The New Atheism
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 54, No. 1 – Fall 2011
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By David L. Allen. The New American Commentary 35. Nashville: B&H, 2010. 671 pages. Hardcover, $32.99.
David Allen is the Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He wrote his dissertation on the Lukan authorship of Hebrews. An edited version of it has also recently been published. Allen is a sound expository preacher who shows in this commentary the sound exegetical work that lies behind his sermons on Hebrews. He states in his preface that “painstaking exegetical spade work” must precede “theological analysis” (10). Allen therefore follows his exegetical work on each unit of the epistle with a section called “theological implications.” He intends for his theological sections to synthesize the results of his exegetical work and bring out the theological significance of each unit of Hebrews. He generally executes his plan successfully. The reader may find it helpful to read the theological sections first.
Allen provides more syntactical observations than one generally finds in other volumes of the New American Commentary. He shows his own attentiveness to the Greek text and therefore encourages the reader to engage the Greek text as well. If you do not know Greek, his observations are not overly technical or hard to understand. The commentary is well-footnoted and interacts with a variety of sources, including the standard commentaries, significant articles, and theological works. Such interaction shows his commitment to work from text to theology. He is obviously looking for sources that are trying to do the same thing that he is trying to do.
In terms of his theological emphases, Allen spends a lot of time on Hebrews 6, especially 6:4–6. These are some of the most difficult verses in the New Testament and Allen decides to engage them rather than to skirt them. His engagement is extensive. He brought to my attention a number of recent attempts to deal with these difficult verses. In short, Hebrews 6:4–6 says that it is impossible for those who “fall away” to repent. Allen spends a lot of time clarifying what it means for believers to “fall away.” He concludes that falling away does not mean apostasy, that is, a turning away from the Lord and return to the state of unbelief. Rather, falling away involves “willful disobedience to God” (377). “Genuine believers” who fall away are “forfeiting some new covenant blessings in this life as well as rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ” (377). Allen calls this the “Loss of Rewards” view. Even if one does not end up agreeing with his view, his discussion in this section is quite helpful and will prompt further discussion of the knotty issues in these verses.
Overall, Allen’s commentary is a worthwhile investment for anyone who is serious about studying the Bible. I am especially hopeful, given his position as a preaching professor, that the volume will encourage preachers to do more “painstaking exegetical spade work,” as well as more careful “theological analysis” (10). Allen’s sermons on Hebrews show the benefits of both. Readers of this commentary should access some of his sermons and find encouragement there in terms of how to preach the message of Hebrews. In the preface, Allen makes a few observations on how to preach Hebrews. He finds Hebrews to be a model for expository preachers, “In Hebrews we find all the ingredients necessary for solid expositional preaching: careful but creative exegesis, theological reflection and reasoning, a balance of exhortation and encouragement, pungent illustration of truth, and practical application—all creatively constructed into a masterful sermon that makes use of rhetorical techniques for maximum effect on the hearers” (12). He exhorts us, saying, “We who preach should learn from this great expositor” (12). Amen.
