An engaging study of the duality of Christ limited by its own theological biases.
A Christian author explores the duality of Jesus’s nature in this nonfiction theological study.
For centuries, Christians have grappled with their faith’s conception of the duality of Jesus—one who is both fully human and fully divine—and the contemporary church still struggles to articulate this central, yet mysterious, doctrine. (“Postmodern people live in a materialist world,” writes Hiemstra, “where the only things thought to exist are those that we can touch, taste, smell, hear, or see.”) The final volume in a three-part series that focuses on the image of God, this book builds upon Image of God in the Parables (2023) and Image of the Holy Spirit and the Church (2023) to provide readers with a biblical study of Jesus’ humanity and divinity (referred to as “transcendence” throughout the book). Introductory chapters contextualize “The Transcendence Challenge,” highlighting, for instance, the conflicting Hebrew and Greek worldviews regarding the heart and the mind: While the Greek world, and its philosophical descendants in the West, emphasized a schism that separated the heart and mind into distinct spheres, the author suggests that the Bible’s Hebrew context saw a “unity of heart and mind,” which informed early Christian notions of a “Triune God” (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Divided into three sections, the book’s main body explores questions about the personhood and divinity of Jesus through the lenses of Old Testament prophecies, Pauline letters, and the Gospels.
While the text’s theology reads as distinctly Protestant, especially in its emphasis on the inerrancy and primacy of the Bible, its orthodoxy is balanced by an ecumenical approach that references sources across the denominational spectrum. One passage on healing, for instance, references the writings of Francis MacNutt, one of the leading figures within the Catholic Church’s Charismatic Movement. Most of the book’s teachings are conservative in nature, including warnings against sexual sins and an undefined “Cultural Marxism.” Liberal Christians may not agree with the book’s traditional takes; Catholic readers may similarly bump against the lack of engagement with their own, millennia-old theology. The omission of a discussion of transubstantiation in the presence of the Eucharist is particularly glaring, given the centrality of the body and blood of Jesus—aspects directly related to Jesus’s personhood, a focus of the book—in Catholic doctrine. This eliding of Catholic and Orthodox traditions leads to occasionally head-scratching claims, such as Hiemstra’s observation that the “transcendence problem facing postmodern people that fixates on the humanity of Christ is something new.” The existence of Ebionites—a Christian sect denounced by Irenaeus and other second-century Christians as heretical due to its preoccupation with Jesus’s humanity—points to the longevity of a debate that predates postmodernism. Doctrinal quibbles, however, are bound to occur in any work centered on Christian theology. Backed by a solid network of references and scholarly, if distinctly conservative, sources, this book offers an accessible introduction to a fundamental question of the Christian faith. While it delves deeply into complex theology, the book is written in a devotional style that includes not only biblical exegesis but also an abundance of relevant anecdotes and prayers that conclude each chapter. The text also includes questions for small group discussions and personal reflections.
An engaging study of the duality of Christ limited by its own theological biases.Pub Date: July 25, 2024
ISBN: 9781942199618
Page Count: 250
Publisher: T2Pneuma Publishers
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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