Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33 • NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007 54 aimed in a variety of venues, from globalization to private property. Jensen’s work is a valuable theological critique of labor, pointing toward more humane and disciplined approaches to work, pointing toward the basic character of work as gratitude and gift, a response to the grace of God. Myles Werntz Baylor University REASON FOR HOPE: THE SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY OF WOLFHART PANNENBERG, 2ND EDITION. By Stanley J. Grenz. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005. Pp. 318. $35.00, ISBN 978-0-8028-4909-0. Grenz’s book provides an invaluable introduction to the teaching and theological contributions of Pannenberg. A one-time student of Pannenberg, Grenz synthesizes Pannen- berg’s work not only from his Systematics, but accounts for earlier works of Pannenberg, bringing the corpus into a manageable volume. Lucid and concise, Grenz treats the major divisions of traditional theology—revelation, God, ecclesiology, and so forth—in successive order, showing how each category derives its meaning from Pannenberg’s foundational methodology: the provisional nature of our knowledge of God, in light of God’s eschatologically unfold- ing reality. Ordering his account of Pannenberg’s teaching according to those elements that are given most stress throughout Pannenberg’s career, Grenz does justice to Pannenberg’s original intent rather than trying to first give Pannenberg’s contemporary significane. The result is—as indicated by Pannenberg’s commendation of the work—a synthesis of Pannenberg’s work, which contextualizes his work in the wake of K. Barth, and which allows the reader to see the ways in which Pannenberg’s work has evolved throughout his career. This stands as an essential resource for anyone—senior scholar or graduate student—needing a running start into the numerous theological contributions of Pannenberg. Myles Werntz Baylor University TESTIMONY AND TRADITION: STUDIES IN REFORMED AND DISSENTING THOUGHT. By Alan P. F. Sell. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005. Pp. viii + 367. $119.95, ISBN 0-7546-4082-5. Containing essays written over the course of nine years, this volume presents some of Sell’s recent and wide-ranging contributions to Reformed and Dissenting theology. Chap- ters interpret historical figures, such as P. T. Forsyth, A. Fuller and H. Grove, as well as broader themes such as Baptist identity, Congregationalist worship, and the tasks of Reformed theology. The initial chapter summarizes Sell’s understanding of theology as conservation and exploration. Theology is neither antiquarian nor innovative, but is “fired by the Gospel, grounded in the Scriptures,” informed by Catholic faith and Reformed emphases, “tempered by Enlightenment critiques,” and applicable to the present day. As the task of the whole Church, theology listens before it speaks. The book’s final chapter concludes with a critique of “liberal” views of the atonement. Sell argues for a tempered recovery of Anslem and the satisfaction of God’s holy love, claiming that “the first thing done at the Cross is done for God, not for us.” Though at times the volume overly dispar- ages theological liberalism, it offers a fine introduction (or reintroduction) to a significant contemporary theologian. The book’s prohibitive price, however, seems to have des- tined this book for university and seminary libraries rather than individual collections. David H. Jensen Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Ethics THE BIBLICAL TRUTH ABOUT AMERICA’S DEATH PENALTY. By Dale S. Recinella. Boston: North- eastern University Press, 2004. Pp. xxviii + 433. Cloth, $55.00, ISBN 978-1-55553-633-6; paper, $24.95, ISBN 978- 1-55553-632-9. Recinella, a lay Catholic who is self-taught, writes for an audience who reads the Bible as literal truth. He argues that this hermeneutic authorizes execution of everyone— adulterers to rebellious sons. Arguing that it is hypocritical to select only the penalty for murder as authoritative, he instead proposes a difference between God’s “perfect” and “permissive” wills. Recinella concludes that God originally prohibits all human retaliation, but compromises with a vengeful world by the time of Moses. Jesus “fulfills the law” by returning to God’s original commandment to banish, not execute, murderers. Theologically, the Mosaic Law is less concerned with retribution than with the perpetrator’s atonement. Jesus’ death and resurrection end the need for executions to secure that atonement. Although Recinella unpersuasively presents the Talmud as authoritative for Christians, he uses it to provide sharp critiques of proce- dural, economic, and racial injustices in the American system. His conclusion “that there is no possible way to support the American death penalty based upon biblical truth” lands solidly on arguments about how the Bible’s fear of executing the innocent involves more restrictive proce- dures than in the United States. The book is recommended for bible study, undergraduates, and anyone seeking to understand the divergence of American death penalty from biblical justice. Judith W. Kay University of Puget Sound PUBLIC PHILOSOPHY: ESSAYS ON MORALITY IN POLITICS. By Michael J. Sandel. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005. Pp. 292. $25.95, ISBN 978-0-874- 01928-7. Harvard political theorist Sandel is among the most respected and nuanced of contemporary commentators on American liberalism. His latest volume collects thirty essays published between 1983 and 2004, organized into sections