We’re introducing a new occasional contributor and feature on the Emerging Scholars Blog today. Nick Liao, Academic Sales and Marketing Manager for InterVarsity Press, will join us periodically to spotlight new titles from IVP that may be of interest to emerging scholars. If you like this, you may also be interested in a new bibliography, Campus Resources from IVP, that Nick, Tom, and I created to draw attention to IVP titles related to concerns of graduate students and faculty. I also recommend signing up for IVP Academic Update for more upcoming titles. Welcome aboard, Nick! ~ Mike
It seems an understatement to note that these are politically charged times. No doubt some of you have caught wind of several Internet debates brewing over the proper relationship between church and state, carrying on here, here and here.
A new release from IVP Academic that speaks to this contentious issue of political theology is Peter J. Leithart‘s Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom. A Reformed pastor and Senior Fellow of Theology and Literature at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, Leithart is galled by popular accounts of Constantine as a cynical politician who used Christianity for political gain and who forged an unholy alliance between church and state.
Against those who use Constantinianism as a dirty word to refer to the church’s capitulation to Caesar, Leithart endeavors to paint a more complicated and truthful portrait of the first Christian Roman Emperor. The historical case he builds is judicious and well-reasoned. Many will surely find his theological conclusions more controversial, especially those belonging to the swelling ranks of what James Davison Hunter calls the “Neo-Anabaptists.” But anyone with a dog in this fight will have to reckon with what Leithart is saying here, as have N.T. Wright and William Cavanaugh.
Another new title that touches on an equally polarizing topic is Science, Creation and the Bible: Reconciling Rival Theories of Origins by Richard Carlson and Tremper Longman III. Just days ago, Karl Giberson of the BioLogos Foundation and Albert Mohler of Southern Seminary tangled publicly over their divergent perspectives on evolution. Refreshingly irenic in tone, this book offers conflicted readers a way to reconcile evolutionary theory with the authority of Scripture.
Other IVP Academic titles to watch for in October:
Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed) by Jeff Van Duzer
Recognizing the ways in which business can be used for greed and evil, Van Duzer, dean of the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University, presents an redemptive Christian vision for business that serves God’s purposes in the world.
Theology Remixed: Christianity as Story, Game, Language and Culture by Adam C. English
In fresh and contextual fashion, Adam English invites the reader to reimagine the very nature and work of Christian theology through the lenses of story, game, language and culture.
Images of Salvation in the New Testament by Brenda B. Colijn
Holding advanced degrees in English literature and theology, Colijn plumbs the literary depths of the New Testament, uncovering a picture of salvation that looks like a mosaic — one comprised of a wealth of metaphors and theological dimensions.
Thank-you Nick! Really appreciate the inside scoop on new publications from InterVarsity Press (IVP). I have a couple of the titles you mention on my ‘to read list.’ I may start with “Theology Remixed: Christianity as Story, Game, Language and Culture” (Adam C. English).