Bible Translation as Missions

JBTM Book Reviews49less, the overall design provides a helpful dialogical presentation that effectively summarizes thestructure of real-world arguments.In the third section, ten chapters address claims against the truth of Christianity. In severalcases, the arguments in this section are simply flipped versions of positive arguments presentedearlier (e.g., “The Theistic God Exists” vs. “God Does Not Exist” and “Christianity is Beneficial”vs. “Christianity is Harmful”). Unavoidably, this leads to some duplication of arguments,but approaching these issues from two different directions helps draw out aspects of the discussionthat a single argument diagram could not.The book has a brief conclusion and includes an annotated bibliography, a glossary, andsubject and name indices. In addition, each chapter has discussion questions and suggestedassignments. As with any selective work, one could quibble with some of the chosen topics orwith elements of individual argument diagrams, as Velarde recognizes. But that would be todemand a different book. The book as it stands is a valuable contribution to practical apologetics.The brevity of the chapters and the exposition in the chapters means the book wouldnot normally be suitable for a standalone academic textbook, though its format might make ituseful in a more informal setting such as a Sunday School or church training class. For classroomuse, the book is ideally suited to be used as a supplemental text. After slogging throughtraditional apologetics arguments in a more traditional textbook, Velarde’s presentation wouldprovide clarity and focus, as well as help students grasp the big picture and see apologetics as amore dialogical enterprise.– Carl Sanders, Capital Seminary and Graduate School, Washington, D. C.Basil of Caesarea: His Life and Impact. By Marvin Jones. Early Christian Fathers series, ed.Michael A. G. Haykin. Glasgow, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2014. 175 pages.Softcover, $11.99.Evangelicals have rediscovered the Church Fathers in recent years, and the Early ChristianFathers series is one reflection of this renewed appreciation. In this volume, Marvin Jones,Associate Professor of Church History and Theology at Louisiana College, traces the life andministry of Basil of Caesarea. Basil supported Athanasian orthodoxy and led the champions ofNicene orthodoxy against the second wave of the Arianism in the fourth century. Basil was oneof the three influential Cappadocian fathers—Basil, bishop of Caesarea; his brother Gregory,bishop of Nyssa; and their close friend Gregory of Nazianzus, the patriarch of Constantinople.Constantine gave his favor to the Christian church with his ascendency to the throne of theRoman Empire in the early fourth century. He hoped that the church would help unify theempire; however, the church’s unity was endangered by controversy over the divinity of Christ.The Arians believed that Jesus was not co-eternal with the Father—that there was a time whenHe was not. After the Council of Nicea, the orthodox party led by Athanasius won the council’saffirmation of the Nicene Creed. However, questions remained about the interrelationof the two natures of Christ, and in the mid-fourth century, a semi-Arian party arose whichquestioned the full divinity of the Holy Spirit.