Keith Warrington, Discovering the Holy Spirit in the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2005), 230 pages, ISBN 9781565638716.

Every pastor should have in their library this reference on the work of Holy Spirit in the New Testament. It is a scholarly and a practical book; it is not for the casual reading, although it would be good to skim through to know what you will want to refer to later.

Keith Warrington is a member of the Elim Church in England and the director of post-graduate studies and a lecturer in New Testament at Regents Theological College in Cheshire, England.

As Pentecostals we claim we know much more than other Christian groups on the work of the Holy Spirit, while this may be true when discussing topics such as on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, most Pentecostals will have problems explaining the work of the Person of the Holy in the book of Revelation. This book will be helpful to provide a well-rounded biblical understanding of the ministry of the Spirit as it takes us through every book in the New Testament.

Keith Warrington

Discovering the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is divided into 19 chapters, each chapter is divided into a mixture of scholastic and practical information. For example chapter 8 on the book of Galatians describes the setting, what the author says about the Spirit, exposition, significance to the original reader and a bibliography.

The following is an example of the book of Romans: “What does the [canonical] author say about the Spirit? The Spirit: is set apart and sets believers apart (1:4); provides spiritual gifts (1:11; 12:6-8); provides a balance to the law (2:29; 7:6, 14; 8:2, 4); is the channel for the love of God (5:5; 5:30); opposes the flesh and identifies and empowers believers as God’s children (8: 5-13); affirms adoption for believers (8:14-17); is the ‘firstfruits’ for believers (8:23); prayers for believers (8:26-27); empowers the believer (14: 17; 15: 13, 16, 18-19).” In his section on exposition and significance for the original reader, Warrington says of Romans 8:23,

Not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit groans inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

In the context of the final redemption, Paul describes believers as having the “firstfruits,” identified as the Holy Spirit. The term “firstfruits” regularly referred, in a sacrificial sense, to the first of the flock or the first of the fruits of the harvest that worshippers gave to God (Exod 23: 19, Lev 2:14). Here, Paul uses the term to describe a down payment or guarantee of something to come. The gift of the Spirit is foretaste of what is to come …

The Spirit provides a glimpse and an insight into the life that believers will know in its fullness when the resurrection occurs. The Spirit is a flavor, a whisper, a breath of what is to come (91).

Reviewed by Aldwin Ragoonath

Keith Warrington’s introduction: http://keithwarrington.co.uk/?page_id=198

Publisher’s page: www.hendrickson.com/html/product/638719.trade.html (including sample chapter)

The mission of the Foundation is “to lead Pentecostal/charismatic believers to a greater understanding of God’s Word and assist church leaders in equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. We also long for greater dialogue between Evangelicals about doctrine, and by way of an open forum, to promote Biblically-centered theological discussion on the gifts of the Spirit.” We appreciate how the Lord is using you to carry out a similar mission and we are encouraged by your efforts.

Thank you for taking this opportunity to have an informal interview with us to explore some of these thoughts in greater depth. Kingdom Triangle is a particularly challenging book. Those of us on the editorial committee that have been reading it know we need to finish it if we have not already. Your book has already sparked many conversations for us, and we would be delighted to work with you in the future as your schedule permits.

The Pneuma Review: Why did you write Kingdom Triangle?

J.P. Moreland: I have been burdened by the low quality of spiritual competence in the American church and the small impact we are having compared to our numbers. I believe a focus on cultivating the three legs of the Kingdom Triangle lies at the heart of the way forward.

PR: What are some practical things church leaders can do to encourage a restoration of the Christian mind?

JP: I lay out a strategy in Kingdom Triangle in this area, but two things stand out: 1. We need occasions where more serious intellectual teaching, preaching and discussion takes place in the church calendar. This needs to be a stated goal of the church. 2. Book reviews, reading groups, CD discussion groups, all need to be more visible in the church’s life and values.

PR: Why is academic learning not enough to develop a Christian mind?

JP: Because of two factors. First, a Christian mind is interested in wisdom and not simply knowledge, though the latter is important for the former. Today, academic learning is completely removed from the task of forming wise, virtuous people who know how to live well. Second, the Christian mind is interested in cultivating the habit of focusing on God more and more throughout each day and that is not an academic matter.

PR: What difficulties are there for teachers in the church if they adopt a postmodern worldview?

JP: It will be difficult to get people to internalize important differences between the Way of discipleship and the values and lifestyles of the culture. Postmodernism tends to be an accomodationist approach at its heart. Further, postmodernism is weak on truth, knowledge and appropriate authority in one’s life. These are all central to the Christian life.

PR: In your chapter “Renovation of the Soul,” you say that “the Sunday morning service was never intended to be the staple for growing world-changing communities or for producing radically different people under the shelter of God’s wings” (143). What can church leaders do to better equip the whole body for ministry, especially if they are finding it difficult to move away from centralized leadership?

JP: Two things. First, leaders should concentrate more time on fewer people—intensify the training and discipleship of a core group in the church who will themselves carry out the work of the church. Second, there should be times for intense spiritual formation—entire days of prayer and worship, emphasis on home groups that can intensify personal relationships and spiritual formation in a more accountable, relational context.

PR: What is lost when the good news of the Kingdom is shared unaccompanied by the Spirit’s power?

JP: We lose the ministry of Jesus. He taught, proclaimed and demonstrated the Kingdom’s power and we should, too. We also lose the distinctively supernatural aspects of our religion. Finally, we lose intimacy with God because the power and presence of God are often two sides of the same coin in scripture.

PR: In Kingdom Triangle, you give some advice about how churches can encourage growth in the miraculous. Have you seen these ideas work out in churches newly open to the contemporary ministry of the Spirit?

JP: I have seen this. What is important is for each church to locate where they currently reside regarding these issues and be who they are, yet with an eye on growing a bit in this area. Then each church must be willing to take some risks and step out in faith such that God may not show up but if He does it will be obvious. Finally, each church must learn from its failures and continue to go forward.

For further reading, visit the Kingdom Triangle Discussion Forum: www.kingdomtriangle.blogspot.com

Be sure to read the review by W. Simpson of Kingdom Triangle in this issue.

Mark A. Noll and Carolyn Nystrom, Is the Reformation Over?: An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism (Baker Academic, 2005), 272 pages, ISBN 0801027977.

“Is the Reformation Over?” This is the question raised in a recent book by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom. In this work, the authors do not attempt a “final” or “universal” assessment of Roman Catholicism” (13), instead their principle goal is an evangelical assessment of contemporary Roman Catholicism within primarily North America, with special attention given to the dramatic changes that have taken place since the Second Vatican Council (13). Understandably, then, there are large segments of Roman Catholic life and history that are not addressed in this work. As a secondary goal they seek to “provide evangelical interpretations, grounded in both classical Christian theology and the broad history of Christianity, of what we see in the contemporary Catholic Church” (14).

This exceptionally well researched book begins with an overview of the developments between Catholicism and Protestantism over the past fifty years. They note the strategy of Billy Graham and his adjustments over time as he sought to work more ecumenically with Roman Catholicism. Additionally, they offer numerous examples of evangelical individuals and organizations 50 years ago and how their reactions to Roman Catholicism ranged from deep hostility to mere suspicion, and the changes they have gone through over the decades, becoming more and more amenable to the idea that Roman Catholics are genuine brothers and sisters in Christ.

The second chapter chronicles the relationship of different groups from the time of the Protestant Reformation to the present. As before, many examples are provided that serve both as documentation and as illustration. “So Why Did Things Change?” This is not only the logical question from the preceding, but it also serves as the title for chapter three. In short, they suggest that things have changed because “God willed the changes to take place” (59). The authors see the change from hostility to friendship as the work of Divine providence, and hail it as a unity sent by God. They note significant changes within the Catholic Church, especially since Vatican II. These changes lead evangelical theologian David Wells to conclude that Protestantism must, therefore, revise its analysis of Catholic doctrine as most of it is now “obsolete” (60).

The book continues as it follows a number of the “Ecumenical Dialogues” since the time of Vatican II. These conversations have occurred among a wide range of groups, including Anglicans, Pentecostals, Disciples of Christ, Baptists, and Reformed churches, just to name a few. They continue by examining the “Catechism of the Catholic Church (chapter five), and provide a truly exceptional summary of the Catechism and its teaching. This is significant because the Catechism is “the official teaching of the Catholic Church,” and therefore it “speaks (officially) for everyone within the church” (116).

A fresh reminder from Chas Carrin about how amazing the Bible is and how the Spirit speaks through it today.

Pentecost exploded onto the ancient world with such power that it forever altered the work of scribes and the production of books. The overwhelming demand for the written account of Jesus had no precedent in world history. As a result, the New Testament numerically eclipsed all the combined works of Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Euripides, Homer, and other ancient writers. Today, there are 5,686 ancient Greek New Testament manuscripts still surviving. In contrast, only 7 copies of Plato survive, 49 of Aristotle, 8 of Herodotus, 9 of Euripides, etc., and all of these were copied at least 1,000 years after the original. This is not true of the New Testament; we have portions of the gospels going back to the first century and a fragment of the Book of John that was written about 29 years after the original. None of the secular books can make such a claim.

Copyright Stan Myers. Used with permission.

But there is more to tell. Besides Greek copies, there are some 19,000 ancient New Testament transcripts in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic languages. This support-base of 24,000 historic New Testament manuscripts gives scholars opportunity to compare them for accuracy. The result: These books are about 99.5% textually pure. No other ancient writing has such a record. Not only so, but these copies are better preserved than any other document from the past. Also, keep in mind that when the original documents were written there were numerous people still alive who had heard Jesus for themselves and would have protested loudly had the writing been inaccurate. No such complaints exist. None of Plato or Aristotle’s hearers were present to edit the copies we now accept as valid.

Questions: If thousands of New Testaments survived the ravages of time when secular ones did not, how many more must have originally been written?! What was the motivation behind such an explosion of gospel books?

Answer: Pentecost impacted the world of its day with such cataclysmic power that there was an almost frantic-copying of thousands of New Testaments to meet the demand. For example, only 30 years after the death of Jesus, Christians in the city of Rome had become so numerous that when Emperor Nero set fire to the city he blamed them for the destruction. In the frenzy that followed, thousands were slaughtered-many crucified – but instead of eliminating them, Roman Christians grew in unprecedented numbers. They too experienced the same baptismal-power the Holy Spirit put upon disciples in the Upper Room. With that anointing, some preached from their crosses and more unbelievers were saved. Bibles were desperately needed. Today, Pentecost is still bringing people into personal encounters with the Holy Spirit – and intensifying the need for more copies of the New Testament.

The Bible Edition Which Most Impacted The English-Speaking World Is The One Known As The “King James” Or “Authorized” Version.

King James came to the Throne in 1603 when England was gripped in the fiery contest between Puritan “renewal” and Anglican “resistance”. Of himself, the King had little to recommend him. By London’s standards, he was crude and untrustworthy. The French King referred to him as the “wisest fool in Christendom”. Upon his appointment to the English Crown, King James left Stirling Castle in Scotland and by horse-drawn carriage started toward London. But things did not go as planned. On reaching the English border, he was immediately stopped by a group of Puritan ministers who presented him with a list of grievances. The urgency of their cause would not allow them to wait until his Coronation. Puritans demanded change; they were God’s preaching voice in that day. The Church of England, of which King James was titular “Head”, adamantly held to ritual and tradition. Though he responded favorably to the Puritan encounter that day at the border, King James was far from being their friend. Soon after his arrival in England he said of them, “I will make them conform or I will harry them out of the land – or else do worse.” This was not a bluff. In that day, dissenters were still being burned alive at the stake, having their ears or noses cut off, imprisoned, and abused in other horrendous ways. But in spite of King James’ threats, the Puritans had a temporary reprieve and God used the opportunity to bless humanity.

  From the Conversations with Readers department appearing in the Spring 2008 issue.

In Tony Richie’s review of Roland Chia, Hope for the World: A Christian Vision of the Last Things (IVP, 2005), Pastor Richie says “While Chia briefly notes ‘historic premillennialism,’ he focuses almost exclusively on ‘dispensationalist premillennialism.’ The former builds on the apocalyptic literature of the Scriptures and the patristic teaching of the early Church, the latter on an ultra-literalist hermeneutic of Scripture shaped by a prefabricated paradigm popularized by J. N. Darby and C. I. Schofield [sic] around the turn of the twentieth century. Increasingly, informed classical Pentecostals are identifying irreconcilable differences with such fundamentalist versions of dispensationalism. Dispensationalists are chiefly strong advocates of cessationism, and often entrenched opponents of Pentecostalism.”

The distinctions that Richie criticizes Chia for not making are not genuine distinctions. Dispensationalism is not one-size-fits-all; there are a lot of significant differences among dispensationalists. Here are some examples of different dispensational views: cessationists who use ultra-dispensational arguments to keep the charismata in the early church, many Pentecostals that believe there will be an outpouring of the Spirit before the Rapture (whereas non-Pentecostals say that the apostasy of our culture is that mark of the end coming soon), and many Pentecostals who hold the idea that if you are not right with God that you will not “go up” in the Rapture. I agree that Chia should not lump all pre-tribulation pre-millenarians together. However, Brother Richie appears to have created a straw man of what he feels is dispensationalism. To say that dispensationalism is built on an ultra-literalist hermeneutic is simply incorrect. These are like theological swear words. I fail to see how “belief in the chronology and reality of rapture-great tribulation-millennium” is something other than dispensationalism.

Richie has developed a good reputation for himself through his writings in this publication, and I do appreciate what he has done here, even if we disagree on what dispensationalism is.

—DJ

Response from Tony Richie:

I appreciate D. J.’s penetrating insight and gracious attitude. Biblical and theological conversations in this kind of mode are always a pleasure for me. They also tend to be more informative. Moreover, I think D. J. is correct in his general assertion that dispensationalism is a complex category. We ought to avoid oversimplification. However, in a short book review, the original author’s, in this case, Chia’s, discussion limits one’s range. Yet D. J.’s critique concerns itself with my own definition of (and disputation with?) dispensationalism. Particularly, he resists charges of “ultra-literalism” and challenges whether retaining commitment to the rapture-tribulation-second coming-millennium continuum avoids dispensationalism after all. Mostly, he wishes to call attention to the complexity of the dispensationalist classification. I hope I understand and represent him correctly. Assuming I am, I will proceed to clarify my own position.

In a sense all Christians are dispensationalists in that they distinguish between the Old/New Testaments (Covenants) of Moses and Jesus (John 1:17). Furthermore, Pentecostals are generally dispensationalists in their belief in a pneumatological eschatology, or “latter rain” outpouring of the Holy Spirit (cf. Joel 2:23). However, “classic dispensationalism,” goes much farther, compartmentalizing God’s dealings with humanity to a point of historical discontinuity. In other words, they tightly seal off the “dispensations” of history until the unchanging character and nature of God and his Word appear inconsistent or, worse, incongruous. Though there are other versions, for instance, the more recent (and more palatable) “progressive dispensationalism” of Marvin Pate and others, the classic form of Darby and Scofield, albeit updated and expanded by Chafer and Ryrie and others, is still by far the most prominent. In fact, later adaptations are more like departures because they acquiesce on traditionally key points. For example, they abandon or seriously alter, the traditional dispensationalist doctrine that God has two separate peoples and programs, Israel and the Church, with the Church being merely “a divine parenthesis”—as they term it—in redemptive history. As this duality was a defining tenet of classic dispensationalism, to what extent they are still truly dispensationalist remains debatable. The extreme literalism (I don’t mean to “swear”!) of classic dispensationalists is indisputable to anyone who has ever waded through tons of discussion about why kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God in the Synoptic Gospels must mean totally separate things or the difference between Israel and Jacob as denominatives for the OT theocracy. The same mindset lies behind the typical hard distinction between Israel and the Church. Although many liberal critics, such as Barbara Rossing, miss the point, belief in the Rapture is not necessarily dependent on dispensationalism. Excellent Pentecostal scholars such as Stanley Horton (The Promise of His Coming, 1967) and Hollis Gause (Revelation: God’s Stamp of Sovereignty on History, 1983) are not dispensationalist but do believe in the pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church. For me personally, belief in the pre-tribulation Rapture is a matter of imminence as much as anything. I believe the Bible teaches Christ could come at any moment and we had better be ready (e.g., Matt 24:44; Lu 12:40).

I am grateful to D. J. and to PR for an opportunity to engage each other on these important matters of our faith. I look forward to a continuing and deepening discussion.

—Tony

Gordon D. Fee, Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007), 707 pages, ISBN 9781598560350.

Gordon D. Fee, Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College in Vancouver, and noted Pauline scholar, offers exhaustive coverage of Pauline Christology in this book. Readers of the Pneuma Review need to be aware that Fee is unabashedly Pentecostal, the Spirit holding a central place in his studies, having already released his compendium volume regarding the Spirit within the Pauline corpus (God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, 1994). Seemingly rejecting a narrative approach to Paul’s Christology, Fee opts for the combination of exegetical analysis of passages and a theological synthesis of the materials; the same structure as his earlier work on the Spirit in Paul. Ascribing all of the traditionally credited books to the authorship of Paul, Fee descriptively details each book and its Christological content individually for the better part of 450 pages (10 chapters), and then offers a constructive synthesis of the data as it relates Paul’s distinctive Christology. I note the expansive exegesis so as to highlight the fact that Fee does not lightly hold the Biblical writ, but bases his understanding of Pauline Christology on it, and not upon conjecture (Pneuma Review readers would do well to read his practical guide, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth). Fee’s constructive synthesis provides the following themes: 1) that Christ is the Divine Savior, 2) that Jesus is the Second Adam, effectively undoing what the first Adam did, 3) and that Jesus is both the Son of God and the exalted Lord of heaven and earth. In so doing, Fee demonstrates that Paul possesses a very high view of Christology. Fee consistently shows that Paul is unequivocal in his declaration that Jesus of Nazareth is both God and man at one and the same time. This is supported strongly within Paul by the ease with which he transitions between speaking of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, hence equating the two. Pneuma Review readers will value the attention to detail, along with the various chapter appendices serving as compendia of the relevant passages.

Reviewed by Bradford McCall

Publisher’s page: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/pauline-christology/334413

David Ravenhill, Surviving the Anointing: Learning to Effectively Experience and Walk In God’s Power (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2007), 198 pages, ISBN 0768424437.

David Ravenhill, son of the late Leonard Ravenhill, served in pastoral ministry for a number of years, in more recent times he has embarked on an itinerant preaching ministry. Surviving the Anointing is his attempt to address, and hopefully help curtail, some of the significant ministerial fallout that has been taking place in recent years. One figure that he gives in the book states that an average of 1500 ministers are leaving the ministry each month.

David Ravenhill

Sportscasters sometimes say that sporting events are won or lost based on the athlete’s ability to execute the fundamentals of the game. The fundamentals, though basic, are vital to success. This same principle holds true in the kingdom of God. In this book David Ravenhill does not set forth any secret formulas, on the contrary he reminds us of things that we should already know the fundamental elements of a healthy walk with God. The book contains fourteen chapters. He devotes a chapter to each of the following subjects: dependency, intimacy, authority, persistency, purity, empathy/compassion, humility, worship, diversity/variety, family, adversity, integrity, unity and eternity.

The book is easy to read, but it gives the reader a lot to think and pray about. Ravenhill’s words call us to reflect and take personal inventory as to where we stand with reference to the qualities that he addresses in each of the chapters. He does not sugarcoat issues. He sets forth the challenges that leaders face as well as the solutions to these challenges. Each chapter contains a significant amount of bible teaching and a number of contemporary stories are used as illustrations throughout the book. This is a “hard” book in that it calls us to apply ourselves to matters of purity, persistence and discipline. However, it is not an “angry” book; it does not beat up but seeks to build up. It seeks to call out the best in us. It is in some measure a call for us to watch our life and doctrine closely (1 Timothy 4:16). It is a book of “grace” in that it demonstrates that our only hope to survive in the midst of the battle with the world, the flesh and the devil is to stay close to the Lord and to follow His principles.

2013 edition.

Surviving the Anointing is an important book in this time when many ministers are falling or failing. It will also be an important book in the years to come as human nature and the challenges of ministry remain largely the same. However, this book is not just for ministers, the counsel it supplies is vital to all Christians. Some of the difficulties that those in ministry experience are demonic to be sure, but not all are. Some of the difficulties are due to a person’s own failures some have made unwise choices some have let down their guard, and some have become proud. This could happen to anyone of us if we are not careful. This book is an appeal for us to excel in the basics, for by doing so we can stand and “survive the anointing.”

Reviewed by John Lathrop

Preview Surviving the Anointing: http://books.google.com/books?id=GPQ7_T9aj7MC

Clive Calver, Descending Like a Dove: The Truth About the Holy Spirit (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2004) 177 pages, ISBN 1591852900.

More than 20 years ago, David Wilkerson voiced concern about a “Christless Pentecost.”¹ Today, the concern is about a Spiritless Pentecost, a charismatic experience that treats the Holy Spirit as a “silent partner, the forgotten member of the Trinity” (2).

In his new book, Descending Like a Dove: The Truth About the Holy Spirit, author Clive Calver invites readers to have a more intimate relationship with God through the power of the Holy Spirit. He argues that the Spirit and His workings are often misunderstood in both the charismatic and non-charismatic traditions. Calver contends that while the ministry of the Holy Spirit may differ in some ways from the ministry of Christ and the Father, He is “no less than the very Presence of the living God making His home in the life of the believer” (3).

According to Calver, the charismatic experience should not be limited to material blessings, emotional highs or speaking in tongues. He believes that “God gives us His Spirit so that we might be supernaturally equipped to live as God Himself intended that we should” (6).

Clive Calver

Calver, a very capable writer, has been involved in Christian ministry in the United States and abroad for many years. He is president of World Relief, an organization that serves as the humanitarian aid arm of the National Association of Evangelicals. He has served as director general of the Evangelical Alliance of the United Kingdom, and program director of Billy Graham’s Mission England. He has also worked as national director of Youth for Christ in Britain.

Calver covers his topic from many angles. He uses 20 chapters to present a discussion of the Trinity and the role of the Godhead in salvation, holiness, spiritual growth and practical ministry. He gives particular attention to the importance of the Holy Spirit. Using colorful and sometimes heart-warming anecdotes, he shows how the Holy Spirit operates in and through believers from the moment of salvation. His opening chapter, “The Missing Person of the Trinity,” sets the stage for the theme of the book. He writes:

Tragically, our struggle to understand the nature and character of the Holy Spirit has often resulted in our unconsciously but effectively deleting Him from the Trinity. But the Holy Spirit is the One who draws us near to God; He is the Person who lives in us and is intimately connected with our lives (3).

In discussing the work of the Spirit, Calver writes about demonology and provides careful instructions for exorcisms. He also takes a look at the Spirit in divine healing. While noting that healing is for the church today, he offers a word of caution:

We must be careful not to presume that God’s intention will be to heal every person on every single occasion. Although healing should remain our expectation and hope, we must be careful to encourage faith, not foolishness. We must first seek to find God’s will and then act in obedience to that will rather than our own desires, however good they may be! (138)

With regard to the anointing, Calver believes the church is anointed to help the poor and to deliver those who are bound. He also asserts that believers are anointed for suffering: “As the people of God we have been promised two things: success and suffering. … The success that is promised in Scripture relates more to our future than to the present circumstances in which we find ourselves” (130). Calver also calls for balance, arguing that God has promised to meet all of our needs.

Editor Introduction: Postmodernism, The Church, and The Future  

Postmodernism, The Church, and The Future
A Pneuma Review discussion about how the church should respond to postmodernism

Suggestions for Further Reading

Readers have suggested the following as places to find good articles online for further reading on this important subject.

• Brian McLaren, “Good Marginal Thinking: The heroes of church history began as reflective Christians who doubted what everyone else took for granted” Leadership Journal (Fall 2007).

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/004/14.110.html  

• Mark Labberton, “The Lima Bean Gospel: The Good News is so much bigger than we make it out to be” Christianity Today (January 2008).

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/january/19.32.html

Suggestion: “This article is all about how we the church have made Jesus look so bland in a pluralistic society—and what we might do about it.” – TS  

Though he admits he is not an expert on evil (17), N. T. Wright writes Evil and the Justice of God in light of a new concentration on evil in postmodern Western society. His work is particularly significant in light of the perceived evil involved with such events as the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States; the devastation of Hurricane Katrina; and the Tsunami across the Indian Ocean. Wright defines evil as “the force of anti-creation, anti-life, the force which opposes and seeks to deface and destroy God’s good world of space, time and matter, and above all God’s image-bearing human creatures” (89). Wright notes that postmodern Western society either typically ignores or denies the existence of evil when it is not directly impacted. However, when postmodern Western society is directly impacted by evil, its typical response is to either blame everyone else or blame themselves (24). Consequently, this reaction has direct implications on the notions of how one exacts justice in order to combat evil. Given its ambiguous notion of evil, can postmodern Western Society clearly define and (more importantly) exact justice in response to evil being manifested? In contrast, what is the Judeo-Christian response to the problems of evil and implementation of justice on an individual and societal level? These are the key questions that Wright so provocatively addresses in his book.

Evil and the Justice of God is comprised of five chapters. Chapter one is entitled “Evil is Still a Four-Letter Word” and discusses the new and practical problems of evil existing in postmodern Western culture. For example, though the culture is often shown examples of evil through channels such as the television, its citizens are typically not directly threatened by that evil. This lack of engagement produces a false notion that evil is under control. Likewise, political leaders and the media also seem to be surprised by evil when it manifests in such a way that postmodern Western society is affected (25–26). Wright notes that this may be because they hold an abstract or philosophical understanding of the problem of evil. However, he asserts that the problem of evil is not an abstract or philosophical dilemma. Rather, it is a practical issue that has been largely ignored since the time of the Enlightenment (78). Additionally, for Wright, when postmodern Western society is directly impacted by the problem of evil there is often an immature, dangerous, and ineffective reaction to it. This is evidenced, for example, for Wright, by a “lashing out” at those perceived to be evil (28). But such reactions do not address the reality of evil—both super-naturally and naturally (32). For Wright, the problem of evil, however, is well addressed in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Chapter two is entitled “What can God do about Evil” and presents a Judaic perspective on the problem of evil and the Justice of God. Relative to the problem of evil, Wright points out that in the Old Testament there is evidence of a divine pattern of dealing with the problem of evil in that God judges evil but also offers grace in the wake of evil (50). For example, in the story of the flood (Gen 6–7), God judged the continual evil of humanity (6:5, 11–13), but offered grace through the family of Noah (6:8, 18; 7:1). Likewise, because of their hubris ambition to build the tower of Babel in order to be like God, the inhabitants of the earth were deemed evil, and God’s judgment was to confuse their language, thereby limiting their creativity (Gen 11). Later, God offered grace to humanity through the “Abramic” covenant (Gen 12: 1–3). Though the notion of God offering both judgment and grace in response to evil may appear paradoxical, the Old Testament witness has been consistent on this matter. For, it is those who participate in evil who are judged, but God’s grace is extended to all of humanity.