Trials of Theology

This is a collection of short essays for theological students, drawn from classic and recent authors. The stand-outs are the ones from the past - readable translations and selections from Augustine, Luther, Spurgeon, Warfield and C. S. Lewis. Spurgeon (from Lectures to My Students) is particularly helpful, as is the inclusion of the C. S. Lewis essay on 'Inner Circles'. All these articles will help a student struggling to make sense of life in college stay grounded and learn from people who has already wrestled with the issues that arise. The 'Present Voices' section is less impressive. There are short essays from high profile academics on their area of expertise. Most of the authors seem to have misunderstood the brief and write and article defending the discipline (Church History, Chirstian Ethics etc. ) The winner in this section is Don Carson's (Biblical Studies) which does deal with the issues that a student with face in his field (the potential disconnect between academic Bible reading and devotional reading), along with a discussion of publishingwriting books. If only for the sections in the first part of this book, everyone starting at Bible college should read this book.