188 EQ

Reviews and Notices

conditions, attached to the patriarchal

promises and apparent mercies attached to events at Sinai all the way
from Genesis 26 to Nehemiah 9, before
we get to the prophets before we can
accept the sharp covenantal distinction
with which Horton works. Nor does he
convince on the covenant of redemption. A linguistic slip is telling, I think:
Horton speaks of the unconditional
oath he [God] made to the eternal Son,
to Adam and Eve after the fall, to Abraham (18). However, according to his
theology, it is wrong to ascribe the oath
to God; it should be ascribed to the Father. The linguistic problem has arisen
because of the artificiality involved in
trying to construct the idea of an inner-trinitarian covenant in terms appropriated from Gods covenants with
humanity. Indeed, the author is rather
elusive here: To affirm the covenant
of redemption is little more than affirming that the Sons self-giving and
the Spirits regenerative work were the
execution of the Fathers eternal plan
(80). If it is little more, we do not need
covenant language extrapolated from
the account of the economy; if we do
not need it, then it does not deserve the
centrality it has in this theology, and it
becomes questionable whether the author can maintain that the covenant of
redemptionis as clearly revealed in
Scripture as the Trinity and the eternal
decree (82).
So I do not think that the volume really
persuades us that, while other schemes
(Arminianism and hyper-Calvinism, 19)
impose presuppositions upon Scripture, the authors own scheme does not.
Having said that, it is only fair to say that
Michael Horton shows that his reading
is certainly a possible reading of the
biblical data, and it would be hard for
him to do much more than that within
the confines of his space.
Stephen N. Williams
Union Theological College

EQ 80.2 (2008), 188-189

Lord and Servant: A Covenant

Christology
Michael S. Horton
Louisville: Westminster, John Knox
Press, 2006. xiv+282 pp. pb. $29.95, ISBN
978-0-664-22863-7
This is the second of three volumes by
Michael Horton, designed to consider
some of the main themes of biblical and
systematic theology from a covenantal
perspective. The authors conviction is
that the federal (covenantal) theology
of the Reformation and post-Reformation eras has the resources to revitalize
theology today and to unite biblical and
systematic theology, subject-areas that
are too often separated. If covenant is
partnered by any one other theme, it is
eschatology; the introduction to the
present work confirms the importance
of the fact that the first volume was entitled Covenant and Eschatology.
Broadly speaking, the idea is that if we
unify our thinking about the eternal inner-trinitarian covenant of redemption
within the Godhead and the economy
of Gods dealing with us in history, we
can present theological themes in their
proper light. Although the subtitle of
this volume is A Covenant Christology,
Christology proper occupies only the
last of three parts of the book, accounting for under a half of its content. Previous parts deal with Lord and Servant
respectively, outlining a doctrine of God
and of humanity in selected respects,
before taking up the traditional questions connected with the person and
work of Jesus Christ. The author says
that, in his volume, we walk in on a
conversation in progress (178) and so
what we have is a defence of traditional
evangelical and Reformed positions on
God, Christ and humanity, achieved
by consistently tying the exposition to
covenantal categories and persistently
engaging in debate with a range of theo-

EQ 189

Reviews and Notices

logians, past and present.
Even if this volume is not meant to introduce students to its subject, students
should be alerted to its fine qualities.
It is a model of theological writing on
at least two counts. Firstly, it admirably brings the resources of the past to
bear on the present. It forges a broadly,
but significantly, promising alliance
between the tradition that the author
represents and contemporary theological possibilities. Secondly, it is scrupulously even-handed in its treatment of
other thinkers. Michael Horton is neither for nor against interlocutors such
Barth, Moltmann, Jenson or others;
here he agrees, there he disagrees. From
this, the reader of this review will rightly
infer that the content (of which I have
given little idea above) and tone (see,
for example, the treatment of feminism
and atonement in chapter 7) are both
to be commended. Furthermore, the
whole is clearly written.
Nevertheless, there are difficulties with
the covenant scheme of things, as presented here. When Horton mistakenly
says that Adam named animals, but that
God named both Adam and Eve (110;
cf. Gen. 3:20), it is a sign of covenant
overkill, the intrusion of a theologically
schematic approach on the Scriptures.
And when he surmises that human image-bearing consists chiefly in ethical
response and not in ontological being,
it is because he is anxious to apply covenantal as opposed to ontological categories, something that leads him to say
that human existence isvery good
insofar as humans answer back according to the purpose of their existence
(98, but cf. Gen. 1: 31). The difficulties
with the authors theological scheme
emerge too in his statement of the covenant of redemption. What sense can
we make of compassion marking the
intra-Trinitarian communion prior to
creation (58)?
It is, then, a version of the old story: a

systematic scheme is constraining biblical data despite the insistence that

such is not happening. This kind of
systematic bug is not easily dislodged
once it has entered the body of theology through the blood-stream of a robust theological tradition. This is not
necessarily to say that the tradition is
mistaken, just that this statement of it
is not entirely persuasive. And it is certainly not to gainsay the fact that this is
a good book.
Stephen N. Williams
Union Theological College
EQ 80.2 (2008), 189-190

Explosive Preaching: Letters

Detonating the Gospel in the 21st
Century
Ronald Boyd-MacMillan
Carlisle: Paternoster, 2006. pb. 11.99,
ISBN 978-1-84227-263-3
So what have we here a book on spiritual terrorism? Have I in my hands a
manual on how to engineer Bible weapons of mass reconstruction? Am I about
to be recruited into a cell of revolutionary preachers who detonate the truth
on unsuspecting people? The cartoonish cover depicting a benign-looking,
robed Victorian cleric may simply be a
cover for some kind of subversive gospel imperialism. I open it with a mixture
of curious excitement and the odd feeling that I am secretly being watched by
an agency dedicated to the overthrow of
writers on preaching who enthuse, entertain and communicate.
Oh no, its by a journalist and what is
more, a journalist preoccupied by the
thrill of preaching! Can you trust journalists these days? Well, he seems confident enough, positively brimming over
with practical advice on re-charging
the boring, discouraged and wearied
sermon practitioner. So far no sign of