Biblical Critical Theory

How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture

by Christopher Watkin, Timothy Keller

On Sale: 2022-11-08

Book Summary

In Biblical Critical Theory, Christopher Watkin draws a winsome vision for biblical cultural engagement in which faithfulness to Scripture and sensitivity to culture walk hand in hand. If Christians want to speak with a fresh, engaging and constructive voice within our culture, we need to press deeper into the core truths of the Bible.

About the Book

*With a foreword from Tim Keller*

A bold vision for Christians who want to engage the world in a way that is biblically faithful and culturally sensitive.

In Biblical Critical Theory, Christopher Watkin shows how the Bible and its unfolding story help us make sense of modern life and culture.

Critical theories exist to critique what we think we know about reality and the social, political, and cultural structures in which we live. In doing so, they make visible the values and beliefs of a culture in order to scrutinize and change them.

Biblical Critical Theory exposes and evaluates the often-hidden assumptions and concepts that shape late-modern society, examining them through the lens of the biblical story running from Genesis to Revelation, and asking urgent questions like:

  • How does the Bible's storyline help us understand our society, our culture, and ourselves?
  • How do specific doctrines help us engage thoughtfully in the philosophical, political, and social questions of our day?
  • How can we analyze and critique culture and its alternative critical theories through Scripture?

 

Informed by the biblical-theological structure of Saint Augustine's magisterial work The City of God (and with extensive diagrams and practical tools), Biblical Critical Theory shows how the patterns of the Bible's storyline can provide incisive, fresh, and nuanced ways of intervening in today's debates on everything from science, the arts, and politics to dignity, multiculturalism, and equality. You'll learn the moves to make and the tools to use in analyzing and engaging with all sorts of cultural artifacts and events in a way that is both biblically faithful and culturally relevant.

It is not enough for Christians to explain the Bible to the culture or cultures in which we live. We must also explain the culture in which we live within the framework and categories of the Bible, revealing how the whole of the Bible sheds light on the whole of life.

If Christians want to speak with a fresh, engaging, and dynamic voice in the marketplace of ideas today, we need to mine the unique treasures of the distinctive biblical storyline.

Reviews

' . . . An ambitious, comprehensive, and thrilling work of Christian apologetics . . . The most significant work of its kind to appear in a decade.'

'[Chris Watkin] maps a path out of some of the most fundamental impasses of our time . . . Urgent and weighty, Biblical Critical Theory is . . . simply, a tremendously exciting read.'

'A book that I have been eagerly anticipating for years. ... My prayers are that this book will bear much intellectual and spiritual fruit in many lives over the decades ahead.'

'A brilliant and unique book . . . It is the most biblical, up-to-date, and comprehensive analysis of contemporary Western culture that I know of.'

'A fresh way of seeing the world, life, culture, and the Bible . . . I highly recommend this book.'

'A seminal text for us . . . A foundation and frame for years to come. Absolutely essential reading'

'A wonderful book bringing the Scriptures--every part of them--into a deep and illuminating conversation with the concerns of culture.'

'An effervescently brilliant book, that rare volume that excels both in biblical and cultural exegesis.'

'An important update of Augustine's City of God, a proposal for making biblical sense of what is happening in contemporary culture.'

'Biblical Critical Theory doesn't just give us answers; it helps us to come up with better questions . . . An innovative and immensely fruitful paradigm.'

'Christopher Watkin's expert, timely compendium of Christian Scripture's subversive engagement of dominating themes of our modern age brings welcome healing to our world.'

'Every careful reader will be rewarded from repeated immersions in this profound and potentially transformative work.'

'Incisive, accessible, and astonishing in scope . . . '

'This book is a feast. Chris Watkin accomplishes what few have.'

'This book is a must-read for all serious thinkers.'

'This is a magnificent achievement. It is a must-read . . . Here is a total defence and commendation of Christianity like no other. Buy it. Read it. Ponder it. Pass it on.'

'This is the best yet most accessible exploration of the intersection between Christianity, culture, and philosophy I've read in recent years.'

'This is truly the book I have long wanted to read, and I believe it deserves to become a standard text for all Christian leaders, teachers, evangelists, and any serious-minded believer.'

Product Details

  • Imprint: Zondervan Academic
  • On Sale: 2022-11-08
  • Pages: 672
  • Publisher: Zondervan Academic
  • Publication Date: 2022-11-08
  • Trim Size: 166.000mm x 236.000mm x 50.000mm
  • Weight: 1028.000gr
  • Category 1 : RELIGION / Christian Life / Social Issues
  • Category 2 : RELIGION / Biblical Studies / Exegesis & Hermeneutics
  • Category 3 : RELIGION / Christian Theology / Apologetics
  • Category 4 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology of Religion