Review of Carson Book

Scot McKnight pointed to this Eddie Gibbs' review of DA Carson's book, Becoming Conversant With the Emerging Church. It's a pretty fair and balanced review. Interestingly, it ties in to an article that appeared several years ago, also in Christianity Today. "Does Evangelical Theology Have a Future" by Roger Olson looked at the differences between what he calls the Traditionalists and the Reformists, using his own definitions of each word so that they aren't interpreted as being negative. Very interesting stuff. The distinction that Gibbs points out in this review is the thing that really struck me in reading Olson's article. The focus of one group on who is in vs. who is out and the focus on the other group on Who is on center stage. The distinction between these two groups is redefining how people approach evangelical theology. Carson comes from the former, the emerging church comes from the latter, thus the tension.