Strange - Their rock is not like our rock : a theology of religions

Daniel Strange is one of the brightest and most articulate contemporary theologians in the Reformational tradition, and in Their Rock Is Not Like Our Rock he provides a theology of religions which at once is theologically sound, analytically rigorous and lucidly written. Highly recommended.

Bruce Riley Ashford, Provost and Dean of Faculty, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Dan Strange has written what will become both an important textbook in the theology of religions and one of the most incisive and original contributions to the recent debate. His biblical Reformed tradition is employed to rigorously address complex questions about religious pluralism and his answers are uncompromising, challenging and deeply christological. His prose is a delight and this book is accessible to both trained theologians and the novice. Miss it at your peril.

Gavin DCosta, Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Bristol

Deeply learned, theologically solid, well-informed in anthropology, this riveting study will guide the reader into the best ways to evaluate the religions of the world. Standing on the shoulders of Hendrik Kraemer and J. H. Bavinck, Dr Strange illuminates both the spiritual longings of people in different religions and their need for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary

What might a robust, strongly Reformed theology of religions look like?... Daniel Strange offers an important and provocative perspective that sees non-Christian religions as idolatrous responses to God which are subversively fulfilled in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Harold Netland, Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Intercultural Studies and Director of PhD Intercultural Studies, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Dan sets before us the Scriptures, viewed as a trustworthy record of Gods self-revelation, that portray a decline in human understanding from creation rather than an evolutionary development towards monotheism.... This is a book that should be on the reading list of anyone concerned to see the nations become disciples of the Lord Jesus.

Ray Porter, Chair of Global Connections (Evangelical Mission Association)

Dr Strange takes his readers down paths rarely explored in the study of world religions.... He embraces the reality that neither he, nor anyone else, can evaluate any human religion as a disengaged bystander. After explaining his own commitments as a follower of Christ, Dr Strange explores how Christians can engage other religions while remaining faithful to their own beliefs. His presentation is scholarly, but easily understood. It is theoretical, but thoroughly practical. You wont be disappointed.

Richard Pratt, President of Third Millennium Ministries (thirdmill.org)

Thoughtful, nuanced and biblically faithful evaluations on the role of other religions are unfortunately rare. Strange fills an important gap by offering us a bold but humble perspective on other religions, repristinating the thought of J. H. Bavinck and Hendrik Kraemer for a new day.... Even those who are not Reformed or entirely convinced will be challenged and provoked and helped by Stranges contribution.... This crucially important book should be read by missionaries, professors, pastors, and all those who teach the word of God and who long to see Gods name praised among the nations.

Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

ZONDERVAN

Their Rock Is Not Like Our Rock

Copyright 2014 by Daniel Strange

First published in 2014 by Apollos (an imprint of Inter-Varsity Press) in the United Kingdom under the title For Their Rock Is Not As Our Rock (ISBN 1-78359-100-5)

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition December 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-52078-8

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized edition, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotations from Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, volumes 1, 2 and 3 ( 2003, 2004 and 2006 by the Dutch Reformed Translation Society, published by Baker Academic), used by permission of the Baker Publishing Group.

Quotations from Gerald McDermott, Jonathan Edwards Confronts the Gods: Christian Theology, Enlightenment Religion, and the Non-Christian Faiths (Oxford University Press, 2000), used by permission of the publisher.

Quotations from Mark Kreitzer, The Concept of Ethnicity in the Bible (London: Edwin Mellen, 2008), are by the permission of the publisher.

Quotations from Cornelius Van Til, An Introduction to Systematic Theology (ISBN 978-0-87552-488-7), used with permission of P & R Publishing Co., P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, N.J. 08865, www.prpbooks.com.

Quotations from Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments, are by permission of The Banner of Truth Trust.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

Cover design: Tammy Johnson

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Conclusion

2. Looking forwards

In the spirit and on the shoulders of J. H. Bavinck

For their rock is not as our Rock...

(Deuteronomy 32 :31a ESV) This apprehension of the essential otherness of the world of divine realities revealed in Jesus Christ from the atmosphere of religion as we know it in the history of the race cannot be grasped merely by way of investigation and reasoning. Only an attentive study of the Bible can open the eyes to the fact that Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, stands in contradiction to the power and wisdom of man. Perhaps in some respects it is proper to speak of contradictive or subversive fulfillment.

(Hendrik Kraemer)

I may say that for 40 years, as at the University of Oxford I carried out my duties as professor of Sanskrit, I devoted as much time to the study of the holy books of the East as any other human being in the world. And I ventured to tell this gathering what I have found to be the basic note, the one single chord, of all these holy booksbe it the Veda of the Brahmans, the Purana of Siwa and Vishnu, the Quran of the Muslims, the Sendavesta of the Parsis etc.the one basic note or chord that runs through all of them is salvation by works. They all teach that salvation must be bought and that your own works and merits must be the purchase price. Our own Bible, our