Peter J. Leithart

A Contemporary in Dissent

History & Biography

“It takes a prophet to contribute to debates two hundred years before they start. J. G. Hamann is that rarity. . . . Bayer's excellent book shows Hamann's importance to today's debates about language and meaning, religion and science, God and time, reason and faith, postmodernity, liberal political order, and theological interpretation of Scripture. No century has needed Hamann's profoundly Christocentric dissent more than ours.”

Colin Gunton and the Failure of Augustine

Theology

“"Over the past few decades, Trinitarian theology has risen from the post-Enlightenment deluge in which it seemed to have sunk, and few have played as crucial a role in that development as the late Colin Gunton. Theologians and church leaders alike found in Gunton's work not only a rich theology of God but also the framework for a Trinitarian ontology, aesthetics, science, and cultural analysis--a Trinitarian theology useful in ways that Kant would never have dreamed. At the foundation of Gunton's work was the claim that Augustine early on steered Western theology into a reef, leaving contemporary theologians to gather the wreckage and rebuild. Through an appreciative yet critical examination of Gunton's project, and an equally cogent treatment of Augustine, Brad Green has gently corrected Gunton's reading of Augustine, showing that the Bishop of Hippo left Western theology far more seaworthy than Gunton believed. In the process, Green strengthens Gunton's case against modernity by providing some Augustinian equipment. This is theology of a high caliber--judicious, clear, convincing, and, above all, serviceable to the church as it navigates the roiling seas of modernity and postmodernity.”

Constantine Revisited

History & Biography

Afterword

(wrote the afterword)

Dismissing Jesus

Christian Living

Foreword

“Dismissing Jesus identifies and invites us to remove the blinders that seduce us from the way of our crucified and risen Lord. Ultimately, Jones calls the church to be more fully herself. . . . His book is unsettling; frequently, it is unsettling in just the way Jesus is. Doug's barbs sink deep, and, persuaded or not, every reader will profit from a slow, receptive engagement with this book.”

Echoes of Exodus

Theology

“Alastair Roberts and Andrew Wilson have written a marvelous book. In 160 packed, lucid pages, they explore the exodus, one of the Bible’s main themes from Genesis to Revelation. The authors say that Scripture is musical, and their book will leave haunting echoes of exodus ringing in your soul. Echoes of Exodus won’t just teach you about exodus; it will teach you how to read. In studying it, you will learn to harmonize on the melody of God.”

Enacting Atonement

Theology

“Ask the average Christian, 'What's up with sacrifice?' and you're likely to hear about death, loss, destruction, blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. You're not likely to hear about sonship, ascension, and glory. In this careful and wide-ranging study of Leviticus 1, Roy McDaniel shows that sacrifice is a ritualized recapitulation of the whole biblical narrative about the Son who passes through death into the glory of his Father.”

From Achilles to Christ

Arts & Literature

“From the earliest centuries of the church and throughout the Middle Ages, Christian thinkers pored over not only the Old Testament but Greek and Roman literature in search of foreshadowings of Christ. Christian readings of the classics fell out of favor in the modern world, but with From Achilles to Christ Louis Markos revives this venerable tradition. Professor Markos knows the difference between the Greeks and the gospel, but his illuminating interpretations of selected classics show that God did not leave the Athenians without a witness and capture the thrilling breadth of the evangelical proclamation that Jesus came 'in the fullness of the times.'”

Human Rites

“Dru Johnson writes that we are ritualed creatures who live in a ritualed world. We mark occasions by ritual ‘re-making of the ordinary,’ and learn to see and come to know through ritual performances. Johnson draws a crucial distinction between scripted rites and improvized rites. Of scripted rituals, he urges us to ask who is doing the scripting, and he explores what happens when rites go wrong, go flimsy, or go dark. This superb book is an accessible guide that will help us take our ritual inventory and learn to distinguish between the voice of the serpent and the voice of God.”

Incarnation and Sacrament

Theology

“Arguments about sacramental theology are never simply disputes about sacramental theology, but are always also about creation and Christology, time and metaphysics, anthropology and theological method. Jonathan Bonomo's balanced, clear, and insightful study of the intramural dispute between Charles Hodge and John Williamson Nevin has the great virtue of highlighting the clash of opposing visions and versions of Reformed theology and practice that lay at the heart of their debate about the real presence and the incarnation.”

Rethinking Constantine

History & Biography

“If we are going to assess Constantinianism rightly, we have to get Constantine right. The contributors go a long way toward accomplishing this task. In place of the caricatured Constantine of popular fiction and theology, this collection of essays presents a living, breathing Constantine, flawed and failing, but a genuine believer struggling to use his power in a way that would please the 'Supreme God' who had chosen him.”

Revelation

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“one of the leading Christian intellectuals of his generation.”

Spiritual Friendship

Marriage, Family & Relationships

“Medieval monks expressed their love for one another with what to us is cringe-inducing intimacy, and not so long ago Christians still entered formal bonds of friendship by taking vows that sound like marriage vows. We don’t do that anymore, with our commitment to uncommitted freedom, our turnover habits, our sexualization of everything and everyone, and our resignation to loneliness. Wesley Hill’s very personal book is an elegant, theologically rich plea on behalf of the love of friendship that uncovers fresh ways to improvise on a lost Christian tradition of committed spiritual friendship.”

The Baptism of Jesus the Christ

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“"Combining careful exegesis with expansive theological vision, missionary theologian Ralph Smith sheds fresh light on Christian baptism. Nowhere will you find such a thorough and illuminating biblical-theological exploration of the 'one baptism' that is the root of all baptisms, the baptism of Jesus Christ, Priest after the order of Melchizedek.”

The End Is Music

Theology

“The late Robert Jenson was one of the most stimulating, provocative theologians of his generation. He was also one of the most misunderstood. That’s partly a result of the density of Jenson’s aphoristic style, his refusal to say what he did not mean. It’s mostly due to the radical metanoia—change of mind, repentance—his theology demands. If the gospel is true, then we have to think again about everything. Most of us don’t have the intellect or courage to make the attempt. Jenson did, and Chris Green's superb introduction to Jenson’s theology will solidify his reputation as a great theologian of the evangel.”

The Four Senses of Scripture

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In his fantastic The Four Senses of Scripture, Patrick Schreiner says we must we recover the medieval four senses of Scripture. Why? Because they uniquely lay out a way of reading that comports with the way God's world is and the way God's Word runs. Because the quadriga puts the Bible back into the hands of the people and helps heal the breach between the academy and the church. And because reading according to the four senses draws us more deeply into communion with the living God.”

The Fruit of Our Lips

Theology

“Since Irenaeus, Christian thinkers have tried to explain why there are four Gospels, rather than one. No one has answered this question with as much panache as Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, who draws on his vast learning and aphoristic wisdom to show how the Gospels form a unified four-movement symphony that recapitulates and perfects ancient forms of social life. Once you have read Rosenstock, the Gospels will never look quite the same again.”

The Gospel and the Mind

Christian Living

“Readers who take up and read Green’s The Gospel and the Mind will discover a patient, methodical, and exceedingly well-informed treatise on the intellectual life. But Green’s book succeeds where many books on the ‘Christian mind’ or ‘Christian worldview’ fail. Like Augustine, to whom he regularly returns, Green keeps his sights focused on the beginning and the end and the cross between—on the gospel of Christ and the Christ of the gospel, in whom alone is our hope for renewing the mind.”

The Great Theologians

Theology

“In this excellent guide McDermott introduces outsiders to some of the heroes of his theological tribe. His writing is clear and lively, his selection ecumenical, his assessments judicious. Every Christian is a theologian, called to speak to and about God, and The Great Theologians will make many Christians better theologians by sharing the wisdom the Spirit has disclosed to these notable theologians.”

The Letter and Spirit of Biblical Interpretation

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Critical biblical scholars have long scoffed at the excesses of premodern allegorists. Theological interpreters have recently returned the favor, scoffing at the reductionism of critical readers. Stanglin's history of Christian interpretation cuts through the polemics. He not only demonstrates the superiority of premodern interpretation but also shows the real gains (and losses) of modern scholarship. An outstanding contribution and a welcome addition to any course on biblical hermeneutics.”

The Making of Evangelical Spirituality

History & Biography

“As Jason Cherry shows, the biblical portrait of the Spirit’s work has been distorted by the lust for spontaneity, the elevation of the self, an unbiblical dualism between the head and the heart. Cherry has done the historical and theological spadework to help us distinguish genuine intimacy with the living Spirit from the distortions of ‘esotericism’ and ‘mysterialism.’”