Matthew W. Levering

The Doctrine of Creation

Theology

“This book is dazzling in its sources and range, and it is rigorous and provocative in its judgments. Grounded in a solidly Reformed outlook derived primarily from Barth and Kuyper, the authors evaluate the doctrine of creation and related realities such as sin, providence, and eschatology with attention to biblical texts and scholarship, to the whole of the theological tradition, and to philosophy from Plato to the French phenomenologists. They defend Christian faith in creation with power and panache.”

The Doctrine of Scripture

Theology

“What an exciting book! East’s basic moves are recognizable: he carries forward and integrates elements of the doctrines of Scripture of Webster, Boersma, and Jenson. This would be accomplishment enough for a normal book, but East is even bolder ecumenically than the masters upon whom he builds. Without ceasing to value the Reformers, he challenges sola scriptura and the perspicacity of Scripture, and he offers a deeply Catholic account of dogma and apostolicity. This book is a rare gift—a richly comprehensive theology of Scripture that lays the foundation for real ecumenical breakthroughs.”

The Fall and Redemption of Conscience

Theology

“A richly Reformed and biblical study of conscience—as created, fallen, justified, and perfected. Ferrari shows how important conscience is for the Reformed tradition, beginning with John Calvin, whose position differs in intriguing ways from Thomas Aquinas’s. This superb study fills a notable gap for students of Christian anthropology and ethics.”

The Fathers of the Church

History & Biography

“Benedict XVI is a pope of theological ressourcement in the sense that he aims to place the Scriptures and the patristic heritage at the center of the Church's life. Reading these portraits of Church Fathers, one is struck by how their minds and hearts were aflame with love for Christ Jesus as revealed in Scripture. To love God and neighbor in Christ and his Spirit — this is the quest to which these extraordinary people dedicated their lives. Through Benedict's highly readable teachings, skillfully edited by Joseph Lienhard, the Fathers come alive; Christ Jesus lives in them and calls to us.”

The Gospel of John

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In the eminent contributors he has assembled, the structure of Orthodox-Evangelical-Catholic trialogue, and the focus on the scriptural text, Charles Raith has established a rich paradigm for future ecumenical theology. The exchanges between Root and Bradshaw on the Petrine office and between Behr and Leithart on the Johannine corpus struck me as especially seminal, though the other essays in the volume could easily be singled out as well. Above all, it is Paul Gavrilyuk who encapsulates the tenor of the whole, when he speaks of earnestly seeking insights in other Christian traditions in order to heal and renew one's own tradition. Such humble gift-exchange, rooted in love for the Father who bestows his gifts in Christ and through the Holy Spirit, is what this book is all about.”

The Grammar of Grace

Christian Living

“Today, people often know why a biologist or a historian is important. But many people draw a blank when asked what a theologian would be good for. Just in time, The Grammar of Grace reminds us that the theologians are important because they know (or should know) about the reality and communication of God's grace. This highly welcome anthology displays the riches that the life of theological learning, united with Christ, has to offer.”

The Hour of Testing

Christian Living

“Fr. Donald Haggerty, one of the Church's greatest living spiritual masters, here directs his attention to one of the most pressing questions of our time: what are Catholic believers to do if and when the Church of Christ seems morally and doctrinally imperiled by the religious liberalism that has swallowed up the mainstream Protestant denominations?”

The Idea of a Christian College

Discipleship & Christian Education

“Filled with insightful scholarship and stories that convey the challenges facing Christian universities today, this extraordinary book shows the path forward for the project of the Christian university. For administrators, professors, and parents seeking to understand the why and how of the Christian university, this is the book to read.”

The Impossible Possibility

Theology

“Few people truly forgive—it is too difficult. But we all desperately need forgiveness. So, what is to be done? In this extraordinarily profound book, Caitlin Smith Gilson calls us to the virtues that, by Christ's grace, make forgiveness possible, despite the vast scope of sin and victimization. Smith Gilson has emerged as one of the truly important voices of our era.”

The Kingdom of God as Liturgical Empire

Theology

“Drawing upon a wide array of Jewish and Christian interpreters, Hahn persuasively presents Chronicles as a powerful exemplar of the typological, covenantal, and liturgical exegesis that has shaped the Christian tradition of biblical interpretation. For readers who think of Chronicles as rather dull, this book will reintroduce the richness of Scripture.”

The Letter to the Hebrews

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Laansma's brilliant introduction to this commentary makes it a must for anyone who cares about Christianity. As a Catholic, I think that ecumenical discussions between Protestants and Catholics can hardly find a better reference point than Laansma offers here. As a Christian, I am struck afresh by how inspiring and timely the Letter to the Hebrews is, as revealed through Laansma's devout and supple prose.”

The Logic of the Body

Theology

“Having suffered from serious public-speaking anxiety in my 20s and 30s, I read Dr. LaPine’s book with great interest. Is an anxious Christian a contradiction in terms, caused by lack of faith? In showing why the answer to this question is “no,” LaPine masterfully engages Thomas Aquinas and contemporary thinkers such as J. P. Moreland in defense of a “dualistic holism.””

The Lord Is Good

Theology

“Christopher Holmes has already published a number of excellent books, and this one is the best yet. With a contemplative depth that mirrors the depth of his sources, he engages the psalms as a guide for constructively retrieving the Christian tradition's witness to God's goodness. Testifying to the goodness of God, this book places Holmes among the handful of living theologians whose books should be read by anyone doing Christian theology today.”

The Lord's Supper

Theology

“The eminent Lutheran theologian John Kleinig is always worth reading, and he has done it again here. Here is food for all Christians, including Roman Catholics such as myself.”

The Making of Stanley Hauerwas

Theology

“In mellifluous prose, Hunsicker makes the case that Hauerwas is not, as some scholars have recently charged, unconsciously an exponent of Protestant liberalism. But in making this case, Hunsicker gives us something even more valuable: a reckoning with Hauerwas's main sources that offers a new way of understanding the history of the past century of Protestant theology in America, with Hauerwas performing Barth's theology in a Yoderian mode in response to American idolatries. This book helps us to understand what Hauerwas's witness has meant and means.”

The Nicene Creed

Theology

“Seasoned theologians Jared Ortiz and Daniel Keating here introduce the Creed in a book that would make a great textbook for introductory theology classes as well as for study groups. What shines forth is the sheer reasonableness of Christian faith. They also draw a link between faith and hope, both vitally needed in our culture of despair. Deeply rooted in Scripture and the Church Fathers, this book exemplifies what Christian instruction at its best can be.”

The Old Testament and God

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Only Craig Bartholomew could have written this book! The range of interlocutors is vast; Old Testament scholars mingle with philosophers, literary theorists and historians of the Ancient Near East, and Bartholomew’s immensely creative and constructive mind orchestrates a powerful symphony by means of a running commentary upon the scholarship. At the heart of the matter is the possibility – indeed the firm conviction – that the living God has revealed himself to Israel. A joy to read, this book should fund a new and multifaceted conversation grounded in the question of God.”

The Path of Christianity

History & Biography

“In this massive introduction to the history of Christianity's first millennium, John Anthony McGuckin has succeeded in producing a work of great scholarly depth that is easy to read. Although, given the vast scope of this book, he has to move relatively quickly over the numerous theologians of the fourth and fifth centuries, who have been well treated elsewhere, McGuckin is at his brilliant best in rehabilitating the theologians of the second and early third centuries—theologians whose fundamental importance for all later forms of Christianity he demonstrates in definitive fashion. When he turns to particular themes of Christian faith and practice, he combines a master historian's attention to differences between epochs with a master theologian's open willingness to take sides in controversies. A marvelous achievement!”

The Promise of Ecumenical Interpretation

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“This fascinating book shows that the ecumenical imperative has not weakened. The book also stands out as a vivid and powerful portrait of contemporary theological and confessional viewpoints in Germany and on the continent, many of which break quite sharply and decisively in intriguing and controversial ways with the traditional dogmatic self-understandings of Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox. The result is a path toward a new form of Christianity which deserves to be understood and assessed.”

The Same God Who Works All Things

Theology

“This is one of the meatiest books I have read in years. Vidu takes up his theme of the Trinity’s inseparable operations and the missions of the Son and Spirit, and he applies himself to the great dogmatic loci: creation, incarnation, atonement, ascension, the sending of the Spirit, and the indwelling of the Spirit. The leading figures of Protestant and Catholic theology past and present take their places in the resultant debates, gracefully choreographed and guided by Vidu. There will be disagreements aplenty on all sides, thereby vindicating Vidu’s bold project which aims to rekindle the passion and pastoral relevance that once made dogmatic theology the preeminent work of the queen of the sciences.”