Victor A. Shepherd

I was in over my head.

With a Bachelor in Theology under my belt, I entered Tyndale Seminary's M.Div. program eager to learn something new. I convinced the registrar to exempt me from some compulsory courses that overlapped my previous studies in order to replace them with electives. This is how I ended up in Victor Shepherd's second year course, "Philosophy for understanding Theology" during my first year.

As mentally invigorating as the course was, I struggled the whole semester like a drowning man trying to keep his head above water! Philosophy is a triple challenge:

1. First you have to understand the philosopher's context. What is he reacting against? What personal, social, political, and economic forces are at play in his life? You can't understand Kierkegaard without knowing a bit about Regina. You can't grasp Sartre without understanding his radical resistance efforts during the war.
2. Once you have context in hand, you need to understand the language. This in itself is a two-fold problem. First there's the translation issue. Kierkegaard wrote in Danish, Nietzsche in German. Most of us read these philosophers in translation. Second, philosophers have a tendency to re-appropriate or create words only to invest them with their own technical meaning. From Heidegger's Dasein to Buber's I-Thou v. I-It, each philosopher uses language in a precise way that has to be learned before it's understood.
3. Finally, you have the philosopher's actual philosophy that you have to untangle from popular misconceptions and sinister misuse. When Kierkegaard said truth is subjectivity, he did not mean that all truth is subjective (relative). When Nietzsche spoke of the will to power, he in no way had in mind the way the Nazis would misuse his work.

To make matters muddier, all three of these challenges must be learned concurrently since they all relate to each other. This is where Victor Shepherd's book is so strong. He focuses on the existentialist movement in philosophy, specifically Hegel (not an Existentialist, but the direct background to which the existentialists would revolt), Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Buber, Heidegger, and Sartre. He takes time not just to explain the logic of each philosopher, but also to situate them in their context and explain their peculiar uses of language.

Although this is a book "for Christians," the philosophers examined are both Christian, Jewish, and atheist. Shepherd treats each philosopher generously, seeking to understand how their thought (whether theistic or not) can challenge and inspire us as Christians.

I read this book fifteen years after my fledgling attempt at Shepherd's philosophy course at Tyndale. I was surprised to see just how much of Shepherd's interpretation of Existentialism I had absorbed. There were many moments during this book where I thought, "Ah, that's why I think like that," or, "That's where that idea of mine came from."

Philosophy is like Jazz. It may seem incomprehensible at first, but repeated encounters and attempts to enter the world yield rich results.… (mehr)

Devotional writing frustrates me. If I'm going to set aside time every day to read about scripture, I expect more than cute anecdotes and generalized applications. Much of what I've read makes me feel like I've spent ten minutes in the Hallmark aisle of a drugstore rather than seated before my Creator.

Ponder and Pray is different. Full disclosure: Victor Shepherd was one of my most influential professors during seminary. I started these readings with high expectations and I was not disappointed. Despite being written over 30 years ago (the original copyright date is 1984), the meditations were so rooted in scripture that they were thoroughly relevant.

The meditations are written in two parts. The first half unpacks a scriptural idea such as the cross, repentance, or joy. The second half is a prayer which is as lengthy and important as the prose that precedes it. Shepherd spent as much time preparing the prayers as he did the meditations—and it shows.

I think it would be fitting to close this review with the last lines of the last prayer in the book:

"Eternal God, you have quickened our zeal for the day when we shall stand before you without spot or blemish. Then increase or faith, deepen our repentance, magnify our ardour, that our prayer may be the cry of our ancestors, "Come, Lord Jesus!" And unto you we ascribe all glory, honour, dominion and power, now and ever. Amen" (98).… (mehr)

Evangelicalism is no denomination—it's something broader, which makes it that much more difficult to define. In Our Evangelical Faith, Victor Shepherd offers a brief commentary on the seven doctrinal statements that the World Evangelical Alliance (an organization representing 200 million Christians in 123 different countries) considers essential (23):

1. "The Holy Scriptures as originally given by God are divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy, and constituted the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct" (25).
2. "There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit" (31).
3. "Our Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh; we affirm His virgin birth, sinless humanity, divine miracles, vicarious and atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension, ongoing mediatorial work, and personal return in power and glory" (37).
4. "The salvation of lost and sinful humanity is possible only through the merits of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, received by faith apart from works, and is characterized by regeneration by the Holy Spirit" (43).
5. "The Holy Spirit enables believers to live a holy life, to witness and work for the Lord Jesus Christ" (49).
6. "The Church, the body of Christ, consists of all true believers" (55).
7. "Ultimately God will judge the living and the dead, those who are saved unto the resurrection of life, those who are lost unto the resurrection of damnation" (61).

Shepherd's brief comments on each of these doctrinal statements, while not exhaustive, are incisive—even blunt at times. Regarding the Church, for example, "Our Lord's body may be scarred, marred, pock-marked, even deformed or crippled in some respect. Nevertheless, it's the only body He has" (59).

At the end of the book, Shepherd offers a passionate defense of clear thinking and the relevance of doctrine. He likens doctrine to a recipe. You wouldn't want to eat the ink and paper that constitute a recipe, but it can certainly lead you to the right meal.… (mehr)

Interpreting Martin Luther is a seminary course converted into a book. Each of the twelve chapters correspond to the twelve classroom lectures in the semester. Having taken the course from the author a little less than a decade ago, I was surprised at just how much of this course has stuck with me.

Shepherd eases you into the life of Luther, first dealing with all the background issues that swirl around the Reformation: the Renaissance, Humanism, Scholasticism, and other movements. When he gets down to Luther himself, the chapters cover nine aspects of his life and teaching such as that core issue of the Reformation, The Righteousness of God. He never does abandon important background issues, though. The chapter on The Lord's Supper is a good example. By the time you're finished, you'll understand not only Luther's view, but Calvin, Zwingli, and the Roman view as well.

What sets this book apart are the telling little anecdotes from Luther's life, paired with a few pregnant reflections on the current state of the church. For instance, Luther's graphic vision of the devil covered in human excrement is strong medicine for a church who loves to flirt with sin.

All of Luther's source material for these lectures can be found in Lull's Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings. If you're serious about learning Luther, it's worth reading these two books together.

I can't think of a better overview of Luther's life and teaching than these converted lectures.… (mehr)