Dr. Michael Horton's new book, Christless Christianity, is now available (with a DVD set soon to follow).  I just got my copy and I'll be reviewing it in the near future.  For now, here's a short preview of the DVD:




You can order the book and DVD together for a special discounted price (or just order one at the regular price) from the Westminster Seminary California Bookstore. 

Well, for those of you who've decided that it's OK to lust after appreciate high quality Bibles, Mark Bertrand over at BibleDesignBlog.com has posted his extensive review of Cambridge's new Pitt Minion ESV.  Here's an excerpt:

Read the rest of Mark's review here.

For those of you who don't know yet, Cambridge Bibles (pretty much the best Bible maker in the world!) is about to release their very first edition of the ESV.  The edition is a familiar one in other translations:  the Pitt Minion.  It's a small, hand-sized Bible with a center reference column.  The type size is large and clear for such a small Bible.  But the best part:  it comes bound in beautiful, supple goatskin leather (of course, you'll have to pay a bit more for that!).  The goatskin will be available in both black and brown, as well as a burgundy French Morocco leather and a two-tone imitation leather (see all 4 side-by-side in the image below).  The nice thing about goatskin (besides the way it feels) is that it's extremely pliable and durable.  So if you decide to spend the extra cash, it's well worth it, as you're likely to be keeping the Bible around for many more years to come. 

I used to be your average Bible consumer.  All of my Bibles were bonded leather.  My first ESV was "tru-tone" (basically just imitation leather).  Then I found this site.  Ever since I first read the insightful aesthetic comments of J. Mark Bertand, I have been a "Bible snob."  Unfortunately I am also a "poor graduate student", so that means I'm still using bonded leather bibles.  However, when I learned of Cambridge's plan to release an ESV, I decided to save up and spring for my first really nice Bible.  Mark will be reviewing all four editions of the Cambridge Pitt Minion ESV some time next week, so make sure to check back for that (in the mean time, browse his blog.  He's probably written something witty and interesting about your Bible!).

Now that I've admitted to buying one of these expensive things, I have a question for you (and I'm a philosopher who probably overthinks things, so you can take this or leave it).  I've found there to be something of a paradoxical conundrum to the "nice Bible."  On the one hand, I can see how it would be far more worthy to spend $80 on a Bible than on useless junk I don't need.  And further, buying a Bible that has obviously taken great skill and care to make seems to say something about how important God's Word is to you.  But is there something all too modern and Western about the "Cambridge goatskin Bible" market?  After all, the words are the words.  I can be spiritually fed just as well by a paperback Bible, and give the other $70 to my church, or to a homeless shelter.  Then again, is there something about that very sentiment that is equally "modern" and "Western"?  Can anything be said for a Bible that is, in itself, a work of art?

So what do you think?   Am I still a good Christian?  :P


 

Teacher and youth pastor, Michael Ferber, has written a book that attempts to interact with current philosophical trends in Christianity and address them from a Biblical perspective, using Paul's first letter to Timothy as his guide.  Part commentary, part theological guidebook, with a little philosophy thrown in, Pomo Timmy is sure to capture much interest and attention among Christians seeking a Biblical perspective on postmodernism (and modernism, for that matter).  While I don't fully agree with all of Mr. Ferber's theological conclusions (he comes down on the egalitarian side of the gender debate, for example), I can heartily recommend this book!

I recently asked Mr. Ferber a few probing questions to help introduce us to the purpose and subject of his book:

1.  "Pomo Timmy" isn't exactly like a typical Bible commentary.  Briefly, what IS this book, and what do you hope to accomplish with it?

 Pomo Timmy is essentially a Biblical commentary with a strong philosophical bend.  My hope in writing the book was to mine I Timothy to craft a response to some of the philosophical challenges present today, particularly the contrast between the relativism of postmodernity and the fundamentalism of approaches to faith rooted in more modern paradigms (modern in a philosophical sense).   

 2.  You've worked in youth ministry for a number of years.  Is "Pomo Timmy" geared more towards a youth audience, or do you hope to reach all ages?

 Pomo Timothy is definitely NOT geared to a youth audience.  Some of the later chapters are concrete enough to keep their attention, but most youth get bogged down in the introduction.  However, it is appropriate for youth leaders and pastors who are trying to help youth and young adults navigate the various meanings of “truth” in our society. 

 3. Many Christian leaders believe that the church needs to adopt postmodernism wholesale or it will die.  Others simply dismiss postmodernism as an irrelevant fad.  Why do you believe that postmodern thought poses a real threat to the church, and how serious do you think the threat is?

 I believe the “wholesale” acceptance of the relativism of postmodernism does indeed pose a threat to the church.  However, I find it ridiculous to argue that much of life is not relative.  The distinction I try to draw in Pomo Timmy is that there is some truth that is as real as real can be, while other aspects of “reality” are undeniably socially constructed.  I Timothy is a helpful tool to work through this complexity.  The church does need to embrace and study postmodernism, but it needs to chew the meat and spit out the bones, so to speak.  I believe postmodernism is a threat only to the degree that we allow the absolute truths of the faith to be replaced by absolute relativity. 

 4. In the introduction to "Pomo Timmy" you distinguish between knowledge and actual reality, and you suggest that both modernism and postmodernism simply collapse these two into each other.  If my knowledge of reality is not the same as reality as it actually is, what is left of objective truth?  How can I, as a Christian, claim to know anything as being actually true?  

 I would argue that the frameworks with which we view the world and reality are constantly changing and that “reality” or “truth” can be viewed from many situated perspectives, which therefore generate many different kinds of descriptions of the same reality.  Yet, changes in perspective do not negate the reality of the observed object.  To argue that I am finite, limited, and situated in a specific context at a particular time is to make an argument about me – not the reality I am observing.  If enough people, situated in many different times in many different contexts, also describe what I am observing eventually there will be enough understanding to move toward objectivity – this is what critical realists would call aletheic truth.  I personally believe that God has revealed Himself to enough people consistently over enough time that we can trust the Biblical account.

To purchase a copy of Pomo Timmy, or find out more information, simply click the amazon.com link above.

Michael Ferber has served as pastor, youth pastor, Christian school administrator, college professor, and development director at organizations including World Vision, Regent University, and West Virginia University. He is a Ph.D. candidate studying geography of religion at West Virginia University. He holds a Master of Arts in Education from West Virginia University and a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. Michael lives with his wife, Christina, and their children, Leah and Brendan, in Clarksburg, West Virginia.