Lutheran Book Review

Merkle, Benjamin L. and Robert L. Plummer. Foreword by William D. Mounce.   Greek for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving New Testament Greek . Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017. 152 Pages. Paper. $22.99.  http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/greek-for-life/355110 Howell, Adam, J., Benjamin L. Merkle, and Robert L. Plummer. Foreword by Miles V. Van Pelt.  Hebrew for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving Biblical Hebrew . Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020. 224 Pages. Paper. $22.99.  http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/hebrew-for-life/397290 Irons, Charles Lee.  A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament . Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2016. 629 Pages. $41.99.  https://www.kregel.com/biblical-studies/a-syntax-guide-for-readers-of-the-greek-new-testament/ Comfort, Philip Wesley.  A Commentary on the Manuscripts and Text of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2015. 443 Pages. $34.99.  https://www.krege...

Dekker, Cees, Corien Oranje, and Gijsbert Van Den Brink. Translated by Harold Cook. Afterword by Deborah Haarsma.  Dawn: A Proton's Tale of All that Came to Be.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. 192 Pages. Paper. $22.00.   https://www.ivpress.com/dawn I don't remember reading "fourteen billion years ago" in the initial publicity materials for this novel. If I missed it, that's on me. Honestly, that's all I would have needed to see in order to not request a review copy.  This is an adventure that began almost fourteen billion years ago, one that so often threatened to fail. It's truly a miracle I'm still here. Despite everything, I wouldn't have wanted to miss one second of it. And the best is yet to come. With the help of an extraordinary narrator, you're invited to discover the wonder and drama of the history of the cosmos. In this story we follow the journey of one proton who comes into existence at the beginning of creation and makes it al...

  Quick Summaries are pithy paragraph-long reviews of releases that cross our LBR desk.  These are reviews for when you don't have all day to decide whether a resource is worth your time, money, storage space, or trouble. Hawn, C. Michael, editor. Forewords by Carlton R. Young. Foreword by Mary Louise Bringle. Preface by Brian Hehn.  Sing with Understanding: Introduction to Theology in Christian Congregational Song (Third Edition).  Chicago: GIA Publications, 2022. 488 Pages. Paper with extensive online resources. $34.95.  https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/sing-with-understanding-third-edition-book-g10721 Webber, Christopher L.  Songs of Justice, Peace, and Love: The Sharon Hymnal.  Chicago: World Library Publications, 2022. 266 Pages. Spiral. $29.95.   https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/songs-of-justice-peace-and-love-print-003434 Mann, Robert C.  The Church Sings Its Faith.  Chicago: GIA Publications, 2022. 237 Pages. P...

Giertz, Bo. Translated by Bror Erickson.  New Testament Devotional Commentary, Volume I: Matthew, Mark, Luke.  Irvine: 1517 Publishing: 2022. 379 Pages. Paper. $34.95.  https://shop.1517.org/products/add-to-wishlist-the-new-testament-devotional-commentary-volume-1-matthew-mark-and-luke Giertz, Bo. Translated by Bror Erickson.  New Testament Devotional Commentary, Volume II: John, Acts, Romans.  Irvine: 1517 Publishing: 2022. 439 Pages. Paper. $31.95.  https://shop.1517.org/products/the-new-testament-devotional-commentary-volume-2-john-acts-romans-1-2-corinthians Giertz, Bo. Translated by Bror Erickson.  A Shepherd's Letter: The Faith Once and For All Delivered to the Evangelical Church.  Irvine: 1517 Publishing: 2022. 212 Pages. Paper. $18.95.  https://shop.1517.org/products/a-shepherds-letter-the-faith-once-and-for-all-delivered-to-the-saints Today's review features works by Bo Giertz, previously most well-known as the author of Hammer of Go...

Hains, Todd R. Foreword by Robert Kolb. Martin Luther and the Rule of Faith: Reading God's Word for God's People (New Explorations in Theology). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. 240 Pages. Paper. $40.00.  https://www.ivpress.com/martin-luther-and-the-rule-of-faith Farney, Kirk D. Foreword by Mark A. Noll.  Ministers of a New Medium: Broadcasting Theology in the Radio Ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier .  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. 368 Pages. Cloth with dustjacket. $40.00.  https://www.ivpress.com/ministers-of-a-new-medium Both titles here are from IVP Academic. Both involve teaching the faith. With regard to the book on Luther, the pattern he established in the 16th Century, and with regard to second book, learning how two religious radio broadcasters established patterns in the 20th Century. Martin Luther considered the reading of God's word to be his primary task as a theologian, a pastor, and a Christian. Though he is often portrayed as re...

Keating, Ray.  Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel .   Long Island: Keating Reports,  2022. 370  Pages. Paper. Kindle Available. $21.99. (Also available signed and in bundles at author site)   https://raykeatingonline.com/products/cathedral Keating, Ray.  Persecution: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel (The Pastor Stephen Grant Series Book 16).  Long Island: Keating Reports, 2022. 370 Pages. Kindle. $9.99. Paper. $21.99. (Also available signed and in bundles at author site)  https://raykeatingonline.com/products/persecution The two novels today are an addition to all those depicted above. Ray Keating is branching out again. Author of the engaging Pastor Stephen Grant Novel series, Keating is worldbuilding again with the novel Cathedral , first in a new series, Alliance of Saint Michael. Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel is Ray Keating’s sixteenth work of fiction, and the first in the Alliance of Saint Michael series.    ...

Green, Lowell C. Foreword by Scott Keith.  How Melanchthon Helped Luther Discover the Gospel: The Doctrine of Justification in the Reformation . Irvine: 1517 Publishing: 2021. 243 Pages. Paper. $19.95.  https://shop.1517.org/products/how-melanchthon-helped-luther-discover-the-gospel Melanchthon, Philipp. Edited by William P. Weaver, Stefan Strohm, and Volkhard Wels.  Opera Omnia: Opera Philosophica Volume 2/2 Principal Writings on Rhetoric.  Berlin: DE GRUYTER, 2017. Cloth over board. €125.19/$154.99.  https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110561197/html We focus on two very different volumes here. One is an introduction to Melancthon. The second is a very helpful academic book that should bear fruit in seminaries, colleges, high schools, and beyond in teaching rhetoric to young people.  Our first title is a reprint of a book some have called a classic. Note the new introduction by Scott Keith. This book is not claiming Melanchthon rediscovered...