CultureWatch

Bill Muehlenberg's commentary on issues of the day...

The Gospel According to Dan Brown

Apr 26, 2006

With over 40 million copies sold worldwide, translated into 44 languages, and a blockbuster film due out in mid-May, The Da Vinci Code has made Dan Brown a very wealthy man. But a whirlwind of controversy has surrounded his novel,

A review of The Books the Church Suppressed: Fiction and Truth in the Da Vinci Code. By Michael Green.

Apr 26, 2006

Monarch Books, 2005.

There are a number of good books out which critique the many fallacies and inaccuracies in Dan Brown’s best selling novel. The books by Darrell Bock and Ben Witherington come to mind here. But this volume does

A review of The Many Faces of Evil. By John Feinberg.

Feb 10, 2006

Crossway, 2004.

Evil and suffering are perennial problems which baffle theist and atheist alike. But the presence of evil in the world is a real challenge to those who believe in an all-powerful and an all-benevolent God. Thus the problem

A review of What Does God Know and When Does He Know It? By Millard Erickson.

Feb 3, 2005

Zondervan, 2003.

The debate over openness theology or free-will theism continues to bubble along nicely. Books both for and against continue to pour from the presses. In the past two decades some thirty volumes have been penned directly on this

Responding to the Theological Revisionists

Nov 1, 2004

The Age is not usually known as a journal of theological opinion. Thus one is curious as to why it featured Nicholas Kristof’s piece on the Bible and homosexuality (The Age, 1/11). The subtitle warns of the dangers of

A review of Does Christianity Teach Male Headship?. Edited by David Blankenhorn, et. al.

Jul 24, 2004

Eerdmans, 2004.

The issue of the relationship between men and women is a vexed and complex issue. Plenty of volumes have been written on this contentious debate. Does Scripture teach a patriarchal model, or an egalitarian model, or indeed, some

A review of Love Rules: The Ten Commandments for the 21st Century. By the Church and Nation Committee.

Jun 8, 2004

Presbyterian Church of Victoria, 2004.

Quiz time. When was the last time you read a book on the ten commandments? Indeed, when was the last time you read the ten commandments? Better still, can you name all ten commandments?

False Prophets: Lessons for Today?

Dec 1, 2003

It has often been noted that the most liked people in the Old Testament were the false prophets. How come? Simply because the false prophets told the people what they wanted to hear. Did the masses want to hear about

A review of Old Testament Commentary Survey, 3rd ed. By Tremper Longman.

Nov 29, 2003

Baker, 2003.

It is a great joy to finally have available the third edition of Tremper Longman’s fine review of Old Testament commentaries. It has been a long wait since the 1995 second edition.

Again Longman offers judicious and careful

A review of A Grief Unveiled. By Gregory Floyd.

Sep 26, 2003

Paraclete Press, 1999.

It is the stuff of every parent’s nightmare: the shrill scream, the loud screeching brakes, the heart pounding as you run out the door, expecting the worst. Every day, somewhere around the world, a child is hit

A Theological Dead End

Apr 22, 2003

Three guesses as to who said the following: “Even in purely nonreligious terms, homosexuality represents a misuse of the sexual faculty and, in the words of one…educator, of ‘human construction.’ It is a pathetic little second-rate substitute for reality,

A review of The Letters to the Thessalonians. By Gene Green.

Feb 6, 2003

Eerdmans, 2002.

While there have been a number of good commentaries produced on Thessalonians over the years, there have been no quite recent works of substance. Somewhat older evangelical standards include Morris (NIC, 1959), Bruce (WBC, 1982), and Wanamaker (NIGTC,

A review of Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Paul Achtemeier, Joel Green And Marianne Meye Thompson.

Feb 5, 2003

Eerdmans, 2001.

There have been a number of helpful New Testament introductions written for the Evangelical community, including the older volume by Guthrie and the newer work by Carson, Moo and Morris. And there have been many fine NT theologies

A review of Hail, Holy Queen. By Scott Hahn.

Jun 28, 2002

Doubleday, 2001.

I realize that I am taking a risk. As a Protestant reviewing a decidedly Catholic book for a partly Catholic audience, I walk on shaky ground. Yet there may be a method to my madness. I share a

A review of The Prayer of Jabez. By Bruce Wilkinson.

Nov 2, 2001

Multnomah, 2000.

There may be as many non-believers who have heard of this book as believers, thanks to its phenomenal sales. In May this year a Time magazine article reported that the book sold 3.5 million copies in its first

Prophetic Pronouncements and the Terrorist Bombings

Sep 21, 2001

There are many ways to think about the recent American tragedy. One can discuss international relations and global politics. One can dissect end time prophecies. One can examine concepts of justice and peace.

But another way to look at these

When the Church Loses Its Way

Jun 1, 2001

The ink had just dried on a piece I wrote critical of a new book on homosexuality and the church by the Anglican Church doctrine committee, when the May 28 Australian ran an opinion piece that nearly made me unload

A review of Faithfulness in Fellowship: Reflections on Homosexuality and the Church. By the Doctrine Panel of the Anglican Church of Australia.

May 21, 2001

John Garratt Publishing, 2001.

Two out of ten. If you want a quick scorecard approach to how the authors in this book line up on the issue of homosexuality, that is about how things stack up. Two of the authors/chapters

A review of As One Struggling Christian to Another. By Theodore Tack.

Apr 6, 2001

The Liturgical Press, 2001.

In the humanities, the name Augustine stands out. Indeed, be it history, theology or philosophy, Augustine stands as a towering figure. His many writings are still discussed and analysed today, nearly 1600 years after his death.

The God With Whom We Have To Do

Feb 24, 2001

Since the creation of man, God has been busy as the great iconoclast. That is, ever since Adam and Eve, God has had to constantly shatter our icons, our idols, our false pictures and concepts about himself. Joseph, Moses, Peter

About CultureWatch

We live in an age where we see evidence of cultural decline, the erosion of values, the decline of civility, the denial of truth and the elevation of unreason. Many people are asking, “Where is our culture heading?” This website is devoted to exploring the major cultural, social and political issues of the day. It offers reflection and commentary drawing upon the wealth of wisdom found in the Judeo-Christian tradition. It offers reflective and incisive commentary on a wide range of issues, helping to sort through the maze of competing opinions, worldviews, ideologies and value systems. It will discuss critically and soberly where our culture is heading. Happy reading!

Bill Muehlenberg

CultureWatch

Bill Muehlenberg's commentary on issues of the day...

The Gospel According to Dan Brown

A review of The Books the Church Suppressed: Fiction and Truth in the Da Vinci Code. By Michael Green.

A review of The Many Faces of Evil. By John Feinberg.

A review of What Does God Know and When Does He Know It? By Millard Erickson.

Responding to the Theological Revisionists

A review of Does Christianity Teach Male Headship?. Edited by David Blankenhorn, et. al.

A review of Love Rules: The Ten Commandments for the 21st Century. By the Church and Nation Committee.

False Prophets: Lessons for Today?

A review of Old Testament Commentary Survey, 3rd ed. By Tremper Longman.

A review of A Grief Unveiled. By Gregory Floyd.

A Theological Dead End

A review of The Letters to the Thessalonians. By Gene Green.

A review of Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Paul Achtemeier, Joel Green And Marianne Meye Thompson.

A review of Hail, Holy Queen. By Scott Hahn.

A review of The Prayer of Jabez. By Bruce Wilkinson.

Prophetic Pronouncements and the Terrorist Bombings

When the Church Loses Its Way

A review of Faithfulness in Fellowship: Reflections on Homosexuality and the Church. By the Doctrine Panel of the Anglican Church of Australia.

A review of As One Struggling Christian to Another. By Theodore Tack.

The God With Whom We Have To Do

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