Book Review: The Supremacy of God in Preaching
The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book Review: The Design of the Psalter: A Macrostructural Analysis
The Design of the Psalter: A Macrostructural Analysis by Peter C.W. Ho
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The macrostructural aspects of Ho’s thesis is to view the Masoretic arrangement of the Psalms, with the superscriptions and selah’s, as more thematic in terms of theology and eschatology. He supports this thesis with analysis of individual psalms intertextually within different collections, i.e., Davidic, Korahite, and Asaphite collections, and the placement of those subgroups within the five books. Intertextual references and allusions along with structural elements such as alphabet acrostics, alphabet composition, and numeric nexus combine to support the arrangement of the psalms as a book, with flow, and beginning, middle, and end.
You don’t have to agree with all his conclusions to be benefited by his work. Ho obviously doesn’t think he’s written the final word in Psalm interpretation, and generally indicates some of his own guesswork, though informed guesswork, in the process. This is not the place to start on Psalms, though it is a place to see along the way. It may not be necessary to have read a lot of other Psalms scholarship, but I did find it helpful to have read many of the other works and authors he refers to in order to not hear only one side of the conversation. Also, this is a published version of the author’s PHD dissertation, so it reads academic, but I found it accessible and enjoyable.
Book Review: Church Membership
Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus by Jonathan Leeman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book Review: What if I Don’t Feel Like Going to Church?
What If I Don’t Feel Like Going to Church? by David Gundersen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Review: What Should We Do about Church Members Who Won’t Attend?
What Should We Do about Members Who Won’t Attend? by Alex Duke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars