Book Reviews -- By: Anonymous

Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 01:2 (Summer 1992)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

EmJ 1:2 (Sum 92) p. 183

Book Reviews

Editor Kenneth Alan Daughters

Theology of the Reformers. By Timothy George. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1988. 337 pp. $21.95.

Timothy George is Dean of the Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama. Formerly he served as Associate Professor of church history and historical theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. This excellent volume shows him to be a fine scholar, one who has insight and enthusiasm for his subject. His book should be read by serious Christians who understand the importance of theology. Especially should it be read by those who preach and teach the Word of God.

George has a superb introductory chapter in which he explains the spiritual yearning and anxieties of the Late Middle Ages that gave rise to the Protestant Reformation. He then devotes a lengthy chapter to each of the major Reformers (Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and Menno Simons). He incisively reviews the major contributions of each Reformer and concludes his work with an important chapter on the significance of their insights for today.

What I particularly enjoyed about the book was George’s skillful use of the primary sources and the best of the secondary literature. Here in his own words is Luther on justification, predestination, Scripture, the church, and the state. Here is Zwingli on providence, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Those who have only heard Calvin vilified will gain new appreciation of this godly Christian as they read his views on the Trinity, the doctrine of sin, the person of Christ, the work of salvation, election, and the church. Of particular value is the sympathetic discussion of Menno Simons.

EmJ 1:2 (Sum 92) p. 184

The survey of his views on baptism and the Lord’s Supper and the opposing views of the other Reformers is well done.

In short, here is a volume that I can recommend with enthusiasm. I greatly enjoyed the evenings I spent in reading it.

David J. MacLeod

Salvation: Word Studies From the Greek New Testament. By Gerald Cowen. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1990. Paper. 159 pp. $7.95.

Gerald Cowen is professor of New Testament and Greek at Criswell College, Dallas, Texas. His purpose in this volume, well expressed in his title, is to deal with the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) by examining the key New Testament terms and phrases. The book has six chapters, each of which deals with appropriate terms. For example, chapter 1 is entitled “The Need for Salvation” and includes treatments of the words lost, condemned, hell, and the wrath of God. Chapter 2 is entitled “T...