“species?” Is culture explicable in the same categories asbiology? Is biological evolution driven by “chance,” or is itfully determined—partly by hidden variables? Is there roomfor divine creation? Is religion an epiphenomenon whoseorigin is biologically explicable, undercutting its claims to bebased on eternal verities? What are the logical and empiricalrequirements for “natural selection,” and its relationship tocatastrophic events? What is “mind,” its origin and influenceon natural selection? This is not a book for the casual reader,but serious readers will find where recent philosophical dis-cussions on evolution are focused, despite feeling, perhaps,as one writer does that the “discussions are imperfect andincomplete.”

Duane VoskuilBismarck, ND

THEORIES ON THE SCRAP HEAP: SCIENTISTSAND PHILOSPHERS ON THE FALSIFICATION,REJECTION, AND REPLACEMENT OF THEORIES.By John Losee. Pittsburgh, PA: University of PittsburghPress, 2005. Pp. ii + 206. $24.95.

Losee, emeritus professor of philosophy at LafayetteCollege, has written several books on the philosophy andhistory of science. Theories on the Scrap Heap, a book for thegeneral reader, examines various proposals for tests a theorymust meet to be called “scientific.” Proposals are illustratedby authors in their own words from many scientific fieldsdating from the ancient Greeks to the present. None of theproposals, including falsifiability, predictability of new phe-nomena or support from a wide verity of empirical situationsis found to be applicable without exception. Yet Losee even-tually asserts two principles that cannot be violated if atheory is to have scientific status: every theory must beinternally consistent, and have empirical consequences. Inpractice, additional, more specific criteria are used despitethe need to wrestle with which criteria to apply and when,because they do not apply universally. Francis Bacon’s Idolsare referenced to illustrate the difficulty of evaluating scien-tific evidence impartially. We all bring assumptions to theevidence. Einstein declared, for example, that quantummechanics does not explain the empirical evidence becauseits statistical statements fail to grasp the deeper determin-ism he believed all events must exhibit.

Duane VoskuilBismarck, ND

Philosophy of ReligionPIOUS NIETZSCHE: DECADENCE AND DIONYSIANFAITH. By Bruce Ellis Benson. Bloomington: Indiana Uni-versity Press, 2008. Pp. xx + 269. $24.95.

Few thinkers stand under such scrutiny as Nietzsche,alternately venerated and vilified for his scathing critique ofChristianity in the nineteenth century. The dominant inter-pretation of Nietzsche in recent scholarship has read him as

a nihilist, “a thinker of the abyss.” It is here that Bensonoffers a decidedly new read of Nietzsche’s piety, as one who,to the contrary, was deeply pious, although in a decidedlyunorthodox way. Examining Nietzsche against the backdropof fellow “decadent” exemplars—St. Paul, Socrates, andRichard Wagner—Benson argues that Nietzsche’s musicalexplorations are emblematic of an ecstatic state thatNietzsche sought prior to his decline into madness. Theaskesis present in Nietzsche’s musical musings presents forBenson a key to a long-misunderstood figure, one who soughtto articulate Christianity beyond Lutheran orthodoxy. Ben-son’s thesis is carefully argued against the historical back-drop of Nietzsche’s religious upbringing, blending togetherNietzsche’s early religious and musical aspirations, offeringa new and convincing reading of his life and tears. Benson’sreading will surely not be without its detractors, as his inter-pretation of Nietzsche offers a refreshingly charitable take onNietzsche’s life and contribution to religious thought.

Myles WerntzBaylor University

DISPLACING CHRISTIAN ORIGINS: PHILOSOPHY,SECULARITY, AND THE NEW TESTAMENT. ByWard Blanton. Religion and Postmodernism. Chicago: Uni-versity of Chicago Press, 2007. Pp. xi + 220. Cloth, $56.00;paper, $22.50.

In light of recent appropriations of the history and lan-guage of the early Christian movement by postmodern phi-losophers such as Zizek and Badiou, Blanton investigatesthe historical interplay between philosophy and biblicalcriticism as practitioners of each have claimed the author-ity to define and expound the true nature of the Christianrevelation. Blanton considers in depth the work of biblicalcritics Strauss, Deissman, and Schweitzer in relation to thephilosophical insights of Hegel, Nietzsche, and the earlyHeidegger. He argues that biblical critics and philosophersalike used the distinctive emphases of the early Christianmovement as a means of giving shape to modern secular-ity. The author’s analysis is cogent and reflects a masteryof the relevant materials. Blanton’s declared intention is topersuade philosophical theorists and biblical critics to payheed to one another, but it is biblical critics whom he mostoften takes to task, for both their positivist conviction thatit is possible to isolate historical truth through textualanalysis and their ignorance of the philosophical presuppo-sitions that underlie their work. The book’s appeal islimited to some extent by a postmodern style that isalready becoming passé, and it is marred by some obviouserrors in editing.

Glenn S. HollandAllegheny College

THE RELIGIOUS CASE AGAINST BELIEF. By JamesP. Carse. New York: Penguin Press, 2008. Pp. 227. $16.47.

In this book, Carse (Professor Emeritus, New York Uni-versity) promotes the religious quest in opposition to rigid

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belief systems. He maintains that the world’s most devel-oped religions are incapable of being reduced to “tidy formu-las or rigidly ordered credos.” For Carse, rigid belief systemsrequire conflict, strict boundaries, and a single undisputedauthority for survival. Furthermore, these systems restrictthe thinking and discovery process essential in the religiousjourney and vainly endeavor to develop a comprehensivestructure designed to addresses even unknown variables.Consequently, outside criticism strengthens the resolve ofbelievers. In response, and at the foundational level, Carsedelineates three types of ignorance: ordinary ignorance(mundane lack of knowledge), willful ignorance (intentionalavoidance of accessible knowledge), and higher ignorance (alearned understanding that the most informed humanknowledge ultimately falls short of truth). Within theseparameters, he argues that those in search of transcendenttruth embrace higher ignorance while those who maintainrigid belief structures doggedly hold to willful ignorance. ForCarse, the religious quest is a search for something higherand beyond the grasp of human intellect. The urge to retreatinto the confines of highly organized belief structures—withrigidly defined boundaries—ironically defeats the search forsuch truth because it limits discovery and wonderment.Carse’s idiosyncratic description of a religion as the “collec-tive life” of a community, or communitas, that has yet to“clarify for themselves what their identity consists of” invitesdeliberation. Recommended for all academic and theologicallibraries.

Richard A. PruittRegent University School of Divinity

NATURALISM. By Stewart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro.Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008.Pp. viii + 132. $16.00.

In this inaugural volume in the Interventions series,edited by C. Cunningham and P. Candler, the philosophicalquestion of the natural world is explored. S. Goetz and C.Taliaferro explore in nonspecialist language the issues asso-ciated with naturalism, the philosophical position that holdsthat the world must be thought of in ultimately nonmeta-physical ways. A growing number of philosophers and theo-logians have begun rethinking the question of “nature” as anontological category, investigating whether “nature” can bethought of in singularly immanent terms, or if analysis ofthe natural world must involve notions of transcendence.The volume proceeds in five chapters, examining not onlycurrent manifestations of naturalist thinking, but alsovarious implications of naturalism, including what such aposition means for the soul, ethics, and concepts of person-hood. The authors turn in the conclusion to consider, then,what it might mean to move beyond naturalism and totheism as a superior explanation for the natural world. Theirdefense of theism by reason completes this excellent intro-ductory volume to the landscape of the debate between natu-ralists and theists. Well-suited as an introductory text to the

question of naturalism, Goetz and Taliaferro’s volume is tobe commended for its solid contribution to the Interventionsseries.

Myles WerntzBaylor University

HEIDEGGER: A (VERY) CRITICAL INTRODUC-TION. By S. J. McGrath. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerd-mans Publishing Co., 2008. Pp. xii + 131. $16.00.

Heidegger remains one of the pivotal figures in philoso-phy, not only for his penetrating analysis of ontology andbeing, but also because of the continuing controversy sur-rounding his life and the continuing appropriation of Heideg-ger in theological circles. In this latest volume from theInterventions series, edited by C. Cunningham and P.Candler, S. J. McGrath engages the theological project ofHeidegger not only with the purpose of explicating Heideg-ger for those unfamiliar with his project, but in order toassess the importance of Heidegger for the thinking of aChristian ontology. Beginning with Heidegger’s early workon Duns Scotus, through the late works in post-Husserlianphenomenology, McGrath works through four themes ofHeidegger’s work: phenomenology, ontology, axiology, andtheology. The division of Heidegger into these categories ishelpful insofar as it provides handles for delving intoHeidegger’s work at specific junctures, although Heideg-ger’s work notoriously overlaps these boundaries at mostturns. McGrath works against the historical background ofHeidegger’s life, showing that the overlap and conjoining ofthese areas again illustrates the necessity of thinking clearlyabout one’s theology, as inevitably one’s politics and one’slife are at stake. Succinct and clear, McGrath’s work standsas an excellent introduction to the theological claims at stakein Heidegger.

Myles WerntzBaylor University

ZIZEK: A (VERY) CRITICAL INTRODUCTION. ByMarcus Pound. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publish-ing Co., 2008. Pp. xv +168. $19.00.

Zizek’s work has stormed into theological discourse inthe last decade, marking the resurgence of materialism asa philosophical category to be reckoned with. Appearing asthe second volume in the Interventions series, Pound’svolume examines the presuppositions of this philosopherwhose work transgresses the borders of cultural studies,theology, psychoanalysis and Marxism. Going beyond asimple exposition of Zizek’s body of work, Pound deftlyargues with Zizek about the promise—and peril—that Zizek’sengagements with Christian theology pose for the church.Zizek’s work contests that a materialist reading of Chris-tianity yields not only the true Christianity, but the ulti-mate political act, exposing the void in cultural life whichpolitical ideologies attempt to overlay. Taking this goal oftheology-as-political-act as a shared goal of his and Zizek’s,Pound navigates Zizek’s corpus to explore the importance

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of religion as the ultimate political act. Proceeding in chap-ters isolating various aspects of Zizek’s work (sexuality,materialism, belief, etc.), the work unfolds less as astraightforward introduction, and more as an apology forlooking at Zizek seriously, although not uncritically. Com-plete with an afterword by Zizek, Pound’s work functionsnot only as a fine introduction to Zizek’s ideas, but pro-vides an alternate theological account of Zizek’s religo-political project.

Myles WerntzBaylor University

TheologyPHILIP’S DAUGHTERS: WOMEN IN PENTECOSTAL-CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP. Edited by Estrelda Alex-ander and Amos Yong. Princeton Theological MonographSeries, 104. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2009.Pp. viii + 251. $27.00.

This book is a collection of revised papers originallypresented at three Regent University School of Divinity col-loquia during the 2006-2007 academic year. Concerned withthe issue of women in Pentecostal-charismatic leadership,the essays represent a diverse group of scholars whoapproach the topic from varying denominations, cultures,and disciplines. The first half of the book focuses on histori-cal perspectives, offering a potpourri of vignettes represen-tative of the struggles and successes that women have hadwithin Pentecostal-charismatic churches with respect toleadership positions. The second half of the book concen-trates on biblical and theological perspectives, addressingissues such as sanctified women’s use of women in the Bibleas an apologetic against Christian patriarchy (T. Gilkes), theontological identity of women as understood in light of thetriune life of God (B. Johns), and the dialectical tension ofspiritual egalitarianism and ecclesial pragmatism (Ware).The strength of this book is that it draws together a richassortment of scholarship focused on one theme, whichoffers the reader an insightful and thought-provoking analy-sis of the issue at hand. It is accessible to those outside thePentecostal-charismatic tradition, as well as challenging tothose within it. It is the most diverse and detailed treatmenton this subject by a collection of authors and could be usedin either a popular setting or an academic one. Highlyrecommended.

Lisa P. StephensonLee University

CHRIST AND CULTURE REVISITED. By D. A. Carson.Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008. Pp. xii + 243. $24.00.

Carson reexamines H. R. Niebuhr’s programmatic pro-posal and critiques Niebuhr’s typologies as artificial and asan inaccurate portrayal of the biblical teachings regardingChrist and culture. In contrast to Niebuhr’s view that thereare five biblical-theological approaches to culture, Carson

argues that only the paradigm of “Christ against culture” issustainable in the light of biblical, theological, contextual,and even trans-contextual reflections. He further posits thatthe Christian vision will generate cultures that are differentfrom dominant cultures even though the Christian lives inculture. Carson defends his case by examining the rhetoricof a scriptural reading of Christ and culture, and shows howthis is played out in the light of the logic of postmodernism,secularism, democracy, freedom, power, and politics. Thepast construals, present developments, and future prospectsto each of the above mentioned themes is carefully consid-ered. The arguments and footnotes reveal a deep knowledgenot just of biblical theology, but also of cultural studies,intercultural sensitivities, and the interplay of religion withpolitics, freedom, justice, and power. Yet Carson’s critique ofNiebuhr betrays Carson’s own conservative evangelicalsocial location as well as his bias towards perspectivalism. IfNiebuhr’s typologies accounted for the different ways Chris-tians have historically engaged culture, is Carson’s critiquefrom an exegetical perspective fair or does it hit the mark?Niebuhr himself was well aware of the limitations of histypological mapping. Still, credit Carson for his attemptedrevision of the relationship between Christ and culture fortwenty-first century Christianity.

Timothy Lim T. N.Regent University School of Divinity

RACE: A THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. By J. KameronCarter. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Pp. xiv + 489.$35.00.

This is an amazing book: in scope, scholarship, audacity,and significance. Carter takes on no less than the entireWestern philosophical, political and theological tradition inoffering a Christian analysis of race, religion, and their criti-cally bodied intersections. Painstakingly unfolding a thesisas simple as it is breathtaking, Carter shows how superses-sionism finds its final resting place in modernity’s hege-mony of whiteness, a cultural pathology that begins astheological heresy. Because we moderns get the Jews wrong,we get everything wrong, making colonial chattel slavery theinevitable byproduct of Western theology’s failure to cel-ebrate Christ’s irreducible humanity/divinity. Conversely,Carter retrieves the early christologies of Ireneaus andMaximus the Confessor in order to construct an account ofrace and embodiment that rightly minds the Jewishness ofJesus’ given body inscribed as the black church. Along theway, Carter makes quick work of the seminal figures ofcontemporary black theology: J. Cone, A. Raboteau, C. Long,and C. West, demonstrating how even at their best theyremain beholden to a racial imagination to which we allremain captive. Doubtless readers of Douglas, Kant, Barth(including this Barthian), Heidegger, and Foucault (includ-ing this reader of Heidegger and Foucault) will not recognizesome of their favorite thinkers. But this is the genius ofCarter’s rhetorical trap: do we resist Carter’s interpretations

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