Book Reviews

“Religious liberty did not emerge from abstract speculation, but rather the concrete experience of Protestant republics in the Atlantic World.” - L&L

“Asserting the primacy of ‘identities and social norms’ leads to the dissatisfying explanation: ‘Because that is who they are and what they do.’ This invites the exasperated follow-up: ‘OK, but why is that who they are and what they do?’” - Current

“Every time we let someone say, ‘Oh, I’m just a mom,’ and don’t honor her work, we let stand the idea that serving the vulnerable is somehow a lesser existence—when in reality it is the foundation of any society that hopes to survive.” - Acton

“Though a fascinating historical study undoubtedly unfamiliar to many readers, American Heretics fails to interpret properly the framers’ conception of religion and… ham-fistedly collapses into a single whole a diverse group of religious conservatives who often share little more than superficial commonalities.” - Acton

“Bavinck delivered the lectures that would become The Foremost Problems of Contemporary Dogmatics: On Faith, Knowledge, and the Christian Tradition at the beginning of his time at the Free University of Amsterdam, likely writing much of it in 1903–4.” - TGC

“In his new book, ‘Believe,’ Douthat makes a case for name-brand religion, saying the world’s largest faith traditions are like maps for helping us navigate life and the universe around us. They also might just be true.” - RNS

Related: Gavin Ortlund interview

“Eventually, [Harbor] determined the Christian faith could not provide satisfying answers. And so he left it all behind. Today, though, he is following the Lord. He worships God as a member of a church… writes a newsletter where much of his emphasis is on reconstruction.” - Challies

“Finding My Vocation is a rare achievement. It expresses rich biblical and theological principles (informed by some of the best minds from church history) with simplicity, clarity, and specificity.” - Ref21