Guidelines
Any process of critiquing the work of another – particularly in an area as hotly debated as the Christian Faith – is bound to draw some readers’ ire. I here provide a list of criteria used in writing the reviews posted on this website. Before making nasty comments about how a particular review was grossly unfair, please consider the presupposed guidelines.
The first criteria is that of scope. The books reviewed here are generally written for a lay audience at different levels. Works by certain authors may cross the boundaries and be accessible to those both at the academic and lay levels (i.e., N. T. Wright, Jaroslav Pelikan) but this site will shy away from particularly technical academic treatises. This is not meant to disparage academic theological investigation but just to limit the focus to those books that would benefit the Christian in the pews.
The second criteria is that of purpose. Books on the Christian faith for a lay audience are written and will be judged for its merits at the level of its target audience. Thus if the same rating is given for a book written by an apologist for a popular audienc and a book written by a seminary professor for a more theologically mature audience, this does not imply that the two books are objectively of equal merit. Each book is judged for quality for its target audience. Similarly, a book about Christology written for Christians mature in their faith and a book written as material for a childrens’ Sunday School class may have equal ratings but this does not imply they are of equal theological merit.
The third criteria is that of quality. The books are rated by
1. Effectiveness – The author should present the material coherently with supporting evidence and/or applications provided. Arguments intended to sway the reader should inlude supporting evidence with primary source material and not merely outdated or friendly secondary sources.
2. Orthodoxy – The author should be faithful to the the beliefs of historic Christianity. This would include a careful and respectful consideration of the patristic consensus on doctrinal matters.
3. Catholicity – The author should have a mature view (as appropriate for the subject) of the universal Church and its development through history and, when applicable, the past debate on the subject at hand.
4. Fairness – The author should carefully consider potential objections and treat them without resorting to “straw-man” arguments.
5. Charity – The author should present his evidence without personal attacks upon those with differing views.
6. Opinion – In the end, any review will have the reviewer’s personal opinion as a factor in the process. The relevant opinion here, of course, will be that of the reviewer – either myself or anyone else whose reviews are published here. Every attempt to be as objective as possible, but men are not machines – what is determined here to be effective, fair, faithful, charitable, etc. may not strike you as such.
The ratings given will be as follows:
– Essential: The book contains few if any major flaws and should be read by those with an interest in the topic discussed.
– Highly Recommended: Although containing some flaws in particular areas, the overall presentation is still excellent and should be read by those with interest in the topic discussed.
– Recommended: The book has more significant flaws but is still a work to be read by those with an interest on the given topic.
– Not Recommended: Although the book is too flawed to be recommended as a trustworthy presentation of the topic, it still contains good points for consideration.
– Poor: A book so severely flawed that there is little or no content worth investigating.
– Worthless: This rating is reserved for those books that not only are of little merit regarding factual content on the topic discussed but the author relies upon hostile attacks against opposing views to support poorly reasoned arguments.
Thank you for visiting this site and I hope the reviews and other features will be of interest to you. If you find this site useful, please consider using the links provided to Amazon.com to purchase your books. A portion of the purchases made using these links will help support this ministry.
