IMMORTALITY DEFENDED. By John Leslie. Malden,MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. Pp. ix + 97. Cloth, $54.95,ISBN 978-1-4051-6203-6; paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-4051-6204-3.

Leslie’s book is a thought-provoking look at the exist-ence of God, immortality, and the nature of the universe, andis useful to both the professional philosopher and to one juststarting philosophy. He claims that 1) the existence of theworld is a result of the creative efficacy of the ethical prin-ciple that it is good that the world exists and 2) that the worldis a pantheistic one; the objects of the universe are merelystructures of the divine mind. On the basis of this worldview,Leslie sketches out three ways in which we may be immor-tal. In the first case, we are immortal because of the fact thatwe timelessly exist as part of a four-dimensional universe.Second, Leslie argues that pantheism provides an openingfor persons to continue thinking after death. Finally, Lesliesuggests we might have an afterlife of a sort because of thefact that the universe of which we are a part would continueto exist. The strengths of the book are that it touches on awide variety of philosophical topics, incorporates develop-ments in modern physics, metaphysics, and theology, and isexceptionally clear. A weakness of the book is that some-times crucial claims are argued for quickly and do notexplore in detail current debates in the literature.

Jeffrey GreenWheaton College

TheologyCOLERIDGE’S ASSERTION OF RELIGION: ESSAYSON THE OPUS MAXIMUM. Edited by Jeffrey W.Barbeau. Studies in Philosophical Theology 33. Leuven:Peeters, 2006. Pp. xvi + 312. €40, ISBN 90-429-1787-3.

Barbeau collects thirteen technical essays commemorat-ing the release of S. T. Coleridge’s newly edited OpusMaximum (OP) (vol. 15, of the Collected Coleridge). Itsprimary strength is as the first volume of sustained special-ist scholarship on the OP with several extraordinary essays(Hardy, Hedley, Reid, Gregory), some good (Barbeau, Wright,Evans), and others of less quality. The volume, however,does tend to be too oriented to specialists. Editing and the-matic organization could have helped contributors clarifyquestions on the OP and Coleridge for more general orintroductory readers. Such questions include: 1) the editingdecisions of this OP version; 2) the relation of the OP toColeridge’s other extant works; and finally, 3) the enduringlegacy or value of Coleridge. The reader often is left to ferretout the specialist issues alone. In the best essays, the OPsheds little light on Coleridge qua theologian or philosopherin contradistinction to his extant works. Essays less strongtend to confuse Coleridge, sometimes making him more forour time and concerns than his own. This latter point iscarried by the lack of engagement with Coleridge’s ownexplicit sources in German theology/philosophy in many of

the essays. For a thinker both as synthetic and now distantin method as Coleridge, such explicit organization/clarification is a general must, made more urgent by thepublication, without the explicit hand of its author, of afragmentary work written over decades.

Darren C. MarksHuron University College at the University of Western

Ontario

THE PRIORITY OF CHRIST: TOWARD A POSTLIB-ERAL CATHOLICISM. By Robert Barron. Grand Rapids,MI: Brazos Press, 2007. Pp. 352. $29.99, ISBN 978-1-58743-198-2.

For many Protestants, “postliberal” theology has oftenalso been an invitation to a more “Catholic” theology—atheology that is more properly ecclesial, written from andfor the confessing, worshiping community. For instance,postliberalism has emphasized the extent to which “theWord of God” is the church’s book, rightly interpreted onlywithin the stakes and interests of the confessing ecclesia. Ina similar way, postliberalism has emphasized a role for tra-dition that counters the tradition allergies of both conserva-tive and liberal Protestantism. Thus one might suggest thatR. Barron’s wonderful book, The Priority of Christ, bringspostliberalism back to its Catholic home. Drawing on theinsights and intuitions of Lindbeck, Frei, and others, Barronarticulates a Catholic systematic theology that takes “thenarratives concerning Jesus Christ as epistemically basic.”Thus his postliberal Catholicism is a narrative Catholicism,teasing out the implications of this for Christology and thedoctrine of God, as well as ethics and epistemology—alldrawing on a prodigious knowledge of the history of philoso-phy and theology. On top of all this, it is a downright lovelybook, written with a kind of winsome literary flair thatexhibits the inviting clarity of a master teacher. Highly rec-ommended for sharp undergraduates; required reading forgraduate students and scholars.

James K. A. SmithCalvin College

SCRIPTURE AS COMMUNICATION: INTRODUC-ING BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS. By Jeannine K.Brown. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007. Pp. 320.$21.99, ISBN 978-0-8010-2788-8.

Brown’s basic introduction to the discipline of herme-neutics offers a clear and practical interpretative model thathighlights the communicative nature of the Christian scrip-tures. By rooting this communicative model in the theologi-cal concept of the incarnation, Brown bridges the world ofsystemic theology and biblical studies, and by doing somakes a significant contribution to the various current theo-ries and debates on the nature of the text and the disciplineof interpretation. The book is divided into two parts: the firstlaying a thorough theoretical foundation of the communica-tive nature of scripture, while the second offers practicalguidelines for those desiring to read and understand

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scripture as God’s ever-present communicative act. Browndoes not steer away from contentious or difficult issues indiscussing the art of interpretation, but translates them forthe reader into simple and palatable concepts, while point-ing the way forward toward erudite and practical interpre-tative strategies. The book does suffer at times from anabsence of in-depth discussions on the recent developmentsin sociorhetorical and semiotic readings of scripture, butmakes up for this lack in its well-structured treatment on thequest to derive meaning from a communicative reading ofthe text. Scripture as Communication is a highly accessiblebook that lay readers, students, ministers, and scholars alikewill find to be rich in interpretive theory but practicalenough in its application. Brown’s book makes an importantand timely contribution in our common quest to understandand apply the message of scripture.

Corné J. BekkerRegent University

COMMUNION IN THE SPIRIT: THE HOLY SPIRITAS THE BOND OF UNION IN THE THEOLOGY OFJONATHAN EDWARDS. By Robert W. Caldwell III.Studies in Evangelical History and Thought. Milton Keynes,UK: Paternoster (Authentic Media), 2006. Pp. xvi + 212.£19.99, ISBN 978-1-84227-422-4.

Caldwell ably addresses a long-standing, underanalyzedfacet of Edwardsean studies in this important scholarlyexposition of the Holy Spirit’s crucial place in the Puritan’stheological framework. The author especially succeedsPauw’s work by demonstrating Edwards’s view of the Spiritas the Person who binds the Trinity together and acts as thepractical Agent who executes God’s plan of redemption.Caldwell achieves this with detailed bibliographic support inprimary and secondary resources, and with occasional cri-tiques of both Edwards and other Edwards scholars. WhileCaldwell could do more to expound the relevance of Edwardsfor contemporary theological discourse and Christian life,this contribution is a must-read for those desiring a soundunderstanding of Edwards on the Trinity, the Holy Spirit,and human salvation.

Rachel S. StahlePittsburgh Presbytery

KIERKAGAARD: FEAR AND TREMBLING. Edited byC. Stephen Evans and Sylvia Walsh. Cambridge Texts in theHistory of Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 2006. Pp. xxxvii + 115. Cloth, $55.00, ISBN 978-0-521-84810-7; paper, $16.99, ISBN 9780521612692.

This freshly translated and annotated edition of Kierkeg-aard’s classic Fear and Trembling measures up well along-side both the H. and E. Hong (Princeton) and the A. Hannay(Penguin) editions. Walsh renders the Danish text in Englishprose that is both attractive and accurate. Her multiplefootnotes ably identify literary, philosophical, biblical, andclassical allusions, thus assisting novice readers to enterthe world of the text with confidence. Evans’s introduction

points readers to the complexity of this “dialectical lyric,”while suggesting how the account of Abraham’s faith relatesto Kantian and Hegelian ethics. The introduction is less suc-cessful in helping a reader fathom the work’s literary trajec-tories or in suggesting how the lurking category of theesthetic relates to infinite resignation, tragic heroism, andthe life of faith. Appearing in the distinguished CambridgeTexts in the History of Philosophy series, the book includesa useful Chronology and notes on Further reading. Theedition belongs in all undergraduate as well as graduate ordivinity school libraries that feature other volumes by orabout Søren Kierkegaard.

Richard CrouterCarleton College

THE TRINITY: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES. By Veli-Matti Karkkainen. Louisville, KY: Westminster John KnoxPress, 2007. Pp. xxii + 409. $39.95, ISBN 0-664-22890-9.

At the beginning of the third millennium, few develop-ments in contemporary theology are as exciting as the rise toprominence of the doctrine of Trinity. Adding to the growingliterature in this renaissance, Karkkainen has now written amagisterial and ground-breaking volume on the subject.What makes this comprehensive study truly significant isthe author’s genuine attempt to offer a fair and balancedexposition of and critical dialogue with contemporary Trini-tarian theologies from five different global contexts. Thebook is divided into five parts. After examining the biblicalroots and historical growth of the doctrine of Trinity in partsone and two, no less than eighteen contemporary Trinitarianviews are discussed in parts three and four from bothWestern and non-Western perspectives. The five represen-tative European theologians discussed are Barth, Rahner,J. Zizioulas, J. Moltmann, and W. Pannenberg. The sevenAmerican theologians include R. Jenson, C. M. LaCugna,E. Johnson, M. J. Erickson, S. M. Heim, N. Smart, andS. Konstantine. The six non-Western Trinitarian viewsrepresented are those of L. Boff and J. Gonzalez (LatinAmerican); J. Y. Lee and R. Panikkar (Asian); and C. Nyamitiand A. O. Ogbonnaya (African). Part five consists of a singlechapter that assesses key contributions and insights emerg-ing out of the global conversation and the possible directionthat Trinitarian discourse might take in the future. Global,ecumenical, and dialogical, there is no other text currentlyavailable that compares with this breathtaking and compre-hensive study of the Trinity.

David S. NahBethel Seminary

PENTECOSTAL THEOLOGY FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: ENGAGING MULTI-FAITH SIN-GAPORE. By Tan-chow May Ling. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate,2007. Pp. xix + 203. $99.95, ISBN 0-7546-5718-3.

This is a revision of a University of Cambridge PhDdissertation (written under the guidance of Prof. D. Ford) bythe academic dean of TCA College in Singapore. Along with

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an increasing number of Pentecostal theologians, the authorcalls for those in her ecclesial tradition to go beyond tradi-tional exclusivism on the one side and any easy tolerance ofpluralism on the other. The multifaith context of Singaporeprovides the backdrop against which she develops a con-structive theological re-visioning of a Pentecostal approachto religious pluralism along three lines: 1) via retrieval of theecumenical boundary crossing that is embedded deep withinthe tradition of the Lukan Pentecost narrative and manifestin the Azusa Street revival; 2) through a work of criticalloyalty that interrogates contemporary Pentecostal practice,especially as manifest in the LoveSingapore organization, inorder to reform its rhetoric and attitudes so as to betterreflect the biblical notions of a generous and hospitable God;and 3) by reconsidering how Pentecostal eschatology can beunderstood better in terms of the openness and plenitudethat is revealed in the Trinitarian life of God. The only thinglacking in this substantive first book is a concrete testing ofthe model in actual interreligious engagement to see if itworks in practice; perhaps the dominance of the Confuciantradition in Singapore will provide the occasion for ProfessorLing to further develop her creative Pentecostal “ethic ofnegotiation” by focusing next on a Pentecostal contributionto the Christian–Confucian encounter.

Amos YongRegent University School of Divinity

REVELATION AND THEOPOLITICS: BARTH,ROSENZWEIG, AND THE POLITICS OF PRAISE.By Randi Rashkover. London: T&T Clark International,Pp. viii + 215, Cloth, N.p., ISBN 0-567-04122-0; paper, N.p.ISBN 0-567-04132-8.

This study puts forth a “politics of praise” that attemptsto overcome the dichotomy of faith and reason through aturn to a nondogmatic “theology of testimony” found in theworks of Rosenzweig and Barth. While advancing heraccount of a politics of praise, explicated in detail in theconcluding chapter, the author provides précis of H. Cohen’spractical theology, Barth’s Epistle to the Romans, 2nd ed., andat great length, Rosenzweig’s The Star of Redemption and hisNew Thinking, focusing on the role, effect, and developmentof the concept of revelation in each of the three thinkers. Atpoints, perhaps as a result of the difficulty of Rosenzweig’swork, the book reads more as an exegesis of his thoughtrather than a development of Rashkover’s own project of apolitics of praise. Still, the explication of Rosenzweig clari-fies several difficult issues and provides a useful resource toanyone beginning a study of this elusive thinker. In theconcluding chapter, Rashkover effectively demonstrates thepolitical implications of Rosenzweig’s and Barth’s theologyof testimony and its ability to provide a “game plan” forestablishing the prophetic voice of Judaism and Christianitywithin the context of the separation of church and state bybecoming advocates of the oppressed.

Matthew P. SchunkeRice University

REDEEMING THE LAW: CHRISTIAN CALLINGAND THE LEGAL PROFESSION. By Michael P. Schutt.Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Academic, 2007. Pp. 290.$24.00. ISBN 978-0-8308-2599-8.

A valuable book for Christian lawyers, students, minis-ters, and their friends, Schutt synthesizes an eclectic col-lection of Christian perspectives including Evangelical,Roman Catholic, Pietist, Mainline Protestant, and others, toassemble a diagnosis and remedy for the Christian lawyers’problem of “disintegration.” Schutt explains how secular lawschools conform Christians to a set of beliefs contrary to theChristian worldview. Legal practice, modernity, and postmo-dernity also contribute to the disintegration of the lawyer asa human being. Schutt describes how Christian lawyersoften despair of becoming the people God wants them to be.As a remedy, Schutt offers a variety of ideas and practicesthat should help the Christian lawyer achieve integrity: thereintegration of his or her ethical Christian self. The doctrineof vocation, commitment to unity, community, and truth, andspiritual disciplines of study, fellowship, and solidarity areparts of the treatment Schutt prescribes. He also introducesthe reader to examples of thinking through a Christianunderstanding of human law. There are only a few minordetails in the book that may attract controversy. Forexample, Schutt sees community and tradition as mediatingChristian truth to us to an extent that may make some “solascriptura” advocates uneasy, but he is attempting to counterwhat he sees as an overemphasis on individualism. On thewhole, Shutt’s work is unique, well worth reading, and par-ticularly useful for those considering law school and forsmall group study by Christian lawyers.

Donald McConnellTrinity Law School

THE INCLUSIVE GOD: RECLAIMING THEOLOGYFOR AN INCLUSIVE CHURCH. By Steven Shakespeareand Hugh Rayment-Pickard. Norwich, England: CanterburyPress, 2006. Pp. xi + 123. $25.61, ISBN 978-1853117411.

The subtitle, not the main title, best captures the book’sthesis that, to be true to the Gospel’s message, ecclesiologymust be radically inclusive. The authors especially focus onthe New Testament’s portrait of Jesus’s indiscriminate fel-lowship as the model the church must follow. Given its quicktreatment of its topics and small number of endnotes, thebook seems directed at a general readership. However, italso seems to assume Anglican readers who need not haveexplained to them the specific meaning “Jubilee 2000,”“recent furious debates in the Anglican Church” over who is“out of communion,” etc. At the same time, the book alsoassumes that the reader will be sufficiently familiar with“Gnosticism,” “Essenes,” “Pelagianism,” “Barth,” “Bonhoef-fer,” “Bultmann,” “Tillich,” “Moltmann,” “Kierkegaard,” etc.to know what to make of the book’s passing references totheir ideas. It gives more details (but still with only a fewsentences, and a quote or two) when introducing ideas fromJ. Robinson, J. Milbank, N. Lash, R. Girard, and Heidegger.

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Readers who will find the book most useful are clergy, ortheologically educated laity (especially Anglicans). Thebook, especially for those readers, serves as an importantcursory examination of major doctrines (creation, revelation,Christology, atonement, Trinity, etc.), as well as biblicalinterpretation, through the interpretive lens of inclusivism.

William E. AbshireBridgewater College

CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON STANLEY HAUER-WAS’ THEOLOGY OF DISABILITY: DISABLINGSOCIETY, ENABLING THEOLOGY. Edited by JohnSwinton. Co-published simultaneously as Journal of Religion,Disability & Health, Volume 8, Numbers 3/4. Binghamton,NY: Haworth Pastoral Press, 2004. Pp. xiii + 205. Cloth,$39.95, ISBN 978-0-7890-2721-4; paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-0-7890-2722-1.

While S. Hauerwas is perhaps one of the best knowncontemporary American theologians, many would be sur-prised to learn that he has been writing about disability forover thirty years. In addition to serving as an advocate forthe rights of people with what he describes as “mental handi-caps,” Hauerwas’ ethical and theological work engages intel-lectual disability as a profound challenge to what it means tobe human and to live in community. This important volumegathers some of his lesser known pieces as a way of present-ing and engaging his theology of disability. An introductoryessay by Swinton provides an especially helpful overview ofHauerwas’s career and of his commitments in relationto disability. Ten essays on theology and disability byHauerwas, originally published between 1975 and 1999, arereprinted in their entirety. Each essay is followed by acritical response by one or more of an international groupof commentators, including such well-known figures as J.Vanier and M. Bérubé, representing perspectives from medi-cine, education, ethics, theology, ministry, and disabilityadvocacy. In a final essay, Hauerwas engages his respon-dents and suggests future directions for this work. Whilesome readers will be disappointed that this “theology ofdisability” only engages intellectual disability and does littleto attend to the diversity and complexity of labels such as“able” and “disabled,” this volume makes a valuable contri-bution to the growing discourse about theology and disabil-ity and demonstrates the relevance of these issues to othercontemporary ethical and theological discussions.

Deborah Beth CreamerIliff School of Theology

CHRIST, CREEDS AND LIFE: CONVERSATIONSABOUT THE CENTER OF OUR FAITH. Edited by AnneT. Thayer and Douglas Jacobsen. Cleveland, OH: UnitedChurch Press, 2007. Pp. 128. $10.00, ISBN 978-0-8298-1766-9.

This little book was put together by the TheologicalCommission of the Penn Central Conference, United Churchof Christ for use by lay people engaged in small study

groups. Specifically, it is designed to stimulate conversationabout the meaning of Jesus for Christians today, as portrayedin the historical documents considered foundational for theUnited Church of Christ. The structure of the book is well-designed to allow for ease of use by groups. The shape of thechapters is uniform, consisting of an introductory exposi-tion, “Questions for Discussion”, four sections of pertinentbrief quotes (entitled “What the Bible Says”, “What OurCreeds Say”, “What Our Liturgies Say”, “What Our SongsSay”), “Themes for Reflection”, more “Questions for Discus-sion”, and a closing prayer. Each of the chapters is based ona claim about Jesus found in the UCC Statement of Faith.Readers are challenged to consider the implications of Chris-tology for “real life” as they move through the full range oftopics: “Christ as God,” Jesus the Jew and fully human being,the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection, Christ asgiver of the Holy Spirit, ecclesiology, and what it means tosay that “Christ will come again.” The book is clearly writtenand accessible to the average church member. From adenominational standpoint, it nicely demonstrates the roleof confessional statements in theological reflections. Itsstructure and content make it potentially useful for collegeand adult-level study groups. Lay groups will be richlyrewarded with thought-provoking discussions that are likelyto lead to deeper personal understandings of essential theo-logical questions.

Charlene P.E. BurnsUniversity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

THE HERMENEUTICS OF DOCTRINE. By Anthony C.Thiselton. Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans PublishingCompany, 2007. Pp. xxii + 649. $46.00, ISBN 978-0-8028-2681-7.

It is fitting that Thiselton’s magnum opus expands onthe interdisciplinary work in hermeneutics that has markedhis theological scholarship. The bulk of this volume—over400 pages—is devoted to making explicit “some hermeneuti-cal starting points and hermeneutical currencies that mayperhaps serve to resource Christian doctrine.” Fourteenchapters in this third part of the book cover the major Chris-tian doctrines and explore how the various horizons ofinterpretation—biblical, historical, contextual—have shapedthe teachings of the church. Specialists on any particulardoctrinal theme will no doubt be able to fill out the herme-neutical lacunae present, even as they will also learn fromthe overall scope, sequence, and method of Thiselton’sapproach, and from his treatment of specific biblical texts inrelationship to later doctrinal elaborations. But hermeneuti-cians, theologians, and dogmaticians will also be interestedin the first two parts of the book where Thiselton presentsand defends a creative dispositional theory of doctrine: theidea that doctrines are based on communal forms of life andaction-oriented beliefs situated amidst the contingencies ofplace and time, and that doctrines usually emerge only whenclarifications are required in the face of challenge anddenial. Throughout, Thiselton engages in critical dialogue

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with an overwhelming number of philosophical and theologi-cal interlocutors as well as biblical scholars, mostly drawingconstructively from the views of others, while also lodgingquestions for further discussion. Historians of doctrine, sys-tematicians, and dogmatic theologians from here on willhave to read this book.

Amos YongRegent University School of Divinity

THE SCANDALOUS GOD: THE USE AND ABUSE OFTHE CROSS. By Victor Westhelle. Minneapolis: FortressPress, 2006. Pp. ix + 176. ISBN 978-0-8006-3895-5.

This latest volume in the debate on the viability of atheology of the cross in today’s culture of violence is a well-written exposition of Martin Luther’s theology of the crossthat reads more like a homily than an academic treatise.Westhelle succeeds in harmonizing the voices of feministsand liberation theologians as he directs them in singing thepraises of the continuing mystery of the cross and how Luth-er’s theology of the cross can be improvised with Tillich’stheology of culture to strengthen and reinvigorate atone-ment theology. All of this is done with an underlying themeof viewing the cross as an apocalyptic event. Parts of thebook resonate more strongly with some readers than others.For instance, pastors may ignore chapters one through fourand professors may scan over chapters five through ten. Inaddition to students of theology, students of cultural criti-cism will also find this text enlightening. A serious short-coming of the book is its use of “death of God” and “thesuffering God” language as such concepts are confusing andreverberate notes of modalism, which continue to sounddiscordant in theology and conflict with the well-establisheddoctrine of the Trinity.

Don E. Peavy, Sr.Victor Valley College

FROM THE MARGINS: A CELEBRATION OF THETHEOLOGICAL WORK OF DONALD W. DAYTON.Edited by Christian T. Collins Winn. Princeton TheologicalMonograph Series 75. Eugene, OR.: Wipf and Stock Publish-ers, 2007. Pp. xxiii + 433. $45.00. ISBN 978-1-55635-135-8.

This is a Festschrift for D. Dayton and is largely a com-pilation of his previously published essays. The editor statesthat the contributors offer more “Fest” than “Schrift.” Whilethere is little that is substantially new in this book, it isintended to give Dayton “a fresh hearing.” Dayton’s maincontributions are twofold. First, he has shown that AmericanEvangelicalism is highly indebted to the Wesleyan/Pentecostal traditions as distinct from the Presbyterianparadigm. His second contribution is documenting thatPentecostalism is an extension of the Wesleyan-Holinesstradition. A weakness of Dayton’s recent work is his unwill-ingness to consider any modification to his earlier view (inspite of substantial evidence) that the concept of Pentecostalsanctification is rooted in Wesley. Dayton fails to notice thatWesley’s critical comment on this topic were prepublication

suggestions that Fletcher embraced in his published writ-ings. Dayton also is mistaken to identify Fletcher as thesource of absolutizing a crisis event of entire sanctification.Fletcher believed there were many “sudden” Pentecostmoments in the lives of believers, not just one. The readerwill find Dayton’s reports of things allegedly said by certainindividuals interesting. Unfortunately, he did not verify theaccuracy of some of these rumors since this reviewer wasmisrepresented in things he allegedly said. Because Daytonhas been a significant voice for the Wesleyan/Pentecostaltraditions, this book is an invaluable resource even thoughhe remains on “the margins” of both traditions, just as thesetraditions are on “the margins” of Evangelicalism.

Laurence W. WoodAsbury Theological Seminary

BROKENNESS & BLESSING: TOWARD A BIBLICALSPIRITUALITY. By Frances M. Young. Grand Rapids:Baker Academic, 2007. Pp. 144. $16.99, ISBN 978-0-8010-3504-3.

A quick glance at contemporary religious publicationcatalogues reveals a plethora of publications on spiritualformation. While searchers often scour for the quick fix orinstant success, F. Young locates vulnerability and infirmityas central to spiritual authenticity. Young maps out thejourney of a Christian as a healthy tension between successand failure, triumph and tragedy, blessing and brokenness.She submits five biblical motifs as metaphors for the spiri-tual life: 1) wilderness experience serves not only as anuncomfortable place of testing for the Israelites and Jesus,but also as a formative environment for an enduring encoun-ter with God; 2) Jacob’s wrestling with God proves not onlydifficult and disabling but also as a context for grace andrestoration; 3) The kenotic way of Jesus, a paradigm ofhumility, self-sacrifice, and death, necessarily precedes res-urrection; 4) periodic Israelite exile fosters openness to theexperience of the other, namely, the alien in a distant place;5) the Song of Songs dramatizes frantic and desperatelonging ahead of celebratory and fulfilling consummation.Young outlines each exemplary motif alongside the broaderbiblical record, the similar experiences and writings of thechurch fathers, the narratives of church hymnody, and thejoys and sorrows of her own personal experience. The cumu-lative effect situates the contemporary believer within thegrand metanarrative of creation, fall, redemption, sojourn,and eschatological fulfillment. Scholars, pastors, and stu-dents should find personal and resourceful benefits fromthis genuine quest for God in the midst of pain and suffering.

Martin William MittelstadtEvangel University

EthicsCENTURY OF HORRORS: COMMUNISM, NAZISM,AND THE UNIQUENESS OF THE SHOAH. By AlainBesancon. Translated by Ralph C. and Nathaniel H. Hancock.

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