Description: In Every Perfect Gift: Classical Virtues for Christian Formation, authors Joseph Lanier and Travis James Montgomery demonstrate how the seven classic Christian virtues (faith, hope, love, justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude) are important to our spiritual formation.
Review Quotes:
"Formation into Christ's image is just as important to the Christian life as faith in the content of the gospel. In fact, you can't have one without the other. In Every Perfect Gift, Lanier and Montgomery remind us of this fundamental fact, that faith and formation - trust and virtue - are intricately connected. The Christian faith gives shape to the Christian walk, and its shape is the virtues that, when formed in us, help us to look more and more like Jesus."
--Matthew Emerson, dean of theology, arts, and humanities and professor of religion, Oklahoma Baptist University
"The virtuous life and how to achieve it has consumed philosophical discussion for generations. Scripture and Christian tradition helped clarify and sharpen the pursuit of virtue in light of Christ's incarnation and the Spirit's empowerment. But the journey towards true virtue has been lost in a modern morass of self-help and shallow spirituality. With theological acumen and biblical clarity, Lanier and Montgomery help us steer towards Christian virtue as the goal we were destined for."
--Coleman M. Ford, assistant professor of humanities, Texas Baptist College
"Every Perfect Gift is a remarkable book, a blessing to both the church and the academy. Uniting both theology and spirituality, Lanier and Montgomery advance the edifying thesis that the "spiritual virtues ground and guide natural virtue, as God graciously brings us back to himself." This is a most welcome contribution to a moral theology conformed to God's revelation and receptive of his transformative grace. Well-written, clear, and possessing a deep spiritual and intellectual luminosity, this book will be welcomed by all those seeking to live virtuously in continual reference to God."
--Christopher R. J. Holmes, professor of systematic theology, University of Otago
"Every Perfect Gift is an accessible and reliable guide to rediscovering the much-neglected treasure trove of classical Christian moral wisdom. Long overdue is an introductory volume that helps evangelical readers recapture the riches of classical moral theology for the spiritual vitality of the people of God. Every Perfect Gift fills this gap in an exemplary manner. In a remarkably fresh and readable way, the book presents the classical theological and cardinal virtues as indispensable for Christian formation as they flow from the deeper theological wells of theology proper and theological anthropology. Every Perfect Gift is carefully attuned to the Scriptural witness and deeply conversant with classical Christian and Protestant sources; it is an excellent first-step in the recovery of the classical virtues for Christian formation for wider audiences. I'll be recommending it widely!"
--Ross Inman, associate professor of philosophy, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
"Most discussions of the seven virtues begin with the classical virtues. By reversing that practice and beginning with the theological virtues, Lanier and Montgomery allow readers to study prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance from the point of view of faith, hope, and love. This allows for a more biblical, God-centered reading of the classical virtues that illuminates more fully than other books I've read on the subject of how they can play a pivotal role in Christian formation. Well-researched, well-written, and spiritually challenging."
--Louis Markos, professor of English and scholar-in-residence, Houston Christian University
"Protestants have a rich history in engaging with the cardinal and theological virtues. Some readers might be forgiven for assuming this is a typo, and that I meant to say, "Roman Catholics have a rich history in engaging with such virtues." This is true also, of course, but the Protestant tradition has not been silent on this crucial dimension of the Christian life. Protestants, no less than Roman Catholics, have concerned themselves with questions regarding the nature of man, the rightly ordered soul, and the impact that virtuous and vicious habits have on the self in our pursuit of the Good: the Triune God. Recent history paints a misleading picture of Protestants who are happy to leave such lively discussions strictly to those who operate "across the Tiber." But Joseph Lanier and Travis Montgomery have teamed up to rectify this recent gap in the literature. These two pastor-theologians have plumbed Holy Scripture, Christian tradition, and a shared reservoir of pastoral experience to bring the theological and cardinal virtues to bear on the Christian life. This book deserves the reputation it will certainly receive as the new standard bearer for a Protestant primer on the virtues."
--Samuel Parkison, assistant professor of systematic theology, church history, and philosophy, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
"Clear, careful, and capacious, this book is a much-needed orientation to the seven classical virtues as basic equipment for Christian discipleship. Evangelical readers will be especially grateful for how the authors harmonize familiar elements (Scripture, church life, and devotional insights) with less familiar (Greco-Roman thought, Scholastic distinctions, and Protestant moral theology in the grand style)."
--Fred Sanders, professor of theology, Torrey Honors College, Biola University
"What so many spiritual formation books tend to overlook is the rich interplay of theology and history that has informed our growth toward God. This volume retrieves time-tested practices of sacred devotion and sets them before a modern audience with clarity and depth. By drawing attention to the seven virtues, the authors show how our lives can be shaped by divine revelation and renewed by grace. Lanier and Montgomery prove to be wise and trustworthy guides on this often neglected path. As I read, I found myself wondering why no one had written a book quite like this before, and grateful to see a long-standing gap in our formation resources thoughtfully filled."
--Patrick Schreiner, associate professor of biblical theology, Gene and Jo Downing Chair of Biblical Studies, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
"Joseph Lanier and Travis Montgomery made a great choice to consider Christian formation through the lens of virtue. Scripture as well as the patristic, medieval, and Reformation traditions understood virtue as crucial to a robust moral theology, and Lanier and Montgomery wisely make use of all these resources. Most important of all, in this edifying book they constantly point readers to God himself and ground virtue and formation in our salvation in Christ."
--David VanDrunen, Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics, Westminster Seminary California
"Despite its beauty and biblical provenance, virtue is often a murky concept. When handled carelessly, "virtue" threatens to overemphasize law and cultivate censorious forms of self-reflection. But when set forth evangelically, virtue concretely describes the sort of character God's grace expresses in our lives. Every Perfect Gift is welcome spadework in this regard. Lanier and Montgomery helpfully trace the theological and cardinal virtues as well as their meaning and theocentric orientation in plain, accessible language. Here is a capable introduction for anyone wishing to think more deeply about Christian character."
--Tyler Wittman, associate professor of Christian theology, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary