An assessment of emotionally focused therapy

By Dr Rod Benson, October 2002 At their best, counselling and counsellors facilitate healing, growth and wholeness in every field of human experience. The efficacy and goals of relationship counselling in general, and emotionally focused therapy, are usually more modest. In my experience healing is always a relative process, and absolute wholeness is an elusive …

The Bible in the Early Church

Justo Gonzรกlez, The Bible in the Early Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022). 186pp + indexes. ISBN 9780802881748 Reviewed by Dr Rod Benson When Christians and people of other or no faith ask me questions about the Bible, they typically donโ€™t ask why I regard the Bible as trustworthy, or why I shape my life on …

The Doctrine of Election

John Calvin, The Doctrine of Election (trans. from the French by Robert White; Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2022). 224pp + indexes. ISBN 9781800402652 Reviewed by Dr Rod Benson The biblical doctrine of election is fraught with controversy. The reasons for this are not hard to discover: there is, firstly, an apparent tension between determinism …

Passions of the Christ: The Emotional Life of Jesus in the Gospels

F. Scott Spencer, Passions of the Christ: The Emotional Life of Jesus in the Gospels (Baker Academic, 2021). 265pp + bib. & indexes. ISBN 9781540964465 Reviewed by Dr Rod Benson Carl Heinrich Bloch, Jesus Cleansing the Temple, 1874. Biblical revelation, the ecumenical creeds, and orthodox Christian theology all attest that Jesus Christ was fully God …

Tolkienโ€™s Faith: A Spiritual Biography

Holly Ordway, Tolkienโ€™s Faith: A Spiritual Biography (Elk Grove Village, IL: Word on Fire Academic, 2023). 480pp. ISBN 9781685789916 Reviewed by Dr Rod Benson There is a scene in J. R. R. Tolkienโ€™s The Lord of the Rings where Frodo and Sam, hobbits from the Shire, are about to enter the evil land of Mordor …