“A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New” by G. K. Beale

A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New by G.K. BealeBook Details:
  • Editor: Gregory K. Beale
  • Category: Biblical Theology
  • Publisher: Baker Academic (2011)
  • Format: hardcover
  • Page Count: 1072
  • ISBN#: 9780801026973
  • List Price: $54.99
  • Rating: Must Read

Review:
Christians today are blessed with a wide variety of resources for studying the Bible. In America, it seems that every few months some must-read theology book hits the press and promises to revolutionize our understanding of God’s Word. And many of these books truly are helpful. We really have no excuse for not understanding Scripture more and being more conformed into the likeness of Christ, given the endless resources meant to help us do just this.

At the same time, however, this abundance of resources can serve to puzzle us and leave us lost in an ever expanding maze of theological conundrums. The specialization in biblical studies doesn’t help. Specialists write on the Gospels, or on Paul’s letters, to the virtual exclusion of the input from other New Testament, or Old Testament books. OT specialists develop their understanding and grow in their study completely apart from their NT counterparts. And with the study of God’s Word being so cranial, simple insights and the role of the Holy Spirit’s illumination tend to be ignored. And then today’s scholars often ignore the insights of previous generations, who found Christ throughout the Old Testament, but weren’t versed in the latest scientific insights from form and redaction criticism or literary theory. Many have seen this widening gap, between academia and the church pew, and yearned for scholarship that matters: academic insight for average individuals. And some have hoped for a whole-Bible, biblical theology that would span the differing worlds of OT and NT scholarship and put the entire Bible back together again.

G. K. Beale may have given us just this. His magnum opus is an ambitious project that seeks to integrate the storylines of the Old and New Testaments, and unfold how the New Testament unpacks the promise of the Old as it unfolds for us the glories of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New, Beale displays a masterful grasp on the academy as well as an expert understanding of the second temple Judaistic literature, Ancient Near Eastern writings, and the latest scholarship on both biblical testaments. He is a humble servant of the church, however, and seeks to answer questions the average churchgoer will face and remains ever practical even as he explores a wide array of various topics. And while his book requires careful and (at times) strenuous reading, it truly integrates the entire canon of Scripture in a way that has promise to bring together Old and New Testament scholarship for the service of the church.

The Storyline of the New Testament

The task Beale sets out for himself is huge, and his book is too. With over 960 readable pages, this book will take the average reader some time to conquer. It took me about a year to wade my way through it, although admittedly I tend to be a fickle reader and so left the book for seasons at a time. Beale sets out to explore the unifying center of the New Testament and finds this in a storyline. Each part of the following storyline gets developed in detail and by the end of the book he has adequately proven his thesis. Here is Beale’s NT storyline:

Jesus’s life, trials, death for sinners, and especially resurrection by the Spirit have launched the fulfillment of the eschatological already-not yet new-creational reign, bestowed by grace through faith and resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to advance this new-creational reign and resulting in judgment for the unbelieving, unto the triune God’s glory. (p. 958, italics and underlining removed)

Recapping the Old Testament

One of my favorite sections in Beale’s work was his few chapters spent detailing the Old Testament’s own storyline. He uses the first three chapters of Genesis as a key for unlocking the story of the entire Old Testament. Adam was to be a vice-regent of God, extending His rule throughout the world. But Adam failed, and was exiled from the Edenic paradise of fellowship with God in a garden-temple. From this wilderness, God called out his people Israel, referred to as God’s firstborn son, and they received an Adamic calling to be vice-regents of God extending the glory of His name as a beacon of light to the nations, centered in their garden-like promised land of paradise – where God would have His name dwell. But they too failed, and were exiled from their special place of fellowship with God. For those unfamiliar with Beale’s extensive work on developing the theme of the Temple throughout the Scripture (cf. Beale’s The Temple and the Church’s Mission, IVP 2004), it is touched on in this section and more fully developed later as Beale turns to the New Testament.

The Role of Eschatology

Beale’s emphasis on the already-not yet, new-creational kingdom, has led many to dismiss his book as one long extensive defense of amillennialism. I would contend that such a dismissal is short-sighted and a biased misreading of his work. His eschatology doesn’t neatly fit into any one theological system, and he prefers the description “inaugurated eschatology.” His discussion of the key terms for “the end times” in both the Old and New Testaments goes a long way toward proving his contention that “in order to understand the NT in its full richness, we must have a keen acquaintance with how the biblical authors viewed the ‘end times'” (p. 16). He argues that the New Testament sees the end times as here in one sense, but not yet fully here. And that the entire New Testament cannot be understood apart from realizing the role eschatology plays. The NT authors understand themselves to be living in the last days, in the beginning fulfillment of what the Old Testament foretold.

New-Creation and Kingdom

Perhaps Beale’s most distinctive contribution to NT biblical theology is his emphasis on the role new-creation plays both in how one understands the kingdom, and in how one understands everything from justification to judgment in the New Testament. Christ’s resurrection was the promise and presence of the new creation, invading our world of space and time. The uncreating of evil has begun, and the recreation of a new world has commenced – and our very spiritual lives with the progress we make in sanctification, is part of God’s making all things new (2 Cor. 5:17, Rev. 21:5).

The Church as End-Time Israel

This is where many people will stumble over Beale’s approach. Some will point to his embrace of the Sabbath and paedo-baptism as errors flowing from his fundamental misunderstanding of the distinction between Israel and the church. I would ask those who will differ fundamentally here to take time to read Beale as there is still much to be gained from his work. But I am convinced his unpacking of the biblical development of the church as end-time Israel is worth the price of the book. He continues his approach of reading Scripture from a grammatical, historical approach – treating the books as the original recipients would have, understanding the genre and tracing out the history of intertestamental biblical interpretation (as an insight into possible ways the NT authors would have understood OT Scripture), and methodically builds an air-tight case for the NT as presenting the church as the heir of the promises made to OT Israel. At this point, I’d like to take some extra time to restate his case for the sake of my readers. And to be clear, Beale is not claiming the church replaces Israel, but that it actually is “the transformed and restored eschatalogical Israel,” being made up of Jew and gentile believers, alike.

Beale finds a “presuppositional basis” for the church being true Israel in some of the hermeneutical presuppositions he claims underlie the exegetical approach of the NT authors. Chief among these is the concept of “the one and the many.” In the OT we often find kings, prophets, or family heads representing their families, or nations who will receive blessing or judgment because of the actions of the “one” representing “the many.” Rom. 5 and 1 Cor. 15 make a similar argument with Christ and Adam. Secondly, Jesus is presented in Scripture as “the true Israel.” And He thus represents the church. Beale elaborates:

Those who identify by faith with Christ, whether Jew or gentile, become identified with him and his identity as true eschatological Israel…. people are identified by faith with Jesus as God’s Son, and so they become “adopted sons of God.” …people become identified by faith with Christ as being in the eschatological image of God, so they begin to regain that image. (p. 652)

And since Israel was a corporate Adam — God’s firstborn — living in its own “garden of Eden,” tasked to do what Adam had failed to do, it follows that Christ as the Second Adam, actually fulfilled what both Adam and Israel was meant to do. Christ as such, is the New Israel – and Beale shows how numerous themes in the New Testament attest to this fact. Then Beale shows how repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, Gentiles were included in Israel and her mission — and now with Christ’s bringing the end-times upon us, the identifying marks required to be a part of Israel of old (circumcision) have been replaced by that of spiritual circumcision and spiritual unity of Christ — who is the head of the church. Beale points out that it is thus the “legal representative” or “corporate” hermeneutic which under-girds this identification of the church as true Israel, rather than an “allegorical or spiritualizing hermeneutic” (p. 655). What Beale then goes on to systematically demonstrate, is that the Old Testament prophecies that Gentiles will become part of the Latter-Day True Israel, using such passages as Is. 49, Ps. 87, Is. 19, Is. 56, Is. 66 and others. Then he shows how the New Testament repeatedly claims that it is in the church that specific prophesies about the restoration of Latter-Day Israel are coming to pass. I appreciate also how he delineates the variety of specific names and descriptors of Israel from the Old Testament are applied to the church – and with so many OT descriptors of Israel given to the church, it is not surprising to see the actual term Israel bestowed on it as well, in Gal. 6:17.

With the land promise, Beale once again unpacks how the Old Testament itself leads us to expect that the land is typological, pointing to a greater reality, and that it will become greatly expanded and universalized. And the New Testament shows us just this, as it also brings the church in to the recipients of that very promise (see Rom. 4:13, Matt. 5:5 and others).

Additional Themes

Beale’s work covers a host of additional themes my review cannot cover in detail. He highlights how the expected tribulation of Israel was being experienced by the New Testament church, and still is in most parts of the world today. He gives space to the new-creational marks of the church such as Sabbath observance (although his view on this finds it radically altered through Christ’s work), worship, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, church office and the NT Canon. He looks at the work of the Spirit as part of the inaugurated end-time new creation as a chief theme in the NT story. He also gives space to the Temple and to idolatry and the image of God being restored. He also explores questions such as how much the Old Testament saints would have enjoyed this same experience we do in the NT. And he concludes his book focusing on the glory of God as the purpose for the very storyline itself.

Evaluation

I was told that you don’t pick up a book like this and read through it. You just use it as a resource. And for many that is going to be how they will encounter Beale’s work. Thankfully, it is organized in a very clear way with helpful indexes and a detailed table of contents that is sure to help such a reader. Those who want a taste of Beale’s work could read the first few chapters, and chapter 27 – which recaps the entire work giving each theme a brief yet fairly detailed overview. Others might find it more useful to read through Beale’s section on resurrection or justification, or the question of Israel and the church as they study that topic out further. The footnotes will point you to other important discussions in the book so that you won’t miss something you need in getting Beale’s take on a given subject.

I differ with Beale on a few matters, most notably baptism, but I found the exercise of plodding my way through his work to be immensely helpful. My copy of the book has numerous notes, underlines, and countless dog-eared pages. I have already turned back to parts of this book for the second or even third time now, and know I’ll be returning to this book for many more years in the future. This truly is a monumental work, and one that even a layman like me can appreciate. Granted, I have had some theological training, and at times this book does go deep. But for the most part, Beale’s work is accessible and has takeaways that pastors and teachers as well as students, will benefit from. More importantly, Beale helps one find a compass through the maze of the two testaments of Scripture. And his work is detailed enough to stand the test of time. It carefully explains how the New Testament authors arrived at the conclusions they did, and follows their thoughts after them, reading the Old Testament in a careful and ultimately Christ-centered way. I encourage you to find some space on your shelf for Beale’s A NT Biblical Theology. Dip your toe in, get wet, then take the plunge and bask in the beauty of a fully developed Biblical Theology. You won’t regret it.

Author Info:
G. K. Belae (PhD, University of Cambridge) is professor of New Testament and biblical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the coeditor of the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament and the author of numerous books, including the Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament and commentaries on Revelation and 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

Where to Buy:
  • Westminster Bookstore
  • Christianbook.com
  • Amazon
  • direct from Baker Academic

“The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek: Grammar, Syntax, and Diagramming” by Douglas S. Huffman

The Handy Guide to NT Greek by Douglas HuffmanBook Details:
  • Author: Douglas S. Huffman
  • Category: Biblical Language / Reference
  • Publisher: Kregel Academic (2012)
  • Format: softcover
  • Page Count: 112
  • ISBN#: 9780825427435
  • List Price: $16.99
  • Rating: Highly Recommended

Review:
It goes without saying that learning Greek can be daunting. And the only thing that gives ministerial students more nightmares than Greek is Biblical Hebrew! Whether one is currently immersed in the world of Koine (NT) Greek or if they are years removed from their time spent buried in Greek grammars and syntax books, they are sure to find this new book from Douglas Huffman a true God-send.

The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek: Grammar, Syntax, and Diagramming (Kregel, 2012) is an accessible yet fairly comprehensive resource for the Greek student. And everything from its size and shape (designed to fit nicely next to a UBS4 or NA27/28 Greek NT) to its detailed discussion of phrase diagramming is geared to provide practical help for the average pastor as well as the up and coming Greek student.

I was impressed that it didn’t skip the basics — even covering the Greek alphabet for those of us who occasionally hit a mental block when we try to think Greek again! It provides declensions and grammatical rules, and a helpful listing of syntactical options for the various noun cases, verb qualities (tense, aspect, mood, etc.) and participles. It covers purpose clauses and conditional statements; reviews the prepositions and conjunctions; and it does all this in an incredibly useful format — making this the go-to resource for orienting yourself to the Greek text before eventually giving up and consulting the technical commentary or larger grammatical reference tool.

I most enjoyed the phrase diagramming how-to section, which discusses arcing and sentence diagramming before focusing on phrase diagramming and illustrating how helpful it can be for sermon and lesson preparation. The section on diagramming is worth the price of the book all on its own! The charts and diagrams which fill almost every page of this manual, are clear and crisp; and the explanations stay succinct enough to keep the handbook small and convenient in size.

You won’t be disappointed in picking up this reference tool. Even if you aren’t well versed in Greek, this tool can help you understand the options and make sense of some of the linguistic discussions in critical commentaries. This tool will find a place next to my reader’s Greek NT and will be my first place to turn when trying to work my way through the Greek text on my own.

Author Info:
Douglas S. Huffman is professor and chair of the Department of Biblical and Theological Studies at Northwestern College in Minnesota. He is the co-editor of God Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents God.

Where to Buy:
  • Christianbook.com
  • Amazon
  • direct from Kregel

Disclaimer:
Disclaimer: This book was provided by Kregel Academic. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

“Theologian Trading Cards: A Fun Way to Learn Church History and Theology” by Norman Jeune III

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:
  • Christianbook.com
  • Amazon
  • direct from Zondervan.

Disclaimer:
Disclaimer: This book was provided by Zondervan. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

On Approaching Revelation Literally

I’ve been thinking about the relative merits of approaching the book of Revelation with the aim of taking all the visions and judgments literally as opposed to symbolicly. Rev. 1:1 does say that John has a message for us to know, but it says more than this. This message was “signified” to John (this is the alternate reading in the footnote of the NASB, the main text has “communicated”). The word for “signified” is semaino, which means to “communicate by symbols.” So John in effect is answering our question: he is telling us his book communicates via symbolism.

For more help on the question of how to approach Revelation I turned to Invitation to Biblical Interpretation by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Richard D. Patterson for help. Their book is endorsed by a wide assortment of conservative evangelical scholars and is the best work on hermeneutics I’ve ever read. (Read my reiew here.) I found their comments on this question insightful.

What could be wrong with interpreting apocalyptic literature such as Revelation literally? The main problem with such an approach is that it inadequately considers that the literary genre of a given text establishes the rules for how it should be interpreted. Meaning is intrinsically bound up with genre.119 It follows that genre provides a context assigned by the author to communicate meaning. We have already shown that the genre of Revelation is prophetic-apocalyptic. The apocalyptic genre, by definition, is highly symbolic and not intended to be interpreted in a literal manner. For this reason, a rigid literal interpretation or literalism may actually obscure the author’s intended meaning rather than expose it. Kevin Vanhoozer correctly poses a distinction between the literal sense and literalism.120 If the interpreter is concerned with authorial intention, the literal sense must not be reduced merely to letters, langue, or locutions. Vanhoozer contends that “literalistic reading is less than fully ‘literal’–that it is insufficiently and only ‘thinly’ literal–insofar as it ignores the role of authorial intentions and communicative acts.”121 What Vanhoozer means by this is that the literal–but not the “literalistic”–sense is what the author intended to convey by a given text; this, in turn, is especially true for figurative and symbolic language. In other words, if Revelation is prophetic-apocalyptic in nature, ascribing literalism to its numbers, proper nouns, and other images may actually prevent a proper understanding of John’s intended meaning.122 A more profitable hermeneutical approach is to reverse the interpretive order by placing the symbolic in the foreground while shifting the literal into the background. Thus, rather than positing the dictum “When the literal makes sense, seek no other sense,” we suggest that a better maxim in interpreting apocalyptic is “Start out with the assumption that a given statement or image is figurative rather than literal.”

G.K. Beale makes a strong case for the primacy of the symbolic over straight one-to-one literal correspondence.123 He argues that semaino in Revelation 1:1 conveys the idea of “communication by symbols,”124 noting that the normal usage of semaino in Scripture implies some type of “symbolic communication.”125 Since Revelation is a symbolic means of communication, the literal approach for interpreting the “plain sense” of the image may actually distort the intended meaning of the text. Beale maintains, “Of course, some parts are not symbolic, but the essence of the book is figurative. Where there is lack of clarity about whether something is symbolic, the scales of judgement should be tilted in the direction of a nonliteral analysis.”126 For reasons such as these, the symbolic plane should be considered primary while care should be taken not to reduce the meaning of symbols to something exclusively spiritual.

(pg. 550-551)


Footnotes
119 Hirsch, Validity in Interpretation, 236.
120 Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in This Text?, 310.
121 Ibid, 311.
122 Carson, Exegetical Fallacies, 90.
123 Beale, Book of Revelation, 50-55.
124 Ibid, 52.
125 Ibid, 51. See the discussion of the allusion to Daniel 2:28-30 (LXX) in Revelation 1:1.
126 Ibid, 52.

The authors go on in their book to explain how Revelation itself, through John’s extensive use of the Old Testament (quoting and alluding to OT Scripture, as well as making use of well known OT symbols), helps us when it comes to discerning when and where symbolism exists and how to interpret it.

For my part, knowing that the author intended his book to “communicate by symbols” (Rev. 1:1) as an apocalyptic book, requires me to take this into account as I approach this great book.

Kelly Kapic on His New Book: “A Little Book for New Theologians”

Kelly M. Kapic, a professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, has authored a helpful little book for beginning students of theology. At his school, every incoming student, no matter what major they are studying, has to take his course on theology. And like Christians everywhere, many of the students are skeptical about the practical value of such a course. Kapic’s solution was to pen a little guide called A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology (IVP, 2012).

Kapic tells the story behind his book and answers some questions related to Christians and theology in general in this interview about his book on ReformedCast. This looks like it will be a helpful resource for students everywhere and the themes covered in the book are important for all churchgoers.

Here is the list of Contents and some endorsements:

Contents:

Part I: Why Study Theology?
1. Entering the Conversation
2. To Know and Enjoy God: Becoming Wise
3. Theology as Pilgrimage
Part II: Characteristics of Faithful Theologians and Theology
4. The Inseparability of Life and Theology
5. Faithful Reason
6. Prayer and Study
7. Humility and Repentance
8. Suffering, Justice, and Knowing God
9. Tradition and Community
10. Love of Scripture

Endorsements:

“To study with Kelly Kapic must be serious fun. His joy in teaching theology is infectious; at the same time he is in blood earnest in believing how essential good theology is to shape minds and transform lives for the glory of God. With delightful signposts from the great theologians of the past, A Little Book for New Theologians guides us to a mountain of unending discovery. Here is an ideal starter kit for the beginning theology student and an affection-refresher for those who have been longer on the way.” ~ Sinclair B. Ferguson (professor of systematic theology, Westminster Seminary, Dallas)

“For many Christians the word theology is synonymous with abstruse, irrelevant and boring. In this jewel of a book, Kelly Kapic shows that theology is really, as the Puritan William Ames said, ‘the science of living in the presence of God.’ This is a great primer both for new students of theology and for those well practiced in the discipline.” ~ Timothy George (founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and general editor of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture)

You can purchase this book at the following online retailers: Westminster Bookstore, Christianbook.com, Amazon, Barnes&Noble or direct from IVP.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by InterVarsity Press. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.