life with hope. 

People’s Christianity is an engaging read. The book was more technical and academic than I was expecting but it was, for me personally, an easy read.  

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Ash Barker, No Wastelands: How to Grow Seedbeds of Shalom in Your Neighbourhood, (Birmingham: Seedbeds Communications, 2023)

reviewed by Jonny Baker, CMS

Ash and Anj Barker have done several cycles of a decade or more living in urban neighbourhoods where there are multiple issues of deprivation. The latest is Winson Green in Birmingham. I have taken groups of pioneer students to visit them over the last seven years and they always come away challenged and inspired. The reason is simple – they are living out the gospel in their neighbourhood in ways that are bringing visible change, visible good. Ash’s word for that is shalom – life flourishing in a place.

In No Wastelands Ash distils the wisdom of that experience, practice and theology into one accessible volume. It’s a mix of inspiring stories, gritty honesty, practical ideas, advice and frameworks, spiritual practices, theology and missiology. It combines into an amazing handbook to guide anyone wanting to follow in this direction.

The book is structured in five sections around the notion of seedbeds – beating the weeds, sowing seeds of shalom, the soil we need, sustainable roots and branches ready for fruit, and work with the seasons. Each chapter has some questions for reflection and each section has some suggestions for practices to try. This creates a good frame for the book. It is rich and deep and runs to 400 pages. There is a lot here.

There has been a push in mission circles, inspired by Sam Wells, to focus on “with” in the last few years, i.e. to see mission as with a community rather than something done to or for them. Ash pushes this on a step, suggesting that transformation really happens when it is “by” local people. Ash’s passion for enabling innovative leaders and changemakers from inside those neighbourhoods shines through so that community transformation is led by them. That’s the thing that has grabbed me personally the most. This is drawn from Ash’s experience and nous about community development and organising, which is refreshing and I think could help a lot more ministers and pioneers.

The church (I can certainly say this for the Church of England anyway) has not found it easy to inculturate the gospel in neighbourhoods with people experiencing poverty. But there seems to be a renewed concern and stirring and hopefully investment in this direction. The book is perhaps timely in the UK. It is ideal for anyone who is ministering or senses a call to work in neighbourhoods with people experiencing poverty. It should inspire you, but also be a handbook that will get very worn at the edges. I will be coming back to this again and again and passing it on to others.

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Aaron J Ghiloni (ed.), World Religions and their Missions (2nd Edition), (New York, NY: Peter Lang, 2022).

by Tom Wilson, St Philip’s Centre, Leicester

I’m presuming that readers of this review are mission-minded Christians interested in what they can learn about mission (broadly understood) both from their fellow Christians as well as followers of other world religions. I certainly found plenty of food for thought in this book. After an opening and orientating chapter, World Religions and their Missions is divided into two parts: reflections on particular belief systems and then discussion on the work of comparison of approaches.

Part one works alphabetically through seven belief systems in eight chapters. Rather than summarise the whole argument of each, I will instead note points that particularly struck me.

First, the reflection on mission in the Baha’i faith made me consider the challenge not of winning new adherents but the far greater struggle of deepening their faith. Second, on a related theme, the chapter on Buddhism explored the aim of a conversion of the mind rather than recruitment of numbers. Third, the chapter on Christianity reminded me of the sheer breadth and variety of expressions of faith in Jesus that have existed and continue to exist in the world today. Fourth, I really liked the explanation of Hinduism as “a complex network of closely associated religious traditions” (p.111), as well as the exploration of spreading dharma through proselytization and conversion, sitting in contrast with the process of awakening communion with the divine through bhakti. Fifth, I was slightly surprised by two chapters on Islam, but both were interesting, covering between them the example of the Prophet in da’wah, the history and practice of debate with Christians, the notion of justice as mission, rooted in the Qur’an and Islamic philosophy, as well as active in practice. Sixth, the potted history of Mormon mission was instructive. I found the discussion of the apocalyptic consciousness of the first Mormon missionaries especially enlightening, with the duality of either winning converts for baptism, or shaking off the dust from one’s feet as a sign of eternal rejection and damnation for those who refused to accept the Mormon teachings. The explanation of the current systematic Mormon mission, including the ancestor searches and vicarious baptism of the dead was also interesting. Finally, it was refreshing to see the mission of atheism, or “nonreligion” as the book terms it, discussed in some detail. I found the analysis that nonreligion has two missional aims: critique of religion and support for the views of the nonreligious, to be entirely convincing.

Part two is much shorter, with only two chapters. Chapter ten discusses how the study of mission has developed over time. The particularly useful parts of this chapter, from my perspective, were the discussions of religions not covered so far, acknowledging that Sikhism and Judaism both have missional aspects, as well as the missional focus of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The final chapter, on mission and interreligious dialogue, provides a robust framework for continuing the conversation in detail.

World Religions and their Missions is an interesting, if specialist, read. For Christians who work in interfaith, such as myself, it is a useful resource for nuancing and advancing what can sometimes be an overly simplistic and polemical conversation about mission. For those who train others for Christian mission, it is a useful way in to such discussions. It should therefore be on the shelves of mission training college libraries, for students to use as they develop their own practical and ethical frameworks for twenty-first century mission.

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David W Scott, Daryl R Ireland, Grace Y May and Casely B Essamuah (eds.), Unlikely Friends: How God Uses Boundary-Crossing Friendships to Transform the World, (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2021)

by Rev Dr Hannah Steele, lecturer in missiology, St Mellitus College

This fascinating book offers a variety of contributions on the theme of boundary-crossing friendships in mission. Compiled by four of her former students as a tribute to Dana L Robert on her 65th birthday, it focuses on a topic which has been central to her influential writings upon cross-cultural mission. With the current tendency to focus on strategy, resource and innovation in mission, this book is a timely reminder of the simple yet profound gift of friendship and its prophetic and powerful impact. Robert’s work reorientates us to the foundational practice of friendship in Christian mission and the wisdom there is to be gleaned from the lived experience of those who follow the missionary call of Christ. It follows a central thread in Robert’s own work, which asserted that in the development of world Christianity it is transnational friendships, often behind the scenes, that have slowly and faithfully shaped its emergence.

The book is structured around 12 differently authored contributions reflecting on the role of friendship in diverse contexts and thus raising a variety of critical themes. Soojin Chung skilfully tells the story of the inspirational Pearl Buck, who fought against the systemic racial hierarchy that persisted in transnational adoption. Buck’s own experience of adopting two mixed race children led her to conclude that cross-cultural love was the basis of true family, built on a vision that all humans are created in divine likeness. Michele Miller Sigg writes about Emile Mallet who, during the cholera epidemic in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century, built a network of female friends who ministered alongside street children, vulnerable women and women in prison, inspiring a new generation of Christian women to be missionaries. Taking us on a global and historical tour touching down in the East African revival, Latin America in the early twentieth century and Boston in the height of racial tension in the 1960s, Robert’s former students narrate stories of ordinary missionaries who go under the radar yet through the generosity of their practice of cross-cultural friendship enact the coming kingdom. There is much we can learn from them, and this collection of essays walks us through a journey in which we can do precisely that, challenging us to think about the narrowness of our own social interactions and the possibility of blessing if we are prepared to courageously cross boundaries in friendship.

The second half of the book attends to some of the challenges of such transnational friendships, engaging critically with the danger of cultural dependency and the ever-present danger of what Kendal Mobely astutely calls “the ethical dualism of white supremacy” (p.128). I would have valued this theme being expanded more, but one of the challenges of a collection of essays is the tendency to whet the reader’s appetite rather than offer a comprehensive dealing with a particular subject. I particularly appreciated Bonnie Sue Lewis’s contribution on the value of interfaith friendships and the mutual enrichments of friendships that cross even religious boundaries and open our eyes to ourselves, one another and the presence of God in the world.

In our post-Brexit Western context, where societal division seems more apparent than ever, the importance of friendship in crossing cultural and ethnic barriers cannot be underestimated and carries a prophetic and eschatological potency. Unlikely Friends presents a vision for friendships that transcend the often preferred comfort of homogeneity and alikeness to express something of the joy and value found in difference. While it would be disingenuous to speak of friendship as a “strategy” in mission this volume comprehensively demonstrates the role relationships have and continue to play in shaping world Christianity.

The final section contains tributes to Robert from colleagues and former students. This is perhaps less interesting to the reader wanting simply to explore the missionary and theological value of friendship, yet it is nevertheless testimony to the impact of a remarkable scholar, not least in terms of the sheer breadth of contexts those tributes come from. It would seem that Robert really is a living embodiment of her message.

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Jurgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope: for the 21st Century, (London: SCM Press, 2021)

by James Butler, Church Mission Society

Where to begin with a book which is widely regarded as a classic, and one I’ve heard described by one theologian as the most important book of the last 50 years? I do not claim to have grasped its profundity, nor taken in its careful argument in a such a way to make such claims, nor to add much to all that has already been written. While some of it is highly technical and specific (and I’m grateful to the foreword from Richard Bauckham for guidance on where to focus my attention), as Moltmann carefully opens up his main thesis, I could see why this was a classic that demanded careful attention.

Moltmann’s key claim is that we must have a theology of eschatology; a theology that pulls us out of the mechanistic closed universe of modern thinking, and to realise that the kind of hope Jesus promises is not one in continuity with the way the world is, but a radical change. He is critical of what he calls “a theology of the eternal present”, where theology becomes linked to the revelation of God in place. Moltmann argues that God’s presence, for Israel and in the life, death and revelation of Jesus is about promise. The point of God’s presence is always in relation to the promise of the future that is yet to come to pass. This means that Christian theology must have the future in sight, it must be about the future that God promises to bring about, rather than about bringing the present into line with God’s eternity. In this way it unsettles followers of God to “strike out in hope towards the promised new future” (p.89). Moltmann takes almost the entire book to work through the theological implications of such a position: he traces the problem through (mainly German) theological thought in chapter 1, discussing it in relation to history in chapter 2 (particularly through the history of Israel), and through Jesus, and particularly the resurrected Jesus, in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 then begins to explore the consequences of this eschatological perspective to understand what “history” is.

It is only chapter 5 where some of the more practical implications of this theology begin to be explored. In particular, he looks at what it means for the church and Christianity in the modern world. It is by far the shortest chapter and remains fairly abstract and big picture. I think it is safe to say, though, that in reality much of the rest of Moltmann’s great library of works is him working through the implications of this Theology of Hope for the church, for mission and for the world.

The new edition has a new introduction by James Hawkey and includes a lecture from Moltmann delivered in Westminster Abbey in March 2020. Neither add a great deal to what is already there, and Richard Bauckham’s introduction remains a much more significant help in engaging with Moltmann’s work, but they do highlight the continuing need to reflect on eschatology in light of all that is going on in the world. The fact that Moltmann’s lecture took place just before Britain went into full lockdown seems particularly poignant.

So why should you read this book? Well, I have greatly appreciated the challenge to think about the world and theology eschatologically. In the West we are wedded to a sense of progress, to a capitalist outlook that assumes that all can be put right if we work better and harder. Moltmann’s Theology of Hope interrupts this assumption and sets our sights on the future promises of God. Similarly, for churches increasingly drawn to see the world in immanent terms, we desperately need this challenge and to be drawn into God’s promised future; something which is in radical discontinuity with the world as it is, and something we are being invited to participate in and hope for.

This book is not easy going, but it is rewarding. It is not particularly focused on practice, but it paints a compelling vision of theology, and indeed mission, that is focused on God’s future through Jesus Christ, by the Spirit.

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Joseph Sievers and Amy Jill Levine (eds.), The Pharisees, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021).

by Tom Wilson, St Philip’s Centre, Leicester

The Pharisees invariably get bad press in sermons. The purpose of this book is to encourage preachers and teachers to think again. The book’s basic argument is that any account of the Pharisees given in the Gospels is polemical, one side of a debate conducted in a particular style. Unthinking repetition of these stereotypes can, at worst, contribute to continued antisemitism. Lest the reader rolls their eyes and thinks of political correctness gone mad, I personally have witnessed and heard from Jewish friends of many incidents of precisely this problem.

The write up of a conference held at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome in 2019, The Pharisees is perhaps not the kind of volume to read cover-to-cover in one sitting (specialist academics and book reviewers aside). The price tag may also mean those on a limited budget might look to a library to provide an opportunity to read it. But these points aside, this is a text that is well worth engaging with. In the prelude, Craig Morrison discusses where the name “Pharisee” comes from. He explores Leo Baeck’s focus on linking “saintliness” with “separation” as well as Louis Finkelstein’s argument that Pharisees were “separatists” within the Synagogue. He also covers New Testament approaches.

The first main part explores historical reconstructions. Many of these essays are specialist: a detailed exploration of 4QMMT from the Dead Sea Scrolls and what archaeological finds tell us about Pharisees being two examples. There is also considerable discussion of Josephus and the New Testament texts. Here essays range from detailed discussion of a particular passage (the woes against the Pharisees in Matthew 23) to more general questions as to whether Paul was a “perfectly righteous Pharisee” made all the more righteous by meeting with Jesus, and the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees. This section contains essays that any serious student of the New Testament ought to read. What is particularly useful for those who tend to only engage with Christian (Evangelical) scholarship is that there are various perspectives present. It is, in my view at least, helpful for those who preach and teach the New Testament to understand how painful some of our most treasured texts are to other audiences.

This point, of the reception history of texts, is the central focus of part two. The sweep of history is broad in this section, beginning with the Church Fathers: Justin Martyr, Hegesippus, Hipolytus of Rome and Epiphanius of Salamis, as Matthias Sked explains how Pharisees were used as a symbolic group to suit the theological purposes of the authors. At the other end of this section, Philip Cunningham looks as how Pharisees are portrayed in Catholic religion textbooks, noting with disappointment that stereotypes and inaccuracies abound. Essays in this section discuss portrayal of Pharisees in art and in films, the Oberammergau Passion Play, as well as medieval scholars, Martin Luther and John Calvin. The tone of the section is one of Christian recognition of and repentance for past sins. There is a long, and deeply troubling, history of Christian antisemitism, which stands at odds with Jesus’ own Jewish identity, not to mention his command that we love everyone, including those we theologically disagree with, as ourselves. While it is true that Christians and Jewish people disagree as to our understanding of the person and significance of Jesus of Nazareth, the way in which Christians have done so has all-too-often brought nothing but shame and disgrace to our faith.

The third part provides suggestions as to how we can improve. All those training for ministry, or indeed who preach regularly, ought to read or listen to Amy-Jill Levine at least once. Not because you will necessarily agree with everything she says, but because her views will certainly make you think. This is certainly true of her essay on preaching and teaching about the Pharisees in this volume. Levine is a New Testament scholar of considerable standing, who is also Jewish. Her scholarship is on the liberal and revisionist side, and in other writing she has challenged the historicity of different aspects of the Gospel accounts. That is an area that is open to debate; what is not debatable is her experience of (unthinking) antisemitism perpetuated by both popular Christian preachers and Sunday school teachers, as well as by New Testament scholars. But Levine doesn’t just find problems. She also suggests solutions such as labelling discriminatory art, providing historical information in the church newsletter to supplement the sermon, utilising resources specifically written to help the preacher avoid antisemitism, as well as teaching more generally on the history of Christian–Jewish relations. Perhaps most importantly, Levine encourages Christians to work with Jewish people in developing appropriate responses.

Christians believe they have good news to share. Many Jewish people hear us sharing hatred, discrimination and prejudice. The only way to deal with this problem is for honest conversation resulting in meaningful change. It may not be the case that your Jewish friends and colleagues will come to faith in Christ. But at least they’ll learn you love them enough to be willing to admit your mistakes and change where you’ve got things wrong.

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Andrew Hayes and Stephen Cherry (eds.), The Meanings of Discipleship: Being Disciples Then and Now (London: SCM Press, 2021)

by James Butler, Church Mission Society

Discipleship seems to be popping up everywhere. The term that is. Whether it is in the denominational calls to renewal to reverse church decline, or the multitude of courses and programmes emerging from organisations supporting mission and learning in churches, discipleship has become the most common way to frame this. The Meanings of Discipleship is therefore timely, a prolonged theological reflection on discipleship through its meaning, history and practice. The book has much to offer in drawing the reader to a multitude of sources to enrich the understanding and practice of discipleship. It is an edited volume split into two parts. Each part is also split into two sections.

Part 1 is “A very short history of discipleship”, looking at the early foundations and the architects of discipleship. The first three chapters turn to the New Testament, the early church and medieval Christianity respectively. The next five look at particular key figures such as Benedict, Calvin and Ramabai. There is a helpful basis for much of the discussion here, and some important insights emerge through the chapters, around agency, holiness and church. The problem with the section is it does not, in my opinion, have enough focus on drawing out the learning for the contemporary church. Partly due to it being a multi-authored volume it does not have a sense of forward motion and the reader is left to do much of the work of making the bigger connections.

Part 2, entitled “Imperatives for Discipleship Today”, turns much more clearly to the contemporary context. Helpful chapters on missionary discipleship by Kirsteen Kim, on Eucharist Discipleship by Matthew Bullimore and Relational Discipleship by Stephen Cherry are for me the heart of the book and the most important contributions to the discussion on discipleship. Bullimore’s account of the everyday and domestic and its relationship to prayer and eucharist I found particularly compelling. The five chapters on priorities for contemporary disciples – while all strong and engaging essays with much to contemplate and draw from – felt like they needed a bit more direction and to be more focused on exploring the “meanings of discipleship”.

The fact that, as the title indicates, discipleship has many meanings, causes problems for the book. While this is an important observation about the language of discipleship and one which I would have liked to see given greater attention, it means that the offerings in the different chapters cover a huge range of topics – from medieval pilgrimage to racial justice, from historical “architects” of discipleship such as Benedict and Bonhoeffer to trans experience. While all these chapters offer fascinating insights in their own right, because of discipleship’s many meanings it was harder to see what they offered together to the contemporary understanding of discipleship. I felt there were assumptions about what discipleship was within the different chapters that were not always brought to the surface. And I would have liked to see more engagement between the chapters – something which is, admittedly, tricky in an edited volume.

I think Hayes and Cherry have a keen sense of the issues at stake in the contemporary use of the language of discipleship around agency, connectedness, ecclesiology, desire and holiness and would like to have seen the volume explore these in more detail. Hopefully there is more to come from them around these themes.

Generally, I think this volume makes a helpful contribution to the discussion around discipleship and offers a multitude of perspectives that will serve scholars and practitioners as they reflect on the meanings of discipleship. I recommend the essays from Herman Paul, Anthony Reddie and Rachel Mann in particular as deeply thought provoking and challenging. Overall, this is a rich book with much to recommend despite the limitations suggested above.

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Jeremy Thomson, Interpreting the Old Testament after Christendom: A Workbook for Christian Imagination, (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021)

by Miles Hopgood, Ewing, New Jersey, USA

A workbook suggests a series of problems to be solved, which is how Thomson presents the task to the reader in Interpreting the Old Testament after Christendom. In trying to read the Hebrew Bible (or First Testament, as the author prefers), Thomson sees the modern Christian as beset on all sides by impediments. The Shoah exposed the contributions of the Christian tradition to the genocide of European Jews, demanding an undoing of its supersessionism. The decline of Christendom in the West has decentred the Bible in its cultures. The breadth of literature in the Hebrew Bible is a challenge. In the face of all this, Interpreting the Old Testament offers the reader only what it can: an honest assessment of the challenges and an approach whereby the Christian imagination might be drawn authentically and responsibly to engage with these Scriptures.

The approach Thomson advocates is less a formula and more a series of loci or points around which his engagement with the text centres. He takes as his starting point the intertextuality that defines the presence of the First Testament in the Second, looking to how its authors quote, allude and echo the Hebrew Bible in their own writings. He balances this intertextuality with an emphasis on reading whole books, reading any passage through the genre and motifs of the book as a whole. To demonstrate how this approach looks Thomson focuses on four books – Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings – as proofs-of-concept for his method. From these examples, Thomson concludes with a summary of what he recommends: a preference for a canonical (as opposed to narrative) approach that emphasises the conversation within and between the books themselves, aimed at facilitating greater access to these books at all levels of education and familiarity.

Despite its laudable goals – or perhaps, because of them – Interpreting the Old Testament after Christendom will prove frustrating to readers. The title of the book will be read by many as promising something it does not adequately deliver, which is an interpretive approach equal to the challenge the Hebrew Bible presents. This is, I believe, by design: the problem Thomson sets before the reader is one he knows he cannot solve for them, and so he sets about equipping them to wrestle with it instead. Still, some will be frustrated by the author alerting them to the difficulty of the challenge without providing a tidier solution. Similarly, the book does not match well with any one audience. A lay reader will be overwhelmed by the wealth of scholarly engagement, whereas the interdisciplinary nature gives the book a jack-of-all-trades feel in the hands of an academic. Pastors appear to be its target audience, and they may make good use of it; however, the lack of stronger signposting and better organisation in its writing will make harvesting its value tougher going than need be.

Interpreting the Old Testament after Christendom is, in short, the book its subject matter warrants. It is upfront in its challenge, offering much insight at the cost of much work, so much so that many who pick it up will deem it not worth the effort. While it could have been made easier to engage, those who know the value of what it covers are encouraged to make the time to read it.

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David F Ford, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2021)

by Howard C Bigg, Cambridge

This long-awaited commentary does not disappoint. One commentator calls it a feast, and so it is. This commentary is unusual in that it is not the work of a New Testament scholar. The author was, before his retirement, Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. He has been working on the book for twenty years and acknowledges the many individuals and institutions who have helped to shape his thinking. As I am personally acquainted with the author, however, and have heard him speak on various occasions, I can say unequivocally that this is the author’s voice.

What kind of commentary is it? It began life as a contribution to the Westminster John Knox Belief series aimed at a broad readership in churches of many traditions, but more broadly anyone in varied cultures who “is open to an intelligent faith that engages… with the Bible and with the contemporary world”(p.xi). When the commentary grew too large to be accommodated within that series, it was taken on by Baker Academic.

The commentary is organised devoting a chapter to each chapter of the Gospel. It is based on the English text of the NRSV, but Ford’s fluency in Greek enables him to focus on particular words helpfully transliterated. The introduction poses the questions Why John? Why now? It is important to read it because Ford surveys a number of essential matters, chiefly the all-important question of the identity of Jesus in John’s Gospel. He also draws attention to how John envisages an ongoing drama in the lives of Jesus’ disciples and those who will be drawn to believe through their testimony (cf. John 20:31). Ford believes that John knew the synoptic Gospels, but his post-resurrection stance leads him to make use of traditional material in a thoroughly Johannine manner (e.g. the cleansing of the temple: 2:13–22). Otherwise, Ford does not overly concern himself with matters of historical criticism.

In his treatment of chapter 1 Ford lays out a rich panoply of Johannine concepts, beginning with the momentous “In the Beginning was the Word” recalling Genesis 1:1. Then follows in the prologue (vv. 1–18), a cascade of words familiar to readers of John’s Gospel: life, light and darkness, glory, grace and truth. The rest of the chapter (vv. 19–51) introduces further key terms: the witness of John the Baptist, Jesus the Lamb of God, Son of God and, in v. 51, the mysterious Son of Man. Then in verse 38ff comes the delightful little story where Jesus invites the first disciples to follow him, thereby introducing the key theme of discipleship.

It is impossible to do adequate justice to this excellent commentary, but readers may get a brief glimpse of Ford’s ability to question familiar interpretations of key ideas by focusing on a single term: truth. In 16:13 Jesus assures his anxious disciples that after his return to the Father, the Holy Spirit will “guide you into all the truth”. How comprehensive is this? Ford notes the numerous attempts to limit this to a “neatly defined package of meaning” (p.316). The activity of the Holy Spirit is far greater than merely reminding the disciples and their successors of truths already revealed. The Gospel is clear too that truth is inseparable from action. In 3:21 John links truth and light in a passage contrasting lovers of darkness with those who come to the light. Later, in chapter 18, in his confrontation with Pilate, Jesus accepts the title of king but proceeds to fill it with his own meaning: “For this I was born, for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (18:37).

I should just mention Ford’s indebtedness to the work of Richard Hays, who expounded the value of figural interpretation which he defined as “the discernment of unexpected patterns of correspondence between earlier and later events or persons within a continuous temporal stream”. Applying this principle to John, Hays writes that “even more comprehensively than the other gospels, John understands the Old Testament as a vast matrix of symbols prefiguring Jesus”. This way of interpreting will frequently alert readers to recognise this principle at work. An excellent example of this can be seen in Ford’s treatment of the cleansing of the temple (2:13-25). In reading the Gospel alongside the Old Testament, Ford consistently uses the Greek translation (LXX).

I have no doubt that anybody who buys this commentary will find in it an imaginative resource, opening up new ways of understanding and applying this wonderful Gospel. My only minor quibble is that I don’t think the average reader will know what “midrash” is (p.58).

To conclude, I think this commentary could profitably be read right through such is the quality of the narrative. My verdict is, buy this book!

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M Daniel Caroll R and Vincent E Bacote (eds.), Global Migration & Christian Faith: Implications for Identity and Mission, (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2022)

by Joseph Ola, Missio Africanus, Liverpool

The Yoruba people of Nigeria have a saying: “The conflagration that destroyed the king’s palace only makes it more palatial.” In other words, there are blessings hidden in every disaster. Such is the story behind the publishing of this book, born out of a 2020 Wheaton Theology Conference that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a Nigerian involved in missionary work in Britain in both church and academic contexts, this reviewer – along with millions of other diaspora Christians – lives in the reality of the tensions of global migration and its intersection with the Christian faith. In many of the migrant churches in Britain I have encountered in the course of my study and research, immigration issues are top of their prayer list and often the highlight of the “testimony time” (a time when church members give a praise report on an answered prayer) in their church services. Many pastors, church members and Christian scholars are understandably concerned with the refugee crisis both in their own immediate contexts and globally. While being aware of the different perspectives on (im)migration that are shaped along political lines, our Christian faith demands that we think Christianly about the intersection of our faith and the volatile subject of migration. This book definitely is a helpful resource in that regard.

The diverse disciplines of the contributors resulted in a rich variety of perspectives presented in the volume which are neatly categorised into four sections: Historical Perspectives (two authors), Biblical Foundations (four authors), Theological Reflections (two authors) and Ecclesiological and Missiological Challenges (three authors).

The Historical Perspectives section dwelt mainly on the Reformation era by reconsidering two writings of Martin Luther (Leopoldo A. Sánchez M.’s essay) as well as the Bible translation endeavours of the Reformation refugees as they took the Bible “on the run” with them and endeavoured to vernacularise across language frontiers (Powell McNutt’s essay). I found Sánchez M’s proposition insightful – that we are not only saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone based on scripture alone to the glory of God alone (the five solas of the Reformation) but also because of God’s generosity alone (sola hospitalitate).

The Biblical Foundations section begins with editor M. Daniel Carroll’s fresh consideration of the Book of Genesis both to reconsider the concept of the image of God and the various strands of migration in the Book. Likewise, C.L. Crouch, in his contribution, considers the concerns of involuntary migration from the prophetic books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the “emergency theology” that emerges from such contexts. Joshua Jipp, through the books of Luke and Acts, and Nelson Morales, through the books of James and 1 Peter, offer a lens that glorifies the cross-cultural mission of the gospel of Christ.

In the Theological Reflections section, Peter Phan makes both literal and figurative use of the terms “home land”, “foreign land” and “our land” as raw materials to tease out a theology of place that reflects the stages of the migration experience of many migrants. Then Daniel Groody creatively theologises on illegal border crossings by identifying Christ’s miraculous conception in the womb of a betrothed virgin as a somewhat “illegal border crossing” in its own right.

In the final section on Ecclesiological and Missiological Challenges, Mark Douglas links climate change with migration and international law. George Kalantzis’ vivid account of Europe’s largest refugee camp in Lesbos suggests new ecclesiologies that can help in rehumanising people living in Lesbos-like realities, to the point where they can begin to consider themselves not only as refugees but also as people capable of hosting others with what they have to offer to the wider Body of Christ and the society. In the final contribution in the volume Sam George adapts the Missio Dei missiological terminology to remind readers that God is always on the move (Motus Dei), thus defining mission as following God on the move with a continuous intentional realignment of our steps with God’s.

In its entirety, the volume is an attempt to use the Bible, Christian theology and church history as collaborative tools in shaping a missional response to the global migration and refugee crises. While the editors and most of the other contributors live and work in the United States of America (four from Wheaton College and eight from elsewhere – mainly from institutions in the United States), the book contains helpful and provocative insights for church leaders, mission partners, students and anyone involved in cross-cultural ministry from across the world – at least, those who are able to afford it.

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