Koinonia

Wednesday Giveaway - Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism

What does it mean to be an Evangelical? Many Christians use this term to identify themselves, but there is little consensus on exactly who is in or out. 

This week’s giveaway, Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism, compares and contrasts four distinct positions on the current fundamentalist-evangelical spectrum in light of the history of American fundamentalism and evangelicalism. 

These positions are Fundamentalism, Conservative/confessional evangelicalism, Generic evangelicalism, and Postconservative evangelicalism, each of which is represented by a leading Evangelical scholar.

There are two copies of Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism available, and the giveaway will run through Thursday.

To enter simply comment below with your answer to this question: Do you identify as an Evangelical, and if so, why?

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*If you are reading this via Facebook, email, or RSS, please visit the blog to enter. Winners determined by Random Integer Generator.*

The Counterpoints Series on Accordance!

The Counterpoints Series from Zondervan is now available on Accordance Software!

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SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

David Lang

How is it that sincere and careful interpreters of the Bible can come to such different theological positions and practical applications? This happens with church practices such as baptism, the Lord's supper, church government, church growth, the proper form of worship, and the role of women in ministry. It also happens with central Christian beliefs, such as the relationship between the law and the gospel, the way God exercises sovereignty over the world, the nature of creation, heaven, and hell, etc. Which understandings of these things are "right" or "best"? And how can we decide when the various sides all seem to be talking past each other?

Zondervan's Counterpoint series of books is designed to help us explore these questions by reading the perspectives of people who respectfully disagree with each other. Each book presents several "views" on a particular question of biblical interpretation, theology, or church life. Each view is then critiqued by those who hold other views. The reader can then decide which position makes the most sense or has the strongest support. Even more importantly, the reader sees how sincere interpreters can interact with one another in a positive and uncontentious manner. 

Wednesday Giveaway - Three Views on the Rapture

The rapture is an important but contested doctrine among evangelicals. Often even among those who hold to a doctrine of the rapture there is not agreement on what that looks like.

Over time three main camps have formed; Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Wrath, and Post Tribulation. In this week’s giveaway, Three Views on the Rapture, representatives from each view make their case and critique the other two.

Featuring Alan Hultberg, Craig Blaising, and Douglas Moo, this text provides a thorough introduction to the doctrine of the rapture and its effects on the church.

There are two copies of Three Views on the Rapture available, and this giveaway will run through Thursday.

To enter simply answer this question in the comments below: How might our view on the rapture influence the way we live? 

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*If you are reading this via Facebook, email, or RSS, please visit the blog to enter. Winners determined by Random Integer Generator.*

Wednesday Giveaway - Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

The New Testament is filled with quotes and allusions from the Old Testament. But exactly how do New Testament texts relate to their Old Testament references? Did the OT authors intend these text to contain this meaning, or is it more complex than that? Can we use the Old Testament like the New Testament authors do, and if not, why?

Questions like these become crucial as we seek to understand the relationship between the two testaments, and this week's giveaway Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, was written to address exactly those dilemmas.

In its pages Darrell Bock, Walt Kaiser, and Peter Enns present three different ways of understanding how the New Testament uses the Old, and what that means for us today. Each author also critiques the other two, providing a thoughtful starting point for anyone wrestling with these complex questions.

There are two copies of Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament available, and the giveaway will run through Thursday. 

To enter simply use the PunchTab feature below and answer this question: "Which Old Testament reference in the New Testament have you had questions about?

*If you are reading this via Facebook, email, or RSS, please visit the blog to enter. Winners determined by Random Integer Generator.*

Wednesday Giveaway - Three Views on Creation and Evolution

As happens every so often, the creation and evolution discussion has returned to the forefront for many in the Christian community.

But how do we evaluate the theological meaning of latest scientific findings, or give fair hearing to opposing views?

In this week’s giveaway, Three Views on Creation and Evolution, Paul Nelson, Robert Newman, and Howard Van Till lay out three different approaches, and then both critique and defend each one, providing a helpful foundation for anyone engaged in this discussion. 

“For Christians, the issues raised by the different views on creation and evolution are challenging. Can a "young earth" be reconciled with a universe that appears to be billions of years old? Does scientific evidence point to a God who designed the universe and life in all its complexity?

Three Views on Creation and Evolution deals with these and similar concerns as it looks at three dominant schools of Christian thought. Proponents of young earth creationism, old earth creationism, and theistic evolution each present their different views, tell why the controversy is important, and describe the interplay between their understandings of science and theology.” - from the description

There are two copies of Three Views on Creation and Evolution available, and this giveaway will run through Thursday.

To enter simply answer this question in the comments section below: What do you see as the most pressing question in the creation and evolution discussion?

Wednesday Giveaway: Four Views on Revelation

There has been quite a bit of talk about the end times recently, thanks in part to some date-setting which ended up capturing the attention of the media.

Even though the predicted date has come and gone, there are still many questions being asked about what we can know of the last days. Many of these conversations turn quickly to the book of Revelation for answers. 

This presents a bit of a problem though, for Revelation is not an easy book to understand. How should we read it? What does it mean? Is it talking about specific future events, metaphors of good vs. evil, or simply its own historical context?

It is questions like these which are addressed in this week’s giveaway Four Views on the Book of Revelation.  

Edited by C. Marvin Pate, Four Views on the Book of Revelation presents the classical dispensationalist, progressive dispensationalist, idealist, and preterist views. 

By presenting the case for each view, and having each critiqued by the others, this book is an excellent resource for those trying to decide how best to interpret John’s apocalypse.

There are two copies up for grabs, and this giveaway will run through Thursday.

To enter please comment below with your answer to this question:* Revelation is quite image driven, which image or images come to mind when you think of that book?

*(Feel free to draw, paint, etc. the image and post a link to the picture in your comment. [Appropriate] pictures will be featured in tomorrow's post!)

Four Views on Hell: An Interview with William Crockett

As the discussion around the doctine of hell continues, William Crockett was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to do an interview about the current controversy and the book Four Views on Hell which he edited and contributed to.

Q: First of all could you give us a little of your own background?

I was born in Canada, a B.A. in Philosophy (Univ. Winnipeg), M.Div. in New Testament studies (Princeton Seminary), and a Ph.D. in New Testament (Univ. Glasgow).  I have been a professor of New Testament studies at Alliance Seminary in New York for 30 years. 

Q: You wrote the Metaphorical View section in Four Views on Hell, could you summarize the case you made there?

Sure. The traditional view of hell in Christianity is that one day vast numbers of people will be cast away from the presence of God, which means that people we dearly love—friends, family members, the local grocer—if they die outside the faith, will be plunged into hell's unquenchable fires (Matt. 7:13-14).  The question is, then, whether such a teaching could be literally true.  Will a portion of creation find ease in heaven, while the rest roast in fire?

The metaphorical view says that hell is a real place, a place of serious eternal judgment, but a place whose exact nature is best left in the hands of God.  Just as the images of heaven—golden streets, jeweled walls, and sparkling rivers—are meant to give us hope beyond the grave, the images of hell are meant to give us pause about our eternal destinies.  We don’t want to over-literalize these images lest we end up with a hell like Nebuchadnezzar's belching furnace, or a place where the damned receive grisly beatings (Lk 12:47), or worse, a nightmarish hell where eternal worms gnaw forever on the flesh of the lost (Mk 9:48).  

No, it’s better to leave the exact nature of final judgment in the hands of God.  The images of heaven and hell are meant to be metaphors; one depicting a place of immeasurable happiness, the other of profound misery.

And the winners are...?

Congrats to Chris Jones and Terry Cook, who each won a copy of Four Views on Hell!

You will be contacted shortly to set up shipment.

 

As the conversation intensifies, resources which engage with the theology behind our idea of hell are an important tool to have at our disposal. In fact just today Four Views on Hell was featured in this list of books on the doctrines of heaven and hell.

If you are interested in continuing the conversation, make sure to check back soon here at Koinonia for an interview with William Crockett who edited Four Views on Hell and wrote the essay on the Metaphorical View.

Also, don’t forget to check out the rest of the Counterpoints series.

Wednesday Giveaway - Four Views on Hell

“Is hell to be understood literally as a place of eternal smoke and flames? Or are such images simply metaphors for a real but different form of punishment? Is there such a thing as “conditional immortality,” in which God annihilates the souls of the wicked rather than punishing them endlessly? Is there a Purgatory, and if so, how does it fit into the picture?”

Talk of hell has taken center stage recently, and many are asking questions about different theological approaches to hell and how they fit the Biblical narrative. It seemed fitting then to feature as today’s giveaway a book which wrestles with exactly those questions.

In Four Views on Hell Walvoord, Crockett, Hayes, and Pinnock explain and critique the literal, metaphorical, purgatorial, and conditional interpretations of hell. 

By laying out the positions and pointing to their strengths and weaknesses, these authors provide a forum for thoughtful and reasonable discussion of a difficult doctrine.

Two copies of Four Views on Hell are up for grabs, and this giveaway will run through Thursday.

To enter simply comment below with you answer to this question: Is hell a topic that is being discussed in your community (church, school, etc.)?

Wednesday Giveaway! - Moving Beyond the Bible to Theology

Moving beyond the Bible probably sounds like something we should never consider doing. 

Yet in reality we all do it, everyday. When we take communion with grape juice and wafers, greet each other with a handshake instead of a kiss, or speak out against stem-cell research, we are moving beyond what is in the Biblical text.

The question isn’t if we should. The question is, how?

To help the church evaluate the way we interpret and live out the Scriptures in a world very unlike the one in which they were written, a number of scholars came together to examine some important methods.

The result - Four Views on Moving Beyond the Bible to Theology, which is, of course, today’s giveaway.

Featuring Walter Kaiser, Daniel Doriani, Kevin Vanhoozer, William Webb, Christopher Wright, Mark Strauss, Al Wolters, and Gary Meadors, Moving Beyond the Bible to Theology provides a valuable back-and-forth between first rate scholars, and is an important tool for anyone wrestling with how to live out the Biblical story.

There will be two winners (each getting one copy), and this giveaway will run through Thursday afternoon. To enter, post below with the issue or passage you find most difficult as you approach the Scriptures.

Good luck!