becoming

新的一年，除了祝大家新年快樂之外，也為那些等到頸長的朋友帶來好消息：NT Wright 的新書出爐了！

當然，不是COQG的保羅篇，而是就他稱義觀的批評（特別是北美）所出的回應。

根據Michael Bird的透露，全書大綱如下：

1. Introduction
2. Rules of Engagement
3. First-Century Judaism: Covenant, Law and Lawcourt
4. Justification: Definitions and Puzzles
5. Galatians
6. Philippians, Corinthians, Ephesians
7. Romans
8. Conclusion

Howard Marshall的推介：

This book is a magisterial response to the recent spate of criticism directed at Tom Wright for his theology of justification. He introduces readers to the debate and outlines his position without engaging in polemic against his opponents. This sprightly and gracious, yet robust, work is Tom Wright’s carefully argued and scripturally based response to those who think that he has deeply misunderstood Paul’s doctrine of justification… This is definitely one of the most exciting and significant books that I have read this year… Strongly commended!

[HT: Euangelion]

————–
Update: IVP 那邊也出了這書北美版的資料。

Update: Trevin Wax interviewed NT Wright on his new book.

作者：孫寶玲
出版日期：2008年11月
頁數：528頁
定價：HK$150
書度：152mm (w) x 228mm (h)
ISBN：978-962-79979-2-4

內容介紹：

聖經詮釋不僅是方法工具的探索掌握，且是更深層的省思。本書以「聖經詮釋的意義和實踐」為題，旨不在理出方法，而在於學與思，期杜絕穿鑿附會之流弊。作者縷述先賢的智慧，展現每一個時代的詮釋之歷史性，在適切其獨特處境需要的同時，難免會有其限制。讀者如可以將這些詮釋理論放在其歷史處境，必能更欣賞其優點，也更能掌握其不足之處。

作者在書中將詮釋發展分為三個階段：前考據時期、考據時期、後考據時期，其中不乏具體釋經例子及提出了數個思考重點，幫助讀者學習、思考，為聖經詮釋提供了入門的素材。

[內容介紹：建道]
[HT: littleho, Changing or Remaining]

早前Craig G. Bartholomew 及 Michael W. Goheen 合寫的The Drama of Scripture，是將NT Wright 在How Can The Bible Be Authoritative? 所提出，聖經作為一個包含5幕（他們之後修正為6幕）的故事，擴張和引伸的作品。我在「神與聖經」的主日學討論中，就是用The Drama of Scripture作為主要課本。

現在，他們再次合著：Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to Christian Worldview。先看看撮要：

This engaging introduction to Christian worldview explores how Christians can live faithfully at the crossroads of Scripture and postmodern culture.

Ideal for undergraduate students and laypeople, Living at the Crossroads first lays out a brief summary of the biblical story and the most fundamental beliefs of Scripture. The book then tells the story of Western culture from the classical period to postmodernity. Authors Michael Goheen and Craig Bartholomew next analyze how Christians live in the tension that exists at the intersection of the biblical and cultural stories. They proceed to tease out the implications for key areas of life, such as education, scholarship, economics, politics, and church. The result is a deeply thoughtful yet approachable text that draws on the rich tradition of Reformational thinking but contextualizes it to a postmodern setting for a contemporary audience.

從內容看，此書將會是The Drama of Scripture 的續本，特別是補充在這個6幕劇中，我們身處的第5幕、第2場的內容。若然今日基督徒以前4幕為劇本，眼望著第6幕這故事的終局，那麼在我們在第5幕，應該怎樣演呢？The Drama of Scripture 的篇幅只能草草略過，我期待Living at the Crossroads 會有深入一點的討論。

Craig G. Bartholomew 和 Michael W. Goheen 都在加拿大作神學工作。前者是舊約學者，後者是宣教學者。

這書將於本年11月出版。

[link]

To follow-up my previous post on the Political Nature of Christianity, here are some books suggested by Byron Borger from Hearts & Minds on Christian responsibility for Politics, Public Life and the Common Good.

Especially worth mentioning is Phyllis Tickle’s new book The Great great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why.

Here’s the blurb:

Rooted in the observation that massive transitions in the church happen about every 500 years, Phyllis Tickle shows readers that we live in such a time right now. She compares the Great Emergence to other “Greats” in the history of Christianity, including the Great Transformation (when God walked among us), the time of Gregory the Great, the Great Schism, and the Great Reformation.

Combining history, a look at the causes of social upheaval, and current events, The Great Emergence shows readers what the Great Emergence in church and culture is, how it came to be, and where it is going. Anyone who is interested in the future of the church in America, no matter what their personal affiliation, will find this book a fascinating exploration.

[link: bakerbooks]

偶然得知三本我曾推介過的好書，不約而同被香港天道推出了中譯。若你對關於信仰的英語書藉仍存顧慮，這是值得考慮的選擇：

1. 完全寬免—無情世界中的施予和饒恕之道——是Miroslav Volf 的Free of Charge中譯。
2. 保羅神學嶄新觀——是NT Wright 的Paul: In Fresh Perspective中譯【但不知怎攪，中譯封面卻寫Paul : New Perspectives，超失敗！】。
3. 純•基督教——是NT Wright 的Simply Christian中譯。

先指聲明，我未有看過這些中譯，不知譯筆水準如何，敬請讀者自行決定。

Brian Walsh was my prof. back in my seminary days at Wycliffe. He was the first person who introduced me to the subject of Postmodernity and the Christian Imagination. He has a new book just released called Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement. Here is the blurb:

This book goes far beyond covering the subject of homelessness as the social problem we all recognize in our cities. Mass emigrations, displaced families, and human alienation from the earth all mark our times. In critiquing contemporary North American culture, Steven Bouma-Prediger and Brian Walsh discuss various forms of homelessness — socioeconomic, ecological, and psycho-spiritual — and creatively show how biblical attentiveness and Christian faith can heal the profound dislocations in our society.

Ending each of their chapters with a moving biblical meditation, the authors also interact throughout with characters and themes from current literature and popular culture — from Salman Rushdie to Barbara Kingsolver, from the Wizard of Oz to Bruce Cockburn.

Bruce Cockburn, oh yes. I remembered sitting at Walsh’s chaplaincy office down the basement at Wycliffe, discussing the grand narrative of the bible, the texts of terror; whether there really is a such a thing as post-modernism, while listening to Cockburn at the same time…

About the Author
Steven Bouma-Prediger is professor of religion at Hope College, Holland, Michigan. His other books include The Greening of Theology and For the Beauty of the Earth.

Brian J. Walsh is a campus minister at the University of Toronto and adjunct professor of theology of culture at Wycliffe College. He is also the coauthor of Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be.

[link]

—–
Update: Early review from Hearts and Minds.

Change Agents
25 Hard-Learned Lessons in the Art of Getting Things Done
By: Steve Chalke

Book blurb:

Change Agents are pioneers, entrepreneurs, innovators. They can be difficult, annoying, and demanding, but their calling is demanding too: to take a vision and wrench it into reality.

When Steve Chalke was asked to be the senior minister of a dying inner-city church, he knew what he wanted: to make it into a Christian equivalent of a first-century synagogue. A place where community gathered, not just to pray and hear sermons, but to be educated, entertained, and find help.

In Change Agents, the author shares twenty-five lessons he learned during this work. He had to teach himself to respond, not react; say no more than yes, give up being everyone’s friend, and accept that any success was only a short respite between two crises.

Employing wry humour, persoanl examples, and a large helping of practical advice, Steve Chalke reminds us our enterprise, not our caution, with the Word of God is what’s rewarded.

And what are the 25 lessons about?

lesson 1 • others only ever see your mountaintop experiences
lesson 2 • respond, don’t react
lesson 3 • you can’t be everyone’s best mate
lesson 4 • every ‘yes’ implies at least one ‘no’
lesson 5 • people matter more than programmes
lesson 6 • action leads to insight more often than insight leads to action
lesson 7 • the journey with others is slower than the journey alone
lesson 8 • under promise, over deliver
lesson 9 • nothing is ever quite as good or as bad as it first seems
lesson 10 • vision and frustration are the same thing
lesson 11 • success is three days between two crises
lesson 12 • great leadership is measured by what’s left after you’re gone
lesson 13 • individualism is the enemy of individuality
lesson 14 • approach every problem with an open mind rather than an open mouth
lesson 15 • admiration works best from a distance
lesson 16 • trust evolves, it is never a simple ‘on’ or ‘off’ affair
lesson 17 • praise is the miracle tool
lesson 18 • keep the main thing, the main thing
lesson 19 • people follow people not disembodied principles
lesson 20 • inclusion never demands conformity
lesson 21 • nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood
lesson 22 • followers expect easy answers, leaders know there are none
lesson 23 • no progress without process
lesson 24 • you can’t do what you can’t imagine
lesson 25 • if it ain’t broke, break it

[sample: chapter 1]
[Zondervan link]

從十二月尾到一月份，我（重）看了幾本很值得推介的好書：

1. Scot McKnight 的 A Community Called Atonement。這是Living Theology Series 的第一炮，McKnight 可算是整個Emerging Movement的新約學術旗手。這本貫穿新舊約關於贖罪（Atonement）意義的表白，強調聖經除了「代贖」（Penal Substitution）作為重要的意像之外，還存在其他意像。McKnight的建議是用Identification for Incorporation來含概整個贖罪論。作者的目的不是要削減「代贖」的重要，而是提出需要更廣的意像，才能讀得通聖經中其他單從「代贖」解釋而會出現張力的經文。
2. 粱文道的味覺現象學。這不是齋講飲食的書，亦不是菜譜。這是作者從飲食文化而展開的跨學科聯想。我對這樣的書有興趣，正因為我以為這樣的討論正正是這一代的信徒所缺乏和必需急起直追和再發現的。
3. Rodney Clapp 的 A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society。這是我讀教會學的第一年課本。這本1996年的作品，現在再讀，先知味甚濃。我驚訝Clapp早在10年前，已經layout了所有現今教會討論得火紅火綠的議題。並且他的觀點，仍然是相當具前瞻性的。對他來說，基督教作為眾多文化（cultures）的一員，非但不會減弱其重要性，卻是她之可能再發聲的唯一出路。後基督國度（post-Christendom）的信徒必需放棄多數主義，重新了解自己的角色。

還在看的有：

1. A New Vision for Israel: The Teachings of Jesus in National Context
2. 弱水三千