A Commentary on Acts

In the series Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament Eckhard J. Schnabel, distinguished professor of New Testament Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, wrote a commentary on Acts. 
In this series each contributor treats the literary context and structure of the passage in the original Greek and provides an original translation based on the literary structure. In the explanation that follows Greek word are place between brackets. A quite unique feature of this series is that is both useful for pastors and students who know Greek and those who do not have a workable knowledge of it.

The explanation of a passage of followed by theology in application. In this section attention is paid for the relevance of the passage for today. In this way we find in this commentary the classic conviction that application of Scripture is a part of the explanation because the Scripture is not just a voice from the past, but the voice of the living God. Inspiration has not just to do with the origin of Scripture, namely that the words written down by the writers of the books of the Bible are the words of the Holy Spirit, inspiration is also a remaining quality of the Bible.

Schnabel has a high view of the historical reliability of Acts. With regard to the date of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he prefers an early dating before the Apostle Convent. Doing that it is easier to understand the connection between what Paul narrates in Gala-tians and Luke in Acts.

Schnabel shows the origin and extension movement of the followers of Jesus or the Christian Church is in Acts portrayed as the fulfillment of the Old Testament of the prophecies of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the restoration of Israel connected with it. Gentiles are incorporated in the community without having to conform to the Mosaic legislation.

I agree with Schnabel that the best way to understand the regulations of the Apostle Convent in terms of the regulations in Lev 17-18 for Gentiles who live in Israel as resident aliens. Under the new dispensation these rules must be followed for Gentiles who belong to the Church so that Jews and Gentiles can peacefully live together in the Christian Church. Schabel underlines that Acts teaches us God through Jesus as the exalted Messiah grants to presence of the Holy Spirit.

The second volume written by Luke has as content the acts of the exalted Messiah through the Spirit outpoured by Him. Apostles and evangelists are the means used by Christ and His Spirit. In the first part of Acts Peter stands in the centre and in the second part – even more than Peter in the first – Paul.

Only once (Acts 14:4) Paul - together with Barnabbas - is called an apostle by Luke. To explain this phenomenon Schnabel points to the fact Luke is the only evangelist who traces the designation of the Twelve as ‘apostles’ to Jesus Himself (Luke 6:13).He evidently wanted to be consistent and use as much as possible that term for the Twelve only.

Luke surely has known that Paul had to insist on his right to be called an apostle, yet he did not use the second volume of his work to bolster Paul’s apostolic credentials. Paul and Barnabbas are called apostles in Acts14:4 because that have been send out by the risen Lord, the church of Jerusalem and the church of Antioch.

In find the commentary of Schnabel both a reliable, very readable and useful commentary also for pastors and students who do not know Greek. Besides the points I already highlighted I want to direct your attention to the fact that the commentary of Schnabel helps us to realize – perhaps better than before – that the Holy Spirit is the Originator of the Christian church and He is the transforming power of the new community of believers.

That men are becoming believers and transformed to the image of Christ is finally God’s work or the work of the Lord Jesus Christ through His Spirit. Luke shows us that nothing can hinder the progress of the gospel. The history of the church is the heart of the history of the word. Although the cano­nical period is closed, the same remains true until the end of history, when finally already predestinated to life are brought to faith in Jesus Christ.

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), hardcover 1161 pp., price $59,99. (ISBN 978-0-310-24367-0)

An Old Testament Theology of Worship

Already several years ago Timothy M. Pierce wrote a very fine study of Old Testament worship and made in this way a substantial contribution for a better understanding of the message and theo-logy of the Old Testament. In his treatment of the material Pierce follows the way in which the synagogue has divided the Old Testament. He begins with the Pentateuch followed by the Former and Later Prophets and ending with the Writings.

After having reviewed in each chapter the relevant Old Testament material he ends with its fulfillment in the New Testament. Therefore this study is not only academic but also unashamed confessional. It makes clear that Christ, who is fully revealed in the New Testament is already¸ although in a veiled way, present in the Old Testament. Pierce rightly states that we must be careful to recognize both the continuity and discontinuity between the Old and the New Testament.

Pierce highlights that the Old Testament teaches us that real worship is not about us but about God. That remains true under the New Testament dispensation. The point of the Old Testament narratives is not so much the activities of men but the activity of God.

The way in which the Old Testament starts is very significant. It starts with God. Genesis 1, the chapter that tells us about the origin of our world, certainly has not in the last place a liturgical purpose. The Bible starts with a text designed to incite, inform and increase worship of the living God as the only Creator.

In Enthroned on Our Praise the biblical record of the fall of man is taken seriously. The fall introduced the basic struggles of humanity that impact our capacity of worship. The conversation between the woman and the snake is a conversation about God that leaves Him out of the discourse. This attitude is antithetic towards all real worship of God.

Real worship grows out of the relationship between God and man as our essential purpose. The Old Testament teaches already in Genesis 4 that since the fall no communion with God is possible without sacrifice.

The system of sacrifice must be regarded as the centre of the Pentateuch. The centre of the sacrificial system itself is the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16, the chapter which describes the ritual of the Day of Atonement is the centre not only of the book Leviticus but also of the Pentateuch as a whole.

I fond Pierce’s treatment of the Hebrew verb kippēr (atone) highly persuasive. Pierce argues that its basic meaning is ‘to purify’. But he also shows that appeasement or propitiation of God’s anger is certainly involved in a couple of texts where the verb kippēr is used. This is  always the case when not immaterial things but persons are the object of kippēr. Although penal substitution is not the complete explanation of kippēr, it can certainly not be abandoned.

Pierce makes clear that the critic of the prophets of the cult is based on its corruption and abuses and does not imply a rejection of the cult itself. No devout worshipper of YHWH could conceive a religion void of sacrifice. The prophets proclaimed that the sacrificial system must be integrated in a righteous life.

The call of Isaiah is very important to form a right view on worship of God. Our God is a holy God. Not only the prophet Isaiah but for all of us it is necessary we personally learn that our guilt is taken away and our sin atoned for (Isa 6:7).

The Writings represent the part of the Old Testament that can most easily and directly assimilated into Christian worship. That is especially true of the Psalms. Pierce rightly says that in many forms of contemporary worship lament and sorrow is ignored. We need the Psalms to restore this aspect of biblical worship. Lament and sorrow will accompany believers till the reach the New Jerusalem. Only there only praise will remain.

The importance of the study of Pierce on worship in the Old Testament lays not the last place in the fact that it shows us the way that a proper hermeneutical method must drive theology. Against postmodern leanings Pierce demonstrates the importance of history and language to arrive at sound conclusions.

However his key presuppositions hearken back to pre-modernity, namely the complete trustworthiness of the biblical text and the divine nature of its expressions. The Scripture and divine revelation can and must be fully equated with each other. Listening to the Scripture we listen to God himself. Such listening to the Bible is possible because there is a unified message that encompasses both the Old and the New Testament.

I cannot enough express my total agreement with this stance of Pierce. When we read the Bible in this way, we also can read the Bible with the church of all ages. All endeavors to understand the Scriptures are than related to our desire to worship and glorify God with all his saints.

Timothy M. Pierce, Enthroned on Our Praise: An Old Testament Theology of Worship, NAC Studies in Bible & Theology (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2008), 319 p., price $19,99 (ISBN 9780805443844) 

John Owen as Guide to Theology

John Owen (1613-1683) is rightly regarded as one of the greatest theologians Britain ever produced. A.F Mitchell said that he was a genius and learning only se­cond to Cal­vin’s. In him we see the not atypical combination of fervent puritan piety and reformed ortho-doxy that uses scholastic terminology to clarify the message of the gospel.

The last decennia we have seen a revival in Owen studies. The past years quite a number of doctoral dissertations have been defended in which attention was drawn to one of the aspects of Owen’s theology.

Ashgate Publishing can be congratulated that she published a companion to Owen’s theology. The articles are written by an international group of leading Owen scholars. This much needed volume explores key questions related to Owen’s method, theology and pastoral practice.

The first article is written by Ryan Kelly. He explores Owen’s con-tribution to theological codification during the Protectorate. During these years Owen stood in very close contact to highest gover-nors of the country and especially Oliver Cromwel, the Protector himself. 
Because of the connecting between church and government theo-logical codification had always political aspects. John Coffey asks attention for Owen’s view on toleration. Owen cannot be seen as a defender of toleration in the modern sense, but in the British context of the middle of the seventeenth century his ideas were quite progressive.

Owen wanted a national Reformed church, but everyone who could not join for sake of conscience this church ought to be given reli-gious freedom when he agreed to the fundamentals of the Reformed faith. Unitarians and Socianians were excluded from toleration because of their heterodox views. 
The reason that Roman Catholics were not allowed to take profit of toleration was not only religious but also political. They were seen as a danger for the freedom of Britain from papal Rome which claimed sovereignty over the princes of Europe.

Especially helpful I found the article by Susan McDonald on Owen’s view on the beatific vision of God in eternal glory. She shows that Owen paid more attention to beatific vision than generally was done in Reformed theology. He differs significantly from the leading medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas. 
Owen speaks much more Christ-centered than Thomas. Owen states in Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ that the blessed and blessing sight of God which we have in eternal glory will be always in the face of Jesus Christ.

Without denying the value of the other articles I finally point to the article of Robert Letham on Owen’s doctrine of the trinity in its Catholic context. In his unfolding the doctrine of the trinity Owen closely followed Augustine, the greatest church father of the West. Just as Augustine he can define the Holy Spirit as the band of love between Father and the Son. 
In agreement with Western theologian Owen has defended the filioque. The Spirit not only proceeds from the Father but also from the Son. We can never separated the work of the Spirit from the work of the Son. The filioque secures the Christ centered character of Owen’s theology.

Letham rightly says that differences between Owen and the church fathers of the East and especially the Cappadocians are quite often exaggerated. Having said that, we must still admit that Augustine emphasized more the unity within the trinity and the Cappadocians more the trinity in the unity. Owen is in his focus on the three persons more characteristic of the East. 
In Of Communion with God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost he states that we have distinctly communion with each of the three divine persons. Owen is very important here making clear for us the great relevance of the doctrine of the trinity for Christian piety.

For everyone interested in Owen I can heartily recommend The Ashgate Research Companion to John Owen’s theology. This collection of well-informed interpretative essays provides an excellent guide to the range of his thought.

Kelly M. Kapic and Mark Jones, The Ashgate Research Companion to John Owen’s theology, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, UK 2012; ISBN 9781409434887; hb. 334 p. price £25,--.

Lessons from Christians of the past

In the Apostle’s Creed it is confessed: I believe a holy, catholic church, the community of the saints. Contact with experienced and exercised believers, can be a great help for believers who just started the run the race of faith and surely not only for them. We can not only learn from Christians of the present but also from Christians of the past. Witnesses whose lips have fallen silent, but who speak through their writing sand the stories of their lives.

The Bible tells us that God is the Lord of history. He fulfills his council in history. We know its content to save the whole church for which He sent his Son to the world. The Bible does not only tell about God’s saving acts in history but also how his grace is applied to believers, how they are drawn from darkness to light and start and continue to walk with Him.

Every real Christian loves the Biblical story. Every Christian ought to have an interest in church history. Church history gives us a testimony that despite attacks from outside and heresies within God cared for his church and sustained here.

When you want to make a start in learning from church history or deepening you knowledge of it, I can heartily recommend you Silent Witnesses: Lessons on theology, life and the church from Christians of the past. Its author is dr. Garry J. Williams, director of the John Owen Centre at London Theological Seminary and visiting professor of church history at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadephia, USA.

In Silent Witnesses he describes both famous and less well-known figures from the fourth to the twentieth century drawing lessons from their lives and theological insights. Williams divides his book in three parts. The first covers some of the essentials of theology: the Bible, the incarnation, the cross, grace and justification.

The second looks at issues related to the Christian life: loving God, suffering, identity. The third section is especially addressed to pastors and elders and concerns the priorities the church ought to have. Names of the first part are among others William Tyndale, John Calvin and Owen. In the second we read again about Calvin in relation to trusting in God in trials. We hear the voice of the Puritans in general to learn from them what it means to love God with all our heart. 
Calvin is the theologian and Christian for whom our attention again is asked in the third section. We can learn from him what priorities we must have in the church. I found the chapter on Luther and preaching very instructive and also delightful. He may have his theological shortcomings, but Luther not only as a theologian and reformer but also a Christian with such a joyful character is a great gift of God to the church.

Williams finishes with an epilogue. He strongly states that God has revealed to us his view of history. Aware of our failings and shortcomings we must be humble historians, but not neglect to tell the story of what God has done in the church of the church and that with the aim of glorifying Him. I would also share the insight of Williams that Christian historian should be optimistic. 
It is only the gospel that provides a foundation for all knowledge. We may be sure that the Lord Jesus Christ will win. ‘Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.’ (Heb. 12:1–2).

Garry J. Williams, Silent Witnesses: Lessons on theology, life and the church from Christians of the past (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2013) hardcover 240 p., £9,60 (ISBN 978-1-84871-217-1).

The Gospel According to Mark

In the Pillar New Testament Commentary James R. Edwards, pro-fessor of theology at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington, wrote a volume on the gospel according to Mark. He notes that the weight of evidence rest firmly in the favor of the ecclesiastical tradition that John Mark was his author.

The tradition is not unanimous about its date. According to Irenaeus and the testimony of the Anti-Marcionite Prologue it was written after the death of Peter. However, Clemens of Alexandria and Origin report that it was written in Rome during Peter’s lifetime. Edwards thinks we must date Mark’s gospel between the fire of Rome in 64 and the fall of Jerusalem in 70. I myself think that an earlier date already in the end of the fifties remains a vital option.

In accordance with the great majority of New Testament scholars Edwards thinks that the longer ending of the gospel of Mark is secondary. He typifies it as an early Christian resur­rec­tion mosaic based on several gospel traditions about the resurrection.  It testi-fies that the gospel of Jesus Christ was handled down by commu-nities of faith.

I admit the differences in style and language between the longer ending of Mark with the main part of his gospel. I prefer the suggestion of – among others – made by David Alan Black that the longer ending is a Markan supplement.

In this supplement in which he used less the words he actually heard out the mouth of Peter than in this ending. We must not forget that the great majority of manuscripts has this ending. The Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are the exception. We must not to easily conclude that we must always prefer the testimony of these manuscripts.

With regard the ways in which Mark narrates the gospel which bears his name, Edwards points to the sandwich technique. We have some ten examples of this technique in Mark. Each sandwich unit consists of an A-B-A’-sequence. The B-component functions as the theological key to the flanking halves. A clear example is the woman with hemorrhage who interrupts Jesus en route to Jairus’ house. Only after recording the woman’s healing Mark resumes with the healing of Jairus’ daughter. This particular sandwich is about faith.

The gospel according to Mark is the gospel of Jesus Christ as the divine and suffering Son of God. In his sufferings Jesus fulfills the prophecy of the Servant song of Isaiah 53. When Jesus is declared by his Father that he is his beloved son, the word ‘beloved’ is an allusion to Isaiah 42:1. There we read that God has a delight in his Servant. Edwards point to the fact that in Mark’s gospel the person of Jesus receives much more attention than his teaching. The focus is on what Christ did.

The gospel according to Mark gives us not only a portrait of Jesus but also of his disciples. Discipleship is a major theme of the second gospel. To Jesus as the Jesus suffering Son of God belongs suffe-ring discipleship. A great example of faith a discipleship is the centurion at the cross. Witnessing Jesus suffering and death he confesses him as Son of God.

The faith response of the inner circle of the Eleven (Judas excluded) disciples is halting and incomplete, but nevertheless real true. By repeatedly hearing and receiving their faith and its fruits grows slowly. Hearing to Jesus all our life is what we have to do when we want to be his disciples. 
Remarkable is the patience of Jesus with his disciples who again and again show lack of insight, but Jesus continues to teach them especially by what he does. The climax is his death on the cross followed by his resurrection. In 2012 a reprint of the useful com-mentary of James Edwards on Mark was published

James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, Eerdmans Publshing Co., Grand Rapids/Cambridge 2002 (reprint 2012); ISBN 978-0-85111-778-23; hardcover 552 pp., price $52,--

A Commentary on Luke

Already a couple of years ago Zondervan Publishing Co. launched the series Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. The strength of this series is that both the academic scholar and the pastor who has no or limited knowledge of Greek can use it with profit. And what true is for the pastor who no knowledge of Greek is also true for the layman. First you find the literary context of a passage. Then the main idea of the passage is given. This is followed by a translation and graphical layout.

Immediately following we find the structure and exegetical outline. Then the explanation of the text comes. First we have the trans-lation of the text and then the original Greek. In the explanation original Greek words are always between parentheses. That is the reason that this commentary is so useful both for the scholar and the person who does not know Greek. 
After the explanation we have what is called ‘theology in appli-cation’. This is in accordance with the classic Christian idea of Bible commentary that explanation of the Scripture can never be without application because the Scriptures are the Word of God for all ages.

The commentary on the gospel of Luke in the Zondervan Exege-tical Commentary on the New Testament has been done by David E. Garland, dean and professor of Christian Scriptures at George W. Truett Seminary, Baylor University. The explanation of the text of the gospel is preceded by an introduction and followed by a brief sketch of the theology of Luke.

Garland maintains the traditional view that the gospel and Acts were written by Luke who was the companion of Paul during a part of his travels. Following Martin Hengel he points that to the very early attestation of the titles of the gospels. Usually Luke is seen as a proselyte. Garland makes clear that there is not compelling evidence for this view. He could also have been a Hellenistic Jewish Christian; a view that Garland prefers.

Although Luke himself was not an eyewitness, all what he wrote was based on what Luke heard out of the mouth of eyewitnesses. It seem that a circle of women disciples were a source important of information for Luke. This explains the prominent place women figure have in his gospel.

Garland rightly takes the position that Luke and Acts must be taken together when discussing their genre. He thinks that Aune might be right when he asserted that Luke wrote a singular literary work in two books; book meaning also papyrus roll. This explains the striking proportionality of Luke and Acts. I agree with Garland that Luke-Acts belongs to the broad spectrum of Hellenistic histo-riography.

I would add that Luke was also consciously influenced by the histo-riography of the Old Testament. With the writers of Old Testament history he knows that the one living God fulfills his plan in history. Garland prefers to date Luke-Acts somewhere between 75-90, although he knows that arguments are slight. I think that a good case can be made for an earlier date.

Luke presents the scriptural story and its themes as culminating in the Lord Jesus Christ. The gentiles addressed by Luke-Acts are assured that their acceptance of Jesus and inclusion in the people of God was a part of God’s plan revealed in the Old Testament.
I would even more strongly that Garland does, formulate that the formation of the church in the New Testament dispensation that consist both of Jews and gentiles , is the fulfillment of the promises of the restoration of Israel. 
At the same time I would point to the fact that this does not mean for Luke that Jews has no longer a special place in God’s purposes. Acts end with the preaching of the gospel; a preaching that goes out not only to gentile but also to Jews.

Following Witherington Garland notes that both Luke and Acts bear some striking resemblance to the Greek kata genos style of arranging one’s history, whereby the work proceeds along geo-graphical as well as chronological lines.

Garland emphasizes that Luke wrote both as a theologian, historian and pastor. He wrote both his gospel and Acts to confront men with the ever present person of Jesus and his word. Jesus is presented as the only Savior. Necessary for salvation are repentance and faith.

David E. Garland, Luke, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2011; ISBN 978-0-310-24359-5; hardcover 1039 pp., price $59,99

Selected Writings of Benjamin Morgan Palmer

Benjamin Morgan Palmer (1818-1902) was on the leading theo-logians of the Southern Presbyterian Church. Palmer was not only a great theologian and a powerful preacher but also a wise physician of souls. In 2014 the Banner of Truth published a selection of articles Palmer wrote for The Southern Presbyterian in the years 1869-1870.

The articles are divides in five categories. The second one con-taining Palmer’s articles on foreign missions are as relevant and compelling as when he wrote them. The same can be said of his exposition of the Beatitudes in the third part. Palmer emphasizes that the Sermon on the Mount must not be read as just ethical education. This ignores that it is fond on the lips of the Savior of sinners.

The Sermon on the Mount starts with the Beatitudes and so make clear its evangelical nature. The nature of the kingdom of God, the whole gospel of Jesus Christ and all the elements of true Christian experience which are the result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are unfolded in the Beatitudes.

The last part contains articles related to Christian experience. I just give a quote from the second article in which Palmer explains the meaning of the expression ‘accepted in the Beloved’ (Ephesians 1:6).  ‘The measure of God’s love to the believer is the love he has for Christ. From him it glances upon us – the love of a Father to those he has given to power to become his sons. And so it will be throughout eternity. Always seen and always loved only in Christ, the love will be as unchangeable as it is perfect. The acceptance being without reservation, the blessedness will be full, and the joy such as overflows from the Savior’s heart into the heart of his ransomed people forever and forever.’

Palmer lived what he taught and preached. When late on wet and dismal Saturday night and a communion service before him the next Lord’s Day a summons came. His wife urged him to delay the response till the following day. Palmer replied: ‘No. Death waits upon no man’s convenience, and an immortal soul may be at stake.’ So Palmer is a model for any minister of the gospel in his care for immortal souls.

Selected Writings of Benjamin Morgan Palmer, selected by Caleb Cangelosi and edited by C.N. Wilborn, Banner of Truth, Edinburgh 2014; ISBN 978-1-84871-410-6; hardcover 205 pp., price £9,50.

An Introduction to Biblical Ethics

The two previous editions of An Introduction to Biblical Ethics were written solely by Robertson McQuilkin, the third president of Columbia International University. The third edition is coauthored with Paul Copan who teaches philosophy and ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University and is a former student of McQuilkin.

This third edition has the subtitle Walking in the Way of Wisdom. This subtitle is drawn from the title of a philosophy of religion book Loving Wisdom: Christian Philosophy of Religion written by Copan in which he articulates the coherence of the Christian metanarrative of God, creation, fall, redemption and re-creation

The aim of their book is to provide the reader with a summary of biblical ethics on many topics in a single volume. The current edition addresses questions never considered when McQuilkin’s previous editions were released, such as gay marriage.

The strengths of this book is that gives practical solutions to a variety of topics such as homosexuality, abortion, politics in general the relationship between Church/State in particular, and a host of other practical issues such as dating, the importance of the Christian home, sexual ethics, etc. Helpful are additional reading suggestions provided by the authors at the end of each chapter.

On most the authors can speak with unanimity. The former student, however, has not adopted his professor’s views entirely, and so - importantly - the reader will find sections of the text marked ‘McQuilkin’s view’ and ‘Copan’s view’ so that their respective approaches may be seen.

One such area of divergence concerns the roles of men and women. Copan defends the egalitarian view. This opens the way for accepting women in office. I strongly disagree with Copan here and with any hesitation side with McQuilkin in his complementarian view. He states rightly that the subordinate role of the wife in marriage in founded and the creation order and cannot be seen as a result of the fall. The fall has leads to disabuse by husbands and men in general of their God given position.

Neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament teaches an abrogation of the creation order. In their use of their authority husbands are called to reflect Christ in his headship over his church. So we can say that the creation order is in a certain sense intensified in the New Testament. I would state that the egalitarian view does not take seriously the full authority of the Scriptures in this matter. Our own context becomes the prism through with Scriptural data are interpreted.

Another area of divergence between the two authors concerns economic systems. They generalize that - in this era at least – ‘capitalism’ and ‘socialism’ are the two major economic systems in play. McQuilkin approaches them as both lacking express Biblical warrant, though his harshest criticisms seem reserved for the former.

He believes the best approach is to recognize the biblical theme of protecting the poor from oppression. Alluding to Leviticus 25, he warns about a view of capitalism that allows the permanent enrichment of a few and the perpetual expense of the exploited. As a result, there can be no unlimited right of private property.

Copan’s view is much more openly supportive of free markets, sharply critical of socialism, and quick to note the empirical efficacy of free markets and the enforcement of property rights and equality before the law (Leviticus 19:15) for mitigating poverty globally. Here again I side more with McQuilkin than with Copan.

It seems to me very difficult to combine the moral principles underlying the Mosaic legislation with an unbridled free market system, although I admit that we can make here less directions inferences from Scripture in this era than in the case of gender roles. Rounding out this chapter, McQuilkin and Copan unite again to discuss the church’s obligation to the poor as people in God’s image. And that is certainly the case.

My main reservation with this book is Copan’s view on gender roles. Leaving that aside the authors clearly show that the Biblical world view still is as relevant as ever and that it can be applied to many of the pressing ethical issues of our present day culture.

Robertson McQuilkin and Paul Copan, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom, Downers Grove, Illinois 2014; ISBN 978-0-8308-2818-0; hardcover 667 pp., price $45,-- 

The First Chapters of Everything

Alasdaire Paine, vicar of St. Andrew Cambridge, England, makes clear in his little book The First Chapters of Everything that the opening chapters of Genesis were written to answer questions as: Who are we, and why are we here? Why is life both beautiful and tragic? What is real hope?

Questions about the relation between the account in the Genesis and findings of science must not divert our attention from the key teaching of the opening part of the Bible. This does not mean that Paine considers the first chapters of Genesis less than history; certainly not. He is convinced that it is real history.

He highlights that is of special importance to uphold that the whole mankind is the offspring of Adam and Eve and that the Fall of Adam was a historical fact. The death of man does not belong to God’s original creation. Het rejects the view of C.S. Lewis and others that although Genesis 2-3 is history, it tells us history in a non-historical way. The fact that what is told has a deep symbolical meaning does not preclude its literal and real historical character.

The first book of the Bible is structured by the phrase: ‘These are the generations of’. Gen. 1:1-2:3 must be considered as a prologue to the whole book. Gen. 2:4-4:26 is the first section introduced by the phrase ‘These are the generations of’.

Genesis 1 shows us that God is the God is the Creator of all things. He created out of nothing. The question ‘who made God?’ betrays a misunderstanding about the nature of God. Out Him, through and to Him are all things. Man is made in God’s image. He is made to glorify God. The task of man given him by God is to subdue the earth. Paine pointedly remarks that to subdue is different from to exploit.

Genesis 1 and 2 explain the origin of marriage between one man and one woman as God’s creation institution. Adam names Eve and not the other way around. This fact points to the headship of Adam over Eve and the headship of a husband over his wife. In marriage and family the ultimate responsibility rests with the husband.

At the same time the fact Eve is called the helper of Adam is an indication of the honorable position of the husband. The name helper is given in the Bible quite frequently to God himself. The fact that the husband is the head of the family does not mean that he has the right to use his headship in a wrong way. The New Testament teaches us that husbands ought to reflect Jesus and the wives out to reflect his church.

The first creation account closes with the Sabbath. The Sabbath as weekly day of rest is founded on the fact the God’s creation week ended with the Sabbath. Under the new dispensation the first day of the week, called the Lord’s Day in Rev. 1:10 became the day on which Christians met for corporate worship. Must the first day of the week seen as a Christian Sabbath?

Paine does not think so, because it is not explicitly stated in the New Testament. He thinks that the fourth commandment being fulfilled by Christ has only a spiritual meaning under the New Testament dispensation. Here I disagree with Paine. The Bible shows us that there is a close relationship between the day of rest and the day of corporate worship. This relationship, I am sure, is not abrogated under the New Testament dispensation.

In Genesis 3 we read that the serpent questions God’s goodness. He gives a false impression of God. This is the tactic of the devil until now. The essence of the Fall is that he wanted to be his own master judging himself what is right and wrong. The result of the Fall was that Adam and Eve were banished from the Paradise. We are not exactly told in Genesis 3 how the con­nec­tion between the Fall, human death and suffering works. We are simply told that it is a reality.

Genesis 3 tells us not only about the Fall, but also has a message of hope. God wanted rebels back. Already the fact that God asks Adam ‘Where are you?’ points in that direction. In the curse on the serpent comes a remarkable promise. All Old Testament’s hopes of a Great Rescuer and Redeemer start here.

Genesis 4 shows us God’s persistent grace. Here we also see the beginning of a spiritual division in mankind. Abel is the first martyr. He was murdered by his brother Kain. The final reason was that Abel served God while Kain did not. God provides for Adam and Eve in his place another son who is named Seth. From Seth comes Enosh and the beginning of another line besides that of Kain. It is the line of them who want to live for God.

It was that this time that people began to call on the name of the LORD. It is not without significance that the second literary unit of Genesis ends in this way. The meaning of the name LORD was only much later revealed to Moses. Gen. 4:26 points to the fact that is was to this God, the God of Eden, to whom they called.

The New Testament makes us abundantly clear that the living God is the triune God. Not only God the Father is LORD, but also God the Son. There is only salvation is his name. We invited and urged to call upon him as Lord to be saved.

The First Chapters of Everything is a good introduction to the first chapters of Genesis. It focuses on the message of the chapters and its meaning of us. In postscript the author point to the relationship between the opening chapters and the closing chapters of the Bible. The New Jerusalem seen by the apostle John on Patmos is more than a restored Eden.

The final glory of the new creation far surpasses the initial glory of the old creation. The only way of entrance to the New Jerusalem is Jesus Christ and faith in him. Besides eternal bliss Scripture speaks about eternal woe. So let is call on the Lord Jesus Christ and put our trust in Him. 

Alasdaire Paine, The First Chapters of Everything: How Genesis 1-4 Explains Our World, Christian Focus Publications, Fearn, Ross-shire 2014; ISBN 978-1-78191-323-9; paperback 189 pp., price £7,99. 

An All-Surpassing Fellowship

We can learn from all the saints when we want to understand and know more of the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ which passes all our knowledge.  A saint I want particularly to mention is the Scottish preacher Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813-1843).

Already during his own lifetime MacCheyne was known for his godly walk. The writings of M’Cheyne and his biography by his close friend Andrew Bonar has encourage many Christians over the years. Not only in the Anglo-Saxon world. His writings were translated in a couple of languages.

David P. Beaty, pastor of River Oaks Community Church, Clem-mons, North Carolina, wrote a moving study of the life of M’Cheyne and the lessons that can be learned from it. M’Cheyne felt the weight of souls, who knew the reality of the coming wrath but above all he knew the realty of the all-surpassing fellowship with Christ.

In a powerful and urgent manner he preached Christ. Lovingly he spoke about him in personal conversations. Here is an example for every preacher and pastor today. Reading Christian biography is a means not only for pastors but for all believers to be guided in a closer walk with God. This is certainly true of books written about the life of M’Cheyne.

The biography of M’Cheyne by David P. Beaty is well written. It reveals afresh the source of M’Cheyne’s blessings: a holy, prayerful dependence on the Savior. I can heartily recommend this new bio-graphy of M’Cheyne. Not only for person who never read a biography of M’Cheyne before but also for them that know already quite a lot about him. Reading anew about M’Cheyne will stimulate to pursue God in our age.

David P. Beaty, An All-Surpassing Fellowship: Learning from Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s Communion with God, Reformation Heritage Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2014; ISBN 9781601783158; pb. 164 pp., price $15,--

God Dwells among Us

The substance and basic thesis of this book is distilled from G.K. Beale The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God. The basic form of the present book was a seven-week sermon series preached by Mitchell Kim in Water Alliance Church in Chicagoland. Translating the sermons back to a written format allowed significant amplification and deepening of the material.

The main line of the book the priestly service of Adam in Eden finds it final fulfilment in the New Jerusalem. The tabernacle and the temple are representation of the creation. The Holy of Holies can be compared with the Garden of Eden. 
The central difference between Eden and the temple is the means provided for the purification of sinful people through the altar of burnt offering in the outer court. The New Testament shows us Jesus and his Church as the New Temple.

The authors speak about Jesus as Eden rebuilt and the Church as Eden expanding. In the New Jerusalem as the city without a temple because the Lamb is its temple Eden is completely expanded. God Dwells Among Us is an important book about a mayor biblical theme. 
My only criticism is that more emphasis could have been given to the fact the redemptive work of God in Christ surpasses God’s original purpose with Adam in Eden and in connection with the notion the personal application of salvation.

G.K. Beale and Mitchell Kim, God Dwells among Us: Expanding Eden to the Ends of the Earth, IVP, Nottingham 2015; ISBN 978-1-78359-191-6; pb. 211 pp., price £11,38

The Canon of the New Testament

Kruger can be seen as a real expert on the history of the formation of the canon of the New Testament. He combines his great academic insight with a deep love for the Bible as the Word of God. This combination of academic quality and piety is a model for every biblical scholar. In 2013 a second book written by him was published on this subject. Quite a lot of New Testament scholars see the canon of the New Testament as a ecclesiastical product of the fourth century.

This view is not in accordance with the classical view on the canon. In his last book Kruger tackles the five most prevalent objections to the classic, Christian understanding of the emerging, self-authenticating collection of authoritative counterparts to the Old Testament. These five objections are: 1. We must make a sharp distinction between Scripture and canon; 2. There was nothing in earliest Christianity that might have led to a canon; 3. Early Christianity was averse of written documents; 4.The New Testament authors were unaware of their authority; 5. The New Testament books were first regarded as Scripture at the end of the second century.

Kruger distinguishes three models for the canon of the New Testament: the exclusive, functional and ontological model. Each model has its merits, but the one model does not exclude the other. The exclusive model thinks that only from the fourth century we can speak of the canon of the New Testament. It is true that in the fourth century there came a universal consensus about the exact boundary of the canon, although we must stress that this consensus was just recognized. It was not the result of a somewhat arbitrary ecclesiastical decision.

Nevertheless, already form the second century there are quite a lot of data that point to the use of books of the New Testament as Scripture having the same authority as the Old Testament books. This is the functional model of canon. This model is based on the use of books as Scripture. Very important are here the witness of Irenaeus and the Muratorian fragment. The last list confirms the scriptural status of at least 21 and perhaps 22 books of the New Testament. Revelation, Hebrews, James and 1 and 2 Peter are not mentioned. Whether 3 John is included is not sure.

Kruger says that the functional model has many positive elements and provides a welcome balance to the exclusive definition of the New Testament canon. He states that also the functional model has its weaknesses. Some books that were not included in the final canon of the New Testament had at least almost the status of Scripture. Especially the Pastor of Hermas can be mentioned in this context.

A much more important weakness of the functional model – a weakness that it shares with the exclusive model – is that it fails to address the ontological status of the New Testament books. The books that finally found their way in the canon of the New Testament have an intrinsic quality not found in others. They are written by the apostles or their direct companions. That was the reason already in the Muratorian frag­ment the Pastor of Hermas was not regarded as Scripture, because it was written quite recently.

Although 1 Clements was written roughly in the same period as the last books of the New Testament, it was never regarded as Scripture, because its author clearly made a distinction between his own authority and the authority of the apostles. Kruger points to the importance to have a clear sight on the intrinsic quality of the New Testament books. In regard with the question of the canon he speaks of the ontological model. This model is quite often completely neglected, although it is finally the most important model.

For early Christianity the decisive criterion was the apostolic nature of a document. Pseudonymity was for them a definite reason not to recognize a document a Scripture. Kruger challenges ably the view that the early Christians were averse of written documents. Already from its very beginnings Christianity had a canon, namely the canon of the Old Testament.

The statement of Papias that an eyewitness must be preferred above a written testimony, he means that a direct testimony must be preferred above an indirect testimony. The gospels are eyewitness accounts in written form and have for the new generations the same value and status as the original oral eyewitness accounts.

Kruger denies that the apostles did not realize their own authority. The data point in a complete opposite direction. The apostles realized that their authority stood on the same level as the authority of the Old Testament prophets. Then we must not forget that all writers of the Old Testament were seen as prophets. The apostles knew that their authority was in a certain sense an extension of the authority of Jesus Christ.

It is no coincidence that beginnings of the written down of the New Testament documents corresponds with the rise of Christianity as a missionary movement in the fifties and sixties of the New Testament. The need of written eyewitness accounts, of what Jesus had said and had done, was more and more felt. Especially Paul wrote letters to congregations founded by his missionary work. The letters quite often written because of problems in the congregations were a form on extended personal and apostolic presence.

I would add that letters in Antiquity used to have a semi-public status. The writes knew that his letter was preserved, shared with others and used in other context. This means that although having a somewhat occasional nature the apostles knew already from the beginning that what they put down to writing had form that moment an apostolic authority.

Kruger rightly states the formation of the canon represented the working of forces that were already present in primitive Christianity and made some form of canon virtually inevitable. Following David Meade Kruger says that the apocalyptic nature of Christianity provided a strong inner reason for extension of Scripture. We see in all forms of apocalypticism in the period of the Second Temple that written documents were produced.

The fact, that written documents in the form of the book of the Old Testament were essential for Christianity from its very beginning, means that among early Christians there were literate people. This must have been especially true for spiritual leaders. In the second place we must realize that orality and textuality cannot be seen as opposites.

In the Ancient world an illiterate person could be intimately familiar with a written text. Texts were written to be performed orally. This is certainly true not only of the New Testament letters but of all New Testament documents. Kruger has done us a great service by giving us many arguments that ontological model of the canon – a model that is connected with apostolic authority and divine inspiration belongs to the very essence of the Christian religion.

Michael J. Kruger, The Question of Canon: Challenging the status quo in the New Testament Debate, Apollos, Nottingham 2013; ISBN 978-1-78359-1-004-9; pb. 256 pp., prijs £14,99.

A Review of Two Theologies of the New Testament

Introduction

When Christian people hear about biblical theology, most of them understand this expres­­sion to mean theology that has the Bible as its ultimate standard and source. In this sense all theology ought to be biblical. In theology as an academic discipline, bibli­cal theology has a somewhat different meaning. In theology as an academic discipline this part of the theology stands between exegesis and systematic theology.

Exegesis is the exposition of Scripture. Its focus is the single text or a single passage. Systematic theology reflects on the Bible as a whole. Under­stan­ding and recapitulating the content of the Bible is done in community with the church of all ages. Systematic theology is always confessional in character. The doctrinal content of the Bible is underlined.

Biblical theology focuses on the content of biblical revelation from the view point of its un­folding in history. The history of revelation or redemption is one of the leading viewpoints in biblical theology as an academic discipline. Biblical theology asks calls attention to the indi­vi­dual biblical witnesses and treats biblical themes in the context of the history of revelation and redemption. The emphasis falls on the diversity of the individual biblical witnesses within the greater unity of the Bible as a whole.

In biblical theology the great distinction is between theology of the Old and the New Testament. When we speak about the theology of the Old and New Testament the under­lying presupposition is, that the writings of the Old and New Testament, although diverse in character and each having its own accents and distinctive, ulti-mately form a con­sistent and coherent unity.

At the same time I must say that quite a lot of scholars, who have written an Old or New Testament theology, only accept the canon for pragmatic reasons. Then we are not writing biblical theology, but the history of religion. Actually, theology, in the strict and real sense of the word, is only possible, when the Bible is accepted as the infallible and inerrant Word of the living God.

I stress, that we cannot draw exact distinctions between exegesis, biblical theology and syste­matic theology. In fact, it is a spectrum and besides that, we must reckon with the so called hermeneutical spiral. It is a great misunderstanding if we think that exegesis and biblical theology can be done in a neutral way. The exegetes and scholars who suggest that neutrality is possible in biblical theology are unaware they are the most dogmatic scholars we have come across.

Finally, I state emphatically, that biblical theology can never replace systematic theology. The Bible as a whole confronts us with questions, which can never be solved solely by an appeal to biblical texts. I think about ques-tions with regard to the relation­ship between time and eternity and the relationship between the Creator and his creation. That was the reason that already some years ago, Carl Truman wrote an article with the somewhat provo­cative title ‘A Revolutionary Balancing Act Or: Why our theology need to be a little less biblical?’

When theologians want to restrict themselves to biblical theology at the expanse of systematic theology, you always see that they have an anti-metaphysical bias. They do not want to speak about God in himself, but only about God in his relationship to his creatures. But this is a very important dogmatic decision with far reaching conse-quences.

You use to see in that case, that the narratives of the Bible are in a certain sense read as dogmatic treatises. Because in the biblical narratives God reacts to the actions of man in many cases, the conclusion is drawn that you cannot speak about the immutability of God. But what actually is the case, is that the genre of narrative is not really taken seriously. I must add that when we take the Biblical narratives as a whole, their clear message is that God is completely in control of all history. History is his story. The whole reality depends on him and he himself is independent. In theology we have the term the aseitas Dei.

Having tried to make you aware of the limitations of biblical theology, I am convinced that studying the content of the Bible focusing on the history of redemption and on the specific con-tribution of each book of the Bible and each writer of the Bible to the complete revelation, can be very fruitful.

So after these important remarks by way of introduction, now I call your attention to two theologies of the New Testament that were published in the last years. The first one consists of two volumes and is written by the American New Testament scholar Ben Witherington III. The second is written by Udo Schnelle, an outstanding German New Testament scholar.

The Indelible Image

Witherington has given his two volume study the title The Indelible Image. By means of the concept of the image of God Witherington explains the relationship between theology and ethics in the New Testament. The first volume treats the individual witnesses of the New Testament and the second the collective witness. Witherington states that in quite a several of the studies of New Testament theology, ethics are not given its due emphasis. He wants to remedy this fault.

Witherington does not mention it, but in former days actually no separation was made between systematic theology and ethics. Gisbertus Voetius, the father of the Dutch Further Reformation, can serve as a good example here. Many of the disputations of Voetius centered around questions related to the practice of piety. The fostering of piety was seen as the end of (systematic) theology. So Witherington is not that new in his treatment, as he perhaps suggests.

Whiterington has a high view of the authority and historical reliability of the New Testament. He stresses that theology and history must not be seen as each others rival. The gospels must be seen both as theological and historical writings. In the case of the gospel of John the word ‘theological’ must be underlined and in the case of the synoptic gospels the words ‘writing of ‘historical’.

All four gospels are based on what eyewitnesses saw or heard. Witherington is convinced that also in the case of the fourth gospel, we are confronted with real history. Witherington also defends the historical reliability of Acts. In painting the portrait of early Chris-tianity, Luke gives a selection of the facts, but not an idealized story that is far from highly unrealistic. 
It is remarkable that in the gospels Matthew and John, both written by persons who belonged to the circle of the Twelve, the frequency of the use of the name of Father is much higher than in the other gospels. Among the synoptic gospels, Matthew in this respect most closely resembles the gospel of John.

The unity of the New Testament writings is seen in the way they speak about the person and the work of Christ. In almost all writing of the New Testament Jesus is called either Lord, Christ or/and Son of God. Only in 3 John do we not find any of these three words/expres­sions. But the reason is simple - its content as a letter of exhortation and its shortness. Jesus is everywhere portrayed as the one in whom redemption is found. He is the Savior.

Jesus himself and his activity and teaching while he was on earth, are the fountain of the expressions of faith with regard to his person. Witherington rightly makes this statement without denying that compared to the self revelation of Christ when he was on earth there is in the New Testament a further development in the pre-sentation of the person of Christ after his exaltation and after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The witness of the writers of the New Testament not only when they record the teaching of Jesus when he was on earth, but also when they are instructed by the resurrected and glorified Christ, confronts us with the real Christ. We cannot make a distinction between the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history, but only between Jesus Christ when he was on earth and Jesus Christ as he is in heaven.

Wirtherington’s finding that according to Paul the gospel does not annihilate the order of creation but intensifies it, is very important. Homosexual behavior cannot be reconciled with the bearing of the image of Christ. Homosexual orientation – just as all sinful desires - can be seen as a result of the fall of man. Persons who have this orientation must be called to self denial in the light of the order of creation and the gospel of Christ and never be given the impression that homosexuality can be allowed under certain conditions. Witherington denies that Paul or other New Testament witnesses can be seen as defenders of the view of sinless perfection. There are mature believers, but also a mature believer has reasons to confess his sins and shortcomings.

According to the new perspective, justification has only to do with the boundaries of the community of faith. It is an ecclesiological and not a soteriological doctrine. The new perspective denies the rightness of the view of the Reformation on justification. Withe-rington cannot be seen as a defender of the new perspective on Paul, but he does not sufficiently highlight the great importance of the message of justification in Paul’s writings. Rightly he states that Paul and James do not really contradict each other with regard to justification and faith. They each use both the word ‘justification’ and the word ‘faith’ in different ways.

As you understand, I think that the two volumes of Witherington are very valuable. They are goldmines full of useful information and useful insights. Honestly I must point to what I consider as a very serious defect, a defect that is seen again and again in the way Witherington presents the message of the New Testament.

Witherington is a thoroughgoing Arminian. He denies the particular nature of the atonement, although nowhere in the New Testament it is ever said to unbelievers/persons outside the Christian church that Christ died for them. A complete Savior is preached and must be preached to unbelievers, both Jews and gentiles.

Not just a blessing connected with the work of Christ (Christ died for you) but Christ himself must be presented to unbelievers. The message that we will never be separated from the love of God in Christ, because Christ died for us and prays for us, is a message of consolation for believers. It makes clear to them the depth and the total character of Christ’s love for them.

Witherington cannot give a satisfying explanation about the sayings in the New Testament about election and predestination. Final election depends in his view of man’s faith. But in the New Testament we read just the reverse. This is the main reason that I bring attention to another work in the field of New Testament Theology published within the last couple of years.

Theology of the New Testament

The study of Udo Schnelle, originally written in German and translated in English, has its own defects and shortcomings, but Schnelle makes clear that in the New Testament faith is seen as a gift of God. Faith completely rests on God’s grace and that is the reason that the fountain of faith is personal election. Especially in John’s gospel and the Pauline epistles the unconditional and personal nature of election is stressed.

It is impossible for the language of election to refer only to the election of the congregation and not the election of individuals. It contrary to the central tenets of the witness of Paul, that the final salvation of believers depends on his own perseverance and is not guaranteed by the predestination and covenant loyalty of God.

The study of Schnelle can also be praised for other reasons. The fact that the history of Jesus and his church is not treated in a neutral way in the New Testament, does not mean that the information cannot be seen as reliable. All writing of history is selective and is done out of a certain perspective. Schnelle underlines that Jesus himself, while he was on earth knew that he had a unique relationship to God and had a unique place in the history of salvation.

I would make an even stronger statement, but as such we can agree with Schnelle. He emphasizes the continuity between what happened before and after Easter. He is convinced that the resurrect­tion of Christ is real history and not a myth. Schnelle has no patience with the view that originally there was a low Christology and that a high Christology points to a later date in development of presentation of the person of Christ.

At the same time we must say that Schnelle does not have a very high view of Scripture. He thinks that the gospel of John can only be accepted in a very small measure as a source of historical information. He thinks that the Pastoral Epistles and the epistle to the Ephesians were not written by Paul. His argument is not only the style in which these letters are written but also their theological content are different.

He thinks that Paul cannot have written these letters, because both the Pastoral Epistles and the letter to the Ephesians are less charismatic than Paul’s correspondence with the Corinthians. This is a circular argument. The emphasis on the gifts of the Spirits in the two letters to the Corinthians is related to the problem in the congregation of Corinth. Besides that, it is perhaps no coincidence that in later letters this problem is not so acute.

The extra ordinary gifts of the Spirit became more and more accidental. The differences in style can related to differences in content. In addition, we know that Paul made use of secretaries. Perhaps he gave them more freedom in the framing of his later letters. The fact that Schnelle thinks that there is a real disagreement between Paul and James, must perhaps, at least partly, related to his Lutheran background.

With regard to his view of Scripture, we have to prefer Witherington, but it is a remarkable that Schnelle although he has a lower view of Scripture, does much more justice to the full implications of the New Testament teaching of grace defending the personal and unconditional character of God’s election. So finally, I think that we can learn from both of them and must at the same time read their studies with critical discernment.

Udo Schelle, Theology of the New Testament, trans. M. Eugene Boring, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2009; ISBN 978-0-8010-3604-0; hb. 910 pp.

Ben Witherington III, The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament: Volume One. The Individual Witnesses, IVP Academic, Downers Grove, Illinois 2009; ISBN 978-978-8308-3861-5; hb. 856 pp.

Ben Witherington III, The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament: Volume Two. The Collective Witness, IVP Academic, Downers Grove, Illinois 2010; ISBN 978-978-8308-3862-2; 838 pp.