James K. A. Smith was interviewed about Letters to a Young Calvinist by Kyle McDanell of Blogizomai. Here’s an excerpt:

“In my experience, the resurgence in interest in Calvinism is in response to the vapid, anti-intellectual versions of Christianity that we’ve been fed in the megachurch era.  So at least in part, the new interest in Calvinism and Reformed theology is because it represents a much more robust intellectual tradition in Protestant Christianity.  It also represents a renewal of appreciation for the centrality of grace.  In this respect, the Reformation–on my account–is an Augustinian renewal movement within the church catholic, and I see the young, restless, Reformed movement as a kind of indirect renewal of Augustinian theology.  (Though, as you’ll see in Letters to a Young Calvinist, I think our generation could profit from encountering Augustine first-hand.)

“I think where this new trend differs from “old” Calvinism is that in the YRR movement, Calvin’s soteriology is unhooked from the rest of the package that drove his project of reform.  So you get people who eagerly adopt his doctrines of election and predestination, but don’t see how that is tied to his ecclesiology, his doctrine of the sacraments (including baptism), his vision for political reform, etc.  This is why I think some (like Ray Pennings) are correct to say that these aren’t really new Calvinists, they’re neo-Puritans.”

You can read the rest of the interview here.

Quick Hits:

Nicole Baker Fulgham, author of the forthcoming Brazos book Educating All God’s Children, has an article on the four traits of successful public school reform in the September-October 2012 issue of Sojourners: “Beyond ‘Superman’”

James K. A. Smith had an article featured on Christianity Today’s blog This Is Our City: “How (Not) to Be Worldly: Tracing the Borders of the ‘Earthly City’”

Ebook Specials and Other Offers:

August ebook specials are currently running for multiple Brazos Press and Baker Academic titles. All of these ebooks are at least 60% off:

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes by Daniel J. Treier
Adventures in Daily Prayer by Bert Ghezzi
Letters to a Young Calvinist by James K. A. Smith
Seven Deadly Spirits by T. Scott Daniels
Be Not Afraid by Samuel Wells
Creating a Spiritual Legacy by Daniel Taylor
The Truth Shall Make You Odd by Frank G. Honeycutt