Details:
• Author: Norman Jeune III
• Category: Church History
• Publisher: Zondervan (2012)
• Format: glossy cards
• Count: 288 individuals
• ISBN#: 9780310328582
• List Price: $26.99
• Rating: Recommended
Review:
Next month, Zondervan is releasing an interesting twist on studying church history and theology: Theologian Trading Cards: A Fun Way to Learn Church History and Theology developed by Norman Jeune III. These cards are promising as a tool for educators and parents who seek to make the study of church history and theology fun.
Description
The cards have a glossy finish with colorful borders surrounding black and white photographs, or more frequently classic portraits or artists’ depictions of the various characters. The 288 individuals highlighted in this set span all of Christian church history from the early second century down to influential theologians and philosophers today. Just like a typical sports card, the back of each card gives biographical information and details the significance of the “player.” It isn’t stats that are given pride of place, however, instead the series highlights influential works, famous events and the martyrdom of the various “athletes.”
The set of cards is divided into several “teams” or groupings of characters by theme, era or some other distinguishing factor. Some of these teams seem a bit of a stretch when you see who makes up that particular team, and others make you wonder why they were included in a set of “theologian” trading cards. But for the most part, the groupings are understandable. I’ll list them below:
- Orthodoxy Dodgers (Heretics)
- St. James Padres (Church Fathers, Apostolic Era)
- Avingnon Crusaders (Medieval, excluding Mystics and Monks)
- Constantinople Hesychasts (Orthodox Church)
- Munich Monks (Hermits, Monks and Mystics)
- Geneva Sovereigns (Later Reformed Church and Early Reformers)
- Wittenberg Whistle-Blowers (Early Reformers and Later Lutheran Church)
- Munster Radicals (Radical Reformation and Anabaptists)
- Canterbury Monarchs (English Reformers, Anglicans and Puritans)
- Los Angeles Knights (Fundamentalists and Evangelicals)
- Berlin Aggiornamentos (Contemporary)
- Jerusalem Resourcers (Contemporary)
- St. Pius Cardinals (Roman Catholic, particularly post-Reformation)
- Serampore Preachers (Missionaries)
- Athens Metaphysicians (Philosophers)
Minor Criticism
Before I critique these cards, I should stress I saw a pre-published version of them. So some of the criticisms may not apply. I noticed a few inconsistencies, such as not marking Jan Hus or Balthasar Hubmaier as martyrs, yet noting on their cards that each was burned at the stake. And then John Knox is marked out as a martyer but he did not die a martyr’s death. Some of the descriptions too, of the figures included don’t contain some pertinent details, such as Athanasius’ letter which included the first list of the canonical 27 NT books, and no mention of the lasting hymns authored by Bernard of Clairvoux and Ambrose of Milan. The absence of Peter Waldo and Michael Sattler and the scarcity of female figures (one could imagine Lady Jane Grey’s inclusion in the Canterbury Monarchs “team,” for instance) also are notable. And when it comes to the inclusion of the Puritans or later Fundamentalist and Evangelical figures, many will notice the absence of such men as Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Matthew Henry, J. Frank Norris, J.C. Ryle and Billy Sunday. And the most glaring absence of all, is that of Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers.
I hope some of these deficiencies were corrected before publication. I’m at a loss to know what the differentiation is between the Berlin Aggiornamentos and Jerusalem Resourcers which both seem to be a list of influential theologians. I’m sure the descriptions of those groups were beefed up prior to release. Also puzzling is the blank picture with a question mark that adorns the front of some of the cards. Perhaps this indicates there is no picture or artist’s depiction available for the individual.
Recommendation
I don’t want to downplay these cards too much with the above minor criticism. By and large they are informative, interesting and fun. The cards are attractive and will appeal to those of a Reformed or scholastic bent. I can envision them being used in homeschools and Christian schools in the junior high to high school level, or even younger than that. They will spur more research into the various figures, but I’m not so sure they’ll actually be traded. Since you get the set, there’s nothing to trade for. Unless teachers use them as rewards and then, the trading would ensue!
These cards would make a great gift for a young theologian-to-be, and I expect they’ll find their way beneath many a Christmas tree this year. If you’re looking for more ways to keep your children interested in the study of the Christian faith, this set will be a tool you won’t want to ignore.
Author Info:
Norman Jeune III coordinates the provision of pastoral care to children and their families as the Lead Hospital Chaplain at Children’s Hospital in Orange, California. Norman holds a M.A. from Talbot School of Theology, Biloa University and is also the cofounder of the popular theological blog Christians in Context, ChristiansinContext.com.
Where to Buy:
• CBD
• Amazon
• direct from Zondervan.
Disclaimer:
Disclaimer: This book was provided by Zondervan. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.
[...] for Boston Scientific, and actively serves at Beacon of Hope Church, St. Paul. He blogs at Fundamentally Reformed where this article was originally posted. It is used with [...]
Thanks so much for the review Bob! Your is one of the first to be published. This has been an incredible project, with so many layers, and I have invested a great deal of myself to bring it to this point, so I thank you for the time invested to offer some of your thoughts.
I have to tell you, one of the hardest parts of this project was deciding who not to include. It was decided early on that the set needed to remain below the 300 mark for the number of cards. Part of this was simply financial considerations in the cost model the publisher was looking at- that said, I had to cut down my original list by at least 100 people. I can tell you that every single person you named above that you wished to have been included was originally, so it was really tough to make those calls, and it was the result of group discussion. The funny thing is that no matter who looks at these cards, every person names at least a person or two they would have liked to see included. The good news is that we’re in the process of defining some ‘expansion packs’ that would allow us to include all these other folks that, by every good measure, are significant and should be included in any account of church history- so stay tuned….
In terms of the groupings, you raise good questions. One of the tough things with a pun like this is that because teams are artificial, its hard to come up with a perfect fit. It was definitely the product of subjective decisions at some points. I actually expected that there would be questions about the modern teams particularly. I actually have an interview coming out soon that explains this grouping, so perhaps I can let you know when its published. In the interim I will simply say that modern theology is so varied and eclectic that its nearly impossible to come up with simple groupings as “teams” that make total sense. Nevertheless, we had this baseball card pun and needed some grouping, so here we are. Perhaps we can say that while the pun of the baseball card is much of what makes this set fun, different, and effective as a learning tool, it is also a weakness at certain points. I will definitely let you know when my fuller explanation of those teams is published.
In terms of the martyr markings, you have a good eye. We did identify this as a typo after the fact, so it is already slated to be corrected. It was unfortunate because the text on the card, as you note, is correct- for some reason the symbols were marked (or not marked) incorrectly on these couple cards. As I said, it is already slated for correction.
Thank you so much for your honest, yet charitable, review of my work!
Respectfully,
Norman Jeune III
Norman,
Thanks first of all, for producing these cards. I can well imagine the difficulty of submitting your proposal and then having to work through real-world realities with a publisher and the give and take and editing and re-editing it all takes. Hopefully my review didn’t come across too negative. I really appreciated the cards and think they will be fun for kids and educators everywhere.
Thanks secondly for dropping by and interacting here. Your explanations go a long way for my readers in understanding even more what you are pursuing and gives a great insight into the project. I do wish you all blessings on this, and hope it finds a wide readership.
Blessings in Christ,
Bob Hayton
[...] Bob Hayton’s review at Fundamentally Reformed [...]