Christopher R.J. Holmes. The Lord Is Good: Seeking the God of the Psalter. IVP Academic, 2018. See here to purchase the book.
Christopher Holmes is an Anglican priest and teaches systematic theology at the University of Otago in New Zealand. In The Lord Is Good: Seeking the God of the Psalter,
Holmes explores themes in the biblical Psalms, primarily through the
lens of Thomas Aquinas. While Aquinas and Thomism are paramount in this
book, Holmes occasionally engages other conversation partners, such as
Augustine, John Calvin, and Karl Barth.
Among the themes that Holmes explores are:
—-that God’s attributes, including God’s goodness, are not accidental
to God but are part of God’s essence, apart even from any actions that
God might perform; this is God’s simplicity;
—-that human goodness is imperfect and derivative from God’s goodness;
—-the divinization of human beings, as they share more of God’s
goodness and immortality, while remaining distinct from God in certain
respects (i.e., they do not become part of the Trinity);
—-God’s plan to fill all beings and things in the eschaton, and how
the eschaton will be a time when humans will lack self-consciousness;
—-how God’s statutes remind humans of their creaturehood and help
convert them towards righteousness; how this functions for David (who
had the ceremonial law) differs in some respects from how it works for
Christians (who have only the moral law), but there are also
similarities between the two; Christ is still necessary for salvation
and righteousness, however;
—-the difference between knowing and seeing, seeing by faith, and how the beatific vision will be expanded in the eschaton;
—–that God only recognizes what is like Godself, namely, what is
good; still, God acknowledges when people call out to God for
instruction;
—-how evil, in a sense, is non-existent, as it is parasitic of the good and less real.
Some of these themes are repeated in the course of the book, and
people who are well-read in theology may feel that these themes are
rather simple. There are times when the book appears simple, but there
are also times when it is quite deep. I cannot say that I completely
understood Holmes’ critique of Barth, but it is there for my perusal.
The book is eloquent, yet it has a down-to-earth quality, as Holmes
occasionally brings himself into the picture. Reading the book can be
an act of worship, as it can encourage and enhance Christians’
appreciation of God’s goodness and the beings and things that reflect
and point to that. Moreover, with all the books out there that tear
apart Thomism in favor of Barthian Christocentrism, it is refreshing to
read a book that appreciates Thomism, while still acknowledging the
importance of Jesus Christ.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My review is honest.