Sunday, May 20, 2018

Review: Practicing the King's Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give

Practicing the King's Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give Practicing the King's Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give by Michael Rhodes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is an easy to read and inspirational book, whereby the authors’ love for the poor and marginalised is put forth in a matter of fact manner. Encouraging and challenging accounts of likeminded community work are aplenty and one would inevitably reflect on life - if we have been loving others as God would.

We all interpret Scripture with different lenses. This reviewer does it through an expositionary and biblical theology framework; conversely the authors utilise a proof texting method.

For example, on page 140, after a fairly orthodox commentary on Ruth 1, the authors conclude that “If Boaz doesn’t leave profits in the fields, Ruth remains an outsider...” which ignores the main point of the passage and the book (that Yahweh is our kinsman-redeemer and not that we ought to be a Boaz to a Ruth). They go on to use this problematic theology to state, while noble and applaudable, how “Christians today (should) intentionally (be) creat[ing] work opportunities for the homeless, (so as not to) miss out on the God-given gifts of those marginalised workers who long to bring a plate to the potluck...” It breaks this reviewer’s heart at how Scripture is brutally butchered to fit the proposition of the authors and how it could be the start of a slippery slope to a works-righteousness theology.

I forced myself to read until page 220 when I finally gave up because I was too brokenhearted over how the authors had misused Scripture. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this as a go-to book about stewardship.

I received this book from Baker Publishing Group's Blogger Review Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Sunday, May 6, 2018

Review: How to Read Job

How to Read Job How to Read Job by John H. Walton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With the book of Job being a rather unique book in Scripture, most of us would feel daunted at trying to comprehend or much less read it in its entirety. The authors, Walton and Longman III, both whom have published commentaries on the book of Job in 2012, suggest that "the book of Job is more challenging than most books of the bible" (p162). I found this title to be very helpful for the purpose of bible study, teaching and sermon preparation.

As with the other books I've reviewed from IVP's How to Read series, this title is engaging, easy-to-read and digest. Special mention should be given to the amazing brevity in this book; condensing complex theological concepts into an easy to understand manner is a high-level skill that the two professors are highly adept at. I appreciate how clearly the authors write - because they go right to the point without using convoluted jargon, the novice readers, as will the advanced readers, find this book helpful especially in situations whereby time is of the essence. Especially useful also is how, when discussing a theological theme of the book, the authors would note down in bullet points every corresponding passage from Job (and the Wisdom Literature).

The standout chapters would be "Theology of suffering in the book of Job" (Chapter 15) that addresses the main theological thrust, "Job and Jesus" (Chapter 17) whereby great pointers are given on how we can avoid forcing a Christological typology on the text and "Applying the book of Job" (Chapter 20), which has a self-explanatory title.

The most useful piece of advice I have gleaned from the book would be: "When I learn of a friend or loved one who has entered some sort of crisis through loss or illness, my first response is not to tell them they should read the book of Job for comfort. The message of the book is more suited to training for crises than to performing in a crisis." (p170).

A few years ago, I sat for an introductory class on the Wisdom Literature under a seminary lecturer. To my surprise and utmost pleasure, I found that I agreed with Walton and Longman III's positions more often than I did my lecturer's, whose material was along the lines of the more traditional positions. I appreciated how the clear, robust and persuasive journey through the text prompted me to re-examine my theological assumptions and positions.

However, while I enjoyed the read, there were some chapters (eg. Chapter 18's The message of the book of Job for today) that I felt were too brief and were insufficiently elaborated/explained for a reader to understand and re-communicate to another person. Also, once we move onto Part Two (Getting to know the Characters) and Part Three (The theological message), the beginner (and maybe intermediate) readers may possibly find it a challenge to comprehend the material and remain engaged. This reviewer (having rarely read the wisdom literature and corresponding commentaries), far preferred the engaging front matter of the book but struggled to keep on reading in the deeper theologically complex discussions in especially Part Three. Thankfully, the concluding chapters in Part Four (Reading Job as a Christian) were back along the lines of the great quality and easily-understood matter of the beginning of the book. Hence for these two reasons, this title receives a rating of 4 stars.

I received this book from IVP Academic for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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