Where Christ Is Present – Book Review
Five hundred years ago, the church of Jesus Christ underwent a Reformation.
When Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg, he didn’t intend to start a new church – he merely hoped to reform the church that already existed.
Luther hoped that his theses would bring the church back to its essence of preaching the “good news” (the gospel) that Jesus forgives and saves sinners.
Instead, the pope rejected Luther’s call for reform and excommunicated Luther, which led to the fracturing of the institutionalized church, the birth of Protestantism, the recasting of the Catholic Church, and the rise of a number of alternative Christian theologies.
Today, many within the church – including both Protestants and conservative Catholics – believe that the church still needs reforming, and that some of the issues that contemporary Christians face are very similar to those that Christians in the Middle Ages faced.
If you are interested in exploring church history, pursuing church reformation, and reading the thoughts of some of the best contemporary voices in the Lutheran church, then you’ll want to add Where Christ Is Present – A Theology For All Seasons On The 500th Anniversary Of The Reformation to your reading list.
Editors John Warwick Montgomery and Gene Edward Veith commissioned this series of essays in the hope of bringing wholeness to the church.
While I found the premise of Where Christ Is Present interesting, I soon discovered that this book wasn’t written with lay readers in mind. The book is much drier and less engaging than the mass market non-fiction books most lay readers are accustomed to reading.
So, I turned it over to someone I thought would be better qualified to assess the merits of this particular book – my husband, who holds an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies, has some seminary training under his belt, and has a personal interest in church history.
My husband truly appreciated this book. He writes:
Where Christ Is Present is a nice, scholarly collection of essays that examines many aspects of Reformation Theology including the Authority of The Holy/Scriptures, The Way Of Salvation: The Gospel, and the Religious Landscape in the Twenty-First Century.
The essays are written at an undergraduate to graduate level and contain a broad list of notes and an expansive bibliography for additional study.
You should be prepared to take advantage of the resources the authors provide and explore those topics that interest you in further depth, as this book will challenge both your mind and spirit.
Where Christ Is Present isn’t always an easy read – but reading the book is well worth the effort.
He rates this book 4 stars.
About The Authors
John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery is the author of more than sixty books in six languages. He holds eleven earned degrees, including a Master of Philosophy in Law from the University of Essex, England, a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, a Doctorate of the University in Protestant Theology from the University of Strasbourg, France, and the higher doctorate in law (LL.D.) from the University of Cardiff, Wales.
John is a Lutheran clergyman, an English barrister, and is admitted to practice as a lawyer before the Supreme Court of the United States and is a practicing avocat, Barreau de Paris, France. Dr. Montgomery currently serves as Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University Wisconsin.
Gene Edward Veith
Gene Edward Veith is the Provost and Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College, the Director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, a columnist for World Magazine and TableTalk, and the author of 18 books on different facets of Christianity & Culture.
Where Christ Is Present – Book Tour
Create With Joy is delighted to participate in the Where Christ Is Present Book Tour, which is hosted by iRead Book Tours!
The Where Christ Is Present Book Tour runs from August 31 through October 2, 2015.
Please visit the Where Christ Is Present Book Tour Page to learn more about the author, to read guest posts and author interviews, and to see what other bloggers have to say about this book!
Resources
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Where Christ Is Present – Book Giveaway
Create With Joy is thrilled to offer you the opportunity to win 1 of 10 copies of Where Christ Is Present as part of their iRead Book Tour!
To enter this giveaway, submit your entries as instructed on the Rafflecopter form.
This giveaway is open to Create With Joy readers who reside in the US/Canada, and are 18 years and older, now through October 9, 2015.
Additional Information
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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from iRead Book Tours to review. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
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This sounds like a very informative book. The historical aspect is of particular interest to me. Thanks
Sounds a bit scholarly for me! Cheers
Yes, I found it a tad scholarly for my tastes too Carole – but I guess it all depends on your perspective.
If you fall into the right target audience, this book will be right up your alley! 🙂
I think this book sounds like a good read to me! I personally love the historical part but also I enjoy reading different views. 🙂
Best of luck to you Sally – if you enjoy reading about church history this book will be right up your alley! 🙂
Sounds like an interesting book to read, trying to expand my knowledge about Christ.