Book Reviews

J C Ryle was an evangelical Church of England minister of the 19th century who eventually became the first Bishop of Liverpool. During his life he became best known for writing tracts on a range of subjects. This book, first published in 1873, is a collection of nineteen such booklets. The common theme is the […]

What is it that shapes our lives? Is it the all-pervasive influence and philosophy of this world? Is it our own fallen natures? Or is it our faith? What do we mean by faith? These are days when it can no longer be safely assumed that the language used for centuries will be understood, so […]

‘an excellent book, a brilliant series of studies . . . A great church history book but one that sets its sights radically on today’s church.’ – Melanie Carroll is one of the first to review Garry Williams’ Silent Witnesses. In the Notes below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles, posted June-September […]

‘MAGISTERIAL’ is the word most often used to describe Iain Murray’s biography of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I remember how eagerly and impatiently we waited for the first and then the second volumes, and yet after devouring them both in turn, wondering if our intrepid author had struggled to tell the story of such greatness in […]

How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels By N.T.Wright New York: Harper Collins, 2012 304 pages, paperback ISBN: 978 0 06173 057 3 Wright has carved out a name for himself in his studies of the historical Jesus and Paul’s theology. He has consistently and convincingly challenged the liberal view of the […]

What an excellent book, a brilliant series of studies on theologians, witnesses, pastors and fathers of the church that both clearly and concisely tell us not only about the people themselves, their times and their beliefs but in so doing helps inform us about our own faith, theology and beliefs – especially if you are […]

John Charles Ryle (JR), was born in 1816 and after his conversion served as a minister of a number of Anglican parishes. He was appointed as the first bishop of Liverpool in 1880 and remained in this office until shortly before his death in 1900. He is probably best known for his Expository Thoughts on the […]

In 1662, Thomas Watson was ejected from the Church of England along with 2000 other ministers of the gospel. As a result he and they faced many difficulties, hardships and trials. However, it is noteworthy that in the following year Watson published the volume mentioned above under the original title, A Divine Cordial.1In it, he sought […]

The Act of Uniformity of 1662 prescribed that any minister in England who refused to conform to the Book of Common Prayer by 14th August 1662 would be ejected from the Church of England. Over 2,000 evangelical ministers left their livings rather than conform to what they saw as extra-biblical rules and regulations. It was […]

Iain Murray has done the rising generation of Christians a great service, in making available this ‘re-cast, condensed and in part re-written version’1 of the longer two-volume biography of 1982 and 1990.2 The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the main events and issues which faced English-speaking Christianity in […]

If you love biblical theology, if preaching in light of redemptive history is your jet fuel, if the gospel is life to you and not just a trendy buzzword, then you really need to read John Carrick’s book The Imperative of Preaching1. Hang on and I’ll tell you why. But first things first. MOODY PREACHING Carrick […]

‘The providence of God! What a glorious and precious doctrine this is when the good Lord opens our eyes to it! And how better to open our eyes to it than to lead us through the Scriptures and show us this merry little stream of biblical truth sometimes hidden beneath the surface but undergirding the […]

Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into Christian Faith By Rosaria Champagne Butterfield Pittsburgh, PA: Crown and Covenant, 2012 154 pages ISBN: 978 1 88452 738 8 (paperback) Rosaria Champagne Butterfield lives with her family in Durham, North Carolina, where her husband pastors the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham. HerSecret […]

Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic By Francis J. Beckwith Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2009 144 pages ISBN: 978 1 58743 247 7 (paperback) List price $15.00   The blurb on the front cover explains this book: ‘Why the President of the Evangelical Theological Society Left His Post and Returned to the […]

Calvin, Theologian and Reformer Edited by Joel R. Beeke and Garry J.Williams Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010 170 pages ISBN: 978 1 60178 091 1 (paperback) List price $16.00 In 2009, the John Owen Centre in London held a conference to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth, with the speeches being published […]