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Rating: 
Summary: Helpful but flawed
Review: I am a huge fan of the "4 View" books IVP has published. They are always helpful and worth reading. This one I was particularly excited about. As a pastor who does alot of counseling, reads a lot on the topic, and is pursuing a DMin in the field, I really wanted a book that would help me get a handle on the various models available. While the book was informative, I really think its the least engaging of all the 4 views ones I have read.My biggest problem was the way it seemed biased agianst the "Biblcial" model (one of the 4 views). Obviously, in every one of these books my own view (if I clearly fall into one of the 4 camps) will be roughly one-quarter of the book. It will be opposed by a 3 to 1 ratio. That's why you read these books. But what I found a little vexing was the way the editors framed the "Biblical" model in their long (and very informative) introductory essay. While giving a fairly balanced presentation of the other 3 models, the Biblical model is largely dismissed. The one figure mentioned is the founder of the movement, Jay Adams. That is appropriate, but the reader is left with the impression that the movement is essentailly Adams-ism. The fact is that the movement took Adams' initial insights and went in a direction that Adams has largely denounced. The book's author of the Biblical view section, for example, (David Powlison) is one who has been very critical of Adams (and vice versa). The editors' seeming disdain for the Biblical model also seems reflected in the concluding chapter. Still, a helpful work. The packaging and the indeex and bibliograph are also very nice.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful but flawed
Review: I am a huge fan of the "4 View" books IVP has published. They are always helpful and worth reading. This one I was particularly excited about. As a pastor who does alot of counseling, reads a lot on the topic, and is pursuing a DMin in the field, I really wanted a book that would help me get a handle on the various models available. While the book was informative, I really think its the least engaging of all the 4 views ones I have read. My biggest problem was the way it seemed biased agianst the "Biblcial" model (one of the 4 views). Obviously, in every one of these books my own view (if I clearly fall into one of the 4 camps) will be roughly one-quarter of the book. It will be opposed by a 3 to 1 ratio. That's why you read these books. But what I found a little vexing was the way the editors framed the "Biblical" model in their long (and very informative) introductory essay. While giving a fairly balanced presentation of the other 3 models, the Biblical model is largely dismissed. The one figure mentioned is the founder of the movement, Jay Adams. That is appropriate, but the reader is left with the impression that the movement is essentailly Adams-ism. The fact is that the movement took Adams' initial insights and went in a direction that Adams has largely denounced. The book's author of the Biblical view section, for example, (David Powlison) is one who has been very critical of Adams (and vice versa). The editors' seeming disdain for the Biblical model also seems reflected in the concluding chapter. Still, a helpful work. The packaging and the indeex and bibliograph are also very nice.
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