Short notices

Joshua R. Farris and Charles Taliaferro (eds), The Ashgate Research Companion to Theological Anthropology (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2015); 404 pp.: 9781472410931, £90.00/$149.95 (hbk)

Twenty-seven essays cover topics in theological anthropology ranging from the relevance of the brain sciences, through cultural movements such as feminism, to specifically theological and Christological issues. Many, but not all, of the contributors teach in conservative evangelical colleges.

Don Cupitt, Creative Faith: Religion as a Way of Worldmaking (Salem, Oreg.: Polebridge Press, 2015); 160 pp.: 9781598151534, £12.82/$19.00 (pbk)

This is Don Cupitt’s fiftieth book, written in his eightieth year. Those familiar with his recent work need expect no surprises – as ever Cupitt is resonant with energy, passion, minimalism and impatience. He signs the book off with a final footnote that captures this succinctly: ‘So my remaining ‘‘faith’’ is purely philosophical, with a dash of loyalty to Jesus, and to the ancient humanitarian strand in our own cultural tradition. Goodbye!’ A maverick or prophet (depending upon your perspective) to the end.

J. W. Rogerson, Cultural Landscapes and the Bible: Collected Essays (Sheffield: Beauchief Abbey Press, 2014); 734 pp.: 9780957684133, £46.00 (hbk)

A collection of thirty-eight essays written over the last forty years by the veteran Old Testament scholar Professor John Rogerson and now selected and edited by him. They well demonstrate his wide biblical, theological and ethical interests.

Michael Welker (ed.), The Depth of the Human Person: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Grand Rapids, Minn.: Eerdmans, 2014); 406 pp.: 9780802869791, £29.99/$45.00 (pbk)

A wide-ranging collection exploring the concept of ‘the human person’ in the light of modern science, philosophy and theology. It starts with a witty and provocative essay by Andreas Kemmerling (Heidelberg) ridiculing the Nobel laureate Francis Crick’s claim that ‘You’re nothing but a bunch of neurons.' John Polkinghorne contributes a sparkling paper, and there are others by distinguished international scholars such as Philip Clayton, Gerd Theissen and William Schweiker.

F. Gerald Downing, Formation for Knowing God: Imagining God: At-One-ing, Transforming, for Self-Revealing (Eugene, Oreg.: Cascade Books, 2015); 288 pp.: 9781625644572, £22.00/$32.00 (pbk)

Another veteran theologian Gerald Downing has returned to the theme of his first book Has Christianity a Revelation? (London: SCM Press, 1964) and updated it, albeit with many unusual asides. In a commendation on the cover of this new book I state that his original book was ‘a necessary and challenging intervention when it was first published. Those were indeed exciting times for theology. But its message has not always been heeded and I am constantly astonished about how much other theologians seem to know about the inner workings of God. They would do well to read this lively revisit to an important topic.’

Rosemary Lain-Priestley and Bob Callaghan, Gender: The Inclusive Church Resource (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2015); 96 pp.: 9780232530698, £8.99 (pbk)

A new and accessible publication in the Inclusive Church Series. The Dean of Guildford, Dianna Gwilliams, introduces it. She is followed by four churchgoers telling their stories of exclusion and inclusion. Rachel Mann is an Anglican priest who is also a transsexual. Hilary Cotton is a layperson who has campaigned for women’s ordination in the Church of England for over thirty years, as her mother did before her. David Monteith is Dean of Leicester and is single and gay. Natalie Collins is a layperson whose first husband abused her physically and sexually. She is now a gender justice specialist. Each of these autobiographical accounts adds important texture to this book. In the second part an article by Grayson Perry originally published in the New Statesman is reproduced again here: ‘The Rise and Fall of Default Man’. And in the final part Rosemary Lain-Priestley, Dean of Women’s Ministry in the Diocese of London, offers a useful précis of feminist biblical interpretation over the last thirty years.

Andrew Moore, God, Mind and Knowledge , The British Society for the Philosophy of Religion Series (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2014); 202 pp.: 9781409462088, £60.00/$104.95 (hbk), 9781409462101, £19.99/$39.95 (pbk)

This collection of eleven papers shows the current vigour of the British Society for the Philosophy of Religion. It is divided into three sections: the epistemology of religious belief; divine and human minds; and the status of God. Each section has lucid and engaging contributions. I particularly enjoyed the chapters by the veteran philosophers John Cottingham (on ways of knowing God) and Anthony Kenny (on theology as metaphor), but some of the younger contributors also contribute well. It is good value.

J. Denny Weaver (ed.), John Howard Yoder: Biblical Theologian (Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 2015); 436 pp.: 9780718893941, £27.50 (pbk)

Thirteen essays on this Mennonite theologian who had a considerable influence upon the American Christian ethicist Stanley Hauerwas. The collection, while generally supportive of his pacifist theology, is courageous enough to include one essay on Yoder’s sexual abuse of women (exposed by a local journalist) that turned him almost overnight from being seen as an icon for theological pacifists to sexual predator. Tillich, Bonhoeffer and Barth’s reputations have also been tarnished by subsequent discoveries of their treatment of women.

Russell R. E. Manning (ed.), Retrieving the Radical Tillich: His Legacy and Contemporary Importance (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015); 288 pp.: 9781137380838, £60.00/$95.00 (hbk)

A new contribution to the Radical Theologies series marking fifty years since Paul Tillich’s death. This collection of thirteen essays on Tillich includes the veteran ‘Death of God’ theologian Thomas Altizer together with younger colleagues from around the world. It seeks to readdress the decline of interest in Tillich’s (also heavy with jargon) systematic theology and claim him (perhaps improbably) as a forerunner of radical theologies today.

Paul Gilfillan, A Sociological Phenomenology of Christian Redemption (Guildford, Surrey: Grosvenor House Publishing, 2014); 708 pp.: 9781781487372, £20.00 (pbk)

This book is clearly a labour of love. But it is not for the timid as it is very long, heavy with jargon (especially that of Heidegger) and focused upon Scottish nationalism. The first half is based upon over fifteen years of ethnographical study of an industrial community in Scotland and can be read alike by those with or without theological interests. The second half gives an account of human beatitude that leads to transcendence consonant with Christian theology. Paul Gilfillan, a senior lecturer in sociology at Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, argues that: ‘What unites the varied concerns that I address … is the basic proposition that today’s post-industrial working-class generations face the question of “being modern” in a unique and fresh manner as they are living through the death of various wisdoms that imagined they had solved the question of “being modern”.’ What he looks for is a resolution ‘beyond the twin errors of supernaturalism and secularism’ (pp. xiii–xiv).

Giuseppe Giordan and Linda Woodhead (eds), A Sociology of Prayer , Ashgate AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Series (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2015); 254 pp.: 9781472427670, £65.00/$107.96 (hbk), 9781409455851, £19.99/$39.95 (pbk)

Eleven essays on a variety of social settings – ranging from the Amish to hospitals – where prayer takes place. They derive from a panel session organized by the two editors at a conference of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion at Aix-en-Provence. Some are more theoretical than others, most look at Christian prayer, but one looks at Islamic prayer practices. Giuseppe Giordan admits, tellingly, that this book ‘is not the definitive sociology of prayer’ but an attempt ‘to identify main themes and new agendas’ (p. 8).

Nicholas Sagovsky and Peter McGrail (eds), Together for the Common Good: Towards a National Conversation (London: SCM Press, 2015); 212 pp.: 9780334053248, £25.00 (pbk)

This collection of largely Anglican and Roman Catholic writers starts with honouring the inspirational collaboration of David Sheppard and Derek Warlock in Liverpool a generation ago. Although neither of them made much use of the concept of ‘the common good’, several of the present contributors argue that they displayed it in their actual work together. In her Foreword Julia Neuberger calls for a second volume focused upon their practical work. For the moment, in the present volume, we have a useful series of general reflections on the concept itself. Some of the thirteen contributors are more theological than others. Malcolm Brown, for example, writes thoughtfully about Anglican social thought from Temple onwards, following on from his own collection Anglican Social Theology (‘Short Notices’, March 2015). Political activists are also included, with Brian Griffiths representing the right and Maurice Glasman the left. Most agree that the concept of the common good does add an important corrective to purely individualistic and utilitarian accounts of politics and economics. Worth buying.

Nigel G. Wright (ed.), Truth That Never Dies: The Dr G. R. Beasley-Murray Memorial Lectures, 2002–2012 (Cambridge: James Clarke, 2015); 234 pp.: 9780227174753, £18.00/$36.00 (pbk)

Eleven annual lectures given at the Baptist Spurgeon’s College in honour of George Beasley-Murray, Principal there from 1958 to 1973. His son Paul gave the first lecture, outlining his considerable and progressive influence upon Baptist theology. George has long been held in my affections for his courageous studies of Mark 13.

Anthony Clarke and Andrew Moore, Within the Love of God: Essays on the Doctrine of God in Honour of Paul S. Fiddes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014); 280 pp.: 9780198709565 £65.00/$110.00 (hbk)

The editors are to be congratulated for a very distinguished line-up of sixteen theologians honouring the Baptist theologian Paul Fiddes, former Principle of Regent’s Park College, Oxford. A particular focus of the collection is upon the passibility/suffering or impassibility of God, with a fine summary by Jürgen Moltmann and critical responses to Fiddes on the subject by colleagues, including Keith Ward, Paul Helm and Francis Young. A book to order for the library.