Journal: Journal of Dispensational Theology
Volume: JODT 25:70 (Spring 2021)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Gary E. Gilley

Book Reviews

Gary E. Gilley

The book reviews for this issue of the Journal of Dispensational Theology address a wide range of topics but are somewhat overabundant in addressing current challenges facing society and the church. COVID-19 has changed the world and Christians are not exempt from the pressures, fears, pain, and heartache it has caused. Many would benefit from digesting the contents of John Piper’s little book, The Coronavirus and Christ. However, the social justice movement is even more difficult to navigate and has brought much confusion and angst. Therefore, six reviews are offered of recently published books that provide either information, insight, or biblical guidance. White Fragility is probably the best known and most popular book available today promoting critical race theory and all things related; it is a thoroughly secular book detailing a worldview profoundly in opposition to the biblical worldview but, for anyone desiring to understand the disturbing social justice movement, this is the initial book to consult. Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, while not dealing directly with the effects of critical theory, alerts the reader to the dangers of adopting faulty hermeneutical approaches to Scripture, drawn from the culture, which unfortunately Aimee Byrd does. The other volumes on the topic attempt in various ways to show readers how to process social justice and critical race theory ideologies and to respond biblically.

Contemporary fads and trends come and go but Scripture and theology endure. For that reason, two commentaries are reviewed, one on a snippet of Proverbs, the other on the Book of Revelation. Two other books deeply challenge and inform one’s theological understanding of God and Scripture. Although The Cessation of the Prophetic Gifts was published in 2016, and the Son Who Learned Obedience in 2018, both books offer robust polemics relative to current doctrinal debates. Finally, the English Puritans are all the rage today, but what about American Puritans? When did they reach the shores of America, why did they come, what challenges did they face, and why did they fade into history so quickly? The American Puritan answers all these questions and more.

Pastors and church leaders need to be readers. The goal of the book reviews herein is to recommend books worth your time. We hope that we have succeeded in this issue.

Gary E. Gilley, Th.D.
Book Review Editor