The Affectionate Theology of Richard Sibbes by Mark Dever,

The Affectionate Theology of Richard Sibbes by Mark Dever, is latest book in the Long Line of Godly Men Profile series.that introduces and profiles significant Christian men in history. I know Richard Sibbes only through his book, A Bruised Reed. I am guilty of putting all the men of this era in the same general category of “Puritans” and “Nonconformist”. Dever’s book has corrected me in that assumption and helped me to understand Sibbes and his life and the context which he ministered. Dever explains through a few second hand sources Richard Sibbes is wrongly identified with the Nonconformist and was more of a moderate, hoping for long slow reform of the Church of England.

Since Richard Sibbes was a moderate man, who was a Consenter, yet leaned towards sympathies with Nonconformist, he is claimed by both sides. If you don’t know what these terms mean, you will before you get very far into this book.  Dever's goal was to "...recover Sibbes as a historical and theological whole” and to view Sibbes in his historical context for the moderate man he was. Rather than engaging in the controversies of the day, Sibbes had a heart toward the people in his congregation and sought to help those under his preaching.

I can’t say that the book has moved me to appreciate Richard Sibbes more, but it does give me a better understanding of who he is and how to go about reading his works in the future. In the light of many of his contemporaries who suffered for their convictions, I can’t say a moderate man who avoided controversial topics and toned down doctrines he professed is awe-inspiring, but these books are much better when we know the truth about a man instead of making him a sort of superhero. For this, I am thankful for the honest look at Richard Sibbes.

Thanks to Netgalley.com for the review copy.

Against the Gods by John D. Currid

Unbelief is amazing. Though the book is dealing with the relationship between the Old Testament and the religious beliefs of nations surrounding Israel, the real issue at hand is unbelief. Currid takes accounts from the text of the Bible and show that the authors were not plagiarizing other religions,

Though perhaps not intended, the book is a good case study in presuppositions. The unbelieving scholars come to the evidence with the presupposition that the Bible is merely literature, so everything they see is going to confirm their unbelief. So it is always Israel borrowing from the pagans and never the other way around. I appreciate the evidence Currid brings to the table, but no amount of evidence is going to convince the unbeliever. I also was struck by the supposed “parallels” in some of the cases. Some of these pagan myths were hardly parallels, but at best, similar in some regard.

The problem that I had with the book was in some cases, he takes the polemic problem too far. In a comparison of the rod of Moses and the rod of Pharaoh were “linguistic parallels” and “the very events and objects of the episode as a critique of Egyptian practice. What a masterful, skillful, and profound way to argue! It truly stands as a monument to the literary genius of the Exodus author.” What a strange argument to make. There are other places where he asserted Biblical authority and condemned those who condemned the Scripture. But “literary genius”? Imagine if I found a parallel between an ancient myth and the Battle at Gettysburg. Would I describe an historians account of the battle to be “literary genius”? Certainly, God may have and likely, in His providence, mocked the gods of Egypt in the plagues and in the rod, but that is God in His power, not a literary device of the inspired author.

I prefer a more full-throated apologetic, especially from a book that is on the polemics of the Old Testament. I will refer back to this work, especially as reference to the pagan myths. Since much of the archeological finds have been in the last 200 years, so there is a lot of new information about these ancient civilizations. I appreciated the stress and the defense of the polemic nature of some of the Old Testament. But all truth is God’s truth. If something is true, then even those imaginary myths will borrow from what is true. Of course there are flood myths from different cultures. The flood really happened and all cultures descended from Noah’s family, who survived the flood. As Currid pointed out, a person who denies God will seek to find anyway to pervert known truth to deny the true God.


but in many cases, simply mocking their beliefs and their gods.

Good and Angry - Book Review

  Ephesians 4:26 tells us to be angry, but not to be sinfully angry. The exhortation and the warning is often given, but rarely explained. David Powlison's excellent book digs deep into anger, and helps us to see the difference between godly and ungodly anger. There are many ways anger is manifested and can affect us, and Good and Angry does a great job of highlighting how you may have an issue with anger and not even realize it. Even those who never get upset at anything have an anger problem; an apathy towards things we should be angry at but just shrugging the shoulders is just as wrong as flying off the handle at the slightest provocation. 

Good and Angry doesn't stop with teaching us about anger, but  to flesh out what we've learned in our lives. Chapter 13 "Eight Questions: Taking Your Anger Apart to Put You Back Together" takes a typical case study of a traffic jam to help us think through our own angry emotions to find out where it is coming from and then deal with the true source of anger. This excellent chapter helps you see that anger isn't something that is happening to you, but you are angry at something, or someone. Taking deep breathes, counting to ten, picturing yourself on a beach somewhere are typical techniques that may help lower the blood pressure but does not deal with the root of the anger problem. Without an understand of God, of sin, and the fallen human heart, the secularist cannot properly diagnose or deal with anger, especially in those difficult cases of extreme hurt. Wisely, Powlison explains that while we might never "get over" some pain, God will help us "get through it". Pointing the reader to the Christ who will judge the Earth and set all things right, he orients us to think Biblically and with an eye toward the justice of God and rest in His sovereignty. 

Powlison writes that anger is tricky because "anger is always good or bad (or a mix of both)" and it takes prayerful thought and Scriptural orientation to sort it out and change. Anger exists because evil exists and as long as there is evil, there will be a good place for anger. To be angry at injustice, to be angry at evil, to be angry at the consequences of sin is a motivating force to do what is right, to protect, or to stop evil in its tracks. Good anger is concerned foremost with holiness and the glory of God and His will. Because we are sinful, the emotion of anger often turns inward and we are more concerned with our comforts, our will, and our glory and get angry when anything crosses our path. The book will help you sort out anger in your own heart,  or the lack of anger, so that you can live with peace, and when the time comes, get really good and angry, for the glory of God.

Thanks to Cross Focused Reviews for the review copy