Book Description
More Like Wrestling unfolds through the compelling voices of two sisters, Pinch and Paige, coming of age in Oakland, California, at a time when the beautiful, crumbling city is being transformed by the dark temptations of its underworld. As they grow from girls to women the sisters are confronted with a series of surprising reversals—death, disaster, and, maybe, love—that forces them to come to grips with the truth about their choices and their tangled roots.
“Lyrical and engaging . . . Smith’s light, sinewy prose sings with precision.” —Washington Post Bookworld
“A wildly intelligent coming-of-age story [and] a morally complex take on the devastating costs of poverty and racism—a tale that deals in hard truths and, ultimately, forgiveness.”—Elle
“Smith’s supple language and the generosity she shows toward her own imagination and memory allows something new and real to emerge—a grittier, muckier story, full of the uncertainty of life.” —Africana
Customer Reviews:
She looks good........2005-03-21
I liked this book. It took a while to get into, but once crack cocaine hit, she found her stride. I may have written that wrong, but I meant it well.
Could not get into it.......2004-09-18
I really wanted to like this book, because I have met the author and read other things she had written--which were very good. But this book--talk about tedious writing. All of those stream of consciousness, endless babbling about nothing. Switches from past to present, character to character. I couldn't get past the first two or three chapters.
A struggle.......2004-05-22
As much as I hate to say it, I found this book to be a great disappointment. I hate to say it because I expected a great deal from Ms. Smith based on her work with Vibe magazine. After reading the jacket cover, I was all set to settle in for an enjoyable read. The problem is, the book never seemed to go anywhere, making the read a slow and laborious one. The story moved along at a snails pace and never seemed to take off. Despite the plot twists (and admittedly,there were a few), the story started off flat and remained that way. I will admit that I only got 3/4 of the way through and that it may have picked up at the end. But I doubt it. And in my opinion, it wasn't worth the struggle to find out.
Boo.......2004-04-22
I could not get into this book, and I honestly did try. I finally gave up on this book halfway through. It goes from past to present, from character to character...
The characters other than Paige and Pinch (who are obviously the main ones) seem to be insignificant, but we keep hearing about them. Maybe if I had finished the book all the way through I would have seen why each character was important. But I am surprised i even made it halfway through...this book was boring.
Boring.......2003-10-09
I kept wondering why I was still reading this book. I usually read a book in 2 days. It took me a week to finish it. There really was nothing to look forward to or wonder about in this book.
Book Description
From the secret annals of Realms history come these never-before-published tales of infamy, featuring the most nefarious villains of that magical world -- Artemis Entreri, Manshoon of Zhentil Keep, Eliath Craulnober, Zulkir Szass Tamm, and many others -- told by your favorite authors, including: Ed Greenwood, R.A. Salvatore, Elaine Cunningham, Troy Denning, Christie Golden and others
Customer Reviews:
Nice to have an OOP book.......2005-09-01
It's nice to find an out of print book at a reasonable price but if it's in really used condition, it should NOT be described as like new. This was described as like new but both covers were creased and the book had seen lots and lots of wear. It really should have been described as "In used condition."
The Many Faces of Evil.......2000-01-12
"Infamous...that means 'more than famous'," or so thought Dusty Bottoms. Infamy, the seedier, more sinister side of the Realms. This collection of short stories (delivering tales about Artemis, Manshoon and others), is a fabulous read, and a great beacon to continue the "Realms of..." series. Whole heartedly I recommend this title. Each story is self contained, and each is well written. It includes tales by: Greenwood, Cunningham, Salvatore, Lowder & more! You won't regret it (in particular I note: "Laughter in the Flames"(Lowder) and "The Meaning of Lore"(Handee) are among the better pieces I've read when concerned with the character of a character).
enter Entreri..........1999-07-30
this book gets five stars for Third Level alone. Honestly I far prefer Artemis over Drizzt and wish Mr. Salvatore wold write a "Homeland" for Entreri...
Product Description
Paperbacks
Average customer rating:
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Realms of Infamy
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast, UK
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books | Alternate History | Anthologies | Arthurian | Contemporary | Epic | General | Historical | History & Criticism | Magic & Wizards | Series
Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books | Adventure | Alternate History | Anthologies | General | Graphic Novels | High Tech | History & Criticism | Series | Short Stories | Space Opera
ASIN: 0099456419 |
Average customer rating:
- The Homer Simpson of Protagonists
- Not Free SF Reader
- Well-written-but too lengthy
- Great Trilogy
- standard kitchen boy fantasy with a betrayal of an ending
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To Green Angel Tower, Book Three: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn)
Tad Williams
Manufacturer: DAW Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Epic
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| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
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General
| Williams, Tad
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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Paperback
| Williams, Tad
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
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Similar Items:
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The Stone of Farewell (Memory, Sorrow and Thorn)
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To Green Angel Tower, Part 2 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Book 3)
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The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow and Thorn)
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Shadowmarch: Volume I
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Mountain of Black Glass (Otherland, Volume 3)
ASIN: 0756402980 |
Book Description
Available in one volume for the first time since its hardcover publication over a decade ago-The FINAL book in the trilogy that launched one of the most important fantasy writers of our time
Customer Reviews:
The Homer Simpson of Protagonists.......2007-09-10
Simon or Seoman is one of the biggest morons to grace the tomes of modern fantasy. If you can get through the tremendous self deprecation in the first two books where the author (clearly lacking imagination) has his main character Simon refer to himself as a "mooncalf" and a "scullion" many many times over and over again. I know it is usual for the commoner boy character, who is the main hero in these kinds of books to feel sorry for himself but Tad Williams has taken that to a whole different level. Simon has so many Doh! and "Why me?" moments that you will be tearing your hair out by the time you reach the third book. As for the third book, it is almost a surprise that this mentally challenged idiot gets through all the adversities that the author throws before him as he bumbles through page after page of "oh, silly me, here i go again" kind of adventures. The main heroes inherent lack of logic and common sense makes an otherwise great book mediocre.
This book is worth reading for all the other characters that populate Osten Ard. These characters have complex and satisfying personalities and are involved in twisted and surprising plots. If I could skip over Simon's part and just read the rest of the book, I would be happier. But to go through so much idiocy just to get to the good part is just not worth it. The kid is a jackass and he knows it and the author makes sure that we know it and are punished for it.
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Simon, Prince Joshua and Simon's old friend Binabik, the troll realise
there is a bit more to all of this fancy sword business than meets the
eye. There are actually three of these fanastic artifacts, and one of
them had been somewhere obvious all along. The old beaten up sword of
King John is actually one of them, Doh.
Well-written-but too lengthy.......2007-06-15
After finally finishing Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, I conclude that Mr. Williams is a very talented writer.
His story contains many elements that are far too familiar in high fantasy today, such as a humble kid out to save the world, a race of powerful immortal elf-like beings, a great evil poised on the edge of destroying the world, a strong willed runaway princess etc. However Williams gives the clichés fresh twists that make them his own. The result is a deeper more thoughtful tale than the works of most contemporary fantasy authors.
Other positives include-
The characterization- though Mr. Williams juggles a myriad of different characters he succeeds in making them separate and distinct from one another-especially in dialogue.
His adolescent protagonists- Miramelle and Simon act exactly like what they are - teenagers. It's a common mistake in fantasy stories to make the young people act either ridiculously stupid and naïve or uncommonly intelligent and brave. Williams creates a more realistic blend in the coming-of-age element to his story.
The dream sequences- I have never read such disturbing and powerful dream sequences. Dreams can be very dull to read about but in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn they compose some of the most compelling parts of the trilogy.
However, Williams has a terrible problem with pacing. His books are excruciatingly detailed and rarely skip over or narrate anything. This makes for a highly realistic approach, but a tedious read.
Finally during the last two hundred pages of this last book, To Green Angel Tower, things begin to pick up. At last it transformed into the kind of gut-wrenching action-packed reading I couldn't put down (after all, I had been waiting for thousands of pages).
A lot of the mysteries and puzzles are answered at last in the final chapters of the book. However, it's been so long since the original prophesy or hint that it almost seems too late to finish them up by cramming them togther at the end of the novel.
Also though the final confrontation with the Storm King was full of sound and fury, the resolution was astonishingly quick and simple. I won't spoil the ending, but it was remarkable that no one planned for or foresaw the possibility of such an event taking place. This leap in logic was disappointing and uncharacteristic of the rest of the books.
Overall, I enjoyed the series and I'm glad I read it, but I can't help but wonder how much sharper and more powerful the trilogy would be, had a more stringent editor gotten his hands on it. If you're a patient reader and enjoy spending months investing yourself in the characters and world of a story, then these are the books for you. Everyone else might want to steer clear and pick up something shorter.
Great Trilogy.......2007-05-13
This is a great well written intelligent trilogy. A long, but captivating read.
standard kitchen boy fantasy with a betrayal of an ending.......2006-10-13
To Green Angel Tower is the massive concluding volume to Tad Williams' epic fantasy trilogy Memory, Sorrow, Thorn. The novel weighs in at just over a thousand pages and the paperback edition has frequently been published as two volumes. Here Prince Josua has gathered refugees from this brother the King Elias and the Red Priest Pyrates at the Stone of Farewell (also the title of the second volume). At this point Josua and the good guys have an idea of what they are up against. Not only is Elias a bad king and under the influence of the evil Pyrates, they are also up against the The Storm King who has been dead for 500 years but whose spirit is still strong and full of hatred and the Norns. The Norns are the cousins of the Sithi, a long lived race of near immortals of great power. The Sithi once held all the land the humans now hold. The Sithi have accepted humanity's right to live and live in exile from their former homeland. The Norns seek to take their lands back and destroy the humans. To say that the odds are stacked against Prince Josua and his allies is to downplay the situation. The situation appears to be nearly hopeless.
The hero of our story is not Josua, however. The hero of our story is a young man named Simon. Simon started in The Dragonbone Chair as a kitchen scullion in the caste Hayholt and before long is on the run and finding his true destiny. By the beginning of To Green Angel Tower Simon, now called Seoman Snowlock for his slaying of a dragon and recovering one of the three legendary swords, has become a major player in his world. He has befriended the Sithi, some of the trolls, a princess, become a warrior, slain a dragon, recovered the sword Thorn, and has become part of Josua's inner circle. Still, Simon is a young man just discovering who he is and he has not yet grown as confident and mature as he will.
To Green Angel Tower brings the story to a crawling conclusion. At some point Josua and Simon and the allies will make a push to claim the throne and before that to claim the two missing swords Minneyar and Sorrow. They will face the great conflict from the Norns and will seek to bring healing to the land. They do not know how and neither does the reader. Tad Williams has one thousand pages to wrap the story up, so there is plenty of time. Tad Williams uses every page in the book to get us there, and by that I mean that he takes a really long time. One would think that after the first 1200 pages or so covering the first two volumes that we would be farther along, but in a very real sense the story has a long way to go because Josua does not know how to get the swords and has no idea how to overcome the enemy. One thing the reader has to understand is that the story moves slowly. Creeping along slow. Slow like the author doesn't quite know what to do next so he will keep writing more and more until he figures it out. Eventually he does.
So, here's the thing: Memory, Sorrow, Thorn is a very traditional high fantasy story. This is what is typically called "kitchen boy" fantasy because the hero is usually a servant of some sort, often a kitchen boy like Simon, with no parents and real hope to be anything more than what he is. He dreams, of course, but no real hope of becoming more. Something happens and the kitchen boy goes on a grand adventure and learns that he has a great skill or power, gets involved with the powerful men and women of the land who accept him as an equal, and more often than not finds something out about his own heritage which involves some sort of grandeur. This is a staple of the high fantasy genre and this is exactly what Memory, Sorrow, Thorn is. That's fine. It is what an author does within the genre that matters, not the trappings of the genre. This series is both very ordinary, but also well done up until the end. Williams gives us such a slow build that many readers would have quit a thousand pages ago and it is recommended that new readers give the first book at least two hundred pages before making a judgment on the book. There is some promise in the story as Williams makes some of the familiarity seem new. If one gets to the meat of the story, there is an exciting story here. With a good editor Williams could cut several hundred pages out of this book (and from previous books) and really make a moving, tightly paced story that still gets all of the detail (unlike what Terry Brooks is doing with his most recent novels which is all pace and no detail). Still, when I got deep into each novel and especially To Green Angel Tower I was wrapped up in the story and shortly before the end Williams makes some bold moves for such a traditional novel and does a couple of unexpected things to characters which is true to the story and characters and I was impressed.
Then we got to the coda and Williams betrayed the sacrifices of what came before. Note how I am trying not to spoil exactly who made these sacrifices or what the sacrifice entailed. Right before this coda of an ending which wraps everything up I am sold. Williams hammered home a great ending and then he went and undid everything that came before with one more chapter. He revealed too much, gave the reader too much and the ending lost all the power it had up to that point. One thing had been hinted at for a while regarding Simon, so I understand even though I wish Simon's fate could have come about without the family history. The other couple of characters who sacrificed at the end meant nothing after the coda. Betrayal by the author who apparently needed an extra happy ending to close out the trilogy.
If Williams did the same thing with the Otherland series I might be done with him.
Final Analysis: Slow moving traditional fantasy that has a strong story buried in with the lazy river of a plot but a feckless tacked on ending after the final battle which invalidated the power of said final battle.
-Joe Sherry
Product Description
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy (in four parts) Complete set. A war fueld by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard - for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Sithi, seeks to regain his lost realm...
Book Description
The Christian doctrine of justification continues to be of major importance in modern ecumenical discussions. In fact, this book became the leading reference work on the subject after its initial publication in 1986. This third edition thoroughly updates previous editions by adding new material and responding to the latest developments in scholarly literature. The volume's many acclaimed features include a detailed assessment of the semantic background of the concept in the ancient Near East, a thorough examination of the doctrine of the medieval period, and especially careful analysis of its development during the critical years of the sixteenth century.
Download Description
This book is an updated and expanded version of Alister McGrath's definitive study of the history of the Christian doctrine of justification. It brings together into a single volume the enormous amount of material from the two-volume first edition, while adding new sections dealing with recent developments in Pauline scholarship and ecumenical debates over the doctrine. An essential resource for anyone wanting to understand historical theology, sixteenth-century church history or the modern ecumenical debates between Protestants and Roman Catholics.
Customer Reviews:
Faith in Justification Alone.......2006-09-01
This volume is one of those rare, indispensible works of historical theology that not only successfully delineates the history of a particular doctrine (that of Justification), but points to the weight of the debates that are its history (or, perhaps, histories) without any discernible polemic. That it relates to the Protestant Reformations goes without saying; that it contains a number of implications for ecumenism must, for some, be consciously remembered. This, the third edition, is a substantially re-written version of the two-volume first edition (the "second" edition contained the two volumes of the first in a single volume with no editorial changes). It comes across, then, very much as a potential work-in-progress; it does not seem strange, in reading the conclusion, to conceive of McGrath coming up with a fourth edition some years down the road - one that might, at the very least, smooth out some of the more disjointed facets of McGrath's 421 page narrative.
The book begins and ends in a historiographical context that is entirely appropriate for current debates about Justification: the state of current scholarship on the Bible, particularly St. Paul the Apostle. McGrath seems to concur with the thought of the most eminent of scholars that the Apostle not only never wrote a systematic work about justification, but that his doctrine seems to envision justification as three distinct, but related things: our past justification, our current state of being justified, and the promise of our future justification. Above all, it is in the context of evangelism to the Gentiles that the Apostle discusses "justification by faith"; to take this phrase and read into it late-medieval and Reformation-era debates is without warrant.
There is a danger in reading this book, for Justification is a doctrine that was not at the center of Christian reflection until the Protestant Reformations. When McGrath moves from St. Paul to St. Augustine, then, he discusses the place of justification within Augustine's work by labeling Augustine "the fountainhead". On the one hand, it makes sense to see Blessed Augustine as a fountainhead, for he truly is the father of all Western Christian thought; on the other hand, if McGrath means that Augustine is the fountainhead of the doctrine of justification, this contention is nowhere explained. Rather, it seems at odd with McGrath's statement that "the early Christian writers did not choose to express their soteriological convictions in terms of the concept of justification" (33).
Augustine appears to have held to the Apostle's teaching that we are justified by faith working through love (Gal. 5:6) and it is the centrality of love in Paul's own letters that is reproduced in Augustine's teaching on justification. However, unlike later medieval thinkers, Augustine's understanding of justification appears to be organically united with his understanding of the sacraments (especially baptism) and the nature of the Christian life as the path to deification (becoming by grace what God is by nature). McGrath is explicit that any understanding of Augustine's understanding of justification must note the centrality that deification holds in Augustine's thinking about the Christian life. Justification *is* deification for Augustine: the process of a past act, a present reality, and promise yet to come.
Ironically, the second chapter of the book (which is the longest at just over 150 pages) is titled "The Middle Ages: Consolidation". However, in reading this very long (and very dense) chapter, one gets a sense that the medieval era never reached any point of consolidation at all but that, as time went on, debates about justification became increasingly confined to academics in medieval universities and were conducted without reference to liturgy or Christian living - although the idea of extra-sacramental justification was by-and-large repudiated. Thus, justification appears to be a doctrine that developed in abstraction from the life of most Christians. This is in rather glaring contrast to a doctrine such as the Trinity, which was intimately tied up with evangelism, liturgy and the sacrament of baptism in the early Church. Justification, as the middle ages draws to a close, appears to be a doctrine without roots.
The Reformation continued the trend and, if anything, furthered it. Not only is justification finally divorced from the sacraments (whether or not one is justified in baptism appears to be anyone's guess), but the appeals by Protestants made to the Christian past during the Reformation debates are just plain wrong. Without even batting an eye, McGrath notes that the Protestant contention concerning justification as a legal fiction - that one is declared justified without being changed by God - was a complete novelty that had been explicitly repudiated by the early and medieval Church. He does a fine job surveying Luther's theology of justification - which is far more medieval than any of his Protestant counterparts (all of whom Luther considered heretics, save the developing Lutheran church) - and notes with approval the current work of the "Helsinki School" of Finnish Lutheran scholarship that has sought to readdress the anti-mystical tendencies of much Lutheran scholarship. This does not clear Luther from the charges of novelty, but it does present him as a more historically grounded figure than the other Reformers. In a thoroughly researched chapter, McGrath shows that the Council of Trent ultimately towed the line on this issue and held far closer to Augustine's and Paul's understandings of justification than any of the Protestant Reformers (or Catholic Reformers - it appears that "justification by faith alone" was actually in discussion among Catholics before it was brought to the fore by Luther!).
The history of Protestantism is touched upon in many ways by noting the various ways that Protestant groups looked at the question of justification. It is worth noting that Luther's contention would not only be blunted by Lutheranism, but that other Protestants would reject his understanding as entirely erroneous. It is here that McGrath most falters, however, by becoming intensely personal in his discussion of John Henry Newman's Lectures on Justification. McGrath is generous in his critiques of Newman's shortcomings (and cites Rowan Williams in support of his critiques), but repeatedly uses the personal pronoun "I" when discussing Newman's thoughts. Out of nowhere the reader suddenly becomes privy to what appears to be a long-standing personal wrestling that, even as it is conducted civilly, clearly reveals a tremendous level of personal engagement on McGrath's part. It's almost embarassing. And, it causes me to wonder whether or not at the end of the day, the polemic against Newman isn't a sign of McGrath's own spiritual wrestlings: the history of justification points to the validity of the Catholic view more than the Protestant view, yet McGrath in other writings is quite insistent on the validity of Protestantism. Newman, however, was a figure that tried to mediate between the two for a short time before ultimately deciding that Roman Catholicism was the true Church. Perhaps McGrath feels this same struggle? Regardless, his exploration of Newman's thoughts is unnecessarily personal and entirely out of place in this book.
There are other things to quibble with, such as McGrath's tendency to see the few areas of agreement between Lutherans and Calvinists in the 16th century concerning justification as "the orthodox doctrine of justification". Given the difficult history of this doctrine, naming these points of agreement feels more than a bit arbitrary. But, no book is perfect. Neither is any author. This dense tome stands, however, as a witness to ways in which Christians have, over the ages, in complete disagreement with one another, sought to attach a level of meaning to a word - "justification" - that points ultimately to the fact that our own failures are neither the beginning nor the ending of the Christian story. That such a history might be so magnanimously recorded by a first-rate historian such as Alister McGrath is more than enough of a reason to give thanks.
Avoiding the Issue.......2006-05-17
McGrath's book left me with mixed feelings. It is outstanding in the volume of information it relates, however, it has some major defects in construction and the manner in which it relates the information.
McGrath does a fine job of surveying the pre-Reformation period, especially as regards the late Middle-Ages nominalist schools. He high-lights the continuing influence of semi-pelagianism evident in the pactum theology of the via moderna, and doesn't fail to point out that the reliance upon "facienti quod in se est" (man accomplishing what he can), necessitating a reciprocal reward from God, is incompatible with the pronouncements of the Second Council of Orange in 529. He thus makes clear that the Catholic Church condemned the reliance upon man's power apart from God, in any aspect of Justification, as not in accord with the Gospel.
McGrath also points out the fact that at no time in the history of Christianity prior to the 16th Century was it ever taught that justification is merely extrinsic to the believer. All theologians from the Fathers, through the Scholasitcs, through the late Middle-Ages, taught that man experiences an intrinsic justification. McGrath states on page 51, "It is quite untenable to suppose that the Reformation distinction between justification and regeneration can be adduced from the medieval period, when it is clear that the universal opinion is that such a distinction is excluded from the outset."
In chapter 19, however, he tries to justify the Protestant claim of forensic justification and fails to note certain crucial points. McGrath states that if it can be shown that Luther's doctrine of alien righteousness is what he calls a "theological novum" then the Reformation loses all credibility. In the Protestant defense, he claims that since the means of justification was not settled prior to the Reformation, the Reformers were justified in establishing new grounds for justification. What he says it true in terms of the theological debate regarding how man is justified - that question, in some regards, remains open in the Catholic Church even today. But that isn't the point! The doctrine of justification rests on what occurs in justification. The Christian Church has always taught, in papal pronouncements and counciliar statements, that man undergoes an interior transformation in justification so that he is truly righteous - not merely said to be. The point I'm making can be seen in the debates on other dogmas of the Church. For instance, the question of the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity has been settled for over 16 hundred years and is incapsulated in the Apostle's creed, the creed of the Council of Nicea, the Athanasian creed, and other counciliar and papal decrees. How God can be one Being and three Persons is still debated and will continue to be debated till the end of time because it's a mystery! Revelation tells us that God is one Being and three Persons, but it doesn't explain how - perhaps because our finite minds couldn't grasp the answer. Again, the Church has always taught that Jesus Christ is truly both God and Man - how this is cannot be adequately explained in human language. We can only arrive at a more or less proximate explanation. The same holds true for justification. Revelation tells us that we are made a "new creation" that we share the divine nature as a result of our justification - it doesn't say clearly how this occurs. But Divine Revelation and the Christian Church's articulation of that revelation has always been clear and consistent about the translation of man from a state of sin and enmity with God to a state of adoption and grace. Luther's alien righteousness is truly a "theological novum" incompatible with the Gospel.
That McGrath fails to relate this distinction makes me question his motivations. He is without doubt an extremely bright scholar. I can't imagine this point would escape him. Secondly, he claims the Catholic Church fails to deal with the apparent contradiction between God's sovereignty and free will - as though the Reformers did so! Please, this issue was satisfactorily addressed by St. Thomas Aquainas in his explanation of God's ability to create free actions in men so that they are truly completely the work of God and yet simultaneously truly the free acts of men. The debate between Thomists and Molinists regarding distinctions in this debate are irrelevant to the fact that both at Orange II and Trent, the Church taught God moves and determines man to act freely, thus safeguarding the divine Sovereignty as well as human freedom. Again, how God does this may be beyond our ability to satisfactorily articulate, but that God does it is not questioned by the Church. She regards it as part of divine revelation.
McGrath fails to address the Catholic objections to the Reformation doctrines of alien righteousness and sola fide, such as the logical conclusion of these doctrines establishing God as the author of evil and the necessary denial of humanity being created in God's image (due to the lack of free will).
McGrath fails to account for any meaningful Catholic contribution to the question of justification following Trent, other than that regarding the recent ecumenical studies. He apparently believes there hasn't been any meaningful Catholic contribution.
Furthermore, there was a glaring absence of scriptural references and exegesis pertaining to relevant passages relating to justification. I suspect McGrath understands well that there simply isn't any intelligible scriptural basis for Luther's doctrine of alien righteousness. Luther's mad attempts to reconstruct the Bible only serve to high-light this fact.
Lastly, McGrath's work lacks cohesiveness. There didn't seem to be a real "plan of attack" for the question of justification. He follows a vague historical outline, but other than that the information seems to be related in a rather hodge-podge format. I think there could have been much more structure to the question. This would have helped the reader comprehend more clearly and easily the crucial points of the debate.
Having said all this, the book is well worth the read.
Important and able survey of the doctrine of justification.......2005-02-07
Mr. McGrath has does a fine job of bringing together a wealth of material to consider this most important doctrine in the corpus of Christian theology. His scholarship and grasp of the material are in evidence throughout, and while some may be put off by his frequent Latin and German referneces, the fact is, that many theological concepts are best expressed in their original languages. In other words, this is not a book that is popular in tone. However, the subject of justification is one of profundity.
His command of the historical context of how different views developed is very helpful. Even if you find the material tough going - it is worth it.
Fine Historical Theology.......2000-07-08
This is a fine piece of historical theology. McGrath begins with a linguistic analysis of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin terms for justification, the concepts to which they refer, and the attendant difficulties of translation. He then discusses the patristic understanding of justification, which while largely undeveloped (they were intensely focused on Christology at the time) established the parameters of discussion for the medievals. As McGrath insightfully points out in his final chapter of vol. 1, justification was universally recognized as an ontological transformation; the debates were over the mode of justification and were primarily dominated by Pelagianism vs. Augustinianism. On the surface, the latter seemed to have won hands down, but the reformers detected a creeping Pelagianism in the via moderna commonly called nominalism. Volume 1 sets the stage for the second volume, which covers the doctrine of justification from 1500 - the present. By and far, the most important chapter in the first volume is Section 12 - Predestination and Justification.
Vol. 2 begins with Luther's little Wittenburg revolution that took flight on anti-Pelagian wings and eventually built its nest in the tree of forensic solafideism. Next, McGrath examines the Reformed adoption of forensic justification and its integration with the covenant concept, all of which influenced the English Reformers and their Puritan countrymen. After a short chapter on John Henry Newman, the focus shifts to the German Enlightenment of Kant and Schleiermacher. The final two sections deal with Barth and with the contemporary development of the doctrine. I found both chapters insufficient. McGrath nowhere deals with Hans Kung's analysis of Barth, choosing instead to dismiss Barth as basically unconcerned with justification.
Overall, I was disappointed with the general lack of coherence in the work. It had no grand unifying theme, and seemed to leave the impression that the historic development of the doctrine was random and irrational.
Two warnings: first, your Latin had better be good before you attempt Vol. 1 and your German before vol.2; second, McGrath can sometimes be a real stylistic pain. I have rarely, if ever, encountered such an unbridled, prodigious and promiscuous use of the passive voice.
Comphrensive presentation on the doctrine of justification.......1999-08-22
Combined from two volumes of the first edition, this second edition not only give you a comprehensive and continuous historical development of the Christian doctrine of justification, McGrath adds two more articles on his responses to "New Perspective on Paul" in recent Pauline scholarship and the recent agreement of Catholic church and Lutheran church on the understanding of "Justification" in this second edition. If you are interested in understanding more the rich meaning and implication of this crucial doctrine to Christian life both from the side of Catholics and Protestants, this book definitely meet your needs. It helps me a lot in making sound judgment on the issue whether there's really no fundamental difference between Karl Barth and the council of Trent (in general between Protestant tradition and Catholic Church) on the teaching of Christian doctrine of justification by faith, as Hans Kung had calimed that over thirty years ago.
Books:
- Mouse Under Glass : Secrets of Disney Animation and Theme Parks
- Nomads and the Outside World
- Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade
- One Step Closer to Home
- Paddle Whispers
- Perma Red
- Portrait of an Englishman in His Chateau (Dedalus Europe 1998)
- Riding the Rap
- Rouse Up, O Young Men of the New Age: A Novel
- Scavenger's Son (Tottiyute Makan)
Books Index
Books Home
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- Career Guidance and Counseling through the Lifespan, Fifth Edition
- Rn & Wpl Encyclopedia 2000: Registered Numbers & Wool Products Label Encyclopedia
Between Voice and Silence: Women and Girls, Race and Relationships
Bliss: A Novel
Wisdom and the Senses: The Way of Creativity
Caramelo
The Measure of My Days
