The Challenge of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement

Written by David S. Dockery (ed.) Reviewed By Craig Blomberg

Southern Baptists have for some time now been trying fast and furiously to enter mainstream North American evangelical scholarship. A key figure in this enterprise is David Dockery, a prolific writer and editor, and academic dean at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. In his anthology of essays on postmodernism, Dockery directs a stellar cast of mostly Baptist writers to explore the movement from almost every angle conceivable. Each writer has his or her own definition and critique and some contradict each other, but generally in ways that reflect healthy diversity. The best-known contributors are Carl Henry, Thomas Oden and Stanley Grenz. Topics range from theology to hermeneutics to apologetics/ministry.

In Christian Scripture, Dockery sets forth his own views on revelation, inspiration, canonicity and hermeneutics. The results interact in detail with key 19th and 20th-century North American (and a few British) evangelicals and present to Southern Baptists (and other interested readers) the classic conservative formulations on each topic. This work, unlike the former, breaks no new ground, but for anyone who has never had access to a clear, concise overview of standard evangelical perspectives on these topics, one can scarcely improve on this summary. Drawing on a previous book-length treatment of the topic, Dockery adds less well-known material on pre-Enlightenment hermeneutics, plausibly arguing that the church didn’t get it allwrong that whole time, and that there are things we can learn from our ancient ancestors.


Craig Blomberg

Craig Blomberg
Denver Seminary
Denver, Colorado, USA