When I look at theology books on Amazon, I often wish that Amazon could institute some kind of quality control for the reviewers, many of whom seem to use the Amazon page as their own private soap box, a blogosphere for the small-minded and the big-mouthed, the logically and theologically handicapped.  But if they were to do so, we would miss out on gems like this one on Leithart’s Defending Constantine, compliments of one Mark McCulley from Lancaster, PA:

“Leithart is a high church theonomist. He teaches at Doug Wilson’s little school in Idaho. Like others in the anti-federal “federal vision”, he teaches justification by works, with a particular emphasis on “sacrament”. His book is endorsed by Anglicans who teach justification by works: Stanley Hauerwas, John Milbank, and NT Wright. 

Leithart believes that infant baptism will save the world. Constantly caricaturing one side against the other, he calls John Yoder an “anti-realist”, then puts the Niebuhrs on the other end, and then sits himself in the middle. “In the end it all comes down to infant baptism.” P341. 

When we ask how Constantine and infant baptism will save the world, Leithart asks us to stop being so impatient. Baptism has happened, and it will change the world, because justification by works has worked and will work. “

From this unpromising beginning, the review drivels on in a similar vituperative vein for another 1,378 mind-numbing words, which you can read here.