Book & Film Reviews

Movie Review: Noah by Darren Aronofsky & Ari Handel

Book & Film Reviews, Reading Scripture / By

Have you seen the movie Noah starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly? Given my interest in Old Testament reception history, I could not pass it up. How would two Jewish men today interpret this flood story? The Genesis account itself is a product of unique Israelite interpretation of a common ancient Near Eastern narrative. The story appeared in ancient texts long before Genesis was written. But, the biblical authors offer their own theological perspective on the event.

Similarly, the flood has been the subject of midrash (Jewish interpretation of the biblical text) throughout history. Ancient Jewish writers sought to fill in narrative gaps in Genesis with commentaries like I Enoch and Jubilees. In fact, from these ancient Jewish texts, the movie draws content about the Watchers and Noah’s visit to Methuselah—narrative details not found in most biblical canons. Those Transformer-looking rock creatures in the film might seem like fantasy fiction invented by modern movie makers, but their role did not come out of nowhere. They are the fallen angels of lore—albeit their appearance a bit embellished.  

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Review: The Bible Made Impossible by Christian Smith

Book & Film Reviews, Reading Scripture / By

I recently read Christian Smith’s book The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture (2012) published by Brazos Press. It critiques a form of biblical interpretation that too often treats the Bible in a wooden and rule book fashion, thereby diminishing the richness of Scripture. Having grown up in fundamentalism, I understand the problem he is describing. At the same time, I often felt he did not capture important nuances by choosing to critique the most fundamentalist version of evangelical Scripturreading.

What is Biblicism?

Smith defines biblicism as “a theory about the Bible that emphasizes together its exclusive authority, infallibility, perspicuity, self-sufficiency, internal consistency, self-evident meaning, and universal applicability” (viii). He lists ten assumptions of biblicism:

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Review: The Bible Tells Me So by Peter Enns

Book & Film Reviews, Ethics, Reading Scripture / By
Book link to Peter Enns's book The Bible Tells Me So

How do we make sense of difficult passages in the Bible? What about the violence or apparent contradictions? Peter Enns addresses these concerns in his book The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It. Enns is concerned that instead of honest engagement with Scripture some Christian thinkers make unreasonable attempts to cover up or explain away the challenges. He specifically sees this occurring among those who treat the Bible like a rule book of fixed, timeless truths. Instead of a rule book, Enns suggests we read Scripture in the genre of storytelling, with inspired examples of how God-fearers of the past have wrestled with their faith.

To be clear, Enns affirms the value of Scripture—we know God better by reading it—but he believes we have erroneous expectations of it. He wants to help his readers understand the nature of Scripture and, therefore, how to correctly read and apply it. Instead of diminishing reverence for the Bible, Enns seeks to affirm it by accepting it for what it really is: an inspired but messy text.

Before I provide my own reflection on the book, here are the stats. The book is divided into seven chapters that each have multiple, short readable essays. He centers his thesis on three primary realizations that challenged him to re-think the nature of Scripture. The Bible depicts:

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Three Reviews: Ethics and Old Testament Violence

1 Comment / Book & Film Reviews, Ethics, Reading Scripture / By

Numerous books have been published in recent years addressing challenging passages in the Old Testament. Many of them have focused on the Israelite conquest of Canaan, while others discuss a palette of “problems.” In this post I review three books that engage these challenges. I especially consider how they handle violence in the Old Testament.

Book 1: Paul Copan and Matthew Flannagan, Did God Really Command Genocide? Coming to Terms with the Justice of God (BakerBooks, 2014)

Book link to Did God Really Command Genocide

Did God really command the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites? That is the moral dilemma that Copan and Flannagan take up. These scholars offer an apologetic response to philosophers and New Atheists who dismiss the Old Testament as barbaric. But, does their apologetic meet the task? Yes and No.

The book has four parts:

  • Genocide Texts and the Problem of Scriptural Authority
  • Occasional Commands, Hyperbolic Texts, and Genocidal Massacres
  • Is It Always Wrong to Kill Innocent People?
  • Religion and Violence

The book is largely a summary of the apologetic arguments espoused by William Lane Craig and Nicholas Wolterstorff with atheist philosopher, Wes Morriston, serving as one of their primary opponents. In this regard, the book serves as “Cliff Notes” to broader conversations happening on the topic. The authors begin by asserting that the words of Scripture are not the result of mechanical dictation. In other words, they acknowledge the human side of Scripture; God does not always affirm what the human author affirms, such as psalms of vengeance (28). That is, we must consider whether or not what the human author wrote is what God wants to say to us today through Scripture. God might want to appropriate the words of Scripture for an intention different than the original authors. The original meaning might have been important only for the Israelites’ time and place, and now we have to draw a general principle from the text. At the same time, Copan and Flannagan reject the dichotomy between the Old and New Testament God (war God vs. loving God), as well as Seibert’s distinction between the “textual” God (how the Israelites imagined God to be) and the “real” God (who is not always like the Israelites portrayed God to be; 39-44).

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Review: Divine Scripture in Human Understanding by Joe Gordon

Book & Film Reviews, Reading Scripture / By

One of my research interests, and one I am currently writing on for publication for Eerdmans, is the origins, nature, and useful interpretation of Scripture. Well, I guess that is more like three research interests! But I like to contemplate them together, as they intertwine. Origins helps us to know what the Bible is and what it is helps us to know how to meaningfully use it. So, whenever possible I pick up books on the subject. When I found out a colleague, Dr. Joseph Gordon, associate professor of theology at Johnson University, was coming out with his book Divine Scripture in Human Understanding: A Systematic Theology of the Christian Bible, I knew I had to check it out. I have long appreciated and respected Joe’s theological insights since we were classmates at Marquette University.

Gordon is driven by questions related to the nature and purpose of the Bible. What is it? What role ought it to play in the Christian life? How do we best interpret it? He contemplates these in full awareness of thorny questions around the human fingerprints in Scripture–its difficult passages (e.g. depictions of slavery or violence) and the process of its textual production that has led to a variety of manuscript traditions and not a singular “original” text. What does it mean that the Bible is inspired if human involvement is so evident?

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The Jesus Way: Practicing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises by Karen Keen

Book & Film Reviews, Reconstructing Faith / By

I first became captivated by the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises while going through my spiritual direction training program about ten years ago. I was drawn to this 500 year old contemplation on the life of Jesus that invites us to discern God’s path for our lives. When doctoral studies took me to Marquette University, a Jesuit institution, it gave me the unique opportunity to receive further training in the practice.

At the time, I was serving as an affiliate spiritual director at the campus Faber Center for Ignatian Spirituality amid my studies. My supervisor there, Michael Dante, graciously offered me a 10-months private apprenticeship, and I was able to receive additional training from Howard Gray, SJ, a Jesuit teacher renowned for his insights into the Spiritual Exercises.

Book link to The Jesus Way: Practicing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises

I longed to introduce others to this rich Christian spiritual heritage. So, in 2015, I began leading people through the Exercises, using a 36 weeks adaptation that I created called The Jesus Way: Practicing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Originally, I gave retreatants a binder with the material, but I always intended to publish it in book form once I refined it. I am excited to say that day has finally arrived! As I prepared to lead another small group through the Exercises this fall, I was determined to have this resource available to them.

The retreat follows Ignatius’s intent closely, while still being accessible. The Spiritual Exercises deepen your prayer life, give you new ways of reading Scripture, teach you how to do spiritual discernment, and cultivate an inner freedom. This is an opportunity to be shaped by the story of “God with us.” The world offers many narratives, but not all lead to life. What fills your imagination is what you become. In the Spiritual Exercises you allow Jesus to saturate your reality and invite you into a life of purpose.

Review: Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch by John Webster

Book & Film Reviews, Reading Scripture / By

John Webster provides a helpful contribution to the discussion on the inspiration of the Bible in Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch. He provides a much needed look at the role of the Holy Spirit (pneumatology) that is missing in some of the discussions on the nature of Scripture. Webster roots his views of Scripture in a doctrine of God as saving presence (39). He emphasizes the importance of understanding the Bible as Holy Scripture, and not merely “scripture” (2). The former is a “human text which God sanctifies for the service of his communicative presence” and the latter is “human writing generated and used by religious communities.” He further defines Holy Scripture as “the saving economy of God’s loving and regenerative self-communication.”

Webster believes that in some circles the Holy aspect of Scripture has been discarded (1). He seeks to provide a dogmatic explication of what we mean when we say “Holy” Scripture. In religious studies programs analysis of sacred texts tends to focus on the human agents in the production of the text. But, “Holy” Scripture is indicative of the reality that something divine is occurring beyond merely human activity. Webster does not deny the human elements in Scripture, but rejects reducing Scripture to mere scripture. A doctrine of Scripture must be firmly rooted in the “self-representation of the triune God, of which the text is a servant” (6). When Scripture is divorced from divine activity the text is treated as a matter of independent investigation.

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