Book Review: Eschatology: Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches edited by D. Jeffrey Bingham and Glenn R. Kreider
The book is edited by two Dallas Theological Seminary
graduates so the overall perspective will be from that Seminary’s ideological
point of view; though the writers come from different universities, including
three former professors of mine at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
It is refreshing that the ideology behind this study is one of Biblical
trustworthiness; one will not have to worry about whether the authors think
Paul was mistaken in his prophetic views (as some liberal Christians assert).
Part 1 introduces the foundations for a doctrine of the
future, including a good chapter by Charles C. Ryrie himself. Part 2 is a
Biblical theology of the future, examining what the Bible itself has to say on
the topic, division by division (Historical books, the Prophets, the Synoptic
Gospels, etc.). I was surprised to find myself enjoying the historical part of
the book, and the analyses on part 3 will be helpful to anyone wanting a primer
on, say, Augustine’s view of the future, or that of John Calvin, Jonathan
Edwards, or Jürgen Moltmann. Overall, the authors made an excellent effort in
laying out the basics of each view. Part 4 brings in the praxis of a doctrine
of the future to contemporary situations.
Of course, as other books, my personal theological stance on
prophecy is not represented since I am not a traditional or progressive
Dispensationalist, but no one expected the authors to be perfect. :-)
Finally, I applaud Kregel for printing the footnotes at the
bottom of the page (as opposed to endnotes that one has to hunt down to make
sense of), making it more useful to students and scholars; the book is much,
much better because of this.
A solid 4/5 stars
Disclosure: The book was
received for free from Kregel Academic & Ministry book review program. The
program does not require a positive review, only a truthful one.
