There is a nice review of Jason Vickers' Wesley: A Guide for the Perplexed in this edition of Themelios by Dave Hill:
"Vickers’ argument is both illuminating and persuasive. His decision to engage with Wesley’s ecclesiology and public theology provides a helpful corrective to pietistic trends within evangelicalism. Those looking for a hero of private, individualistic Christianity in Wesley should look again."
You can read the full review here.
This is an extract of our forthcoming Balthasar: A Guide for the Perplexed by Rodney Howsare. The book will publish in June in the UK and in August in the US. The extract is from chapter 7: Balthasar's Ongoing Role in Theology. Enjoy!
Balthasar and the Resurgence of Traditional Catholicism
Once more, I intend in this short space only to raise questions for further discussion; I make no pretence at settling them. I stated earlier that when I began work on my dissertation in the mid-90’s, the main issue in Balthasar studies was to get Balthasar a hearing in a context still dominated by Rahner, Lonergan and Liberation Theology. Of course things were already changing. Milbank’s Theology and Social Theory had already come out in 1990 and Fergus Kerr’s, Theology after Wittgenstein had come out even before that. I mention these as just two examples of the growing dissatisfaction over an academic approach to theology that was still under the sway of Enlightenment patterns of thought. But once the modern has been put in its place, room is made not only for the postmodern (postliberal, radically orthodox, etc.), but also, in the case of some, for the pre-modern. In our own day, for instance, we are beginning to witness a new interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas, not simply as a philosopher, and not simply out of historical curiosity, but as a theologian to be reckoned with.
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There is a wonderful review of Paul Helm's new Guide for the Perplexed on Calvin on the Exiled Preacher Blog:
"Paul Helm has provided us with a first class introduction to Calvin's thought in all its grandeur and breadth. There is certainly more to Calvin than predestination. He gives us invaluable insight into the nature of biblical revelation, the Trinity, and Christ in his offices of Prophet, Priest and King. His teaching on salvation through union with Christ, and the gift of 'double grace' in him, is especially helpful. What he has to say on living the Christian life is full of practical wisdom. This guide will help the perplexed. I hope that it will also stimulate the reader to get better acquainted with the theological legacy of John Calvin, great Genevan Reformer." Read more
Last year we published David Grumett's very fine book on Henri de Lubac which started the series of our Guides for the Perplexed in theology. More books are to follow this year, the next one being Agneta Sutton's Christian Bioethics. We had a lot of fun commissioning more titles, both on key thinkers in theology as well as on key concepts. Here is a list of forthcoming Guides for the Perplexed:
Balthasar
Barth
Bonhoeffer
Bultmann
Calvin
Luther
Newman
Origen
Pannenberg
Paul
Rahner
Schleiermacher
Tillich
Wesley
Christology
Christian Ethics
Eschatology in the Bible
Eucharist
Historical Jesus
Martyrdom
Political Theology
Science & Religion
The Trinity
The Church
Are there any subjects missing here? What do you find perplexing and which issues would you like to see covered? Let us know what you think - or even if you'd like to submit a proposal for the series! We are looking forward to hearing from you!
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