Not Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain

This book is part of the series, “Exploring Faith: Theology for Life,” which has the noble aim of increasing the theological literacy of the whole people of God. In Exploring God-talk, the focus is on the use of religious language. Its author, Jeff Astley, one of the series editors, applies his well-known commitment to the theological education of the laity to this complex field and with considerable success.

Exploring God-talk is a wide-ranging introduction to the nature of religious language, looking at how we reflect on religious experience and pray, exploring language theory and interpretation, and considering the practical implications of his conclusions. It offers us some of the fruit of Astley’s years of theological teaching in sixth forms, colleges and universities. There is an excellent summary of the use of figurative language (chapter 4) and of the analogia entis versus analogia fidei debate (pp. 58f), as well as a fine introduction to hermeneutics (chapter 9). There is also a useful glossary to assist those new to theological terminology.

There are, however, places where Astley is in danger of assuming too much prior knowledge on the part of his target audience. For instance, in a passage on the nature of myth, Astley states that: “God (or Christ) did not literally come down at Christmas, any more than God is literally a father” (p. 47), which at least demands some further elaboration. His frequent use of quotations sometimes interrupts the flow of the argument, especially in the first half of the book, and footnotes for the references (rather than the use of brackets in the text) might have helped. It would also be interesting to know if anyone actually uses the many exercises that are offered, unless it is in the context of group study.

Overall, there is much to commend this book. It is a reliable introduction to many issues in theology and the philosophy of religion and will serve as a valuable textbook for those engaged in guided study in those fields. My reservations are mainly for those who have no tutor to illuminate some of its more opaque passages and to help them broaden their theological vocabulary.