CONTENDING FOR OUR ALL
Defending truth and treasuring Christ in the lives of Athanasius, John Owen and J. Gresham Machen
By John Piper. IVP. 174 pages. £8.99
ISBN 1 84474 135 9
This is an inspiring and timely book with a most salient message for evangelical Christians in this day of increasing theological contention.
It consists of biographical sketches of three Christian theologians of the past. These were originally presented by the author at the annual Bethlehem Pastors’ Conference. Each of the three was engaged in theological controversy: North African Bishop Athanasius in the fourth century over the deity of Christ, Welsh Nonconformist John Owen in the 17th over a range of issues, and the American Presbyterian Machen in the early 20th as he critiqued liberal Protestantism. Piper summarises each man’s life and battles, using many judiciously chosen quotations from primary and secondary sources, and much sympathetic (though not uncritical) analysis.
