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The Wages of Spin: Critical Writings on Historical and Contemporary Evangelicalism
Do you have an opinion? There is an increasing tendency in Evangelical circles to regard disagreement in our allegedly post-modern world as inherently oppressive. Too many people sit on the fence and ignore, or are unaware of, the fact that Christianity is an historical religion. As Laurence Peter once said "History repeats itself because nobody listens." The point of having a debate is not to have a debate and then agree to differ (sitting around in a mutually affirming love-fest) - the point of debate, as the Apostle Paul clearly demonstrates time and again in the book of Acts, is to establish which position is best.
Carl Trueman's intends to provoke you with this collection of essays into thinking for yourself and to have an opinion on THINGS THAT MATTER!
You can listen to the author as he speaks about this book on "Pilgrim radio".
Carl Trueman's intends to provoke you with this collection of essays into thinking for yourself and to have an opinion on THINGS THAT MATTER!
You can listen to the author as he speaks about this book on "Pilgrim radio".
192 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
27 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Carl R. Trueman
95 books533 followersCarl R. Trueman (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is the Paul Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary and pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Ambler, Pennsylvania. He was editor of Themelios for nine years, has authored or edited more than a dozen books, and has contributed to multiple publications including the Dictionary of Historical Theology and The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 9, 2014
This review is from AletheiaBaptistMinistries.org
I have read and enjoyed another Carl Trueman book. As a professor at Westminster, Trueman is a Reformed theologian and historian. However, almost all the books I’ve read by him are directed more at cultural issues and only slightly affected by his theology. In this book are two sections examining two Reformed theologians, J. Gresham Machen and Benjamin Warfield, both of which make good reading.
The rest of the book is given to the “spin” going on in contemporary worship. In this Trueman speaks with his usual candor and insight. Here are a few quotations from these sections.
“No one should make the mistake of seeing the move to contemporary praise songs and service as simply a straightforward, value-neutral repackaging or rebranding of a traditional product.”
“This ‘Celtic revival’, while superficially appearing to represent a return to history and tradition, is on the whole simply a theological manifestation of the same phenomenon we see in society around us. It is an eclectic and nostalgic appropriation of a pseudo-history which supplies the church with a specious historical authenticity.”
“Acknowledging that God works in history means that we acknowledge that he has worked in the past; and acknowledging that he has worked in the past means that we acknowledge that we may not ignore that past as if we today had all the answers.”
“We must remember that to reduce Western Christianity’s difficulties to the level of bad technique is to miss the point: the real problem is ultimately one of morality, not methodology. Quite simply, the evangelical church has sold its soul to the values of Western society and prostituted itself before the Golden Calf of materialism.”
I have read and enjoyed another Carl Trueman book. As a professor at Westminster, Trueman is a Reformed theologian and historian. However, almost all the books I’ve read by him are directed more at cultural issues and only slightly affected by his theology. In this book are two sections examining two Reformed theologians, J. Gresham Machen and Benjamin Warfield, both of which make good reading.
The rest of the book is given to the “spin” going on in contemporary worship. In this Trueman speaks with his usual candor and insight. Here are a few quotations from these sections.
“No one should make the mistake of seeing the move to contemporary praise songs and service as simply a straightforward, value-neutral repackaging or rebranding of a traditional product.”
“This ‘Celtic revival’, while superficially appearing to represent a return to history and tradition, is on the whole simply a theological manifestation of the same phenomenon we see in society around us. It is an eclectic and nostalgic appropriation of a pseudo-history which supplies the church with a specious historical authenticity.”
“Acknowledging that God works in history means that we acknowledge that he has worked in the past; and acknowledging that he has worked in the past means that we acknowledge that we may not ignore that past as if we today had all the answers.”
“We must remember that to reduce Western Christianity’s difficulties to the level of bad technique is to miss the point: the real problem is ultimately one of morality, not methodology. Quite simply, the evangelical church has sold its soul to the values of Western society and prostituted itself before the Golden Calf of materialism.”
March 25, 2007
Entertaining, funny, sometimes polemical...but every inciteful read. A collection of essays by my church history professor. He offers criticism of Evangelicalism in light of history that the chruch should think about.
February 6, 2012
More excellent cultural/ecclesial analysis from Trueman. His writing is a joy to read and always challenging to my cultural impulses. It is a collection of essays that do not cohere perfectly, but that is to be expected in any volume like this.
April 28, 2012
Incisive, provacative = alternate spellings of Trueman
June 3, 2025
This was a great little book. As is typical with anything written by Carl Trueman, it is both intellectually thorough and stimulating in content, and both provocative and biting in style. The first six chapters are slightly longer essays, the latter six chapters are much shorter pieces.
Chapter 1 proposes that the Reformed tradition provides the best response the church can make to the cultural trends that most threaten it. He points out that the church currently faces a number of challenges to our calling to be counter-cultural and distinctive, not least the hostility of our culture to history and tradition as a source of wisdom and authority. Our culture is consumeristic, and instinctively equates newness and novelty with improvement and betterment. The church has reacted to this tendency in two unhelpful ways. One is to embrace it and to abandon its position within a historical tradition altogether; the other is to embrace tradition in a consumeristic manner. The first is reflected in the many attractional models of church, the second in the tendency to adopt bits and pieces of church tradition as they appeal to us, and abandoning those that don't fit our tastes. In response, we should develop a robust historical understanding of catholic Christian tradition and consider its value when critiqued and reformed through the lens of scripture.
The next section gives a more detailed rationale for why we should make such a study of orthodox, historic Christian theology, particularly Reformed theology. This takes the form of 2 theses. The first is that the Reformed tradition takes seriously the biblical teaching that God is primarily a speaking God. Trueman again highlights two relevant trends that strike at the heart of this thesis. One is the general cultural shift from the literary/verbal to the visual/iconic, and the subsequent temptation to replace preaching and doctrine with other means to communicate the truth of the gospel. The other is the more narrowly intellectual tendency within post-modernism to see all authorial intent as a fiction, and the only meaning of a text to be that given to it by the audience. Both of these trends are theological at root and represent rebellion against God. The second thesis is that the Reformed tradition appreciates the beneficial aspects of history and tradition. History is not all about manipulation and power plays, but can be profoundly helpful and even liberating. The Reformed tradition provides an identity and rootedness that gives us the perspective to assess and critique ourselves, the world around us, and even our tradition itself. The centrality of covenant in Reformed theology places God at the centre of history, and so provides the most effective and biblical antidote to the hostile cultural forces around us.
Chapter 2 is similar in theme and considers in detail the impact of the cultural shift from the verbal to the visual. This can be seen in the rise and dominance of television and the internet, the collapse of confidence in language, and a relativism that rejects the employment of meta-narratives to explain reality. Trueman summarises all these phenomena as a long war against words, and seeks to analyse the situation from a Biblical perspective.
First, he considers the Biblical view of language. In Biblical terms, language is the basis of all interpersonal relationships, not least the relationship between God and man, which is largely defined in terms of commands and promises. Both of these depend on language for their communication with us. Furthermore, when we see the visual being employed in scripture (OT sacrifices, miracles, the Lord's Supper), it is always accompanied by a verbal explanation of its meaning and significance. In short, words are of vital importance to Biblical religion.
Second, Trueman considers the reformation from the perspective of it being a recovery of the theological importance of words. This is reflected in the emphasis placed on God as a God who speaks, so the emphasis in the life of the church was moved off the sacraments and back onto scripture and preaching. God's promises (verbally communicated) can be grasped by faith as the Spirit (inwardly but verbally nonetheless) convinces us that the words of scripture are true. So, our very salvation depends on the value, power and use of words. Third, he evaluates the cultural trends previously noted and makes several related points:
- The post-modern denial of any role to authorial intent in determining the meaning of a text is lethal to evangelical Christianity, as scripture then has no normative meaning, theology becomes no more than reflecting on religious psychology, and God remains unknown and unknowable.
- The post-modern suspicion towards words is also anathema to evangelical Christianity, as it calls into question both the reliability of God's words and the motivation and integrity of the God who spoke them. We can thus view the serpent's role in the fall as the first example of a deconstructive reading of a text ("Did God really say…")
- The cultural reversion from words to images can be seen as a reversal of the Reformation and a return to the aesthetic and sacrament-centred church life of medieval Catholicism. The idea that the medium is the message is very relevant here, as we can't separate the cultural trend from its theological implications.
He ends by answering an objection and issuing a challenge. The objection is that the church needs to embrace these cultural trends or risk becoming irrelevant. His response is twofold. First, he reminds us that everyone still needs and uses words, regardless of the cultural emphasis on the visual. Second, he points out that the power of the gospel is rooted in God's promises rather than sociological theories, and has always been regarded as offensive and foolish. The challenge is to consider whether there are opportunities for the gospel presented by these cultural shifts. One such example that he sees is the emphasis placed on story and narrative, as in the great biblical arc of creation to new creation, we have the most compelling and relevant story possible, and one which our world still desperately needs to hear.
Chapter 3 examines the rocky relationship between academic theology and the life of the church. First, he examines three ways that the breach between theology and church manifests itself. These are the opposition of knowledge and experience, the differing presuppositions of church and academy, and the differing agendas of the two. He makes the point that while knowledge and experience are different, they should not be set in fundamental opposition. This can either lead to a form of Gnosticism within the church where our individual experience trumps any outside critique, or to an academic reduction of all theology to mere technique. He also briefly explores the lack of space for faith claims within secular universities, and the conflicting agendas of simplicity in doctrinal matters to aid in evangelism and the academic tendency to greater complexity, speciality and technicality.
Second, he offers four theses for the academy:
1. The academy must reform its vision of God - He is the subject, not the object, of theological study.
2. The academy must acknowledge the authority of scripture, without an assumption of theological unity rooted in the relationship between God and scripture, theological coherence comes to depend solely on the preferences of the reader.
3. The academy must acknowledge the effect of sin upon scholars
4. The academy needs to return to traditional trajectories of theology by fusing pastoral and theological reflections on the faith, as found in the great creeds and confessions of the past.
Third, he offers four theses for the church:
1. The Church must rethink her emphasis on experience - the gospel is essentially a message, and not to be equated with the believer's response to it in feelings/experience.
2. The Church needs to revise her worship practices in light of the above - again, experience should be seen as the result of the gospel, not the content of the gospel, and our worship should draw our focus to the latter. Another implication is that the main focus of our Sunday services should be on equipping saints rather than attracting seekers.
3. The Church needs to acknowledge the role of tradition - the only definitive theological source is the Bible, but we all depend on extra-scriptural creeds for our theology to some extent. Creeds remind us that the Bible is not its own interpretation but rather must be interpreted on its own terms, and they place us and our times in perspective and so encouraging humility in our hermeneutic.
4. The Church needs to realise that not all answers to questions about the Bible are simple - the bible's basic message is clear and easy to grasp, yet it also contains depths worthy of theological education and study at the highest level.
Chapter 4 examines the old Princeton theology of scripture, particularly as reflected in the writing of B. B. Warfield. First, Trueman looks at the context of Warfield's theology. The context is the tradition of Reformed Orthodoxy that began during the Reformation, and the complex of theological doctrines, concepts and vocabulary that tradition implies. So, the Reformed understanding of scripture (and topics like inspiration and inerrancy) is not an axiom from which all else is deduced, but is a position that is held in relation to several other points, most importantly the nature of human knowledge of God. An important conclusion from this is that limited, partial and imperfect knowledge can yet be true. Second, Trueman looks at the related but separate concepts of inspiration and revelation. In short, inspiration refers to the mode of delivery of the scriptures, and revelation refers to their content. Also important is the issue of authority, which for Warfield is not merely related to the content of the scriptures, but more fundamentally to the fact that scripture is exactly what God wanted it to be. In other words, what the scriptures say, God says. This connects back to revelation, which Warfield saw as not relating merely to scripture but encompassing all God's saving acts in history. Scripture is both the basis of our knowledge of these acts and the interpretation of them. A couple of implications flow from this. One is that we don't need to see all parts of scripture as equally important. Although all are equally formally authoritative, materially, it is the accounts of the great saving acts in history and their explanation that should hold centre stage. The other is that we should not reduce scripture to mere objective information; it makes existential demands on our whole person rather than merely cognitive demands on our minds. Third, Trueman reflects on the relevance of all this for today. He contends that the understanding of scripture proposed by Warfield, and by the Reformed tradition generally, represents the most robust and complete reflection of how scripture talks about itself. Any proposed replacement or modification must therefore demonstrate that it does a better job than what we already have. He also points out that while work remains to be done by evangelical systematicians in thinking through their position on the scriptures human authorship, the importance of Warfield's emphasis on the divine authorship of scripture for contemporary evangelical biblical theologians is even greater. Warfield is also most useful in seeing how the divine and the human are compatible, based on his doctrine of inspiration and his notion of concursus (i.e. the running together of the divine and the human that preserves the reality and integrity of both. In short, serious engagement with Warfield will be of great benefit to the contemporary church.
Chapter 5 examines B. B. Warfield's work on Christology as a way of approaching his wider theological interests rather than focusing on a few areas of controversy (Biblical inspiration, cessationism, etc). The first topic covered is Warfield's writing on the incarnation, in which it is shown that he endorsed wholeheartedly an orthodox Reformed position in line with the formulation of Chalcedon. Secondly, he wrote firmly against the kenotic theory, which claimed that Christ set aside his divine attributes during his time on earth, and shows the disastrous consequences this has for the essential doctrine that Christ is fully divine during his earthly ministry. Thirdly, Trueman explores his writing on Christ's humanity and particularly His emotional life. This is a topic that is largely neglected in evangelical theology, but is important in understanding the truth that Christ was also fully human. This is, in turn, vital in our understanding of how Christ is a revelation of God, and should inform our understanding of passages referring to God's compassion, anger, etc. The chapter finishes with two points of application. One is that a true commitment to the traditional understanding of Christ as God manifested in the flesh will make all of our theology, and thus all of our lives, Christ-centred. The other is the value of the Incarnation as a pattern of service, to avoid sterile moralism. Similar to the previous chapter, the conclusion is that a serious and studious engagement with Warfield's work will greatly benefit the contemporary church.
Chapter 6 is a critical review of an essay collection written in praise of a particular view of Luther's writing, particularly regarding ecumenical issues. Being knowledgeable of neither the view in question nor the particular book critiqued, I skimmed over this chapter very briefly and found it much less engaging than the preceding essays.
The latter 6 chapters are all much shorter pieces, covering a variety of topics:
The first touches briefly on the importance of evangelical beliefs, on the basis that Christianity is and must be built on real historical events, and that doctrine matters. So, faith and history are inseparable, and to abandon either is to abandon Christianity. As a result, we must resist the pressures of pluralism and so-called "tolerance", remembering that Christianity is, has always been, and always must be, scandalous.
The second looks at the central values of our society of health, wealth and happiness, and at how these are reflected in the church. This is particularly seen in our worship, and in our almost total neglect of the Psalms, and the kind of experience they present as normative for believers. Instead, much of the Western church has sold out to materialism. In response, we must relearn how to lament and must learn to pray with the priorities found in scriptural prayers.
The third examines the idea that much of evangelicalism is practically Marcionite. This is seen in the emphasis on God's love to the practical exclusion of everything else. It is also seen in the neglect of the Old Testament in both theology and devotion. The result of this will be ever-increasing superficiality in the life of the church.
The fourth is on the need to balance Biblical and systematic theology. Trueman praises the redemptive-historical approach to both Biblical studies and preaching that was a necessary corrective to the "fanciful pietistic exegesis and mindless doctrinalism" of 60 years ago, but has now resulted in the neglect of the theological tradition, in other words, systematics, creed's and confessions. For the church to be truly healthy, we must balance the economy of salvation with the ontological concerns contained in scripture; robust exegesis with synthesis and engagement with the great theology formulated by the church over her history.
The fifth considered the impact of our entertainment-based culture. Rather than a symptom of our innate spirituality and desire to worship, Trueman follows Pascal and sees this phenomenon as an attempt at self-distraction, particularly from having to consider our mortality. If this is the case, then we shouldn't see many of our society's common sins as misplaced attempts to find meaning, but as attempts to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Rather than trying to appropriate the culture, perhaps we should spend more time deconstructing the culture.
The sixth suggests that disagreement over sexuality is not the biggest issue facing the church today, but is rather a symptom of deeper lying failures. These include a flexible attitude towards orthodoxy generally, a self-centred focus on individual preferences rather than confessional concerns, and a disregard for a systematic and historically informed approach to doctrinal issues. In short, rampant individualism. This should affect both how we approach human sexuality and our church life in general.
If there is a unifying theme to the book, then it is how we should best approach and understand the juncture between historical, orthodox, and evangelical Christianity and the cultural trends and pressures of our day. At the very least, Trueman wants us to have decided opinions on these things and to succumb to neither lazy apathy nor moral abdication of responsibility. I found most of his observations compelling, but whether you agree with him or not, you will at least be spurred on to think these things through for yourself.
Chapter 1 proposes that the Reformed tradition provides the best response the church can make to the cultural trends that most threaten it. He points out that the church currently faces a number of challenges to our calling to be counter-cultural and distinctive, not least the hostility of our culture to history and tradition as a source of wisdom and authority. Our culture is consumeristic, and instinctively equates newness and novelty with improvement and betterment. The church has reacted to this tendency in two unhelpful ways. One is to embrace it and to abandon its position within a historical tradition altogether; the other is to embrace tradition in a consumeristic manner. The first is reflected in the many attractional models of church, the second in the tendency to adopt bits and pieces of church tradition as they appeal to us, and abandoning those that don't fit our tastes. In response, we should develop a robust historical understanding of catholic Christian tradition and consider its value when critiqued and reformed through the lens of scripture.
The next section gives a more detailed rationale for why we should make such a study of orthodox, historic Christian theology, particularly Reformed theology. This takes the form of 2 theses. The first is that the Reformed tradition takes seriously the biblical teaching that God is primarily a speaking God. Trueman again highlights two relevant trends that strike at the heart of this thesis. One is the general cultural shift from the literary/verbal to the visual/iconic, and the subsequent temptation to replace preaching and doctrine with other means to communicate the truth of the gospel. The other is the more narrowly intellectual tendency within post-modernism to see all authorial intent as a fiction, and the only meaning of a text to be that given to it by the audience. Both of these trends are theological at root and represent rebellion against God. The second thesis is that the Reformed tradition appreciates the beneficial aspects of history and tradition. History is not all about manipulation and power plays, but can be profoundly helpful and even liberating. The Reformed tradition provides an identity and rootedness that gives us the perspective to assess and critique ourselves, the world around us, and even our tradition itself. The centrality of covenant in Reformed theology places God at the centre of history, and so provides the most effective and biblical antidote to the hostile cultural forces around us.
Chapter 2 is similar in theme and considers in detail the impact of the cultural shift from the verbal to the visual. This can be seen in the rise and dominance of television and the internet, the collapse of confidence in language, and a relativism that rejects the employment of meta-narratives to explain reality. Trueman summarises all these phenomena as a long war against words, and seeks to analyse the situation from a Biblical perspective.
First, he considers the Biblical view of language. In Biblical terms, language is the basis of all interpersonal relationships, not least the relationship between God and man, which is largely defined in terms of commands and promises. Both of these depend on language for their communication with us. Furthermore, when we see the visual being employed in scripture (OT sacrifices, miracles, the Lord's Supper), it is always accompanied by a verbal explanation of its meaning and significance. In short, words are of vital importance to Biblical religion.
Second, Trueman considers the reformation from the perspective of it being a recovery of the theological importance of words. This is reflected in the emphasis placed on God as a God who speaks, so the emphasis in the life of the church was moved off the sacraments and back onto scripture and preaching. God's promises (verbally communicated) can be grasped by faith as the Spirit (inwardly but verbally nonetheless) convinces us that the words of scripture are true. So, our very salvation depends on the value, power and use of words. Third, he evaluates the cultural trends previously noted and makes several related points:
- The post-modern denial of any role to authorial intent in determining the meaning of a text is lethal to evangelical Christianity, as scripture then has no normative meaning, theology becomes no more than reflecting on religious psychology, and God remains unknown and unknowable.
- The post-modern suspicion towards words is also anathema to evangelical Christianity, as it calls into question both the reliability of God's words and the motivation and integrity of the God who spoke them. We can thus view the serpent's role in the fall as the first example of a deconstructive reading of a text ("Did God really say…")
- The cultural reversion from words to images can be seen as a reversal of the Reformation and a return to the aesthetic and sacrament-centred church life of medieval Catholicism. The idea that the medium is the message is very relevant here, as we can't separate the cultural trend from its theological implications.
He ends by answering an objection and issuing a challenge. The objection is that the church needs to embrace these cultural trends or risk becoming irrelevant. His response is twofold. First, he reminds us that everyone still needs and uses words, regardless of the cultural emphasis on the visual. Second, he points out that the power of the gospel is rooted in God's promises rather than sociological theories, and has always been regarded as offensive and foolish. The challenge is to consider whether there are opportunities for the gospel presented by these cultural shifts. One such example that he sees is the emphasis placed on story and narrative, as in the great biblical arc of creation to new creation, we have the most compelling and relevant story possible, and one which our world still desperately needs to hear.
Chapter 3 examines the rocky relationship between academic theology and the life of the church. First, he examines three ways that the breach between theology and church manifests itself. These are the opposition of knowledge and experience, the differing presuppositions of church and academy, and the differing agendas of the two. He makes the point that while knowledge and experience are different, they should not be set in fundamental opposition. This can either lead to a form of Gnosticism within the church where our individual experience trumps any outside critique, or to an academic reduction of all theology to mere technique. He also briefly explores the lack of space for faith claims within secular universities, and the conflicting agendas of simplicity in doctrinal matters to aid in evangelism and the academic tendency to greater complexity, speciality and technicality.
Second, he offers four theses for the academy:
1. The academy must reform its vision of God - He is the subject, not the object, of theological study.
2. The academy must acknowledge the authority of scripture, without an assumption of theological unity rooted in the relationship between God and scripture, theological coherence comes to depend solely on the preferences of the reader.
3. The academy must acknowledge the effect of sin upon scholars
4. The academy needs to return to traditional trajectories of theology by fusing pastoral and theological reflections on the faith, as found in the great creeds and confessions of the past.
Third, he offers four theses for the church:
1. The Church must rethink her emphasis on experience - the gospel is essentially a message, and not to be equated with the believer's response to it in feelings/experience.
2. The Church needs to revise her worship practices in light of the above - again, experience should be seen as the result of the gospel, not the content of the gospel, and our worship should draw our focus to the latter. Another implication is that the main focus of our Sunday services should be on equipping saints rather than attracting seekers.
3. The Church needs to acknowledge the role of tradition - the only definitive theological source is the Bible, but we all depend on extra-scriptural creeds for our theology to some extent. Creeds remind us that the Bible is not its own interpretation but rather must be interpreted on its own terms, and they place us and our times in perspective and so encouraging humility in our hermeneutic.
4. The Church needs to realise that not all answers to questions about the Bible are simple - the bible's basic message is clear and easy to grasp, yet it also contains depths worthy of theological education and study at the highest level.
Chapter 4 examines the old Princeton theology of scripture, particularly as reflected in the writing of B. B. Warfield. First, Trueman looks at the context of Warfield's theology. The context is the tradition of Reformed Orthodoxy that began during the Reformation, and the complex of theological doctrines, concepts and vocabulary that tradition implies. So, the Reformed understanding of scripture (and topics like inspiration and inerrancy) is not an axiom from which all else is deduced, but is a position that is held in relation to several other points, most importantly the nature of human knowledge of God. An important conclusion from this is that limited, partial and imperfect knowledge can yet be true. Second, Trueman looks at the related but separate concepts of inspiration and revelation. In short, inspiration refers to the mode of delivery of the scriptures, and revelation refers to their content. Also important is the issue of authority, which for Warfield is not merely related to the content of the scriptures, but more fundamentally to the fact that scripture is exactly what God wanted it to be. In other words, what the scriptures say, God says. This connects back to revelation, which Warfield saw as not relating merely to scripture but encompassing all God's saving acts in history. Scripture is both the basis of our knowledge of these acts and the interpretation of them. A couple of implications flow from this. One is that we don't need to see all parts of scripture as equally important. Although all are equally formally authoritative, materially, it is the accounts of the great saving acts in history and their explanation that should hold centre stage. The other is that we should not reduce scripture to mere objective information; it makes existential demands on our whole person rather than merely cognitive demands on our minds. Third, Trueman reflects on the relevance of all this for today. He contends that the understanding of scripture proposed by Warfield, and by the Reformed tradition generally, represents the most robust and complete reflection of how scripture talks about itself. Any proposed replacement or modification must therefore demonstrate that it does a better job than what we already have. He also points out that while work remains to be done by evangelical systematicians in thinking through their position on the scriptures human authorship, the importance of Warfield's emphasis on the divine authorship of scripture for contemporary evangelical biblical theologians is even greater. Warfield is also most useful in seeing how the divine and the human are compatible, based on his doctrine of inspiration and his notion of concursus (i.e. the running together of the divine and the human that preserves the reality and integrity of both. In short, serious engagement with Warfield will be of great benefit to the contemporary church.
Chapter 5 examines B. B. Warfield's work on Christology as a way of approaching his wider theological interests rather than focusing on a few areas of controversy (Biblical inspiration, cessationism, etc). The first topic covered is Warfield's writing on the incarnation, in which it is shown that he endorsed wholeheartedly an orthodox Reformed position in line with the formulation of Chalcedon. Secondly, he wrote firmly against the kenotic theory, which claimed that Christ set aside his divine attributes during his time on earth, and shows the disastrous consequences this has for the essential doctrine that Christ is fully divine during his earthly ministry. Thirdly, Trueman explores his writing on Christ's humanity and particularly His emotional life. This is a topic that is largely neglected in evangelical theology, but is important in understanding the truth that Christ was also fully human. This is, in turn, vital in our understanding of how Christ is a revelation of God, and should inform our understanding of passages referring to God's compassion, anger, etc. The chapter finishes with two points of application. One is that a true commitment to the traditional understanding of Christ as God manifested in the flesh will make all of our theology, and thus all of our lives, Christ-centred. The other is the value of the Incarnation as a pattern of service, to avoid sterile moralism. Similar to the previous chapter, the conclusion is that a serious and studious engagement with Warfield's work will greatly benefit the contemporary church.
Chapter 6 is a critical review of an essay collection written in praise of a particular view of Luther's writing, particularly regarding ecumenical issues. Being knowledgeable of neither the view in question nor the particular book critiqued, I skimmed over this chapter very briefly and found it much less engaging than the preceding essays.
The latter 6 chapters are all much shorter pieces, covering a variety of topics:
The first touches briefly on the importance of evangelical beliefs, on the basis that Christianity is and must be built on real historical events, and that doctrine matters. So, faith and history are inseparable, and to abandon either is to abandon Christianity. As a result, we must resist the pressures of pluralism and so-called "tolerance", remembering that Christianity is, has always been, and always must be, scandalous.
The second looks at the central values of our society of health, wealth and happiness, and at how these are reflected in the church. This is particularly seen in our worship, and in our almost total neglect of the Psalms, and the kind of experience they present as normative for believers. Instead, much of the Western church has sold out to materialism. In response, we must relearn how to lament and must learn to pray with the priorities found in scriptural prayers.
The third examines the idea that much of evangelicalism is practically Marcionite. This is seen in the emphasis on God's love to the practical exclusion of everything else. It is also seen in the neglect of the Old Testament in both theology and devotion. The result of this will be ever-increasing superficiality in the life of the church.
The fourth is on the need to balance Biblical and systematic theology. Trueman praises the redemptive-historical approach to both Biblical studies and preaching that was a necessary corrective to the "fanciful pietistic exegesis and mindless doctrinalism" of 60 years ago, but has now resulted in the neglect of the theological tradition, in other words, systematics, creed's and confessions. For the church to be truly healthy, we must balance the economy of salvation with the ontological concerns contained in scripture; robust exegesis with synthesis and engagement with the great theology formulated by the church over her history.
The fifth considered the impact of our entertainment-based culture. Rather than a symptom of our innate spirituality and desire to worship, Trueman follows Pascal and sees this phenomenon as an attempt at self-distraction, particularly from having to consider our mortality. If this is the case, then we shouldn't see many of our society's common sins as misplaced attempts to find meaning, but as attempts to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Rather than trying to appropriate the culture, perhaps we should spend more time deconstructing the culture.
The sixth suggests that disagreement over sexuality is not the biggest issue facing the church today, but is rather a symptom of deeper lying failures. These include a flexible attitude towards orthodoxy generally, a self-centred focus on individual preferences rather than confessional concerns, and a disregard for a systematic and historically informed approach to doctrinal issues. In short, rampant individualism. This should affect both how we approach human sexuality and our church life in general.
If there is a unifying theme to the book, then it is how we should best approach and understand the juncture between historical, orthodox, and evangelical Christianity and the cultural trends and pressures of our day. At the very least, Trueman wants us to have decided opinions on these things and to succumb to neither lazy apathy nor moral abdication of responsibility. I found most of his observations compelling, but whether you agree with him or not, you will at least be spurred on to think these things through for yourself.
November 21, 2017
An interesting collection of articles. Can’t say a dominant theme jumped out but I particularly enjoyed the essay on Warfield’s Christology.
I also thought the short articles at the end were brilliant - “What can miserable Christians sing?” and the “Big Issue” especially. Convicted to make more of the Psalms in Sunday worship!
I also thought the short articles at the end were brilliant - “What can miserable Christians sing?” and the “Big Issue” especially. Convicted to make more of the Psalms in Sunday worship!
September 1, 2021
I love Trueman, he is so witty and fun to read. Several of these essays are fantastic: witty and thought provoking. However, so much was over my head that large swaths were just me slugging my way through and trying to find a nugget here or there. If you read it, I recommend book one, chapters 1 and 2, and book 2 chapters 2, 5, and 6.
May 11, 2020
It's still a relevant critique of what have been happening in the modern churches and on the contemporary Christian culture. However, I wish more that the author also have more views taken from Eastern churches as well, not just the trends in the Western churches.
December 10, 2018
Good thoughts, but Trueman is often vexatious.
April 26, 2020
Better Every Time
January 6, 2017
Thought provoking read
Stimulating engagement into contemporary theological and cultural issues. The text is somewhat hard to follow at points if the reader is unfamiliar with the particular issue Trueman is addressing in the essay. Overall a great read.
Stimulating engagement into contemporary theological and cultural issues. The text is somewhat hard to follow at points if the reader is unfamiliar with the particular issue Trueman is addressing in the essay. Overall a great read.
December 10, 2007
An engaging writer. I wish this book was more than compiled essays, which obviously holds little cohesion - Trueman could put out some really interesting work.I felt in over my head in a lot of the essays in the first half (called Evangelical Essays), but liked the second half of the book, called Short Sharp Shocks. I especially enjoyed the essays entitled: "What Can Miserable Christians Sing?" "Boring Ourselves to Life" and "Evangelicalism Through The Looking Glass: A Fairy Tale." Trueman's writing has a lot of personality. As a Church History prof. he has a lot of knowledge in an area where his personality is a great bridge to access the riches of a dry writing history.
December 13, 2016
Really enjoyable and insightful book if slightly dated in places
I'm a big fan of Carl Trueman and this book contains his usual wit, insight and ability to things that others miss. Lots of food for thought.
I'm a big fan of Carl Trueman and this book contains his usual wit, insight and ability to things that others miss. Lots of food for thought.
September 9, 2011
a very, very satisfying book. Trueman's one of those writers that seems to understand and is able to wonderfully articulate thoughts that I've been struggling to express for a long time.
October 24, 2016
The first three entries and the postscript are themselves worth the price of the book!
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