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theology today volume 67, N u m b e r 3 october 2010 EDITORIAL Bringing the Body to the Table 255 GORDON S. MIKOSKI ARTICLES The Theology of Providence 261 DAVID FERGUSSON The Kirchenkampf of the Countercultural Colony: A Critical Response 279 STEFFEN LöSEL Augustine’s Interpretation of John’s Prologue: A Theology of God’s Word 299 MAICO MICHIELEN History as Sacrament: The Joys of Noninstrumentalized Time 308 CRAIG HOVEY The Redeeming Patience of Jesus 320 DAVID LAUBER The English Bible in the Spiritual Life of the English- Speaking People 335 FREDERICK W. LOETSCHER BOOK REVIEWS Genesis, by R. R. Reno 345 WALTER BRUEGGEMANN Deuteronomy, by Telford Work 348 KENT AARON REYNOLDS Proverbs 10–31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, by Michael V. Fox 350 GREG SCHMIDT GOERING TT 67-3-Pages.indb 1 8/6/10 3:17 PM Homilies on the Gospel of John 1–40 (The Works of St. Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, part 3, vol. 12) Translated by Edmund Hill, op, edited by Allan D. Fitzgerald, osa 353 DANIEL J. JONES A Critical Study on T. F. Torrance’s Theology of Incarnation by Man Kei Ho 356 CHRISTIAN D. KETTLER Transforming Atonement: A Political Theology of the Cross by Theodore W. Jennings Jr. 357 SALLY A. BROWN The Eucharist and Ecumenism: Let Us Keep the Feast by George Hunsinger 360 MARTHA MOORE-KEISH Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Berlin 1932–1933 (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 12), edited by Larry L. Rasmussen 363 STEPHEN J. PLANT God and the Philosophers, by Keith Ward 365 GORDON GRAHAM The Gift of Responsibility: The Promise of Dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims, by Lewis Mudge 367 JUSTUS N. BAIRD Setting Words on Fire: Putting God at the Center of the Sermon by Paul Scott Wilson 369 TERESA LOCKHART STRICKLEN The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, edited by Paul W. Chilcote and Laceye C. Warner 371 W. STEPHEN GUNTER Trauma Recalled: Liturgy, Disruption, and Theology by Dirk G. Lange 374 KATHLEEN D. BILLMAN Pilgrims at the Crossroads: Asian Indian Christians at the North American Frontier edited by Anand Veeraraj and Rachel McDermott 376 RICHARD FOx YOUNG Religious Experience Reconsidered: A Building-Block Approach to the Study of Religion and Other Special Things, by Ann Taves 379 CHRIS A. M. HERMANS The Sins of the Fathers: The Law and Theology of Illegitimacy Reconsidered, by John Witte Jr. 383 KAREN MARIE YUST TT 67-3-Pages.indb 2 8/6/10 3:17 PM Gordon S. Mikoski, Editor Nancy J. Duff, Reviews Editor Blair D. Bertrand, Editorial Assistant EDITORIAL COUNCIL Iain R. Torrance, Chair Abdullahi A. An-Na'im Ulrich H. J. Körtner Emory University University of Vienna Atlanta, Georgia Austria H. Russel Botman Otto Maduro Stellenbosch University Drew University South Africa Madison, New Jersey J. Kameron Carter Nancey Murphy Duke University Fuller Theological Seminary Durham, North Carolina Pasadena, California William T. Cavanaugh Mark Noll The University of St Thomas University of Notre Dame St. Paul, Minnesota Notre Dame, Indiana John Chryssavgis Peter Ochs Boston, Massachusetts University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Sarah Coakley Cambridge University Amy Plantinga Pauw England Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky Craig R. Dykstra Lilly Endowment Inc. R. Kendall Soulen Indianapolis, Indiana Wesley Theological Seminary Washington, D.C. Wendy Farley Jeffrey Stout Emory University Princeton University Atlanta, Georgia Princeton, New Jersey David Fergusson Cornel West University of Edinburgh Princeton University Scotland Princeton, New Jersey Mary McClintock Fulkerson John D. Witvliet Duke University Calvin College and Seminary Durham, North Carolina Grand Rapids, Michigan James F. Kay Carver T. Yu Princeton Theological Seminary China Graduate School of Theology Princeton, New Jersey Hong Kong http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu TT 67-3-Pages.indb 3 8/6/10 3:17 PM © 2010 Theology Today ISSN 0040-5736 Theology Today is published quarterly (April, July, October, and January) by Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, and Westminster John Knox Press in Louisville, Kentucky. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Theology Today, P.O. Box 821, Princeton, NJ 08542-0803. Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible are copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and are used by permission. Erika Lundbom, production editor Drew Stevens, designer Jessica Holman, cover designer E-mail manuscripts and editorial correspondence to [email protected]. Postal correspondence should be addressed to Theology Today, P.O. Box 821, Princeton, NJ 08542-0803. Address all subscription orders, renewals, and payments to Theology Today, P.O. Box 37670, Louisville, KY 40233-7670. You may also subscribe to the print edition online at http://www.wjkbooks.com/theologytoday.asp. Address all other subscription customer service inquires (including change of address) and orders for back issues to Theology Today, 100 Witherspoon Street, Room 2047, Louisville, KY 40202-1396; e-mail to [email protected]; phone 800-624-2412; fax 800-541-5113. 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The articles in Theology Today are listed in: Religion Index One: Periodicals, American Theological Library Association, available on line through BRS and DIALOG; Guide to Social Science and Religion in Periodical Literature; New Testament Abstracts; Religious and Theological Abstracts; Subject Index to Select Periodical Literature; Book Reviews of the Month; Current Contents/Arts & Humanities; Arts and Humanities Citation Index; Internationale Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur aus allen Gebieten des Wissens; and Humanities International Complete. Microtext reprints are available through the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). Cover art: Jesus, icon, 17th century, Romania, Museum of the Varatec Monastery © SuperStock / SuperStock TT 67-3-Pages.indb 4 8/6/10 3:17 PM volume 67 (2010): 255–259 theology today editorial bringing the body to the table GORDON S. MIKOSKI Everything is changing. We are living through a period of unparalleled techno- logical and cultural transformation. A large percentage of this seismic change comes from making the transition into worldwide electronic interconnection. It seems increasingly right to see the era through which we are now passing as the end of the Gutenberg age and the beginning of the digital age. More and more, we conduct business, get information, look up answers to puzzling questions, and even find intimate partners through electronic means. The communications aspect of the still-emerging digital reality delights and startles. We can watch world events as they unfold in real time—often unfiltered by government or financial interests. We can carry on instantaneous conversation with one or more people anywhere on the globe at any hour of the day or night. On election night 2008, we even caught on a major news source a glimpse of holographic communication that one could previously only imagine by watching a Star Wars film. Two-way visual communication through programs like Skype has obviated in many cases the need for travel in order to engage in meetings or to catch up with loved ones. While I am still waiting for a mass-market version of a Dick Tracy wristwatch that allows audiovisual two-way communication, such a device will likely soon be avail- able. The largest telephone service provider in New York City wants to stop printing and distributing the White Pages because nearly everyone looks up numbers online or through directory assistance.1 The digital age has also come to church in a variety of ways. Some have preached dialogue sermons with mission partners in faraway places using a huge screen above the pulpit. Others have used online media for interactive educational resources. Church newsletters are being replaced by Web postings and e-mail distribution. This summer, I look forward to watching in real time on my computer the plenary sessions and corporate worship of the General 1. Patrick McGeehan, “White Pages May Go the Way of Rotary-Dialed Phone,” New York Times, May 7, 2010, A1. 255 TT 67-3-Pages.indb 255 8/6/10 3:17 PM 256 Gordon S. mikoski theology today Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Through the virtual world of Second Life, I can even participate in a digital Presbyterian church for wor- ship, Bible study, and fellowship at any hour of the day or night. These exam- ples only represent the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the ways in which the digital revolution impacts the church. The possibilities for rethinking the way we conceive of and practice church, it would seem, are virtually endless. A number of critical questions have begun to arise, however, about the limits of digital reality and the church.