Book Reviews
463
Scripture and Cosmology
Kyle Greenwood, Scripture and Cosmology:
Reading the Bible Between the Ancient World and
Modern Science (Downers Grove, IL: IVP
Academic, 2015. $28.00. pp. 250. ISBN: 978-0-
8308-4078-6).
In Scripture and Cosmology, Kyle Greenwood
takes the reader through an extensive survey of
cosmological perspectives from the ancient Near
East to seventeenth-century Europe. Written for
students, Christians, men and women of faith,
evangelicals, and young believers (p. 11), this
book aims to reach a broad audience.
In the first chapter, Greenwood briefly explains
the importance of understanding the cultural, geo-
graphical, historical, and literary contexts of the
ancient world, as well as the concept of world-
views. After this, he divides the book into three
parts. Part One explains the three-tiered cosmol-
ogy of Egypt, Canaan, Mesopotamia, and Israel,
which consisted of the earth, the heavens, and the
sea. Part Two gives a history of the interpretation
of Scripture in light of Aristotelian, Ptolemaic,
and Copernican cosmologies. Finally, Part Three
explains the concept of divine accommodation
and explores the modern interaction of science
and Scripture in three areas: medicine, astron-
omy, and human origins. Throughout the book,
Greenwood advocates what he explicitly states in
his conclusion: ‘The God who created the cosmos
and spoke through Scripture is not threatened by
their coexistence, but revels in revealing himself
through both’ (p. 221).
This book presents a wealth of information
drawn from years of research. Despite writing
with the non-scholar in mind, Greenwood does
not avoid advanced concepts and terminology.
Instead, he liberally includes footnotes explain-
ing potentially unfamiliar ideas to his reader. This
technique allows him to retain a scholarly tone
while still successfully addressing his intended
audience. Despite the aid of footnotes, his expla-
nations occasionally remain over-simplistic.
Greenwood himself seems aware of this short-
coming, for he often suggests sources for further
reading that explain the terms and concepts more
completely. For those who want a comprehensive
understanding of all the points discussed in the
Downloaded from ext.sagepub.com at TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY on May 31, 2016
book, a more thorough treatment of terminology
would be preferable; however, this is perhaps not
possible within the confines of such a brief work.
Although not everyone will agree with
Greenwood’s analysis of the data or sugges-
tions for how science and Scripture can coexist,
Scripture and Cosmology is a welcome addition
to the discussion that will prove engaging in both
popular and academic contexts.
Eric J. Beck
School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh
The Problem of Evil as a Way Into
Pannenberg
Mark Hocknull, Pannenberg on Evil, Love and
God: The Realisation of Divine Love, Ashgate
New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and
Biblical Studies Series (Oxford: Routledge, 2014.
£95.00. pp. 201. ISBN: 978-1-4094-6338-2).
Hocknull’s recent study fills an overdue gap in
Pannenberg studies. Namely, the critical assessment
of Pannenberg’s earlier writings that he did not give
enough weight to the problem of evil has never been
updated in light of his mature theology, which
Hocknull argues, views evil as an underlying
assumption. Even so, Hocknull sets out not to write
a theodicy (i.e., his work is not ‘an attempt to justify
the ways of God to the world’, (p.1)), but instead to
use Pannenberg as a fresh theological resource
when it comes to answering two interrelated ques-
tions about evil and love: (1) ‘can we love God in
the face of evil?’ and (2) ‘can we be sure, in the face
of evil, that God loves us?’ (p.1). With these ques-
tions in view, Hocknull is for the most part success-
ful in arguing for the continuing relevance of
Pannenberg’s programme with regard to the alleg-
edly floundering German theological tradition and
the contemporary world situation, post 9/11, as a
whole.
In framing evil as a ‘test case’ for Pannenberg’s
overall programme, Hocknull’s six chapters could
easily be read as something of an up-to-date
introductory text to Pannenberg’s thought and its
corresponding secondary literature. Beginning
with a survey of the scholarly search for a ‘her-
meneutic key’ to Pannenberg (ch. 1), Hocknull