Book-length responses to other books

There is a interesting post at Justin Taylor’s blog about the practice of posting book-length responses to other books (see How God Became Jesus, by Bird, Evans, Gathercole, Hill, Tilling). I was not aware of the arrangement with HarperCollins subsidiaries, but it makes sense. RNS describes the marketing strategy here.

Taylor begins,

Should Christians ever take the time to assemble an entire book in response to another book? It depends on the significance of the book, the impact it could have, and the value of the response.

As someone invested in promoting the health of the church, who values robust interaction, and who is interested in publishing developments, two new books have decided to do exactly that, but through different means.

Taylor’s advice seems fair:

… [book-length] responses like this can help to sway those who are uncomfortable with the revisionist proposal but do not know how to answer them adequately and carefully. This is not merely preaching to the choir, but the strengthening and equipping of the choir, as well as a timely word to those outside the choir who may be listening and unsure of what to think or how to respond. We should thank God for those who have the time, energy, gifts, and skills to assemble such learned and thoughtful interaction with proposals that undermine the teaching of God’s holy word

Read more here.