Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury 1945–1961; Reformed Dogmatics, Abridged in One Volume; Wild and Robust, The Adventure of Christian Humanism; 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law; The Miracle of Kindness, Changing the World One Act at a Time; A Different Priest, The Epistle to The Hebrews

Abstract

Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury 1945–1961; Reformed Dogmatics, Abridged in One Volume; Wild and Robust, The Adventure of Christian Humanism; 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law; The Miracle of Kindness, Changing the World One Act at a Time; A Different Priest, The Epistle to The Hebrews J. Harold Ellens, PhD Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury 1945–1961 David Hein Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2008, pp. 122 + xviii, pb, $17.00. David Hein, Professor of Religion at Hood College and author of The Episcopalians, has given us a minor gift. Aside from some infelicities of syntax that obstruct the smooth flow of his narrative, he has given us in one chewable chunk a constructive and balanced life of Geoffrey Fisher, Churchill's surprising selection for Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of World War II. Following an adequate introduction, setting the course of this little work, Hein offers seven chapters shaped by the stages of Fisher's rise to and service as archbishop. These are simply: Formation: 1997–1932, Chester and London: 1932–1945, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1945–1961: The Church of England, The Anglican Communion, Ecumenical Outreach, Church and State, and Retirement 1961–1972. Fisher was an administrator and made no special demonstration of his spiritual leadership, piety, or theological prowess. He was simply a soundly dedication Christian Anglican with devotion to the institution of that church, as his numerous generations of clergy ancestors before him. This book is rounded off with a good bibliography, but unfortunately lacks an index. Reformed Dogmatics, Abridged in One Volume Herman Bavinck (John Bolt, Editor) Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011, pp. 848 + xvi, cloth, $60.00. Herman Bavinck has been revered for a century for his superior four volumes of Reformed Dogmatics. He lived from 1854 to 1921 and taught Systematic Theology at the Vrie Universität te Amsterdam, beginning at outset of the twentieth century. The predictable endorsers, Donald McKim, Richard Mouw, J. I. Packer, and Michael Horton, have all promoted this one volume, abridged edition: and well they might. John Bolt of Calvin Theological Seminary has done yoeman's service in capturing all of Bavinck's useful perspective in this volume. Its nearly 1000 pages are packed with over 700 words per page, nearly twice the normal number. Thus a very large portion of the original Bavinck is captured in this compact work, making it readily and readably available to any college or seminary student, as well as the Sunday afternoon lay reader. It is highly recommendable for that. Bavinck was a bit unconventional in his structuring his Reformierte Dogmatik in that he did not conform to the traditional six loci of Malancthon and Calvin. Instead his work is organized in seven parts. The first is Prolegomena: Introduction to Dogmatic Theology; including an address to Dogmatic Theology as Science, The History and Literature of Dogmatic Theology, Foundations of Dogmatic Theology, Revelation, Holy Scripture, and Faith. Second comes The Triune God and Creation; explicating the themes, Knowing God, The Living Acting God, The Triune God and his Counsel, and Creator of Heaven and Earth. The Third section is Humanity and Sin and treats The Image of God, The Fallen World, and Sin and its Consequences. Part Four has to do with Christ the Redeemer, with such topics as The Only Begotten Son of the Father, The Servant Savior: Christ's Humiliation, and The Exalted Lord Christ. The Fifth section teaches of The Holy Spirit and Salvation in Christ: The Order of Salvation, Calling and Regeneration, Faith and Conversion, and Justification, Sanctification, and Perseverance. Six is The Spirit Creates a New Community: The Church as a Spiritual Reality, and The Spirit's Means of Grace. The final section, The Spirit Makes All Things New, has three subsections: The Intermediate State, The Return of Christ, and The Consummation. This volume has 49 pages of scripture index, fifty pages of name index, and 17 pages of subject index. Each page of the entire volume is able to boast nearly twice the normal words because the type is small and the paragraphing intensely compact. Bavinck's work is thoroughly comprehensive, excitingly lucid, and filled with inspiring surprises of insight and illumination. John Bolt's abridgement...