Bioethics: Stem Cells

Stem cell technology has the potential to change the face of medicine. Using stem cells, it may be possible to repair damaged or diseased organs. The benefits could be huge. But Christians have long opposed "therapeutic cloning", in which stem cells are harvested from artificially created human embryos. The embryos are discarded once their stem cells have been extracted. This process is ethically problematic because human life is being treated as a disposable commodity - a means to an end. The Bible insists that human beings are to be treated with dignity as God's image bearers from womb to tomb. This does not mean that Christians are opposed to stem cell research per se. It has long been recognised that stem cells can be obtained from milk teeth, the umbilical cord and human skin. Just recently cells culled from adult skin were manipulated to create beating heart tissue (see here). Professor Ian Wilmut, creator of Dolly the cloned sheep has said that he will now abandon embryonic stem cell research. He has not come to this decision primarily for ethical reasons, but because he recognises the success of experiments on adult stem cells (see here).

It has often been said the Christians with their bioethical concerns over embryonic stem cells are standing in the way of progress. Advocates of on embryonic stem cell research have sometimes resorted to emotional blackmail, suggesting that those who oppose such work are preventing scientists from finding possible cures for Parkinson's disease, heart disease and so on. But the evidence now seems to suggest that advances may be made in stem cell research that do not entail treating human life as a medical resource. It is amazing that the Creator has so constituted the human body that we each carry our own personal repair kits in the form of stem cells. Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made. See here for the website of John Ling, a top UK bioethicist.

Knights of the Lord's Table

The competent apologist is one who witnesses to the intellectual and existential integrity of the gospel, the extraordinary message that the triune God has enabled sinners, through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to share in the divine life. It is not irrational to accept testimony, especially the compelling testimony of a life well lived. Those who speak the truth in love will find themselves not only proclaiming the passion narrative but in a sense performing it; for all who bear witness to the truth of God's wisdom - a wisdom at odds with the wisdom of this world - must be prepared to endure opposition. Knights of the Lord's Table seek to live well and, if necessary to die well in a demonstration of the wisdom of the cross. They are less conquerors than sufferers for the truth.

In the final analysis, the best apologetic is the whole people of God speaking and acting as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, arguing, living, and dying as wise witnesses to the way, the truth and the life.

Kevin Vanhoozer, Theology and apologetics, in New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics, IVP, 2006, p. 43.

Patrick Sookhdeo on The Challenge of Islam

Christians car-bombed in Iraq

Yesterday evening, we hosted a Barnabas Fund meeting. The speaker was Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, the Fund's director. His theme was The Challenge of Islam. Dr. Sookhdeo is a Christian convert from Islam and an expert on Islamic teaching. Here is a report of what he had to say.

1. The challenge of Islam to society

Patrick drew attention to a recent EU policy speech by David Milliband, the UK Foreign Secretary. Milliband predicted that by 2030 Europe will be struggling with forces beyond its own borders and facing the danger of religious extremism [read Islamic extremism] creating divisions on its own doorstep. Milliband's solution to the challenge of Islam is to allow Turkey to join the EU. But of this were to happen, Europe would by 47% Islamic by 2020. With the growth of Islam in the EU, non Muslims would be reduced to second class dhimmi status in their own countries. Islam is not simply a religion with spiritual goals. It aims at socio-political domination. In Islamic teaching, God rules the world by his law. There are the laws of nature and the Shari'a - or religious laws that govern the whole of life. Already UK governments have acted to allow Shari'a laws the affect pension and mortgage provision, education and prison foods. If further accommodations are made, life could become difficult for non-Muslims in Muslim dominated areas of the UK.

2. The challenge of Islam to the church

Churches that imbibed Liberal theology are slowly fading away. For example, it is predicted that membership of the United Reformed Church will fall by 62% by 2030. Britain has become a post-Christian, secular society where pluralism and consumerism reigns. Liberal theology, emptied out of biblical truth has nothing to offer. Islam, with its absolutist claims is filling the vacuum that was left by the decline of "Christian Britain". Muslims know what they believe, but many church leaders offer an uncertain vision. If the church is to have a future in the UK, we must return to biblical truth and hold to the historic Christian teachings on the Person of Christ and the Trinity. Also we need to recover a properly biblical eschatology that is focused on the return of the Jesus Christ as Saviour and judge. In Islamic eschatology Jesus will return and convert the world to Islam. We must boldly preach that when Jesus comes, he will vindicate the suffering Christian church and hold opponets of the gospel to account. On that day, all people, Muslims included will have to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Only the robustly biblical theology of the Reformation will give the churches the doctrinal clarity and spiritual fortitude to rise to the challenge of Islam. Dr. Sookhdeo reminded us that while we may oppose the Islamic faith, we must treat Muslims with love and respect. But it is simply not right to say with some misguided churchmen, that triune God of the gospel is the same as Allah. Our task is to share the good news of Jesus with Muslim people.

3. The challenge to the church in the of Islamic world

Christians in the Middle East find themselves caught between Islam and the West. They are accused by their Muslim neighbours of siding with the West against Islam. Many Christians in Iraq have had to flee the country. There are now 400,000 Christian refugees in Syria. Believers are sent death threats by text and letter. They are warned that they must either conform to Islam and live under Shari'a law or die. Three Christian women were beheaded for refusing to wear the hijab. Under Saddam Hussein, believers were part of the Iraqi middle class, with many Christian Doctors. But now the Christian community suffers deprivation and poverty. Many who can afford to leave the country have done so. Christians are offered little protection by the authorities. A fourteen year old boy was crucified in Basra, where UK forces are at work.

The Barnabas Fund seeks to channel aid to suffering Christians, especially in Islamic countries. See here for details of the Save Iraqi Christians campaign. The Fund also helps to equip the churches to face the challenge of Islam. See here for a major new book, Global Jihad: The Future in the Face of Militant Islam by Patrick Sookhdeo. Please pray for the work of the Barnabas Fund. Visit their website to find out more about their mission. Should we not stand with the 1 in 10 Christians around the world who suffer for Jesus' sake?

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:10)

"But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17)

Phil Arthur on the Puritan Family

At Monday's Minister's Fraternal in Honiton, Devon, we had Phil Arthur speak to us on Puritan family life. He gave us a vivid picture of the Puritan view of marriage and child rearing through the eyes of a fictional couple, Richard and Abigail Adams. The Adam's family lived in Bedworthshire, England. We catch a glimpse the newly-weds in the early 1640's prior to the turbulent years of the Civil War.

1. Husbands and wives

In medieval Christendom, marriage was regarded as a second best option for those who wished to take their faith seriously. But the Puritans recaptured the Bible's healthy and positive teaching on married life. For them, marriage could be a stimulus rather than a stumblingblock in the quest for godliness. In the Catholic view, marriage was a necessary evil for the procreation of the human race. But the Puritans stressed that God has ordained marriage for the loving companionship of husband and wife, procreation and the prevention of sexual immorality, in that order. Puritan preachers devoted a lot of attention to the marriage relationship, focusing especially on Ephesians 5:22-6:4. Richard Adam's uncle bought him a copy of William Gouge's great tome, Domestical Duties as a wedding present. Gouge gave directions for conducting family worship and offered lots of practical advice on coping the stresses and strains of married life. Contrary to their caricature, the Puritans were not at all repressed and embarrassed by sexual intimacy in marriage. They positively reveled in marital love and Gouge urged couples not to deny one another the pleasures of the marriage bed. One of their favourite texts was Proverbs 5:18-19. Puritan preachers were against sexual immorality, not sex in itself. Indeed, a Puritan wife in New England reported her husband to their pastor for neglecting his "duties" in this regard. When the man still refused to sleep with his wife, the matter was brought before the whole church, who excommunicated him! Abigail Adams was glad that Protestant teaching elevated her from being little better than a baby factory. In the Puritan vision she was her husband's beloved and honoured companion. While the Puritans stressed male headship in the home, they taught that the husband should exercise his responsibilities with tenderness and grace.

2. Parents and children

Richard and Abigail were blessed with their first child, whom they named Richard in honour of his father. The lad was fortunate as the Puritans has a penchant for quirkily biblical names like Praise-God, Barabbas and Pharaoh. Puritan teaching regarded abortion as murder. Children were to be cherished as gifts from God and nurtured in godliness. Teachers like Gouge had no illusions about the innate goodness of children. They are born in sin and need discipline and correction. The Puritans knew the wisdom of the biblical injunction, "spare the rod and spoil the child". Children were to be educated and fitted for a useful calling, whether academic or practical according to aptitude. The great aim of Christian parenting was to bring children to trust in the Redeemer. Puritan families would meet daily for times of Bible reading, prayer and instruction. The father was a prophet who taught his family the Word of God, a priest who prayed for them and a king who ruled his own household well. The mother was to guide the home and care for her children. In a very modern touch, Gouge argued that mother's breast is best and discouraged the use of wet nurses.

3. Masters and servants

Wealthier Puritan households kept domestic servants. These were to be treated fairly and with respect by their masters. The domestics were to offer loyal service to their masters. All was to be done in accordance with the biblical teaching in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 6.

The paper concluded with Abigail being awoken to breast feed little Richard one cold December night. Her husband arose from his bed to place a blanket around his wife and their baby. "I love thee, my lass!" said Richard, "And I love thee too!" responded the tired, yet happy and contented young mum.

4. Discussion

Perhaps we have taken the traditional nuclear family for granted. We would to well to recapture the Puritan vision of marriage as an ennobling and liberating institution. Their Scriptural understanding of marriage is much to be preferred to today's casual attitude to adult relationships. We need to get rid of feminist inspired suspicion of marriage and work out a truly biblical pattern of godly family life. Of course, we should not try to ape the Puritans who developed their teaching in the context of a highly stratified and deferential society. We would not expect a wife to curtsy to her husband or a husband to bow in reverence to his wife. We don't have to worry about the servants overhearing our intimate conversations. But contemporary believers have much to learn from the Puritan's wise and practical teaching on marriage. In chatting to Phil after the meeting, I suggested that he develop the fictional Adams family into an historical novel. I hope he will.

Phil Arthur originally gave his paper on Puritan Family Life at the 1997 Westminster Conference. Drop me an e-mail for more details.

Holiness by John Webster

Holiness, John Webster, 2003, SCM Press

In this remarkable book, John Webster attempts to develop a dogmatic theology of holiness. Webster is an academic theologian with a special interest in Karl Barth. But he does not view theology as a merely "academic" exercise. Theology is a work of human reason that has been sanctified by God and that is subject to the revelatory presence of the Holy Trinity as set forth in Holy Scripture. Webster insists that the theologian needs to undertake this venture with prayerful dependence of the Holy Spirit in the context of the communion of the saints. The grand objective of theology is the sanctification of God's holy Name. Webster disagrees with some modern theologians who seek discern the meaning of holiness by a study of religious phenomenon of "the sacred". We can only understand the holy God, who is Father, Son and Spirit as he brings us into saving fellowship with himself by an act of free mercy. The writer offers a compelling vision of the task of theology,

"Theology is an office in the Church. When Church and theology are shaped into holiness by the gospel, then the work of theology is one to which the theologian is called and appointed and for which the theologian is equipped, in order to undertake a particular task. Theology is not free thought or speech, if by 'free' we mean unattached to any given set of objects or any given sphere of inquiry. Theology is not free speech but holy speech. It is set apart for and bound to its object - that is the gospel - and to the fellowship of the saints in which the gospel is heard as divine judgement and consolation - that is, the Church." (p. 2)

We are to view God's holiness in relational terms. The triune God is holy in himself. His attributes including holiness are a true revelation of the being of God. But his holiness is revealed to us in the acts of creation and redemption. The Father elected human beings for fellowship with himself. The Son has rescued humanity from sin by his atoning work. The Spirit perfects the work of redemption by sanctifying sinners and bringing them into fellowship with God. Webster is clear that God does not set aside his majestic holiness in the event of our salvation. It is as the Holy One that the Lord acts to overcome our unholiness to reconcile us with himself. But what of God's holiness in relation to those who remain in their sin? To such, the holy God is a "consuming fire". The theologian does not comment on this aspect of the subject, choosing to emphasise God's holiness in salvation rather than in judgement. But if an account of holiness is to follow the contours of Holy Scripture, then something should be said about God's holy and eternal wrath against unrepentant sinners.

The doctrine of God's holiness should not be separated from the doctrine of the church because the holy God has acted to sanctify a people for himself. However, Webster is careful to guard against social trinitarianism, which tends to blur the distinction between God's intertrinitarian life and the life of the church. He rightly prefers to discuss God's relationship with his people in terms of the doctrine of election. The church exists because the Father has chosen and gathered a holy people to himself. This is a work of free grace accomplished by the Son and enacted by the Spirit. The church does not possess an innate holiness. Hers is an alien holiness bestowed upon her and maintained by God's sanctifying grace,

"The church is holy; but it is holy, not by virtue of some ontological participation in the divine holiness, but by virtue of its calling by God, its reception of the divine benefits, and the obedience of faith." (p. 57).

The church exists to confess God's own holiness. She does this as she hears and responds to the promise and commands of the gospel. The church's holiness becomes visible when she confesses her sin and asks God for mercy. The holiness of the church is missional. She bears witness to the world in word and deed, "the dynamic of holiness includes not only gathering and withdrawal but also sending." (p. 74). The holiness of the church is expressed as she prays, 'Hallowed be thy name!' "Praise is the great act of rebellion against sin, the great repudiation of our wicked refusal to acknowledge God to be the Lord." (p. 76). This consideration of the holiness of the church - the people of God - is a welcome corrective to privatised versions of holiness and spirituality.

But where does all this leave the holiness of the individual Christian? The theologian devotes the last of his four chapters to this subject. Here is his basic proposition,

"The sanctification of the Christian is the work of the Holy Trinity in which the reconciled sinner is renewed for the active life of holy fellowship with God. Grounded in the electing, reconciling and perfecting work of Father, Son and Spirit, the active life of holy fellowship is the work of faith, which is at every moment characterised by mortification and vivification, and which is actual as freedom, obedience and love." (p. 78-79, italics original)

As Webster expounds this proposition phrase by phrase, he develops a theology of the Christian life of holiness. The holy life is not a matter of autonomous self-actualisation. That would be a denial of our creaturely dependence upon God. The writer draws on Calvin's teaching on 'double grace' at this point. God not only reconciles us to himself and acquits us from guilt, he also transforms us for holy action. The goal of our election is that we should be holy, (Ephesians 1:4). Holiness is evangelical sanctification - a holiness that has been declared by the gospel and is received in faith. But holiness is not only declared in the gospel, it is also commanded by the gospel. The believer has been united to Christ in his death and resurrection. The pattern of the Christian life is that of mortification and vivification. Through the Spirit, sin is put to death and holiness brought to life. The life of holiness is an expression of true Christian freedom. We are free not for self-realisation, but to obey the law of God and walk in his ways.

The theologian draws on the teaching of Barth here and there. His influence can perhaps be discerned in Webster's teaching on election as "the separation of humankind as a holy people" (p. 48). Does this mean all humankind? He does not spell out what he means in detail. But there are many good things here. The writer has given us a well argued and attractive account of Christian holiness. Webster's theology is deeply trinitarian and is full of textual exegesis and biblical reflection. He helpfully draws upon the theological insights of John Calvin, John Owen and Jonathan Edwards. This study enriches our understanding of the holy God of the gospel. Here is a work of 'holy reason' that is of great practical value both to the church and individual believer.

Jesus wept

"He groaned in in spirit and was troubled...Jesus wept." (John 11:33 & 35)

It is death that is the object of his wrath, and behind death him who has the power of death, and whom he has come into the world to destroy, the devil. Tears of sympathy may fill his eyes, but this is incidental. His soul is held by rage: and he advances to the tomb, in Calvin's words, "as a champion who prepares for conflict." The raising of Lazarus thus becomes not an isolated marvel, but - as indeed it is presented throughout the whole narrative (compare especially, verses 24-26) - a decisive instance and open symbol of Jesus' conquest of death and hell. What John does for us in this particular statement is to uncover to us the heart of Jesus, as he wins for us our salvation. Not in cold unconcern, but in flaming wrath against the foe, Jesus smites on our behalf. He has saved us from the evils which oppress us; he has felt for and with us in our oppression, and under the impulse of these feeling has wrought out our redemption.

B. B. Warfield, The Emotional Life of our Lord, p. 177, in The Person and Work of Christ, P&R

Who is he that stands and weeps
at the grave where Lazarus sleeps?

'Tis the Lord! O wondrous story!
'tis the Lord, the King of glory!
at his feet we humbly fall;
crown him, crown him Lord of all!

Benjamin Russell Hanby (1833-67

Worldliness

Worldliness isn't what it used to be, at least not when it comes to popular evangelical piety. Once upon a time, worldliness could be defined very simply by a list of prohibitions: No cinema, no smoking, no alcohol and no popular music. So, shun films, fags, booze and pop, and you will be blissfully free of worldliness. Simple isn't it? Well, not quite. We must define worldliness biblically and theologically before we reflect on how we may avoid it. When the Bible speaks about "the world" or worldliness, it does not do so in terms of a series of taboos. In biblical terminology, "the world" means life in this present evil age. It is humanity existing in a state of rebellion against God, subject to the slavery of sin and the power of the devil. In this sense, "the world" is the product of the fall and is the object of God's just wrath (See 2 Corinthains 4:3 & 4, Ephesians 2:1-3, 1 John 5:19). This world will be destroyed when Christ comes to rid the creation of evil and make all things new.

How do Christians stand in relation to the world? Well, by his death and resurrection, Christ has condemned this world and its ruler - the devil (John 12:31 & 31). He has overcome the world (John 16:33). In Christ, the kingdom of God's saving righteousness has been inaugurated. The days of this present evil age are numbered. Believers may live in the world, but they are not of the world. Because they no longer belong to the world, the world hates them (John 17:15 & 16, 15:18 & 19). The world may be hostile to the child of God, but by faith the believer is able to overcome the world (1 John 5:4 & 5). Does this mean that the world holds no allure for the Christian? Not quite. The child of God is still a sinner. There is something in our natures that finds the world enticing and attractive. Hence the warning,

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever". (1 John 2:15-17)

Are we to say that to avoid worldliness, the believer must withdraw from engagement with the cultural and social life in the world? No, for the arts and culture are an expression of the creative gifts that God has given to humanity in his common grace. While some aspects of art and culture may be so debased by sin that Christians should avoid them, there are many good things that we may enjoy. Going to the cinema, listening to classical or contemporary music and so on are not intrinsically worldly. But we can be worldly in our religion if we are not careful. If we look down on other believers as "worldly" because, for example, they drink alcohol, is that not a symptom of "the pride of life"? If we lust after a reputation for theological greatness, is that not worldly? Worldliness can be very subtle and we do ourselves no favours when we reduce such a complex thing to a simple set of rules.

So, what is the antidote to worldliness? It is the love of the Father. He so loved this world of worldly sinners that he sent his Son to save us from the world (John 3:16). The gospel, not a set of taboos will enable us to resist worldliness. Paul begins and concludes Galatians on this note,

"Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (1:3-5).

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (6:14)

We have been delivered from this present evil age by the death of Christ. In him, the world is crucified to us and us to the world. Our concern is not for the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life. We are dead to all that. Now we will boast not in our own achievements or religious superiority, but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who believe that Jesus, the crucified one is the Son of God will overcome the world. They will love God and keep his commandments.

Raising Children God's Way by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Raising Children God’s Way, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Banner of Truth Trust, 2007, 85pp.

One of the major social concerns in our day is that of unruly, disrespectful children. Some youngsters are pampered and spoilt. They think that they can get away with anything and resent discipline. Others have been neglected by parents who put their career ambitions before family life. The politicians and child care experts do not seem to have any real solutions to the problem of bad behaviour in children. Here, in five sermons on Ephesians 6:1-4, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones sets forth God’s way of raising children. These sermons were originally preached in the 1960’s, but they are strikingly fresh and contemporary.

Being a parent is a huge, God-given joy and privilege. But parenting skills do not come in a free information pack when babies are born. That would be nice, but it doesn't happen. Christian parents need biblical instruction on how to raise their children in the best possible way. The Scriptural teaching has to be understood and applied. Lloyd-Jones brings out the Bible’s wise and balanced approach to child rearing. Parents are to discipline their children, but not in a harsh, “Victorian” manner. The Christian home is to be a place of love, where the Bible is applied to the whole of life. Children need to be nurtured and encouraged as well as corrected.

These sermons are deeply practical and applicatory. Christian parents will find lots of helpful teaching from Lloyd-Jones on principles to follow and pitfalls to avoid. At a time when many are tuning in to TV programmes like “Supernanny” for parenting advice, we need to recapture the Christian view of raising children. These expositions from “The Doctor” will help us to do just that. All Christian parents from new mums and dads to those coping with the stresses and strains of bringing up teenagers will benefit from Raising Children God’s Way. The publishers are to be congratulated for making this material available in such a handy format.

(Originally published in Life in the Spirit in Marriage, Home & Work: An Exposition of Ephesians 5:18 to 6:9, D. M. Lloyd-Jones, 1974, Banner of Truth Trust).

Blogging and the future of theology

"It is to be feared that the democratisation of the theological process (every blogger now demands the right to have centre stage and equal validity) destabilises serious theological engagement. The church's affirmation of its 'tradition' becomes engagement with last week's posting." (Derek Thomas here).

In response to Derek Thomas' recent remarks, here are some thoughts on theology blogging,

1. The bloghood of all believers

It is true that you don't have to be a theology professor or even a pastor to start as blog. Anyone can have a go. Blogging is democratic rather than elitist. Does this mean that all blogs are equally valid or useful? Hardly. Some bloggers don't seem to realise that it is best not to post on things that they know nothing or very little about. But blogging can be a means of facilitating the communion of the saints as believers from all over the world share their thoughts for discussion and reflection.

2. Centre stage?

Only a mighty Aussie theoblogger like Ben Myers or evangelical uberblogger Adrain Warnock can hope dominate the theoblogmatic stage. I think that the rest of us (apart from a few megalomaniacs) are simply content to engage in the drama of blogging in a modest, but (hopefully) meaningful way.

3. Serious engagement?

Theology blogging may sometimes be little better than an opinionated slanging match. Ignorance is pooled and tempers get frayed, but nothing good happens. That is a bad thing. But this need not be the case. There is some seriously serious theological engagement going on out there in the blog-land. I would venture to argue that many people have been theologically enriched by blogging. Views have been tested, new aspects of truth glimpsed and books read that otherwise would have been missed. The act of writing up posts on a regular basis helps to sharpen thought about theological matters. At its best, blogging can enhance and invigorate rather than destabilise the theological process. If you don't think that the blogosphere is the place for serious theological engagement, see here and here.

4. Engaging with tradition

Of course, blogging is a fast-moving medium where the focus of attention shifts from day to day. But there are a number of blogs that are devoted to engaging with tradition in a lively and helpful way, notably here and here.

5. Theoblogging is here to stay (until something else comes along)

The medium is now pretty well established with an almost discernible "community" of serious theology bloggers. Google being the blog-friendly search engine that it is, regularly sends theological enquiries to blogs. Even some of my older posts attract daily Google referrals. This phenomenon isn't going to go away, so we had better learn to live with it. By creating a means of sharing information and facilitating theological discussion, blogging may even have a positive contribition to make to the future of theology as a global enterprise.

6. Derek Thomas is a blogger

Yes, tell it not in Gath, but Professor Derek W. H. Thomas himself has been known to blog over at Reformation 21!

Always Reforming by A.T.B. McGowan (ed)

Always Reforming, Explorations in Systematic Theology,
Edited by A.T.B. McGowan, IVP Apollos, 2006

Reformed theology should be reforming theology, but this has not always been the case. The Reformed tradition has sometimes been guilty of defensive traditionalism. This results in a failure to respond to new challenges to the faith. Tired old nostrums are repeated, but there is little evidence of fresh, biblical thinking. This book attempts to reassert the principle of semper reformanda - always reforming. Ten leading Reformed Theologians were given the task of reflecting on key areas of systematic theology. Some devote attention to matters of methodology, others discuss important biblical doctrines. Andrew McGowan's introduction sets the scene for the book with a passionate argument for semper reformanda.

The whole discipline of systematic theology has been called into question of late. So, it is good that several chapters are devoted to methodological issues. On this front, Stephen Williams has piece on Observations on the Future of System. He draws on Charles Simeon's proposals in an attempt to argue for a broad-based approach to theology that may help to break down the old Arminian/Calvinist divide. Kevin Vanhoozer's On the Very Idea of a Theological System offers a much more radical and innovative approach to doing systematics. After surveying several different options, he argues that theodramatic triangulation is the way forward. As in his The Drama of Doctrine, the writer proposes that doctrine should enable the people of God to perform their roles in the drama of redemption. To do this, theology must triangulate the authoritative Scriptures, the church and the world. All this is very good, but I am still not clear what a Vanhoozer authored systematics would look like. Would he work his way through the classic loci of systematics from the Doctrine of God to Eschatology theodramatically or what? I don't know (neither does he - yet. See this interview). Richard Gamble's chapter is on The Relationship Between Biblical and Systematic Theology. He seems to think that systematic theology should transmute into biblical theology, leaving little room for the systematics as traditionally conceived. But this would be a serious loss to theological reflection. Systematic theology views Scriptural revelation as a finished product, which may be studied logically and comprehensively. Biblical theology concentrates on the unfolding process of biblical revelation. We need both perspectives if we are to develop a rigorous and coherent understanding of the "whole counsel of God". John Murray's proposals on the interrelationship of the two disciplines are much more helpful (here).

The essays on key doctrines showcase Reformed systematics at its best. Doctrines are explored with biblical insight and a fine grasp of the current state of scholarship. The writers make suggestions for future reflection and study. Gerald Bray helpfully charts the way ahead for the doctrine of the Trinity. Robert Reymond devotes attention to Person of Christ. He argues convincingly for Christ's eternal sonship. The theologian sets forth a Calvinistic understanding of the Son as autotheos. Andrew McGowan brings biblical light to bear on the the controversy surrounding penal substitution in his chapter on the atonement. Henri Blocher's essay on the relationship between the old and new covenants is full of fresh insights. The book is worth buying for this contribution alone. As a Baptist I found his proposals on the continuity and discontinuity of the covenants especially enlightening. Richard Gaffin draws upon the teaching of Calvin and John Murray in his chapter union with Christ. He argues that union with Christ rather than the ordo salutis should take centre stage in Reformed soteriology. Very true. Cornelis Venema gives attention to justification by faith in relation to ecumenism and the new perspective. Those not familiar with his The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ, will find a useful summary of his arguments here. Finally, Derek Thomas concludes with a chapter on the doctrine of the church. We should give more attention to ecclesiology and seek to work out a biblical doctrine of the church and her worship. Notwithstanding his Presbyterianism and some cheeky remarks on theology blogging, this was a helpful reminder that if God is our Father, the church is our mother. She exists to nurture us in the faith and hold us in Christ. Reformed systematic theology would do well to take account of the proposals mapped out in these essays. One lacunae was the failure to include some dogmatic reflection on the resurrection of Christ.

As one who has sometimes expressed concerns about the failure of Reformed theology to engage with contemporary issues (here), I found this book most refreshing and helpful. It was good to see several writers make use of John Murray's far reaching proposals for systematics. One enjoyable feature of the book is the interaction between some of the authors. Gamble has a little dig at John Frame, who responds in his Preface. Also in the preface, Frame seems to accuse fellow triangulator Kevin Vanhoozer of having an overcomplicated hermeneutic. I recommend this lively book at all who are interested in the future of Reformed systematic theology. What we need now is a full-length systematic theology that is both Reformed and reforming. Semper reformanda!