Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 154:614 (Apr 1997)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

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BSac 154:614 (Apr 97) p. 227

Book Reviews

A Passion for Truth: The Intellectual Coherence of Evangelicalism. By Alister McGrath. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996. 287 pp. $19.99.

Responding to several recent works decrying the current state of evangelicalism, Alister McGrath’s Passion for Truth points to a way forward. Hoping to provide a foundation for further evangelical scholarship, McGrath intends with this book “to secure the public acceptance of the intellectual adequacy and sufficiency of evangelicalism, in terms both of its own internal criteria and of the alternatives in the modern western world” (p. 244). That apologetic task causes McGrath to address several extremely important issues. He begins by defending the uniqueness of Christ and the authority of Scripture, then moves on to critique postliberalism, postmodernism, and religious pluralism. It would be unrealistic to expect a comprehensive discussion of such topics in a single volume, but McGrath handles the material remarkably well and his concise treatment should please even the most demanding reader. Extensive notes offer a wide variety of additional sources, and McGrath’s careful analysis leads to very appropriate and clearly stated arguments.

The book’s second chapter offers an excellent discussion of the relationship between biblical authority and four potential rivals: culture, experience, reason, and tradition. Demonstrating the inadequacy of primary appeals to these other sources of authority, McGrath carefully describes their function in an evangelical method that affirms the truth of Scripture. At the same time he notes that some evangelicals have focused so much on the Bible that they have not been adequately Christocentric in their theology. He traces this tendency in part to what he believes to be an overly rationalistic approach to the doctrine of Scripture among the Princetonians. Some readers may see the influence of Barth here, but McGrath’s concern is to avoid basing biblical authority on reason as if the latter were a greater authority.

McGrath addresses current theological movements to help his evangelical readers develop suitable responses to those ideas and to show a wider public the distinctive appeal of conservative Christianity. The fact that many readers will have their introduction to significant trends like postliberalism and postmodernism through these pages demonstrates the great need for this kind of approach. Though it is written for Christians, the book would be appropriate for many

BSac 154:614 (Apr 97) p. 228

skeptics. Unfortunately it will not be easily consumed at the popular level, but it is highly recommended for students, scholars, pastors, and apologists who defend the faith in an academic environmen...

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