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And yet, he goes largely un-noticed, unremarked, unprinted, and -I fear - unread even during today's enlightened times when children's books are finding a wider audience.
Although I think that some of Gordon's best work can be found in novels like Gilray's Ghost or the M.R. James pastiche The Flesh Eater, I adore The Burning Baby, because all of the horror stories it contains are short, and have bite - more than that, they have the atmosphere of menace and lurking threat which typifies his best work, but in concentration. The dark moods of his longer works are presented here in an accessible and immediate form; this book is both a superb introduction to the writer, and is at the same time among his best work.
Indeed, forget the 'children's' tag. While this book doesn't contain conspicuous or gratuitous horrors of an 'adults-only' kind, it could certainly hold its own among horror and ghost stories for an 'adult' market. This is a collection of rare mood and power.
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These qualities in the writer provide for a solid presentation of the Lutheran understanding of Christology. For those of you who may be reading this review and are not yet familiar with this term, let me explain: Christology is the study of Christ's person and work as the Scriptures describe Him. Particularly, the Person of Jesus is a phrase used to speak about the fact that Jesus is truly 100% God at the same time as truly 100% man, with distinctions but no divisions between the two natures. Christ's work concentrates on the area of His atonement for all sin on the cross, His justification of sinners, His Resurrection, His life, His teachings, etc.
Many things make this book valuable. First, Dr. Scaer tries to address modern heresies on their own ground. Instead of providing an alternate framework to posit questions, Dr. Scaer tries to argue from the inside out - and then watches as the faulty arguments fall under their own weight. He engages the Quest for the Historical Jesus, 20th century theologians of all kinds, and current views. At the same time, Scaer addresses the theological differences between various groups (ex: the classic tensions between historical Lutheranism and historical Calvinism).
Second, though this book is short, it condenses a great amount of thought into it. In many ways, Scaer's books are like springboards for new and deeper considerations. For example, Scaer comments on the Calvinist Christological view that the finite flesh of the man Jesus is incapable of the infinite Son of God, and so (acc. to some Calvinists) the Son can also be found outside the Man. Lutherans have always asserted that this Calvinist view denies the Incarnation, but Scaer brings up some more points to consider. "If the finite is intrinsically incapable of entering into union with the infinite, then the finite has the possibility of being an obstacle to the infinite, and thereby, at this one point, superior to it" (pg. 26).
Here is another thought: "The crucifixion, more than any other moment in the history of the world, or Israel, or even of the life of Jesus, is the greatest manifestation of God's essence. It is not without purpose that the first two evangelists concentrate the testimonies that Jesus is God's Son in the moment of the cross (Mt 27:40, 43, 54, Mk 15:39). The cross is an affirmation of God's triune essence and not incidental to it. Only when God is thought of in majestic and transcendental categories and not in terms of love and compassion is the cross with its suffering a contradiction or paradox" (pg. 75).
In summary, I strongly recommend this book. The language may be challenging at times for the inexperienced (but such is the case with many good theological books... the best way to learn the language is to start reading). Scaer organizes his material around the themes of the Creed. A thorough book for its size and one that I will continue to read.
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Now this book doesn't solve any problems per se, but it does put them into context and it avoids the unhelpful, silly, and unscholarly straw man arguments that the cheaper scholarship throws out as to why we should be Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox or "Protholidox"! WHile it is a great book for those interested in reunion, it is certainly a must-read for those who have read Ut Unum Sint, "that all may be one".
See my review of Brian Tierney's "Origins of Papal Infallibility" for a great selection of books that deal indepth with the subject of reunion between east and west as it relates to the papacy. Enjoy!
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