Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? by David F. Wells ISBN: 0-8028-0747-X Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 June, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.12 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Wells Contra Mundum
Comment: In a separate lecture elsewhere, Wells reported to his wife that when this book is published, he will receive a lot of criticism from the EVANGELICAL flank of the church. As some of the reviews below have shown, he was excatcly right.
Wells's thesis can be summarized thus: "Since the church has adopted all the vestiges of modernity, it has become irrelevant to God, and as such can no longer deliver the demands of God to a dying people. This is so because the church views reality in light of a modernistic (and postmodernistic, although that thought is not developed thoroughly) framework. It cannot make itself better because any attempt at SELF-reform will only re-inforce modernity's grip on the church. The Church's only hope is for "prophets" to call the church back to its focal point: the Holiness of God, without which life is meaningless."
However, the book is not perfect for several reasons. 1)At times it was too technical; had it become more personal for pastors and theologians it would have fared better. 2)It did not deal adequately enough with postmodernism, although with all fairness to Wells, pomo did not have the cultural influence in the early 90's as it does now.
Its strengths, however, really show themselves in the last few chapters. In fact, pages 298-301 are worth the price of the book. Here are a few excerpts: "Christian faith is only Christian to the extent that it has been constituted by the Word of God, the Word that God has made powerful and effective in the reconstituting of sinful life" (298). And: "The habits of the modern world, now so ubiquitous in the evangelical world, need to be put to death, not given new life" (301).
Finally to one reviewer who gave it 1 star and accused it of being puritanical dribble, Mr Rivers. I gather the impression that he did not read past the first chapter. Wells uses one puritan village as a microcosm (and an accurate one) of theology in practice before Modernity. Furthermore, Wells did not come up with this idea; he documents Cambridge historian Paul Johnson's book, OUR TIME. It appears Mr Rivers not only read past the first chapter, he did not even read the footnotes in the chapter. Even assuming that he read the book, he is still not interactin with Wells's arguments. He is merely restating them and then saying he does not like them. While he said this shut the door for more research, I personally cannot wait to read Wells's other books in this genre.
Rating: 4
Summary: An analysis the church should not ignore
Comment: I have spoken with so many pastors and Christians who have read David Wells' work and dismissed it as being "too critical." I don't disagree entirely but I'm not surprised to hear such a common assessment when the most popular verse of the Bible has shifted from John 3:16 to "Thou shalt not judge." Anyone with a prophetic discernment is relegated with the critical in spirit. I actually admire David Wells for having the courage to speak so boldly at the risk of sounding imbalanced. Even if his book(s) may not have practical-hands-on tips on how to do church there is enough insight in his writing for any Christian leader to brood over time. Interestingly, we who are so prone to look for methods that work get disappointed by books like this because it does not contain pat answers. In fact, reading this book has helped me tremendously in getting my focus back on the basics, that God uses people over methods and revelation over feelings (although Wells goes a bit too far in downplaying emotions). I recommend that this book be read thoughtfully rather than being reactive to it. In a time when the church has gone soft on doctrine David Wells' book will be timely in helping to restore theology back to its central place.
Rating: 1
Summary: Puritanical Dribble
Comment: The experiential side of the Christian life is left to those who do not share in the Old Calvinists ideals of the Puritan fathers. Of course, we are wrong headed and completely responsible for the lack of morals and the modern landscape of irrelavence in Christianity. Modern thought and any theology this side of the first Great Awakening are anathema that must be thoroughly purged from the pulpits of America so that we can return to the utopian ideals of Wenham and their cloistered Congregationalists babble. I sincerely hope Professor Wells is not as arrogant about the heresies of other less-puritan views of the church's role in our society when he lectures in class. At least he has done me the service of eliminating a possible sight for more research.
 |
Title: God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams by David F. Wells ISBN: 0802841791 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 July, 1994 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
 |
Title: Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover It's Moral Vision by David F. Wells ISBN: 0802846726 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 January, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
 |
Title: Gagging of God, The by D. A. Carson ISBN: 031024286X Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.99 |
 |
Title: The Compromised Church: The Present Evangelical Crisis by John H. Armstrong ISBN: 1581340060 Publisher: Crossway Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
 |
Title: Return to Reason: A Critique of Enlightenment Evidentialism and a Defense of Reason and Belief in God by Kelly James Clark ISBN: 080280456X Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 April, 1990 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
