Theology

Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love, by Elizabeth A. Johnson. Coming out of a study of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species that Johnson engaged in with her Fordham colleagues, this book wrestles with the implications of evolution for Christian understandings of God as Creator and calls us to embrace our creaturehood. Johnson’s signature clarity and compassion are in full evidence.

Theology and the End of Doctrine, by Christine Helmer. Helmer argues that as long as we keep its proper end in sight, doctrine is vital for the health of the Christian community. She challenges both those who insist on static, received forms of doctrine and those who reject tout court the importance of doctrine to the life of faith. Her book has garnered praise from readers across the theological spectrum.

Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, by Charles Marsh. New archival research undergirds this groundbreaking biography. Both Bonhoeffer’s theology and his friendship with Eberhard Bethge receive significant new interpretations. While firmly resisting Protestant tendencies toward hagiography, Marsh champions Bonhoeffer’s embrace of “the polyphony of life.”