b'BIBLICAL STUDIES AND THEOLOGYBEN MERKLE INTERVIEWanswered questions my semi- reflection questions. People nary students were consistentlygo to Starbucks because they Ben Merkle asking. At first, I thought Ican get the same cup of cof-What can we expect towould come up with a hundredfee in Seattle, Santa Fe, and questions. But as I got to aboutSavannah. Likewise, people see in the future of the 40thirty-five, I realized that I hadkeep coming back to the 40 Questions series? already addressed most of theQuestions series because it The first volume of the 40major questions. So I decidedoffers a consistent and reliable Questions series was publishedto come up with a nice, round,product.in 2007. Seventeen years later,even (and biblical) numberforty. Initially Kregel agreed toWhat makes the 40 we have twenty-six volumespublish four to six volumes, butQuestions series differ-published and the thirtiethdue to its success, the series is has now been submitted, to beent from other series like released sometime next year.still acquiring new titles. Theit on the market? What Our goal is now to publishmost recent is Greg Weltys 40 Questions About Suffering andaudiences does this series at least forty volumes in thisEvil. This is the twenty-sixthserve?series! Forthcoming volumesvolume and is a masterful include the following topics:presentation of a most diffi- Simply put, there are no other the Trinity, Mormonism, holycult topic. Greg received hisseries like this one. Perhaps the war, worship, the Gospels,PhD from Oxford and is moreclosest is the multiple views apologetics, the Apocryphathan qualified to write on thisseries where each book con-and Pseudepigrapha, and dis- topic. But he is also a dedi- tains various contributors who pensationalism. The first fourcated churchman who is ablepresent and defend their view volumes of this list are alreadyto take complex philosophicalof a particular topic. Although completed and in the editorialconcepts and explain them tothese volumes are helpful, they or production phase, and thenonspecialists.have serious limitations. In final six are under contract andThe question posed, how- particular, because each con-will be completed in the nextever, asks about how the seriestributor is typically given only few years. has evolved. Interestingly,fifty to eighty pages to expound although the series has growntheir view, the contributors are How have you seen thisand covers diverse theologicallimited in the depth of the dis-series evolve from thetopics and religious groups,cussion. Thus, they often only first title to the latest? the strength of the series isscratch the surface. With the actually its consistency. Each40 Questions series,the author The inaugural title, 40 Questionsvolume follows the same for- can go much deeper. Another About Elders and Deacons, wasmat: forty questions; eachstrength of this series is the written by me. I wanted to writequestion is answered in aboutformat: forty questions with a book on elders and deaconstwo thousand words; andclear and concise answers. It that was accessible and thateach chapter includes five 8kregel.com/academic'