THE CONTINUING AUTHORITY OFTHE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, ed-ited by D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, 2016. 1240 pp. $65.00 (cloth).

While there have been many treatises doneon the question of what constitutes the author-ity of the books known as the Christian Scrip-tures, popularly “the Bible,” this is a massiveattempt to analyze and adjudicate the nature oftheir authority and the issues involved. Profes-sor Donald Carson, a research professor atTrinity Evangelical Divinity School, has as-sembled a team of biblical scholars to producethis lengthy treatise. He lays out a helpful Intro-duction (chapter 1) in which he summarizeswhat each of the thirty-four authors will examinein the remainder of the book; then at the end heconcludes with a practical section entitled “Fre-quently Asked Questions” (chapter 36). A veryhelpful preparation for the reader.

The first unit is entitled “Historical Top-ics,” chapters 2–10, considering the develop-ment of views of Scripture from the earlychurch to the present day. This approachshould aid the potential reader of this bookfrom jumping from reading Scripture to (sim-ply) being acquainted with current beliefs/af-firmations on the theme of its authority. Thenext section, chapters 11–24, is “Biblical andTheological Topics,” consisting of a series ofexaminations of issues like “God and the Bi-ble”; “Myth, History, and the Bible”; “Reflec-tions on Jesus’ View of the Old Testament”;and “May We Go Beyond What Is Written afterAll? The Pattern of Theological Authority and

the Problem of Doctrinal Development.” Inchapters 25–30 we are introduced to a unit en-titled “Philosophical and EpistemologicalTopics.” These range widely in subject matterand approach, but should serve to stir up thereader’s mind, and broaden one’s perspective.They cover topics as distinct (yet related) as re-ligious epistemology, the idea of inerrancy,and science and Scripture. The next unit isnamed “Comparative Religions Topics,”chapters 31–34. A discussion of these compet-ing claims about Christian Scripture is fol-lowed by distinct chapters on Quranic beliefs,Hindu scriptures, and Buddhist sutras, han-dled with both grace and sophistication. Thefinal chapter (35) is named “Thinking Holisti-cally,” called by the author “Take, Read.” Heconcludes with a personal appeal to the reader:“Let us therefore take and read this mirror tothe soul, see our flaws, and turn afresh to theLord, who loved us and gave himself for us. Weshould read to know him, love him and followhim” (1154).

The phenomena of radical changes in thediversity of stances toward the Bible are cata-logued by Carson seeing the Bible “as text to bemastered and deployed to various social andacademic ends, making it more difficult for thechurch to see it as the revelation of God, God’sWord to sinners to bring about their redemp-tion” (4). He surveys how radical critics havedeployed their slings against the idea of an in-spired text, and have undercut the notion ofScripture as a divinely given message. In a list-ing of nine elements he illustrates the im-pact(s) of historical criticism (6). Carson also

Copyright © 2017 by Word & World, Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota. All rights reserved. 93

reviews the development of the idea that theinerrancy of Scripture is a view that grew uplate in the history of the church, being a featureof post-Reformation times, and especially inthe nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Addedon here would be the question of the authorityof Jesus (in dealing with Scripture), and thestory of the development of the biblical canon.

When all is said and done, there is the needfor the recognition that the main point aboutreading Scripture is not to defend it, or to re-gard it as a source of more information. Withthe existence of the secular age in which welive, there is a necessity of constructing aChristian view of God, life, and he world. Hecites Robert Yarbrough who writes of a“cognitive reverence”—which enables one tosee Inerrancy as “a place to live”—not just aposition to retain (9).

To sum up, permit a quotation from Car-son’s FAQ. He cites a query which concerns theneed to do more than collect a series of essays(i.e., this book) that we examine, study, mas-ter, and defend, rather than God’s revelation tous, something we must understand, trust, andobey. Carson agrees, and goes on to cite severalother important issues.

But we are not treating the Bible aright if wedefend its truth yet distance ourselves from itsclaims, demands, and promises. Our readingwill be deepened when we understand theworld and ourselves better; when we love Godand hunger to be conformed to his word; whenwe keep trying to apply the Scriptures to our-selves and others in responsible ways; whenfaith and obedience become increasinglyinstinctive (1180).

Be aware, reader, that a volume of thisnumber of pages will call for a plan for readingit. You might scan the table of contents to get asense of how the themes are organized and de-veloped. Possibly you may have favorite au-thors you will want to scan. Or favoritedisciplines which will appeal to you. In any

case read, and retain the volume for a readyand profitable reference source.

Walter M. DunnettSt. Mark’s Episcopal ChurchGlen Ellyn, Illinois

SACRED SENSE: DISCOVERING THEWONDER OF GOD’S WORD ANDWORLD, by William P. Brown. GrandRapids: Eerdmans, 2015. Pp. 184. $22.00(paper).

Those of us who read the Bible for a liv-ing—pastors, professors, scholars—may ad-mit that, on occasion, our reading can becomemechanistic. We read to churn out a sermon,we read to plan lessons, we read to produce anarticle; we do not read to marvel at the wordson the page or the God they describe. If youhave ever found yourself stuck in such a rutwhen tasked with reading the Bible, then Wil-liam Brown’s Sacred Sense: Discovering theWonder of God’s Word and World is just thebook to pull you out of it. Brown’s intent is tojourney through the Bible with an eye to won-der. He calls himself a “docent” of the Bible,whose job is “to invite readers to explore thetext, to offer a modicum of background infor-mation, and most crucially to point out thingsin the text that I find particularly wondrous”(159). This wonderful wandering through theBible leads to many edifying discoveries, butmost importantly the wandering is for its ownsake. By reading for wonder, Brown helps re-orient us to reading Scripture as an experience,not as a means to an end.

While it would undermine the very frame-work of his project to say that Brown has a goalto reach or an argument to prove, the book isnonetheless both focused and organized. Itspremise is not to promote an uncritical ap-proach to Scripture, nor to encourage a feel-good romp through the Bible seeking out atemporary spiritual high. Wonder, in Brown’s

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view, has two sides: “awe and inquiry. Born ofawe, wonder is ultimately more active thanawe” (8). He notes that human beings have aninnate desire for wonder, and that to satisfy itrequires reading attentively, but not with anyparticular end-product in mind. He then pro-ceeds linearly through the biblical canon, fromGenesis to Revelation, stopping at sixteen textsalong the way. The texts sampled are a repre-sentative selection of genres, including narra-tive as well as poetry, wisdom literature as wellas prophecy, Old Testament as well as New,Gospels as well as Epistles.

Brown’s treatment of Job 38–42, in a chap-ter entitled “Wounded Wander,” is represen-tative of his work throughout the book. Hereframes Job, so often considered a reflectionon theodicy, as a book about mystery. Evenamong readers who are not under the illusionthat Job “solves” the problem of why badthings happen to good people, there still per-

sists a sense that it must “say somethingabout” God’s justice. Under Brown’s guid-ance, reading Job becomes not about solvingsomething, but about experiencing some-thing. The character Job’s own experience isone of a wonder-full terror. In God’s speechfrom the whirlwind, Job is transported to theouter limits of creation, where he can observethat he is a “child of the wild” (76), connectedto all of God’s creatures through the compas-sion of their shared creator. Having been thustransformed, Job returns to his household tomarvel at the extraordinary nature of his ordi-nary life. Throughout Sacred Sense, Brown’sexpansive understanding of “world,” encom-passing all of creation, invites readers to expe-rience a similar transformation, wandering inGod’s word and world to be awakened towonder in their own lives.

Brown has published extensively on bibli-cal metaphor, and his affinity for those figures

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of speech makes reading his prose a delight. Hecompares Genesis 1 to “a Bach organ fugue,full of contrapuntal variations filling everynook and cranny of a Gothic cathedral” (15).He likens reading Ecclesiastes 3 to “listening tothe hypnotic tick-tock of a grandfather clock”(84). Close reading of parts of the Bible also re-quires a broad sense of the whole, “just like ob-serving a painting from a certain distance togain greater clarity. It is one thing to study thebrush strokes; it is another to behold the largerimage that emerges from the canvas” (13).This particular metaphor was, for me, a helpfuldiversion from the metaphor of the Bible as“God’s story” that often dominates the studyof Scripture. Rather than reading for what theBible might accomplish from beginning tomiddle to end, Brown encourages us to let ourgaze linger on its beauty. At the same time,Brown also affirms an overall narrative shapefor the Bible, which “dramatizes the journey ofGod’s ever expanding love, from Jews to Gen-tiles to the earth and all therein, a love alreadyestablished ‘in the beginning’” (155).

If Sacred Sense can help the seasoned stu-dent of Scripture rekindle a love for the Bible, ithas equal potential for igniting such love in afledgling reader. Brown offers helpful histori-cal and/or literary backgrounds for each text:enough to empower the novice, but not somuch as to bore the more experienced reader.The format of the book lends itself particularlywell to small-group study in congregations. (Ifyour congregation blushes easily, you mightskip the chapter on the Song of Songs, thoughthat would be a pity, because it is one of themost beautiful sections of the book.) Whileeach chosen biblical text occupies a single,brief chapter and can stand alone in such astudy, echoes of earlier themes and passagesreverberate through the later chapters, makingthe book a unified whole. In other words, thisbook is very useful, and yet it reminds us thatutility need not be the primary value for read-

ing a book, especially the Bible. Read this booksimply for the experience of wonder.

Cameron B. R. HowardLuther SeminarySaint Paul, Minnesota

MONEY AND POSSESSIONS, by WalterBrueggemann. Louisville, KY: WestminsterJohn Knox, 2016. Pp. 319. $40.00 (cloth).

The pastor seeking book-length resourceson stewardship faces a rich supply of options.Such books tend to counsel leaders to talkabout money in church more often, even andespecially when they are not asking for it. In re-cent years, other guiding themes have in-cluded year-round stewardship, embracingthe virtue of generosity, and various calls to re-examine our relationship with money. Thisstewardship literature is important, and fromwhat I hear, the books do sell quite well. In-deed, wise church leaders long to discoverbetter ways to address money and steward-ship—it’s as if their very jobs depended on it.With few exceptions, conspicuously absent inthis literature is much sophisticated biblicalstudy. Enter, Walter Brueggemann’s Moneyand Possessions.

Part of the respected “Interpretation Se-ries” from Westminster John Knox Press,Money and Possessions does not immediatelystrike one as a stewardship book. And, indeed,it does not fit the contemporary genre. LikeDouglas John Hall’s classic, The Steward: ABiblical Symbol Come of Age (1990, revised2004), by refusing to adhere to the usual stew-ardship book style, Money and Possessions willlong serve as a foundational text in the field.

Brueggemann himself needs no extendedintroduction. He has authored over 100 booksand is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament atColumbia Theological Seminary. Money andPossessions is written in his usual, inimitable

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style: authoritative, perceptive, unyielding,and willing to connect the ancient words ofScripture to the unjust situations of our modernage. Unique to this book, however, Bruegge-mann extends his usual scope to include theNew Testament.

It will not surprise the reader familiar withBrueggemann that his argument includes sig-nificant reframing of how the contemporarychurch interprets Scripture: “it is simply as-tonishing that the church has willingly en-gaged in a misreading of the biblical text inorder to avoid the centrality of money and pos-sessions in its testimony” (xxi). Reporting thathe did not set out to “advocate,” Brueggemanneventually finds the texts will not allow him toavoid it. While noting their significant diver-sity, he argues in the preface that a worthysummation of Scripture is that “the biblicaltexts on money and possessions pivot on ‘Godand mammon’ as a decisive either-or,” all the

while critiquing a predatory economy of ex-traction countered by a sought-after economyof restoration (xx).

Each of the 15 chapters covers a book or setof books from which Brueggemann draws outthemes related to money and possessions. Thechapter subtitles tell the story: “Deuteronomy:The Great Either-or of Neighborliness”; “Prov-erbs and Job: Wise Beyond Smart”; “The FiveScrolls: Scripts of Loss and Hope, Commodityand Agency.” In five chapters, Brueggemanncovers the New Testament, splitting out theGospels, Acts, Paul’s letters, the pastorals,James, and finally, “The Book of Revelation:The Ultimate Alternative.”

This section by section approach is effec-tive and works to emphasize both the multi-vocal nature of Scripture as well as commonthemes and harmonies. The Bible takes onnew meanings when read with money andpossessions as a chief concern. For example,

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Deuteronomy’s context has much to do witheconomic realities of the day. As Brueggemannputs it: “Israel’s new habitat is to be amid apredatory economy” (35). Moses’s warningsinclude that the land to be entered will be a se-ductive one, but also transformable, by whichBrueggemann stresses how covenantal prac-tices present the possibility of transformingthe economy into one of neighborliness.

With Brueggemann as guide, Deuteron-omy becomes a book concerned with the cen-trality of debt forgiveness, the danger ofexploitative loans, and the redemptive practiceof sharing. Brueggemann writes, “justice is themaintenance of neighborliness that permits allmembers of the community to flourish with-out the distortion or subversion of economicleverage” (51). Preachers, particularly, will ap-preciate the bounty of homiletical approachesopened up by Brueggemann’s reading. Ser-mons on stewardship—even narrowly de-fined as the management of money andmaterial possessions—may find their homefar beyond the usual pericopes. Thankfully,ample topical and scriptural indexes will aidpastors who, each fall, return to the bookseeking quotes for stewardship season.

While the lasting value of the book is themethodical way Brueggemann develops thedeep, and sometimes unexpected biblicalthemes of money and possessions, steward-ship leaders may at times become frustratedwith Brueggemann’s findings, and, to someextent, his necessary selectivity. Tithing, forinstance, barely makes an appearance. Per-haps surprisingly, the theme Brueggemannmade famous—that of God’s liturgy of abun-dance amidst our culture’s narrative of scar-city—is fairly quiet. Instead, Sabbath becomesa “refusal of the rat race of commodity acquisi-tion” (23). Jesus’s teaching is not about hum-drum kindness, but “an alternative economythat is not preoccupied with wealth” (190).Over and again, Brueggemann refuses to ac-

cept interpretative traditions leading to moreindividualistic, heaven-minded, spiritualreadings. Instead, Brueggemann is aboutsystemic interpretation and communal call-ings.

To end at the beginning, the book’s Intro-duction alone is worth the price of the whole,for it describes Brueggemann’s six theses onthe Bible and money. While some of the thesesmay seem old hat, they all pack a fresh punch.Even the opening thesis claiming, “Money andpossessions are gifts from God,” in Bruegge-mann’s hands becomes a notion that upendsany misconceptions of individual earning.God’s gifts, when misconstrued, misused, ormisjudged, become distorted in ways destruc-tive to all of society. Money and Possessions de-serves a prime location in any stewardshiplibrary, but reader beware, Brueggemann’sconclusions will spice up staid stewardshipsermons—to extra hot!

Adam J. CopelandLuther SeminarySaint Paul, Minnesota

FORENSIC APOCALYPTIC THEOL-OGY: KARL BARTH AND THEDOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, byShannon Nicole Smythe. Minneapolis: For-tress, 2016. Pp. iv + 253. $79.00 (cloth).

For all his critical importance in con-temporary theology, Karl Barth’s doctrine ofjustification has remained a largely under-appreciated and underexplored area of histhought. Forensic Apocalyptic Theology seeksto correct this longstanding oversight, not onlyby launching a fresh, sympathetic, andcontextualized reading of Barth’s mature the-ology of justification, but also by setting him inconversation with more recent Pauline inter-preters. The product of Smythe’s labor is a truegift, not only in its appreciative reading ofBarth on justification, but also in her effort to

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show the relevance of Barth’s witness for ongo-ing controversies over Saint Paul and his gos-pel of reconciliation with God in Christ.Smythe’s carefully constructed examination isdetailed, so I will offer an overview of thebook’s primary claims instead of providing asequential summary of each chapter.

A critical aspect of Smythe’s argument is toshow the development of Barth’s account ofjustification as well as its inner coherence.Thus, she begins with something of a hypothe-sized dialog between Barth in the second edi-tion of Der Römerbrief (his early commentaryon Romans) and contemporary, apocalypti-cally inclined readers of Paul, such as ErnstKäsemann, J. Louis Martyn, and BeverlyGaventa—to name only a few. The basic objec-tive is to show that Barth’s Römerbrief takes upa creative, multifaceted posture with regard tojustification, one that encompasses both thecosmic, apocalyptic dimension of God’s rec-onciling work in Christ, as well as the individ-ual, forensic implications for particular sin-ners whom God justifies. Because Barthauthored his Romans commentary prior to alater engagement with John Calvin’s writingsand the Reformed confessional documents,Smythe shows that Barth’s is a fresh reading ofPaul—rather than simply the repetition of aninherited Reformation exegesis of the Paulinewitness.

From here, Smythe sets up her thematicallystructured exploration of Barth’s doctrine ofjustification, coordinating her reading ofBarth’s Römerbrief with later developments inhis mature thought. A key element of her inter-pretation is Barth’s deepening interest duringthe 1930s in historic Reformed theology, par-ticularly the works of Calvin and the Reformedconfessions. This renewed appreciation forclassic Reformed theology, on Smythe’s read-ing, provided Barth with important concep-tual clarification for many of the ideas he hadalready developed. The most important by-

product of this engagement is the develop-ment of a historicized theological ontology,one that radicalized the actualism of his earliercommentary on Romans. This, in Smythe’sjudgment, enables Barth to appreciate both theapocalyptic and forensic implications of Paul’sgospel in an exhaustively Christocentric fash-ion, thus moving away from the time-eternitydialectic that had animated Der Römerbrief,and concentrating on the irreducibly funda-mental status of God’s concrete, revelatoryself-disclosure in Jesus.

The remainder of the book consists of a the-matic examination of Barth’s mature doctrineof justification. Drawing on A Shorter Com-mentary on Romans and the fourth volume ofthe Church Dogmatics, Smythe frames herdiscussion topically, examining revelation,atonement, the aspects of justification, theo-logical anthropology, and eschatology. Thismultifaceted exploration sketches in the de-tails of a broader picture of Barth’s under-standing of God’s reconciling work in JesusChrist. Importantly, Smythe shows the inge-nious ways in which Barth remains a thor-oughly Reformation reader of Paul, yet also acreative one, willing to augment the insights ofLuther and Calvin with his own contributions.

Particularly important about this endeavor,in my judgment, is its relevance for ongoingdebates in biblical studies and theology aboutthe proper interpretation of critical themes inPaul’s letters, such as sin, righteousness, faith,the law, and atonement. By enlisting Barth as aresource for this kind of interdisciplinary en-gagement on such a crucial set of questions,one would hope that Protestant interpreters ofPaul in the Reformation tradition might findnew insights that fund a defense of a forensicaccount of justification. Many Reformed read-ers, in particular, will find Smythe’s compe-tently executed reading of Barth incrediblyuseful for future constructive projects of theirown. On the other hand, many Lutherans will

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find significant areas of difference that remain,especially regarding the proper distinction oflaw and gospel, the role of the external word inmediating God’s justifying verdict to sinners,and the believer’s life as simul iustus et peccator(simultaneously justified and a sinner).

Forensic Apocalyptic Theology accom-plishes, no doubt, the task it sets forth. Smytheably guides her readers through an array of of-ten difficult texts in Barth’s corpus, and doesso in conversation with other Pauline inter-preters. Nonetheless, the book bears all themarks of a published dissertation. I say this,not so much as a critique of the book, butrather as a caution to potential readers aboutthe stylistic preference for repetition, ex-cursive discussion of related issues, and de-tailed documentation. This book is to becommended to anyone with an interest in KarlBarth, current debates about the doctrine ofjustification, recent contributions in apoca-lyptic theology, and the theology of Saint Paul.Pastors, scholars, and students constitute a fit-ting audience for this book, and one hopes theywill take note of Barth’s evangelical witness tothe God who rectifies all things in Jesus Christ.

John W. HoyumLuther SeminarySaint Paul, Minnesota

WHY CHURCH HISTORY MATTERS:AN INVITATION TO LOVE ANDLEARN FROM OUR PAST, by Robert F.Rea. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic,2014. Pp. 233. $18.99 (paper).

The quandary that we who teach the historyof Christianity face is this: we don’t knowwhether our biggest problem is with those whoreject the value of history altogether, or thosewho love it, but in all the wrong ways. Certainlythose who are hostile to history are a majorproblem; building on a general American cul-tural dismissal of history in general as being

“old” and “irrelevant,” they see very little goodin spending time with history. The more “pro-gressive” wing of this approach can only seethe past as something bad to be held up as awarning, and something that we enlightenedmoderns have moved beyond. But too oftenthose who love history also misuse it; rejectingthe present, they attempt to retreat to someperceived “golden age” in the past whose real-ity they wish to restore or repristinate in thepresent. This “golden age” (and they alwaysdiffer on when that was) becomes a romanticvision of some sort of “Camelot,” in which ev-erything worked correctly. This can be somehistorical period, such as the Middle Ages orperhaps the Reformation. It can also be a formof Biblicism, which assumes we can replicatethe church of the first century in the twenty-first century! The problem is, none of theseever work. Sometimes we historians don’tknow who is more dangerous, our enemies orour friends!

Robert Rea (Lincoln Christian University)has written a clear and concise defense of thevalue of the history of Christianity for Chris-tians, avoiding both the facile dismissal ofChristian history as well as the temptation toromanticize it. Suggesting that the history ofChristianity helps the Christian community tocelebrate our entire extended Christian familythroughout the ages, he suggests that the studyof our history helps us to understand the workof God in time and space, a continuation, asyou might put it, of the incarnated presence ofGod in the world. Rea is not blind to the darkeraspects of our common history; he writes:“God works through believers; we stand in thismighty flood of surrendered theology and ser-vice.…And although family can be messy, weare God’s family” (193). The metaphor of fam-ily is an apt one for the people of God existingthrough time, as it helps us think of the peoplein this history as both beloved and flawed, ca-pable of both great faith and failures. And woe

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to those of us who think that we can somehowescape the trials and temptations of those whohave gone before us.

This is a very clearly written and helpfulbook for pastors and students, and for anyone,really, who wants to reflect carefully on ourshared past. Rea organizes the book in threesections, each with several chapters (ninechapters in all). In the first section, he exam-ines the various ways in which Christians havethought about their history, and how they haveused (and more often misused) the traditionsof their past. His focus is on the idea of “tradi-tion” through the history of Christianity, andthe various ways this has been employedacross the Christian movements. Acknowl-edging the possible dangers of tradition, andthe ways in which this concept has been mis-used, he still thinks that, even for EvangelicalProtestants (of which he is one) tradition canbe a positive concept.

In the second section, Rea seeks to encour-age us to expand our “circles of inquiry” be-yond the historical figures and traditions ofour own immediate denominational families.Drawing on the metaphor of Heb 12, the pic-ture of Christians being surrounded by a greatcloud of historical witnesses (stretching backinto the Old Testament), he pushes us to thinkabout these historical individuals not as juststone monuments, but as figures with whomwe can interact. One chapter helps us see thesepeople as “accountability partners,” who willhelp us improve our Christian lives and Chris-tian communities. Another chapter exploresthe idea of these historical Christians aspossible mentors and friends.

In the third section, Rea moves from thelarger concepts and ideas of the first two sec-tions, and into more practical applications ofthese ideas into the lives of contemporaryChristian pastors and Christian communities.As you might expect of a Protestant writer, Reaspends a great deal of time thinking about how

the historical traditions of biblical exegesiscan be employed in the service of modernhomiletical preparation and Bible study, atheme which has a great deal of contemporary“traction” among contemporary AmericanChristians (including a series of commentarieson the biblical books employing historical exe-gesis). Another chapter considers briefly howthe traditions of Christianity can also be usedin other areas of ministry, an interesting sec-tion, but one that he doesn’t develop as fully asthe previous chapter on biblical exegesis andstudy.

This is a good and valuable book; perhapsnot the final word on the subject, but certainlya thoughtful introduction to the use of the his-tory of Christianity within our Christian livesand Christian communities. Rea deserves ourthanks for a thoughtful and useful book.

Mark GranquistLuther SeminarySaint Paul, Minnesota

RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND CUL-TURAL NEGOTIATION: TOWARDA THEOLOGY OF CHRISTIANIDENTITY IN MIGRATION, by JennyMcGill. American Society of MissiologyMonograph Series. Eugene: Pickwick, 2016.Pp. 275. $34.00 (paper).

There exists a growing migration on aglobal scale. Millions are being displaced bywar, drought, oppression, economic and polit-ical inequalities, and so on. When migrantstravel, they take religious beliefs and culturalpractices with them because these beliefs andpractices are vital for their survival. There aredifferent academic fields that study what hap-pens to the cultural and religious identity ofmigrants when they encounter a new land andthe positive socioreligious change that the mi-grants introduce to their host community. Oneof the academic fields that attempts to study

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this phenomenon from a theological perspec-tive is called diaspora missiology.

Diaspora missiology emerged in the lastfew decades as a growing field of study that fo-cuses on the study of migration, globalization,and transnationality from the point of view ofmission studies. This book by Jenny McGill isan interdisciplinary exploration of identityformation in migration that makes a signifi-cant contribution to this growing field ofstudy. The main purpose of the book is to in-vestigate “the relation of faith to identity in mi-gration” and how this “provides new insightsinto how Christian migrants cope with and in-troduce positive social change into both theirhost and home communities” (15).

The author of this book, McGill, is a gradu-ate of King’s College London and the Re-gional Dean for North Indiana and Illinoisat Indiana Wesleyan University. She has pre-viously worked at Dallas Theological Seminaryand as intercultural consultant at GlobalArena. In addition to her academic and workexperience, her involvement in communityservice and research in Latin America, Asia,and Africa adds significant depth to her well-researched arguments in the book.

In this book, McGill explores the reli-gious identity question in migration throught h e interdisciplinary lenses of theology,psychology, and sociology. She also employsthe social science research methodologyknown as mixed methodology, using qualita-tive and quantitative measures. By studyingtemporary migrants residing in Texas, she of-fers some helpful suggestions on “how evan-gelical leaders who are educated abroadnegotiate their religious, ethnic/cultural, andnational identities” (6).

The table of contents presents a fascinatingpanorama of interdisciplinary studies fromtheological and social analytical perspectives.The book is divided into four sections. The firstsection is the introductory section, which in-

cludes the background of the study, researchquestions, research design and context, as-sumptions and delimitations, definitions, andsignificance of the research.

The second section offers the theoreticaland theological framework for the research aswell as the views of scholarship on the study ofidentity associated with religious identity inmigration studies, Christian identity, theologyof identity, and theology of migration. As a the-oretical frame, McGill uses the work of psy-chologist Jenny Hyun Chung Pak. Jenny Pak’scontributions are on cultural, psychological,and theological studies, with a focus on the re-lationship between religion and ethnic identityformations. The two theologians that informher theological framework are Miroslav Volfand Stanley Hauerwas. Volf has written pro-foundly about “otherness” in terms of God,neighbors, and otherness within ourselves,while Hauerwas has contributed to the studyof narrative and its impact on shaping person-al identity and Christian formation.

The third section contains the sociologicalresearch, which includes mixed methodologyand field research on “the examination of thesocial construction of religious, ethnic, andnational identities among foreign-born evan-gelical migrants who entered the Unites Statesto pursue advanced academic studies” (4). Itdiscusses the results of eighteen interviewsand 405 surveys from foreign-born graduatestudents and includes reviews of major find-ings of the research, application of the find-ings, and thoughtful suggestions for furtherresearch. Her primary conclusion is that reli-gion and migration factors significantly in per-sonal identity formation. The religious, ethnic,and national identities are impacted in theirencounter with the host community. Her find-ing also shows that the host community alsobenefits from their encounter with the mi-grants in such a way that they are presentedwith “new meanings and methods” about

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Reviews

“racialization of ethnic identities and theconflation of religious and national identities”(179).

One central strength of the book is the theo-retical and theological overview in the secondchapter. At the macro level, the author deeplyengages the work of psychologist Jenny Pakand theologians Volf and Hauerwas “in alarger discussion of the Judeo-Christian un-derstanding of the nature of self and identity”(31). My only reservation on McGill’s researchis its generalized focus on foreign-born (Asianand European) evangelical Christians study-ing in the United States. Such an approach, Ithink, can potentially lead to the false conclu-sion that every foreign-born Christian student

goes through similar experiences related toidentity formation.

Overall, the book deserves to be read byChristians of all theological hues, and is a mustread for scholars who teach interdisciplinarycourses from theological and social scienceperspectives. It is also an excellent resource forstudents of theology to gain in-depth knowl-edge of religious identity and theology in mi-gration. Helpful appendices list the interviewparticipants and the interview questions,followed by a fifteen-page bibliography.

Samuel Yonas DeressaLuther SeminarySaint Paul, Minnesota

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Word & World 37/1• Winter 2017