This Week’s Book Notes

By Matthew Barrett

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. By Alan Jacobs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Alan Jacobs, professor of English at Wheaton College, is an author I enjoy reading for many reasons. One of those reasons is that by reading him I am hoping that his talent for writing will rub off on me. Another reason I enjoy reading Jacobs is that he does not write like your typical philosopher or theologian. He is an English teacher and yet he writes on theological and historical topics quite often. Therefore, he makes for a lively read on almost any topic as he brings his literary smarts to discussions on the Christian faith. But on a more ordinary level, Jacobs is also gifted at simply writing about how to write or writing about how to read. He is an English professor after all. In his newest book, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, Jacobs takes up the controversial subject (!) of reading. While many cultural commentators are depressed over how little Americans read, Jacobs argues just the opposite: Americans are readers in every way! We read everything: fiction and nonfiction, books and magazines, hardbacks and ebooks, history and poetry, etc. And with the advent of the internet our reading has only escalated with the novelty of blogs and websites. But there is still a problem, argues Jacobs. Readers lack confidence, unsure whether they read well, with focus, attentiveness, and discernment. We live in an age of distraction, which can make the reading with discernment a challenge. Furthermore, Jacobs goes against those, such as Mortimer Adler, who take a methodical approach to reading. Instead Jacobs advocates what I call a hedonist approach: just read what you love and desire to read. If Jacobs is at his best, he will undoubtedly ruffle some feathers. Nevertheless, Jacobs addresses an issue long overdue: How are we to read, and love reading, in an age of distraction? How can we return to the “pleasure” of reading? 

Truth Considered & Applied: Examining Postmodernism, History, and Christian Faith. By Stewart E. Kelly. Nashville: B&H, 2011.

Postmodernism has had a massive impact upon the 21st century. It is hard to know at this point what the effects will be in fifty to one hundred years. Only time will tell. In some schools postmodernism is now a thing of the past. In others, however, it is alive and well. One new book that addresses postmodernism head on is Stewart E. Kelly’s volume, Truth Considered & Applied: Examining Postmodernism, History, and Christian Faith. In every way an academic book, Kelly uses history, philosophy, and theology to examine postmodernism. The book focuses on three issues: (1) What is postmodernism, and what should we think about it? (2) Given the challenge presented by postmodernism, is genuine historical knowledge still possible? (3) How should we think about truth and is truth best understood in some epistemic sense? Readers of Kelly’s volume will walk away with a more in depth understanding of postmodernism and the threat it poses to Christian truth. 

A Gracious and Compassionate God: Mission, Salvation and Spirituality in the Book of Jonah. By Daniel C. Trimmer. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2011.

Few Old Testament books get as much attention as the book of Jonah when it comes to Christian literature for children. “Jonah and the Whale” or “Jonah and the Big Fish” is a favorite when it comes to children’s Bibles or Veggie Tales. However, for adults does the book of Jonah receive as much attention as it should? Not sure. Perhaps not, which is a shame since this small book tells us so much about the mercy and judgment of God, as well as his power and sovereignty. In a real way the book of Jonah stands out in a survey of Old Testament literature because the focus is on the salvation of a pagan people (though there is a real sense in which Jonah has much to say about Israel, at least by inference). Can you imagine if another book in the Bible was not as dedicated to Israel as it was to Babylon or Assyria? All that to say, the book of Jonah is unique, and yet at the same time it highlights what many would call the grand theme throughout all of Scripture, namely, the salvation of sinners by God’s grace. Daniel C. Timmer, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson), has written a new book on Jonah and his focus is on God’s amazing and free grace to sinners. Timmer’s volume is a biblical-theological study, one in which redemptive history is brought into clear focus. Central to Timmer’s discussion though are the topics of mission, spirituality, and salvation, as the subtitle gives away. D. A. Carson, the series editor of New Studies in Biblical Theology, writes of the book, “Daniel Timmer’s volume is exceptional: it engages in a close reading of much of Jonah, but it keeps one eye peeled for legitimate canonical ties with what we would today call the mission of God. Dr Timmer thinks and writes clearly and succinctly, and biblical and theological issues come alive. This is a book to cherish.”

Matthew Barrett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett has contributed book reviews and articles to various academic journals and he also writes at Blogmatics. He is married to Elizabeth and they have two daughters, Cassandra and Georgia. He is a member of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.