Burdick, Gary W

English

Andrews University

Andrews University Seminary Studies 57 (Springs 2019)252work offer to the student of the Bible a tool that provides lexical, morpho-logical, and syntactical help. Moreover, the author’s stylistic, exegetical, and homiletical comments are particularly valuable. In concluding, I would like to offer a few constructive suggestions for future improvement of the handbook. First, there are some technical terms that are not explained in the Glossary. Second, an unfortunate erratum in the Handbook is found on page 18, where the Hebrew text of Jonah 1:3 begins with the wrong word order. This error may be due to the fact that Hebrew is written from right to left. Also, I wish the author would have explained the meaning of the name Jonah (“dove”) on page 16, especially with the reference to Hos 7:11–12, where Ephraim is compared to a silly dove. Explanations of names such as Nineveh (Heb. nûn “fish”) would also be helpful. In spite of these suggestions for improvement, I agree with other review-ers that this handbook is one of the best commentaries on Jonah. I would recommend it to all who are interested in going deep into the original biblical text.AdventHealth University Zdravko StefanovicOrlando, FloridaWood, Todd Charles, and Darrel R. Falk, The Fool and the Heretic: How Two Scientists Moved beyond Labels to a Christian Dialog about Creation and Evolution. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019. 201 pp. Softcover. USD 16.99.Todd Wood is a well-known Young-Earth Creationist and Darrel Falk is one of the leading voices for Evolutionary Creationism. They are both evolutionary biologists and prominent members of two opposing camps in the Creation-ism debates, whose paths would normally never cross. However, in the sum-mer of 2013, the Colossian Forum (Grand Rapids)—under the leadership of Michael Gulker and Rob Barrett—brought Wood and Falk together to see if it would be possible to model Christian unity in the midst of difference. The Colossian Forum was established upon the promise of Col 1:17 that “all things hold together in Christ.” Their goal is to answer the question, “How do we live faithfully in the midst of conflict?”The book is organized as chapter pairs, with one chapter written by Wood followed by a chapter written by Falk. In between the chapter pairs are interludes written by Barrett that moderate the discussion and tie the individual chapters together into a coherent whole. In the first chapter pair, Wood and Falk explain why the other person is wrong, and why it matters. In the final chapter pair, Wood and Falk explain why the other person is neither a fool (Wood) nor a heretic (Falk). In between these bookends, Wood and Falk recount the story of how they met and became friends, the ups Book Reviews 253and downs as their relationship developed, and they provide insights into the discussions they have had along the way. This organization is effective, and the book reads as an intimate conversation between friends—friends who respectfully disagree on an important point.I was fortunate to be one of the participants in the room when Wood and Falk first met, and I participated in many of the discussions that led to the writing of this book. What became clear from the discussions is that neither of them is likely to change their mind regarding their creation beliefs. That being the case, one might ask what the point is in having the discussion, given that no resolution is likely?Wood and Falk each strongly believes that his view of creation is the correct one. And they each view the other person’s perspective as, not only wrong, but detrimental to the health of the church. They each are concerned that the other person’s position is leading the church astray and causing members to leave the church altogether. However, they both see the conflict itself as even more detrimental to the health of the church, and no longer desire to be participants in the conflict. Therefore, since that first meeting in 2013, they have continued meeting together to grow in Christ and to understand what it means to be patient and humble with brothers in Christ who disagree.If you are looking for a book that offers the best arguments for your preferred version of Creationism and the best arguments against opposing views, this book will be a disappointment. A much better book for that purpose is the multi-authored Matthew Barrett and Ardel B. Caneday, eds., Four Views on the Historical Adam, Counterpoints: Bible and Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013). However, if you have noticed conflicts building in the church, which  are threatening to split the church, and wondering how God’s people can be so antagonistic to each other, then this book is definitely for you.What is most poignant about the book is that Wood and Falk can each see how the other person is being led by the Spirit. But if the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth (John 16:13), “I wonder why the God who convicts me for my position isn’t convicting him” (189–190).I can offer a partial answer to this question through the following obser-vation: When Wood talks about Creation and the Creator, he talks about a transcendent God who rules over all, and speaks the universe into existence through his transcendent power. When Falk talks about the Creator, he talks about an immanent God who is actively engaged with his creation, who works in and through his creation to sustain it. Theologians talk about God being both transcendent and immanent, about God being both the creator and sustainer of the universe. However, in practice, each of us tends to empha-size only one side and neglect the other. Could it be that the church needs individuals like Wood and Falk to emphasize different, complementary Andrews University Seminary Studies 57 (Springs 2019)254aspects of the Creator? Perhaps Jesus’s promise in John 16:13 means that the Holy Spirit leads the church corporately into all truth by showing differ-ent aspects of that truth to different individuals. And perhaps it is of greater importance to the Spirit that we gain a deeper understanding of God through seeing different complementary perspectives of God’s action, than that we accurately understand the time and methods God used in creation. If the Holy Spirit is not bringing us into agreement on a particular issue, maybe it is because the Spirit wants to teach us something more important.Christian unity is hard. History has shown that Christian unity is not achieved through study commissions, church councils, belief statements, general conference votes, or compliance committees. Rather, Christian unity is a gift of God that comes as God’s people develop the fruit of the spirit and learn to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph 4:1–2). Wood and Falk do not provide any easy answers. However, through their journey together, they show us that there is something more important than being “right.” In Falk’s words: One of us is wrong, and I am convinced it is Todd, just as he is convinced it is I. Ultimately it really matters to each of us that truth prevails, and we will work as long as we each live toward the establishment of truth as we see it in this regard. So, although one of us is wrong about this matter, there is another much more important matter about which we are both right. It is that rightness—the righteousness, actually—in which we both stand. We stand together not through anything either of us has done—after all, we are both sinners redeemed and made right by God’s grace—but rather as much-loved members of God’s family. We are brothers of the same Lord (Heb 2:11–12), and that makes all the difference (182).Andrews University Gary Burdick

Wood, Todd Charles, and Darrel R. Falk, The Fool and the Heretic: How Two Scientists Moved beyond Labels to a Christian Dialog about Creation and Evolution. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019. 201 pp. Softcover. USD 16.99.

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3816&amp;context=auss

Wood, Todd Charles, and Darrel R. Falk, The Fool and the Heretic: How Two Scientists Moved beyond Labels to a Christian Dialog about Creation and Evolution. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019. 201 pp. Softcover. USD 16.99.

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