Product Description

A leading evangelical scholar presents clear, compelling thoughts on salvation through Christ alone. The book addresses the growing popularity of pluralistic theology.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #233474 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

From the Author
D.A. Carson is professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Douglas J. Moo is associate professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical School. Leon Morris, retired, was principal of Ridley College, Melbourne, and served as visiting professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical School

From the Back Cover
The Gold Medallion Award-winning book that presents a persuasive case for Christ as the only way to God

Is Jesus the only way to God? This clear, critically-acclaimed, scholarly response to that question affirms the deep need for the Gospel’s exclusive message in today’s increasingly pluralistic global community. The Gagging of God offers an in-depth look at the big picture, shows how the many ramifications of pluralism are all parts of a whole, and then provides a systematic Christian response.

About the Author
D. A. Carson (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author or coauthor of over 45 books, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning book The Gagging of God and An Introduction to the New Testament, and is general editor of Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns and Worship by the Book. He has served as a pastor and is an active guest lecturer in church and academic settings around the world.

Customer Reviews

One of the Better Books Dealing with Postmodernism
Wow, what a piece! While the subtitle reads, "Christianity Confronts Pluralism," Carson also gives an assessment of postmodernism. Carson especially deals with how Hermeneutics (interpretation of works) has been effected by pluralistic thinking and postmodernism. Not only does Carson tackle the hermeneutical issue but he dives into the problems that have arisen in recent years in the area of epistemology. Moreover, Carson discusses popular thinkers who are proponents of pluralism in light of the exclusive claims of Christianity. Some of these current popular thinkers include John Hick, David Tracy, and Clark Pinnock. Additionally, Carson discusses law and morality in light of postmodernism and how these areas of thought/practice are effected, and what the evangelical stance via historical orthodox Christianity has to offer. As you can see, the book is very detailed (569 pages of text and 47 pages of bibliography). I believe this to be one of the better books on the market dealing with pluralism/postmodernity.

A good discussion of how Christianity can address pluralism

How can biblical Christianity speak about the reality, person, nature and will of God to a pluralistic society? Does Christianity have any hope of authoritatively addressing a society in which postmodern thought has cast doubt not only on the truth of the claims of Christianity, but also on the possibility of the existence of such a thing as objective, knowable truth? This is the challenge taken up by D.A. Carson in The Gagging of God; Christianity Confronts Pluralism.

Our world and more immediately the United States, contains a vast diversity of races, values, heritages, languages, cultures, and religions. D.A. Carson has observed not only this fact in The Gagging of God, but also that the people of the United States are viewing this diversity with increasing favorability. Carson, as an evangelical Christian, has no quarrel with either of these phenomenon, which he terms "empirical pluralism" - the fact that there is considerable diversity within our culture, and "cherished pluralism" - the growing belief among Americans that this diversity is good and positive. His quarrel is with what he terms philosophical or hemeneutical pluralism: "...the notion that a particular ideological or religious claim is intrinsically superior to another is necessarily wrong" (19). This is the stripe of pluralism that gags God, because it robs him of the ability to make truth claims about himself or anything else. Likewise, it robs Christians of the ability to make similar truth claims, regardless of their basis, because to do so would be to elevate their beliefs to a "true" status, superior to the claims of others, thereby violating philosophical pluralism.

The popularity of philosophical pluralism cannot be denied as sixty-four percent of recently surveyed Americans believe that "there is no such thing as absolute truth" (23). Philosophical pluralism in our society has naturally given rise to religious pluralism wherein it is believed that all religions are really saying the same thing. The contemporary, bible believing church has no choice but to confront philosophical pluralism.

The Gagging of God has something for everyone approaching the challenge of pluralism. For the philosopher there is a treasure trove of philosophical discussion. For the Bible student there is keen insight into the plot line of God's revelation and its relationship to contemporary pluralism. For the student of modern culture there is clear discussion and description of our pluralistic society. For the Christian missionary, foreign or domestic, there is good practical help with the challenge of contextualization. For the contemporary Christian there are good answers to the questions and challenges of pluralism we continually face. The drawback in this volume may be found in Carson's handling of other literature. While Carson addresses our contemporary culture well and provides material that equips Christians for confronting pluralism, much good insight is somewhat camouflaged in a forest of scholarly argument. Carson obviously has a strong interest in engaging the published ideas of others, but he does this to distraction. Carson's bibliography contains over 1,000 works he either quotes or refers to in this volume. While he may be complimented on his thoroughness, his citation-and-response approach to other scholars is overdone and detracts from the readability of the book. A more concise, less argumentative approach would have been more effective in accomplishing his goals.

Carson states that he was drawn to the subject of pluralism as a Christian teacher of hermeneutics and a Christian preacher. The "ever present need to understand one's own culture" (9) is key to both of these vocations and, in fact, any service to the contemporary church. Thus, this volume immediately appeals to anyone who can see that to effectively communicate with and minister to our culture, we must understand our culture. The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism makes a tremendous contribution toward that end and is highly recommended to anyone who genuinely believes that the gospel holds the solution to the dilemma of contemporary culture and genuine desires to intelligibly communicate that gospel to this generation.

God is There and He is Not Silent
When D.A.Carson speaks, it's prudent to listen closely as his cogent,thorough exegesis and research lead to compelling conclusions. One of the most prominent is an echo from his other writings(see essay in Still Sovereign - Reflections on Assurance) which masterfully states: methodology is the mother of meaning. Scripture presupposes or explicitly teaches COMPATIBILISM, where apparently contradictory texts are instead mutually compatible. Examples include: God is Sovereign and Man is responsible agent;God loves the world yet only some are saved; Assurance is secure and Christian Perseverence is necessary to endure;Future is settled(on God's Divine, Infinite plane) and the Future is not closed (on Human, Finite plane), etc. When COMPATIBILISM is neglected in Biblical interpretation, incomplete methodologies are then applied to texts yielding asymmetrical, polar distortion of Scriptural truth, theology and application. Such is the fatal flaw in Postmodernism and its stepchildren neotheism, neo-Arminianism and Process Thought(almost not worthy to be labeled 'theology'). This book is must reading to keep current in contemporary theological dialog.