Commentary on the Psalms – Augustine of Hippo

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Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Series 1, Volume 8, Commentary on Psalms by Augustine of Hippo ★★★★★

This large volume of over 2000 pages includes Augustine’s commentary on all 150 of the Psalms. These were probably sermons that he gave to his congregation in Hippo. The study of the Psalms by Augustine is most interesting, in that he takes a very allegorical hermeneutic to digest all of the Psalms. Modern theologians would approach Scripture, including the Psalms, in a very different fashion. Augustine heavily reflects the prevailing thinking and preaching of the fourth and fifth century Christians. As an example, in discussing the blessing of a large family in Psalm 127, he notes that the Psalmist is referring entirely to a large spiritual family as found in the church, and not the traditional family. Or, in Psalm 137, the rivers of Babylon is regarded as the sea of evil humanity, and hanging harps on the willows is regarded as using a “useless/non-productive” tree refers putting music to rest rather than wasting it on pagan populations. Examples could be stated in about every Psalm discussed by Augustine. Augustine weighs heavily on the superscripts that precede many of the Psalms, and oftentimes derives some strange conclusions, eg, in identifying the sons of Korah as actually meaning something much different than the referral to a Levite clan in ancient Israel. Part of the challenge is Augustine’s use of existing translations of the Scripture into Latin, as Augustine knew no Hebrew, and his Greek knowledge was weak. I presume that Jerome’s Vulgate translation was not readily available to Augustine, even though Jerome and Augustine were contemporaries and occasionally corresponded. The translation that Augustine uses sometimes only faintly reflects the Psalms as we have translated for us today, as given to us for instance in the ESV translation of the Psalms.

There is great value in reading this commentary, as it sheds light on how the early church fathers approached Scripture, especially with the notion that the allegorical interpretation was more valuable than the straight literal sense of the text. But, Augustine shows his true color in these sermons. 1. He is expository. He attacks Scripture, and sticks with Scripture. Sometimes he uses a passage as a jumping off point for a vital lesson, yet always sticks with illuminating the passage at hand. 2. He is theological, and not afraid to do so. Doctrines such as that of the Trinity, and salvation by grace alone are found in nearly every page of his writing. He could rightly be called the first “Calvinist”. 3. He is deeply pastoral, offering very germane lessons for life and walking the Christian life. He does not worry about a grace vs. law “problem”. 4. Though anachronistic, he is heavily “Calvinistic”. Yea, really! 5. He is constantly inundating his sermon with other Scripture. Every other line includes a Scripture quote. His sermons bleed Scripture at every point where you might poke it. 4. Augustine spoke very little about current events in the world. His thinking was always other-worldly, yet avoided the gnostic concept of the separation of the earthy vs the heavenly, the earthy being evil and heavenly being good. 5. He lived very close to the time when martyrs were still constantly on the mind of Christians, and brings them up frequently, and always segues into the necessity of walking, talking and living the Christian faith to the fullest in the face of objections of the non-Christian community. 6. Going to the games and theater were frequent activities of normal Romans, and heavily discouraged by Augustine. The modern concept of living life in the “public square” for a Christian was alien to Augustine. 7. Music was always in the heart of Augustine and he spoke frequently about using the Psalms as a framework for much of the singing in his church, as well as in private meditation. The Reformation brought back quality worship music, but as the mindset of the Reformation is progressively lost by Christians, we return to “trash” music in our worship. If only we could see the value of quality music as Augustine did.

I have just finished reading all of the works of Augustine as were translated in the Philip Schaff Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers collection, so, I might add a touch of overall commentary about Augustine and his thinking. 1. He manifested a very deep love for the Catholic church. Yet, he held little regard for the “pope” in Rome as being the first among equals. He held minimal regard for the issue of apostolic succession which seemed to be prominent in later Roman thinking. 2. His concept of the Lord’s supper is more Zwinglian than Roman or even Lutheran. A lengthy passage in one of his sermons on the Psalms is most notable for speaking of the Eucharist as a spiritual event without the actual presence of flesh and blood of our Lord. 3. The theology of Augustine is far better reflected in the Reformers Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others than in contemporary Roman Catholic authors. 4. Augustine occasionally mentions his objections to veneration of martyrs, prior saints, and religious relics. Such a notion can only be found in the later medieval church. Augustine would be horrified if was able to see how his church evolved.

So, I leave Augustine with a tinge of sadness. I next venture into the homilies of John Chrysostom. A delightful and touching biography of Chrysostom was written by JND Kelly titled Golden Mouth, and will probably be re-read by me as I work through his sermons and writings. The Schaff series has an equivalent 8 volumes for the works of Chrysostom, which will indubitably tie me up for the next few years, assuming I live that long.

19 July, 2026 by Book Review 0

Epigenetics and the Architect

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Epigenetics and the Architect: Evidence of Design at the Frontier of Biology, by Thomas Woodward and James Gills ★★★★

This is a short, easily readable book produced by the Discovery Institute in Seattle, WA. It provides additional reinforcement for the obvious fact that random events could not possibly have produced life on Earth as we know it. It is strange that we even need to contend for the sheer complexity of life, and the impossibility that random events could ever generate life. The more we learn about the complexity of biological systems, the more incredulous the claim becomes that simple time and chance could have formed the biological world that we live in, not to mention the physical world that we are inhabiting. Ideology trumps reason in a world where we wish to eliminate any possibility that a mind external to the system could have designed and formed our world. Nearly as incredulous is the Deistic claim of theistic evolutionists that design was built into the very fabric of the physical world.

My interest in epigenetics started in the mid-1980s when I was in graduate school, working on a PhD in cell biology. I took a class in molecular control systems of the cell, when epigenetics was in its infancy. We had some concept that there was more to genetic regulation than just the Watson-Crick model of DNA producing RNA which produced protein. My research in estrogen regulation of DNA was also in its infancy, and remains such as I write this review. The immune system demonstrated that much of the production of novel antibodies demanded complex RNA splicing to form unique antibodies. How this was regulated remains as of yet a mystery. We knew back then that after RNA was produced from DNA transcription, much work still had to be performed before the RNA could produce protein in the ribosomes. This work entails excision of introns, trimming the head and tail of the RNA, and other refinements. There was no answer as to how this extra-genetic processing was regulated. This book provides an update on details that we have learned since the 1980s but yet suggests that epigenetic regulation still remains a mystery.

The very nature as to how molecular biology research is conducted yields questions. An example from my research is useful. Historically, we thought that the estrogen receptor resided in the cytosol (outside of the cell nucleus) but when bound to estrogen, translocated to the nucleus. This was a simple mistake, since, in order to study the cell, one had to freeze, pulverize, and then ultra-centrifuge the product in solution to obtain nuclear and cytosolic fractions. The cytosol always contained free estrogen receptors and the nucleus had all of the bound receptor. Only once we had markers to locate the estrogen receptor in an intact cell were we able to demonstrate that both bound and unbound estrogen receptors all resided within the nucleus. Could other mistakes like this being happening in the world of molecular biology? Absolutely YES!

Thankfully, biologists are realizing that such terms like “junk DNA” are a serious misnomer, another mistake generated by the scientific community influenced heavily by their ideology. The only junk was within the brain of the researcher, who would attribute anything they didn’t understand as being tantamount to junk. Regulatory processes in embryology remain even more obscure to the scientist, and probably will remain so until the extinction of the human race. There remains yet another issue. Molecular biologists are desperate to demonstrate simplicity in biological systems (in support of evolutionary claims), and so the chance of fraud in research goes up. Already, fraud is known as a problem for a substantial portion of scientific publications, and the expense of scientific research does not allow for most claims to be substantiated in other labs. The fact that publications are peer reviewed is meaningful but definitely NOT absolute.

Much of this book is rather technical, but explained in a manner that non-biologists should be able to understand. The ultimate theme of the book is that biological systems are vastly more complex than imaginable, and that the inference for design lurks behind every corner and cubbyhole of the cell. This book ignores a topic less easy to discuss, and that is the limits of our ability to fully understand the cell. Imagine trying to study an automobile by gross external inspection and x-ray, then placing it into a giant blender, and having spit out small pieces of the car which we then try to assemble into a reasonable structure, all the while having no concept as to how a car is built. One could make inferences, but could never produce a model structure that explains what a car is and how it works. Better yet, try to understand how a cell phone works without any knowledge of electronics, microcircuits, computer coding, etc. You can x-ray the phone, or homogenize it in a blender, and then study it. Your meager attempts will surely fail.

The ultimate theme of this book is that the sheer complexity of biological systems make the possibility of random events to produce a living organism beyond the realm of conceivability. There is never enough time for a human to just emerge out of nothing. Attempts to increase time by assigning an infinite number of alternate universes just doesn’t past the muster, since the notion of evolution of the world that we see out of a big bang is implausible, simply because it is impossible. I realize that the word “impossible” is never used as scientists will always say that time and chance will ultimately lead to something, a concept that is itself unprovable. So, I welcome this book. Though I will not live through another half century, I’m sure our knowledge of biology will be improved, and many of our current errors corrected in the next 50 years. I doubt that the evolutionists will ever give up their notion of evolution but for only two reasons; first, pride, and second, the absence of any other explanation for our universe. Biological design by an intelligent being is excluded from their thinking, and yet offers a full explanation for our universe.

16 July, 2026 by Book Review 0

The Reformation as Renewal

The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, by Matthew Barrett ★★★★★

Matthew Barrett presents here a tour de force, a magnum opus, a major work of nearly 900 pages, densely written and thoroughly referenced, defending the notion that the Reformation was a return of the church to its original doctrinal stances, rather than a departure from the “mother” church. In the years after the Reformation, there are those scholars, such as John Henry Newman of the Oxford movement and many in our lifetime who separated from mainstream Protestantism, laying the claim that they are being led back to the true church. Barrett shows how these folk, and the Roman church at large, are contradicting their own history, and that the Papist church that they are returning to are in fact the heretics who have departed from the Christian faith.

Barrett explores the notion of when the Papist church truly went wrong. All the Reformers, from Zwingli, to Luther, to Calvin, quote heavily from the early church fathers as well as Augustine. There are doctrines in the early church to which all the Reformers felt needed improvement, but would not identify those doctrines as sufficient to label the early church as having bad doctrine. Rejecting Biblicism (which includes haughty disregard of the history of doctrine, irresponsible proof-texting and univocal predication), the author begins by exploring movements within early church monasticism. Though monasticism was rejected by all of the Reformers, the basic crisis within the Reformed movement was not ceremonial and liturgical practice, but rather, the doctrinal under-girding of the church. Many of the monastics had correct doctrine, and little dispute was found even with Francis of Assisi. Bernard of Clairvaux, or the early Dominicans. The Scholastics were heavily examined, and the early Scholastics like Anselm, Bonaventure, Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas and others gave no need for a Reformation. True, doctrines of transubstantiation, Mariolatry, Penance and Papal supremacy were objected to, but did not carry the force of necessitating a split from Rome. Barrett spends nearly 80 pages exploring the thinking of Thomas Aquinas. A few doctrines just mentioned find their acceptance by Aquinas, yet, Aquinas remained within the realm of acceptability, especially in the area of the doctrines of grace, which we would later call “Calvinism”, i.e, predestination, sola gratia, and sola Christus. Aquinas for the first time extensively brings Aristotle into use, though he uses the thinking of both Plato and Aristotle in his examination of Christian theology. As Barrett shows, Aquinas also criticizes areas where he thinks both Aristotle and Plato went wrong, but accepts their writings when working out the legitimacy of using logic in reading Scripture, and using the four-fold method of interpreting Scripture (literal, allegorical, moral, and analogical). Thus, it would be irresponsible to deem Luther or Calvin as being anti-Aquinas. Neither did Aquinas separate faith from reason (as accused of by the late Francis Schaeffer), a separation that occurred with later Scholastics. Indeed, Barrett shows with lucidity a major rift in thinking from the time of Aquinas to that of the later Scholastics, so that he divides the Scholastics into via antiqua and via moderna.

Scholastics of the via moderna included John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, and Gabriel Biel. The late Scholastics misinterpret Aquinas in a number of ways. As Barrett points out, Biel, for instance, grievously distorts Aquinas’ thinking on free will (Luther here would have never disagreed with Aquinas), on the need for predisposing grace and the effects of sin on man (i.e., a Pelagian anthropology), on the teaching of merit, and the teaching on infused grace. Thus, in critical issues, the Reformers had no problem with Aquinas but serious problems with the via moderna, which unfortunately, formed the theology of the late medieval church and to which the Reformers found serious objection. Barrett goes on to show how Bucer, Luther, Calvin, and Vermigli all were quite Thomistic in much of their thinking. So, what went wrong? The via antiqua were essentially realists in their thinking, and via moderna nominalists. Barrett spends much time pointing out how the nominalism of the via moderna was at fault for the destruction of Augustinian (and Thomistic) soteriology. Thus, doctrines which the Reformers rejected, related to doctrines of merit, of prayer to the saints, of purgatory, etc., etc. were all fashioned within the Papist church after the time of Aquinas. The rise of humanism lent strength to Reformers gaining wisdom in their defense of the original faith. Humanism in the 16th century was NOT the humanism that we now think of. Humanism only later became a mentality that man is the measure of all things, which is a thinking of the enlightenment. Rather, it was a call to ad fontes, return to the sources. In the schools and universities, this meant learning Hebrew and Greek (any worthy scholar already was quite fluent in Latin). Scriptures were being re-read, and objection to the translation of the Patristics, and especially Jerome’s Vulgate translation of Scripture, were noted.

At this point, I’ve reviewed a little more than ⅓ of the book, leaving out many critical details, with the hope that those curious or objecting to my summary, would pick up the book itself and read it. Much that has been written so far had a very distinct philosophical bent to it. Barrett has built the fundamental basis for the Reformation, and now turns to a more historical account of the Reformation, and how the transition in Scholastic thinking, and thus the doctrines of the Roman church, deviated from what the Christian church had always thought. Starting with Hus, and moving on to Tyndale, and then the magisterial Reformers, the objections were never so much over liturgical practice or minor issues of doctrine. Indeed, the entire thesis of this book is that the Reformers sought to save the original theology of the church, and not the newer inventions of the via moderna. Thus, every Reformer, especially Luther and Calvin, were steeped in the writings of the Patristics and Augustine. The objection that they were creating novel thinking in the church was countered that they were indeed returning to the faith of the true Catholic church.

Barrett spends a large amount of time exploring the earlier pre-Reformation Luther, with the events and thinking that led him to such a strong reaction against the church. His intention was always to correct the errors of the church, and yet any effort of the Reformers to point out questionable theology always led to hardening of the intention of the Papists. The story of Luther is lucidly told by Barrett. He then moves on to the Swiss Reformation, notably Zwingli, but also Bullinger and other leaders in the Swiss movement, and their influence on Luther, and later on Calvin. The French phase of the Reformation was dominated first by Bucer, and then by Farel and Calvin, Calvin falling out at the most articulate and also the most brilliant among the Reformers, who ultimately became centered in Geneva. Finally, the history of the English church with Cranmer, and later Scottish church with Knox, are well laid out. Interestingly, Barrett paints Knox as a rather irascible curmudgeon, whose temper was inherited in a greatly blunted form by the founders of the Presbyterian church of Scotland. Even Calvin had problems with the temperament, though not with the theology, of Knox.

The last chapter discusses the counter-Reformation of the Papists, and especially the proceedings of the council of Trent. This council was off and on again, and frequently thwarted by wars occurring between the Holy Roman emperor (Charles, and later Phillip II), the French monarch, and the Papacy itself. Reformers were asked to show up, which they refused to do, since they would never have a vote in the outcome of the council, and they were never assured safe passage, keeping Hus foremost in mind. The Roman church showed no desire to seriously rethink their prevailing theology, or to consider it an aberration from what the church has always stood for, from Aquinas and before him. This gives Protestants the ability to say with utmost confidence that they represent the true church, and that Rome is the apostate church. The Reformers had every right to identify the Pope as the anti-Christ.

One last aside. The theme of this book is to clearly argue that the Protestants are the true Catholic church, and NOT the Papists of Rome. There were other movements in the church who identified the Roman church as hopelessly lost from the very beginning. These include many of the Anabaptists, who claimed that the church went wrong from the very beginning. Certainly, there remain many heretical movements even to this day that make that claim, including the Mormon Church, the Jehovah’s Witness church, and numerous other authors, such as Wilkinson. The Reformers made it abundantly clear that this was an abomination to their thinking, and that they stood by the church through the centuries. I just happen to feel most strongly that the Reformers were indeed correct, and that they returned the church to its orthodox past.

This book is excellent in both its content and style. Barrett writes most clearly, and it was a joy to follow through his arguments for the church, and his skillful recounting of Reformation church history. This is one of the better books that I’ve read in the last few years, and challenged my thinking, while enhancing my knowledge base of Reformation history, even though I’ve read a number of accounts already of the story of the Reformation. Thus, it is highly recommended by me. At 900 pages, many of which are quite technical or philosophical, the student who chooses to tackle this book will be surely most illumined and blest.

16 July, 2026 by Book Review 0

The Pursuit of God

The Pursuit of God, by A.W. Tozer ★★★★

This is a short book that I received for free and read on Kindle. It compromises 10 brief sermons by AW Tozer, and focuses on exhortation for a holy life. Tozer was never trained as a pastor and did not go to seminary or Bible school, yet shows himself quite capable as a pastor. He is articulate, and he speaks in a very elegant style. Notably, he is able to glean rich insights from Scripture, opening up a new perspectives on Scripture to me. Theologically, he is not deep, but in terms of practical wisdom from Scripture, he provides a veritable gold mine. I would have loved to sit under his ministry.

There is no reason NOT to read this book. It’s short. It’s rich in content. It is pastoral ministry at its best. And, it still might be available on Amazon for free.

4 July, 2026 by Book Review 0

Why I Am A Christian

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Why I Am A Christian, by John Stott ★★★★★

This is a short book, 132 large print pages, representing 7 talks that John Stott gave towards the end of his life, and compiled into a simple and very readable text. The title is a spin-off from Bertrand Russell’s book written about 100 years ago, titled Why I Am Not A Christian. This book is NOT intended to be a rebuttal of Russell’s tome, but rather, simple reflections that Stott offers as to his religious beliefs.

An apologetic argument for the faith oftentimes utilizes either an evidential argument or a presuppositional argument. Evidential arguments orient around such notions as archeological evidence, historical secular evidence, and various other proofs, like logical proofs for God. Presuppositional apologetics presupposes the Scripture is true, and then shows how its’ truth is more consistent and coherent than any other belief system there is. Sweetly, Stott does not offer a formal argument for God. Rather, he gives a very personal account as to why he is a Christian, more along the lines of a presuppositional argument. He begins with an appeal made by others, including Malcolm Muggeridge and CS Lewis attesting that the Hound of Heaven was after him, drawing him (John Stott) to faith in Him. The appeal to Jesus’ claims to be God argues that Jesus was either insane, a royal imposter, or actually the Son of God. Evidence in the Gospels and throughout history attests to the latter choice. The doctrine of the atonement hit a sharp note with Stott, and in a chapter he summarizes the beauty of the gospel as found in the cross of Christ. Stott looks at our humanness, realizes our desperate desire for true freedom, and shows Christ as fulfilling all of his highest and greatest aspirations. In the end, Stott offers an appeal, an invitation for all to get to know the Jesus Christ that he found most richly throughout his life.

This is a short book, and can be read within several hours, or, a chapter a day for seven days if read in a more devotional style. It represents John Stott at his most mature, his best. So, I highly recommend this text.

10 June, 2026 by Book Review 0

A History of the English People

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A History of the English People, by Paul Johnson ★★★★

This book was originally published as The Offshore Islanders, which is probably a more suitable title for this volume. The book does cover English history from prehistoric times to the present, but is not a history book per se. Rather, it is a commentary on the English people. This does not diminish its value, and I felt that it was an excellent survey of English events and Johnson’s commentary on those events. The greatest problem with this book is that you will not be taught English history; one needs to know English history in order to make any sense of this book. Many events are treated very superficially, such as the rise of King Arthur, the writing of the Magna Carta, the war of the Roses, the ascendancy of Henry VIII, the period of Oliver Cromwell, the changes in England made by William and Mary (who are scarcely mentioned at all), Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill, and many other pertinent people and events that made British history to be was it is. Paul Johnson excels in being able to speak truthfully about matters, and is not shy to hide the serious failings and weaknesses of the British people, specifically their hypocrisy throughout their history, as well as their hubris, but also their fortitude, love for the rule of law, and repulsion of violence when possible. Controversial areas, such as who it was who caused the gunpowder plot, are avoided by Johnson.

Paul Johnson, who grew up with Jesuit tutelage, was quick to note how English Christianity received it’s first form by it’s first notable Christian, Pelagius, and though considered a heretic on the continent, helped to form the substance of Englands’ religious community, a community from its very inception as being independent of the continent, and especially that of Rome. This religious independence also mirrored the English independence from the continent in political matters, choosing rather to not specifically identify as “European”. The rise of the British king, the dealings with Scotland, Wales, and Ireland are all mentioned with commentary. Johnson spends much time emphasizing how the British church break from the Papacy was really an event in motion at least 100 years before Henry VIII. Johnson emphasizes repeatedly the nature of the interaction between the King and Parliament and that a British constitution was never as relevant as what one would find in the USA, the King and Parliament taking the place of any formal document.

In the period of the return of Charles II, Johnson notes how England codified it’s sense of self importance, and that feeling in England lasted until the 20th century, was a sense that the British were the chosen people of God, and thus ordained by God to bring light and life to the endarkened people of everywhere else on earth. Johnson convincingly shows how this British mentality shaped internal as well foreign policy.

Johnson hits on many topics of interest. He has always been intrigued by the British educational system, viewing it mostly in a very disparaging light. His sense was that science and engineering was always a weakness in English schools, even though there have been a few brilliant scientists to come out of the Islands. In particular, he recalls Joseph Priestley, who essentially invented modern chemistry, yet was run out of the country (and ended up in the USA) for his unusual beliefs. The last chapter of this book covers the 20th century up to 1975 (the date the book was published), discussing WWI at length, mostly for commentary on how and why Great Britain, who usually avoided continental politics, got involved in the Great War (WWI). There is almost no mention of WWII. Discussion on the political management of the trade unions and civil unrest were given discussion.

A lengthy epilogue is found at the end of the book. In this section, Johnson discusses how throughout history, England was repeatedly bedeviled with “bad luck” and hopelessness, and yet always managed to pull out. He views with optimism the British people reforming themselves, and coming to a renewed presence in the world scene. It is perhaps a good thing that Mr. Johnson did not survive to the present, where a renewed sense of gloom seems to dominate the British scene, and the possibility that immigration and loss of faith in God in Great Britain could perhaps lead to the ultimate demise of that country. Only time will tell.

This was a delightful book to read offering me abundant new perspectives on the English people. I highly recommend the text, though with the understanding that the book title does not describe the book contents. I read this in paperback form, the binding was falling apart; it was an old book given to me by David Davis.

7 June, 2026 by Book Review 1

The Cross of Christ

The Cross of Christ, by John Stott ★★★★★

I have heard of John Stott for many years, and in the 1970’s, read his book Basic Christianity. It was a simple text to read, and Stott wrote in a very clear and compelling fashion. This book came along many years later, as I was searching for texts to use with my book club at church. It has been sitting on my shelf for a while until I was able to sit down and read it. I only regret that I didn’t read it sooner. Needless to say, while many chapters in this book are fairly simple reading, a number of chapters engage in deeper theological discussions that would probably not appeal to a general audience. Thus, while the book was extremely appealing to me, I fear that it might overwhelm a person that doesn’t spend much time trying to resolve deeper theological issues. Make no mistake, I do not identify myself as a full blown theologian, yet my mind tends to constantly think of theological issues and how those issues might be resolved from Scripture. In this text, Stott straddles the fence in both providing deeper arguments for the theology of the cross, yet also merges seamlessly into practical applications that make the theology relevant. It is not dry rumination regarding the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice, but living, breathing considerations as to what Christ’s death means in the warp and woof of living out the Christian faith.

The book is divided into 4 sections. The first identifies the centrality of the cross in the whole of Scripture, and elevates the role of the death of Christ in the Christian’s life. The second section delves into the nature of the atonement. Why did Christ have to die? Theories of the atonement are discussed, including early Christian thought that it was to pay off Satan, and eventually corrected by Anselm and later matured into a solid theory of the atonement by the Reformers. Section three talks about what the crucifixion accomplished, including our salvation, a revelation of the nature of God, and the conquest of evil in the saints’ lives. The last section is practical and discusses that the cross forms Christians into a community, it gives us understanding of ourselves, it gives us reason to love our enemies, and it puts meaning into the suffering that we go through in life.

Stott ends with a brief summary chapter, and this is followed by a study guide for those using this book as a study. The bibliography is quite extensive, as well as extensive footnotes that conveniently follow on each page. If there was one issue that aroused my attention, it was how Stott could sometimes quote biblical scholars that are slightly off key, such as Emil Brunner, Soren Kierkegaard, and Karl Barth; this is puzzling but also shows the scholarly magnaminity of a man who is able to find rich truth even in a theological environment of confusion. The second edition forward was written by Alister McGrath, who subtly suggests that he has mild issue with some of the doctrinal teaching of Stott, but doesn’t clarify what that may be. It just seems a touch inappropriate for this book.

The book is heavily recommended by many scholars that I respect. It is both deep and challenging to read, but also very pastoral, showing why good doctrine (of the cross) should entail the overwhelming desire of the Christian to live a faithful, consecrated life for God. I highly advise this book for more mature Christians for them to grasp the richness of the doctrine of the cross.

23 May, 2026 by Book Review 1

Early Las Vegas

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Images of America: Early Las Vegas, by Linda Karen Miller ★★★

This is a nice picture book showing images of early Las Vegas, with brief commentary at the beginning of each chapter. It starts with a brief note of Nevada becoming a state, and Las Vegas as one of the routes of the Old Spanish Trail. Early settled white history includes first a group of Mormons setting up a colony now preserved as the Old Mormon Fort State Park. The Mormons left, but then miners, farmers and opportunists came to town to establish a presence. Because the town had many springs, it became identified as the ideal spot for the railway from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City to traverse. Namesake settlers such as Gass, the Stewarts, Griffith, etc are also mentioned. Las Vegas transformed from just another small town in Nevada to the burgeoning metropolis that it is, with the construction of Hoover Dam.

The book is brief, I was able to read all 125 pages in under 2 hours, but was taken up by the well reproduced photos. It is a nice book to have in your library if you have an interest in the brief history and meteoric rise of the Las Vegas valley.

23 May, 2026 by Book Review 0

The Story of Creeds and Confessions

The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith, by Donald Fairbairn and Ryan Reeves ★★★★

Fairbairn and Reeves provide a contemporary account of the creeds and confessions of the church through the centuries up to the present. Though written by two authors, the book is entirely cohesive and quite readable. Creeds would refer to those statements of belief, mostly written in the early church, which describe the essence of who God is and the nature of the Christian belief of the trinity being one God in three persons. Confessions tend to elaborate further upon Christian belief systems, mostly to distinguish among the various sects and denominations of the Christian faith, and are formed primarily following the Reformation of the church. Fairbairn and Reeves write a compelling text, most notably providing at times a different color or spin on the various controversies that tore at the Christian faith. In general, their “spin” has been even-handed, leaving the reader to be slightly uncertain as to the personal leanings of the authors.

There were only a few areas where I tended to be at odds with the authors. The first related to the Apostle’s Creed, which is described as a later creed, following that of the Nicene creed. Yet, the author(s) admit that the Apostle’s creed had a beginning in the earliest years of Christianity as a baptismal creed, but which was modified in the west, where the church was not as rocked by the Christological controversies of the eastern church. Still, its basis was an earlier creed, and it omits many essential doctrines essential to both the eastern and western church. The Apostle’s creed fails to offer a solid explanation as to the nature of Christ and deemed vital to the belief system of both the eastern and western church. Thus, it still should be considered as an earlier and more primitive creed. Secondly, much scholarship has gone into the Nestorius-Cyril antagonism and heresy battles, for which the authors did not fully account. The battle was for ego and power in the church. The authors properly note the challenge of accurately defining Greek terminology, and the words ousia, physis, hypostasis, and prosopon tended to have widely disparate meanings, and totally unintelligible to the Latin mind. Cyril’s mean, belligerent attitude did not help, and Nestorius’s followers frequent failure to represent the thinking and mind of Nestorius complicated the picture. As a result, today, the so-called Nestorian church of the middle east is everything but Nestorian, and even Nestorius regarded the doctrine named after him as heresy. Go figure.

Reformation and post-reformation development of confessional statements served to distinguish various movements as different from each other as well as the Roman church. The earlier creeds of the church were mostly assumed, and the issues centered more around ecclesiology, the sacraments, and soteriological issues. The chief players here were the Lutheran, Zwinglian, Reformed, Anabaptist, Anglican and Roman positions.

The most recent confessions of the church tended to minimize sacraments, ecclesiological polity and soteriology with an attempt, though mostly futile, to bring further unity to the church. A confession of this sort is the Barmen declaration authored primarily by Karl Barth. More recent confessions, mostly formed in southern realms, focus more intensely on social issues, such as with Liberation Theology.

I recommend this book to those interested in church history. It is well written, it doesn’t pick on any particular denomination of the church, and offers perspectives not found elsewhere. The book is heavily referenced, provides much additional references for reading materials, and most importantly, the references are found on the bottom of each page, making it easy to identify the notes without having to constantly jump to the back of the book.

26 April, 2026 by Book Review 1

The Heritage of Anglican Theology

The Heritage of Anglican Theology, by JI Packer ★★★★★

The reader may wonder why I’m reading a few books about the Anglicans. About 1.5 years ago, my wife and I started to attend a conservative break-away of the liberal Episcopalian Church. I’ve had contact with Packer from the past, having audited his Systematic Theology class in roughly 1998. I felt completely comfortable with Packer’s theology, as well as his humility in defending his beliefs against other beliefs thrown at him in the classroom. Packer’s books are great. But, so are many other Anglican authors, and when thinking of contemporary or recent theologians, many come to mind, such as JC Ryle, John Stott, Gerald Bray, etc. The Anglicans have not been so rigid as the Presbyterians in their theology so as to not allow for variations in Biblical interpretation. I don’t hear over the pulpit accusations that variations in belief be labeled as heresies. They are certainly more genteel in their manner towards those that disagree with them. This seems to be one of the themes of this book.

Packer offers survey of Anglicanism from a historical-theological perspective. This is probably one of the clearest explanations as to why modern-day Anglicans are the way they are. Packer begins in the pre-Reformation period, mentioning Island reformers Wyclif and Tyndale, and continental reformers including Hus, Luther, and Calvin, who had a large influence on Thomas Cranmer. The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and 39 articles helped define the distinction between Anglicanism and the Roman church, marking not only a political split from the Pope, but also a liturgical and theological split. Every age of the Anglican church had its own trials, starting with that of Bloody Mary, to the Cromwell years and dealing with the Puritan ideal of completing the Reformation in England, and so forth. The different branches of Anglicanism as mentioned by Gerald Bray in my last book review become more understandable as they are laid out in historical context by Packer.

There seems to be three strains of Anglican thought, the liturgy-dominant (Anglo-Catholic), the Piety-dominant (evangelicals), and the Liberal strain of Anglicanism. Pietist strains should not be conceived as representing those aloof from the world, focused merely on their own personal salvation, as could be seen plainly with the Puritans in English history. Liturgical Anglicans do not focus on a personal relationship with God or conversion, feeling that by attending to the liturgy week after week, the soul will be made right with God. The liberals chose to either discard Scripture through the arguments of higher critics or through their own personal eisegesis. Packer freely admitted his own bias toward the evangelicals, which is where my roots also might be found, though not within the Anglican communion.

Sadly, the liberals have essentially taken over the Church of England, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Episcopal Church of the USA, and then destroyed those churches. History will provide the greatest information in which to defend the church from further liberalism and erosion of their theological/doctrinal base. Yet, I fear that the current break-away churches are not being cautious enough in protecting themselves from movements that distract from a church that espouses wholesome doctrine. Thus, one sees strong Pentecostal/charismatic elements within the church, and a strong argument for a richer, fuller liturgy without attending to heart worship or doctrinal accuracy. I am not a prophet to predict the ultimate fate of Anglicanism once I am dead and pushing up daisies, but I fear that inattention to the mistakes of the past will lead to repeated mistakes in the future. My greatest hope is that this does not happen. The current conservative Anglican church has a quasi-Reformed theology with a rich liturgy, a liturgy that I appreciate but don’t always agree with completely. Thankfully, the Anglican spirit can put up with me within their fellowship!

9 April, 2026 by Book Review 1
Kenneth A. Feucht, MD, PhD, FACS, FSSO
Ramblings of a retired surgical oncologist

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