Living and Active

Willie James Jennings
— Duke Divinity School
"Telford Work has written a book of extraordinary theological breadth. More importantly, he has written a book that signals a new day for evangelical reflection on Scripture. It is a sad reality that many evangelicals are still trapped in liberal-conservative debates regarding Scripture, opting for such theologically bankrupt terminology for Scripture as 'infallible' and 'inerrant.' Finally, with Work's text we have a vision of Scripture that is theologically rich, ecumenically sophisticated, and intellectually powerful. My great hope is that this book will make its way into the hands of those who teach theology in Christian colleges and seminaries. Students may then actually be given a vision of Scripture that is grounded in the triune life of God and the life of the church rather than in intellectual nervousness."

Jonathan R. Wilson
—Westmont College
"A lively conversation about the nature of Scripture is essential to the health of Christian theology. In recent years that conversation has become moribund, settling into hardened categories while arguments swirl around texts, communities, and hermeneutics. In Living and Active Telford Work breathes fresh air into the doctrine of Scripture. His book, by creatively and perceptively drawing on a wide range of theologians and traditions, should reinvigorate the conversation."

Colin Brown
—Fuller Theological Seminary
"Work has set himself the task of examining the role of the Bible in the postmodern world. He does so in the post-Enlightenment climate of hostile criticism, which he calls 'biblioclasm,' a position comparable to the iconoclasm of former ages. Rather than go over old debates about hermeneutics, Work sets out his vision of the role of the Bible in God's plan of salvation. While this thesis adopts the language of evangelical piety, it is developed with considerable sophistication. It draws on the insights of Athanasius and Augustine in the early church and of Barth, Balthasar, and Barr in the present. Above all, it is an invitation to an intellectual and spiritual pilgrimage of discovery."