Customer Reviews

The Cross in Our Context: Jesus and the Suffering World

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rarely would a book as scholarly as Hall's The Cross in Our Context be labelled "accessible", but this one is. You need not have read widely in theology to understand his arguments and appreciate his writing. Hall here lays bare the cancer that has eaten the modern Western church from within over the past several centuries: the Baal of materialism and the seduction of triumphalism. There is rebirth coming and it will be a re-forming to what both pre-Constantinian Christianity and Luther saw as the essence of The Way, the theology of the cross. I would highly recommnend this book to all who claim to be disciples and especially to those of us who rarely read theology because it "does not really connect with my every day world." Hall will show you it does.

Professor Hall's book gives a concise but thorough exposition of the theology of the cross (a theology, I confess, that I find utterly convincing and inspiring). The book also does a nice job of relating the theology of the cross to contemporary social issues and to the decline of mainline denominations (in the face of, among other things, the triumphalism of some evangelicals). I would recommend this book to anyone (especially clergy) who would like an introduction to the theology of the cross and the political theology that comes out of it.

I have been really moved by this book. I have been challenged to entirely alter my engagement with the world around me. Hall's insights are clearly encouraging to anyone wanting to engage with society around them. The last 25% Hall goes off the rails. He questions the sayings of Christ, the authority of the Bible, and Gods final revelation of him self through his Son. A universalist in every way.

Tim

As i have read the reviews and all three are solid, I have little to say. Halden Doerge did an excellent job reviewing. I would address that I do not see Hall as negating scripture at all, I see him as guiding humanity in making Christianity meaningful for our context today. Church membership is in serious decline . . . across the board. It is more rare to find a Christian than to find the non-religious, unclaimed, secularist, or whatever.

I have just about completed my first reading of this book and found it very challenging. I think it gives a very good appreciation of the state of Christendom at this stage of history - and provides solutions which I believe will demand further consideration with a view to make the church more effective in its calling in the 21st century.

Recommend it for anyone who is seriously concerned with the effectiveness of how our message is transmitted to the world at large. This view is from a southern hemisphere person, who recognizes the trends of northern hemisphere theology is fast permeating into the southern hemisphere thinking..