Robert L. Calhoun, Scripture, Creed, Theology: Lectures on the History of Christian Doctrine in the First Centuries (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2011), 508 pages, ISBN 9781556354946.

Robert Calhoun was a well beloved lecturer at Yale Divinity School until his retirement in 1965. Before he retired, he planned to have his lectures in the area of historical theology prepared for publication, but those plans fell through until more recently, decades after his death. This book represents the completion of those plans, carried through by George Lindbeck. Lindbeck also contributed an informative 62-page introduction.

These lectures cover a span from Jesus to Gregory the Great. After an initial methodological clearing, Calhoun covers the New Testament in two chapters, one dealing with Jesus and the “Primitive Church”, and another dealing with Johannine theology. After that, the chapters proceed apace, for more than 400 pages total, covering most of the major developments. Some historical figures are given chapters of their own (Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Augustine)—Clement of Alexandria and Origen share a chapter. Both “orthodox” and heretical figures are covered.

There is, of course, an obvious drawback to publishing lectures from so long ago: they will inevitably be dated. When Calhoun lectured, we had a lot fewer noncanonical gospels, and those that we did have had not yet made much of an impact on our understanding of the early church. Walter Bauer’s ideas about the lateness of “orthodoxy” had not yet made an impact in the English-speaking world. The introduction owns up to the dated aspect of Calhoun’s work, and assures us (rightly) that the lectures stand the test of time much better than we might have expected. Although the reader will want to supplement these lectures with something more recent, they are thoroughly solid in what they do discuss.

Calhoun’s writing is clear, and his judgments are measured. Future studies will undoubtedly quote a great deal from this book. We owe a debt to Lindbeck for seeing Calhoun’s promise through.

Reviewed by John C. Poirier

William P. Atkinson, Baptism in the Spirit: Luke-Acts and the Dunn Debate (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2011), 164 pages, ISBN 9781608999712.

The publication of James Dunn’s Baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1970 touched a nerve among the then fledgling group of Pentecostal scholars, and has continued to find strong resistance from Pentecostals. Not surprisingly, there has been no shortage of responses. Atkinson’s book chronicles the exchange between Dunn and his Pentecostal detractors.

The essential point of contention in the debate is whether the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2 was essentially soteriological or missiological—that is, was the purpose of the giving of the Spirit bound up with an implied promise of salvation for all who repent, or was it bound up with Jesus’ promise in Acts 1 that the disciples will “receive power” and “be witnesses”. The debate over the proper interpretation of Acts 2 is unquestionably important. Atkinson’s review of this debate provides a sort of clearing in which it might resume. The book also helps readers not directly involved in the debate to gain a better understanding of the problems others have encountered in reading Acts 2 within the context of practical theology.

Although Atkinson agrees more with Dunn’s detractors than with Dunn, he points to weaknesses in the arguments made on both sides. Thus the reader will come away with more than an overview of an academic skirmish. Although some readers will undoubtedly think that the “Dunn debate” has grown tired—as Dunn himself agrees—this book fulfills a valuable function, both as a reminder of a debate, and as a foundation on which further reading of Acts 2 can build.

Reviewed by John C. Poirier

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