It is strange to me how much I both loved and disliked Tim Keller’s The Reason for God. Keller, pastor of a prominent and thriving church in New York, has written what is in many ways a fine apology, defense of the Christian faith. Yet, Keller is also unique in some of his beliefs, branching perhaps a step further from fundamentalism than many might find comfortable.
What I Liked
Keller’s book is an easy read with intellectually-stimulating arguments. This is hard to accomplish. Many authors are either intellectual or fun-to-read, but seldom are both the case. Keller’s book is that rare mix, and this is good.
Some of Keller’s arguments are absolutely fascinating. Perhaps my favorite is Keller’s turning of theodicy to actually argue for the existence of God. Many people say that the presence of evil in our world disproves the existence of God. Keller shows how our understanding of the existence of evil can only be sound if indeed God exists.
Keller’s book is infused with conversation after conversation that he has had with skeptics over his years of pastoring. As we see these conversations, readers grasp that Keller is not removed from or judgmental toward those he attempts to convince of the truth of Christianity. On the contrary, Keller’s heart comes through along with his sharp mind.
What I Did Not Like
As I mentioned above, there are a few places where Keller seems to depart from conservative doctrine in a way that made me slightly uneasy. The first of these two areas comes with Keller’s chapter on hell. Keller does not deny the existence of hell; nor does he believe in annihilation. However, Keller interprets the language of hell, fire and darkness, as figurative pictures of the reality. Keller does not do this to minimize the horror of hell, but to show that hell will not contain a group of people begging God for his mercy. Sadly, I do not believe that Keller gives enough credence to the literal concept of the wrath of God being poured out on those who have hated and rejected his Son.
The second area that concerns me is Keller’s ready acceptance of theistic evolution. Of course this is an area of wide debate among Christians, and thus many might find this a selling point of the book. I however find that an acceptance of even theistic evolution does harm to one’s handling and interpretation of Scripture. Keller, to come to his point, must interpret Genesis 1 and 2 as different telling of the same story, chapter 1 as poetry and figurative with chapter 2 as more literal. I accept both of these chapters as literal, and thus cannot support Keller’s reasoning. I also believe that, though Keller rightly argues that this is not a defining point of faith for salvation, it is significant and is ground that is dangerous to give up in order to win a convert.
Conclusions and Recommendations
With the shortcomings above noted, I would recommend The Reason for God to most people. For Christians, reading through this work is encouraging and helpful to remind us of the glorious philosophical reasoning that is present in our long-held faith. For the non-Christian, this work could be useful to help knock down some of the barriers to genuine consideration of Christianity. Because the book is so kindly and winsomely written, most who read it will find it enjoyable, that is, if they enjoy philosophy in the least.
However, I also admit that the cautions above are serious in my mind. In places, it appears that Keller uses science or philosophy to shape his view of the Scripture instead of the other way around. This could set forth in some a handling of the Bible that does not acknowledge its total reliability and sufficiency to speak to every area of life. This is dangerous, and causes me to recommend this book with reservations and not as freely as I might have liked.
When Helping Hurts – A Mini Review
Good but not great is how I would describe the book When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself. I would argue that Christians can and should learn from the insightful way that these authors look at poverty and its alleviation. I would also say, however, that the book can grow tedious and the ideas do not appear to be transferable to all contexts.
What I Liked
The authors of this book have a clear love for the poor, but not the sort of adopt-a-stray-puppy love that many wealthy folks have toward those less fortunate. The truth is, sometimes adopting a poor person or people group as your pet project might harm them and you, and Christians need to know this truth for themselves.
I found the authors’ description of different kinds of poverty very helpful. Not all people who we think of as poor are impoverished in the same ways. The poor could have extra need for healing in their relationship to God, self, others, or the rest of creation. This book addresses all these categories.
The authors also do very well when pointing Christians toward more than one kind of aid that a poor person might need. While our gut reflex is to give immediate relief in the form of food, money, or service to someone in need, the authors wisely attempt to guide readers to a bigger-picture approach. Sometimes immediate relief is needed. Sometimes rehabilitation or skill-development is more appropriate. The authors show us how wise decision-making in this category can be a life-saver for the needy and the helper alike.
What I Did Not Like
While much of the book is very solid, I have to confess that this book simply grew hard to read after a while. The authors obviously had even more information, volumes worth of information, that they wish they could have packed into this little book. Unfortunately, the broadness of scope that they work toward in later chapters makes the reading far more tiresome than it is in the beginning of the text where readers are just becoming acquainted with this new view of poverty and help.
Recommendations
This book would be an excellent resource for church deacons or benevolence committees who need to think very clearly about how to help the needy in their area. It is a good work for pastors to ponder as they consider mission trips and giving for the congregation. Even county ministerial groups might want to take a look at this work for guidelines for how a larger group of churches might think differently about the poor. But, do not think many should pick this up for pleasure-reading. It get’s thicker as you go.
Mahaney’s Humility – A Mini Review
Many Christian books are nice little treatises on things you already know, already agree with, and happily nod about without much life change. Some are educational, but not necessarily transformative. C.J. Mahaney’s Humility, thankfully, does not fall into either negative category. In this brief work from one of the T4G guys, readers gain knowledge, receive practical advice, and feel powerful conviction.
Normally I’d be breaking this down into what I liked, what I disliked, and a set of recommendations. I don’t, however, have any real complaints, so I’m just going to share with you the three main points I love about this book.
Mahaney is wonderfully gospel-centered. C.J. recognizes that the most important aid in our humility is not a set of prescribed exercises. No, the cross is the most important way for us to become more humble. As we allow our minds to again ponder the fact that our sin is so vile, so ugly, so evil, and so costly that it could only be paid for by the brutal death of the Son of god in concert with the Father’s outpouring of his wrath, we are humbled, wonderfully humbled.
Mahaney also teaches well that humility is not merely a virtue that we might want to cultivate among many others. Instead, he argues well that pride is our greatest enemy and that humility, therefore, must be our best friend. If we want joy in our Christian lives, we must cultivate humility.
This work also contains many very helpful tips. Mahaney offers practical advice in a winsome way to point Christians toward developing godly humility. The advice is the kind of stuff that average folks can really do, but not so simplistic that fairly mature believers can’t learn a thing or two.
The bottom line here is that I am very fond of Humility. Mahaney did a good job. He’s fun, funny, helpful, humble, and piercing. If you are a believer in Christ, you can definitely benefit from spending some time with C.J. and working to rid yourself of pride and cultivate humility.
Stop Dating the Church — A Review
Stop Dating the Church is an outstanding, short little book on how believers in Christ ought to view the church. Josh Harris packs a lot of power into a few pages, and his efforts will challenge and encourage believers.
Positives
Harris has a very solid view of what the Bible has to say about the importance and purpose of the local church. If you need to better grasp what the church is for, this little book is an excellent place to begin to understand it.
Harris’ concept of dating the church is a very real problem in the Christian culture of today. In dating relationships, men and women often put up with one another so long as they feel that they are getting their needs met. At the point that they feel the relationship is difficult to maintain or that it is not giving them as much bang for their buck, they leave the relationship to seek a new one. This is harmful in the lives of individuals, and it is devastating when a person adopts this view of how to choose a local church.
Harris is also very practical. He offers lists of ways to choose a local church, to serve in that church, and even how to prepare for Sunday morning worship. His lists are generally quite helpful, and not the mere bullet points of an author who keeps making things up in order to make it look like he or she has something to say.
Negatives
The biggest negative that I have relating to this book is that it does not cover enough. There is so much more to be said. But, this is not a fair criticism of Harris’ work, as he clearly set out to write a brief, accessible, and helpful introduction to this topic.
Recommendation
I highly recommend this work to all believers. Pastors will benefit from this work as they are reminded how much Christ loves his bride. Church members will benefit as they are challenged to do their part to make the church, as Spurgeon once said, “the dearest place on earth.” Church attendees who are not yet committed will benefit from this work as they are challenged to make an adult decision and commit to an imperfect yet growing local body of believers.
Joshua Harris, Stop Dating the Church!: Fall in Love with the Family of God. Sisters, OR: Nultnomah Publishers,2004. 144 pp. $10.39.
The Slave Across the Street (A Review)
The following is a review of a book that was given me as part of the ChristianAudio.com reviewers program:
Many of us have heard the horrible stories of human trafficking in foreign countries. When I lived in Korea, I heard many times that such things happened to impoverished Russian girls who were being brought to Asian countries, and of course I heard of the horrible sex industry that enslaves so many in Thailand. But I had read and heard little of such an industry in the US.
In Theresa Flores’ book, The Slave Across the Street, we read an autobiographical account of an upper middle class, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl who was enslaved, not in a foreign country, but in suburbia. This girl was not kidnapped and driven to a far off city, but rather found herself in what she believed to be an inescapable situation while still living under her own parents’ roof, and her parents knew nothing of what was going on.
Positives
This book is eye-opening and chilling. It is certainly too easy for those of us who are living comfortably to fail to realize that there are those around us who are going through unthinkable horrors. Hopefully readers of this book will better pray for and watch for those who are suffering in ways that they cannot imagine. Perhaps readers will even be more willing to offer help to someone who looks to be going through hardships and suffering instead of turning the other way.
Negatives
This text is very difficult to read. The author is not gratuitous in her descriptions of what happened to her, but her descriptions are still gut wrenching. I know of many people who emotionally should not read accounts of such horrors.
Also, the weakest part of the book by far is the part which has it being sold on the shelves of Christian bookstores. Flores’ spiritual explanation of how she survived her ordeal does not mesh with orthodox Christianity. She talks about angelic energies surrounding her, protecting her, healing her. While I do not think many will read this book to develop a theology of angels, God’s presence, or soul healing, it is important to know that this lady is offering her impressions of what she felt was spiritually happening, not a biblically sound treatise on the matter.
Recommendation
I can only partially recommend this work. It was good for me to read, as it certainly caused me to think about the dangers that can exist in our world that many of us do not see. At the same time, not all people need to read such a graphic account of sexual violence perpetrated on a young girl. If you need to be awakened to the fact that people are suffering in ways you have never imagined, if you need to become more aware of other kinds of suffering around you so that you can be drawn to watch better and help more, you could give this book a try. If you cannot emotionally handle such an ugly story or are the kind of person who continues to dwell on gory details of sadness, let this book pass and do some more sterilized research on the world of human trafficking, even in the US.
Kevin DeYoung – Just Do Something — A Review
I’ve read several “will of God books,” but Kevin DeYoung’s Just Do Something is the best so far. DeYoung is insightful, witty, and helpful to believers who are asking the question, “How do I know if this is the will of God?”
Positives
The content of DeYoung’s position on understanding the will of God is the book’s greatest strength. DeYoung takes the mysticism and paralysis out of the life of many believers by helping them to see that God’s will is not some sort of inexplicable gut feeling or spiritual nudge that they have to be sure not to mistake. As the title suggests, when a believer is prayerfully walking with Christ, following God’s revealed commands in the Bible, and seeking proper biblical counsel, he or she is free to “just do something” when it comes to non-moral life decisions—even the significant ones like careers and marriage.
Other strengths of this book include DeYoung’s catchy, often humorous, down-to-earth style. While DeYoung knows his stuff, he does not present it in such a way as to make one think that he or she needs a degree to be able to access the info in this work.
Negatives
That style I just applauded, some won’t like it. If a reader is someone who has been given to more mystical or charismatic methods of attempting to discover God’s will of desire in their lives, they may be insulted by DeYoung’s tongue in cheek style at times. While DeYoung is never crude or crass in any way, his way of poking fun at those who feel a need to hear from God about whether they should have Frosted Flakes or oatmeal (my example, not his) might be a little too edgy for highly sensitive readers.
Recommendation
This book is helpful, catchy, biblically solid, and brief. All Christians ponder at one point or another how to know what God’s will is for their lives. Without question, I would recommend this work to a multitude of believers.
It took me a few minutes to grow accustomed to the narrator here. I’m more used to the booming, solemn-voiced readers of Christian works. This one is read by a younger guy who clearly gets DeYoung’s wit. I don’t consider this narrator a plus or a minus, just a different style than I generally hear. But, you have to admit, a 3 hour audio book is not a bad investment of time.
Heaven by Randy Alcorn — A Review
Randy Alcorn’s book, Heaven, is an encouraging and stirring look at the life that is in store for those who trust in Jesus Christ. Alcorn, the author of several Christian fiction and nonfiction works, exercises skill in biblical interpretation and in healthy, sanctified imagination to paint for his readers a picture of the glory that awaits. The result of this study is that the reader will both long for heaven and will better glorify God in the here and now.
Positives
The best thing about this work is the way in which Alcorn helps his readers to really spend time thinking about and longing for heaven. He helps us to see that heaven is not a nebulous existence in which bored saints sit on clouds in a vast sky, plinking on harps, and wondering if anything interesting will happen. As the Bible teaches and Alcorn emphasizes, eternal life for believers involves living with resurrected and perfected bodies on a recreated and perfected planet earth under the lordship of the gloriously present Lord Jesus. Heaven is not “up there,” but instead is “down here,” on an earth freed from the curse of sin after the return of Jesus. This is good information for believers, and Alcorn presents it thoroughly.
Negatives
Some of the author’s arguments, while possibly true, are not as strong as one would wish to see in a book that is intending to develop readers’ theology. Alcorn’s argument for saints in the intermediate heaven having temporary bodies is one example of this weaker reasoning.
The book can, in places, also grow tedious. Readers may find themselves saying, “Yes, I believe you, now go on to the next point already.” Of course, this is merely what happens when the author tries to thoroughly make his case, but it can detract from the overall experience of the book, especially when using an audio book format which is tougher to skim.
Recommendation
Believers need to have a more eternal focus in their lives in order to properly glorify God in the present. Heaven certainly begins to stir that eternal thinking for a believer, offering comfort and a longing for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises. Most believers would benefit from some time spent with this work, so long as they can be charitable in places where the arguments may be thinner or where sanctified imagination is clearly at work.
The Shack (I’m Not Impressed) — A Review
I know this is well behind the times, but I just got access to an audio copy of William Young’s The Shack. Since I took the time to read this book that has become so popular, I decided to write down a couple of points. Be warned, I’m not impressed.
Occasionally beneficial and generally dangerous—and not in a good way–, The Shack is a book that should not be read by those whose theology is not solid. William young’s tale is compelling at times, encouraging at times, infuriating at times, and blasphemous at times. Young writes an emotionally charged fiction that grabs at the heart strings, but which leaves readers clinging to a faulty notion of God.
In this book, Young:
· Rejects the authority and sufficiency of the Scripture.
· Rejects biblical notions of relationships of authority and submission.
· Rejects most notions of the local church.
· Rejects the sovereignty of God.
· Elevates the autonomy of man to a place which degrades God.
· Trivializes each person in the Holy Trinity.
· Comes dangerously close to redefining God as a quadrinity with “Sophia” (wisdom) as a fourth person.
· Presents a completely unbiblical picture of forgiveness.
· Totally misses the atonement, failing to see Christ as a vicarious substitute.
· Leans toward universalism.
· Arrogantly corrects the theology of nearly 2,000 years of church history.
Can I come up with anything useful in The Shack? I think so. If a Christian is mature enough to carefully identify and set aside the obvious and the subtle heresy in this book, he or she might be challenged to have a more personal, more intimate, understanding of his or her relationship with God. Much like reading the Left Behind series, reading The Shack can stir a Christian’s imagination to more fully imagine what it will be like to be in the presence of God. Though the picture of the persons of the trinity in The Shack are not appealing in many ways (Jesus sure chuckles a lot), the concept of remembering that we are serving areal, personal God is very important. It is good to, with Scripture, allow your mind to imagine and long for the day when you stand in his presence.
Sadly, I cannot in any way recommend The Shack. There is just too much wrong in this book, and its few positives cannot atone for it.
[I listened to an audio recording of this book, and thus cannot site page numbers to go along with my points above.]
The Hiding Place: A mini Review
Without question, one of the best books I have ever read, The Hiding Place should be required reading for any Christian. This gripping account of the life of Corrie Ten Boom is full of stories of the great power and glory of God, experienced by those who were going through the darkest times of World War II.
One of my fears in picking up this book was that it, like other World War II memoirs of those who were brutalized by the Nazis, would be full of gruesome tales and vivid descriptions. While the reader certainly understands that horrible things took place in the camps, Ten Boom and her coauthors simply do not focus on using horrible events to shock their readers. Instead, in an amazingly Christlike way, Corrie and Betsy looked through the horror of the circumstances to the ways in which God was with them.
Christians who read this book will learn more vividly some of the glorious truths of the Bible. Readers learn how to give thanks to God in all circumstances as they watch Corrie learn to be thankful for fleas and an ant. Christians will learn of the power of God’s word to truly sustain those who rely on it through hardships. Believers will learn of the great hope of heaven which allows us to walk through the hardships of this life. Christians will see self-sacrifice, familial love, and even how to love their enemies in a way that is seldom taught in our world today.
If you are a believer who has not read this text, which looks a little like Little House on the Prairie meets World War II Germany, I cannot urge you strongly enough to set aside a few hours and allow your heart to be touched by this gripping, true tale.
The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges – A Mini Review
Jerry Bridges writes a piercing, challenging, and practical charge for Christians to give their lives to be holy as God commands. In The Pursuit of Holiness (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006), readers will find practical helps, biblical conviction, and realistically high expectations.
What I Liked
Bridges clearly points Christians toward a higher level of following Christ. Far too many believers fail to live a holy life because they have compromised their understanding of what it means to be holy. The command of God is not for us to be more holy than our neighbors, it is to be holy like God. As Bridges writes, “This is where holiness begins—not with ourselves, but with God. It is only as we see His holiness, His absolute purity and moral hatred of sin, that we will be gripped by the awfulness of sin against the Holy God” (20). One major help for any believer to grow in holiness will be to see God in his true, awesome, terrifying, holiness.
Bridges rightly calls believers to seek to be holy by submitting themselves to the word of God. He writes, “We express our dependence on the Holy Spirit for a holy life in two ways. The first is through a humble and consistent intake of the Scripture. If we truly desire to live in the realm of the Spirit we must continually feed our minds with His truth. It is hypocritical to pray for victory over our sins yet be careless in our intake of the Word of God” (75). Bridges also claims, “Obedience is the pathway to holiness, but it is only as we have His commands that we can obey them. God’s Word must be so strongly fixed in our minds that it becomes the dominant influence in our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions” (85). Again, Bridges says, “The Bible speaks to us primarily through our reason, and this is why it is so vitally important for our minds to be constantly brought under its influence. There is absolutely no shortcut to holiness that bypasses or gives little priority to a consistent intake of the Bible” (125). It is good, very good, for Christians to hear authors call them to sanctification through the Scriptures.
Though I could point out several other things, I’ll only list one more for right now. Bridges does an excellent job of calling Christians to accept the fact their sin is their responsibility. He argues, “We are to do something. We are not to “stop trying and start trusting”; we are to put to death the misdeeds of the body” (78). Bridges also writes, “So we see that God has made provision for our holiness. Through Christ He has delivered us from sin’s reign so that we now can resist sin. But the responsibility for resisting is ours. God does not do that for us” (57). Again, Bridges powerfully wraps up the book by asking, “Truly the choice is ours. What will we choose? Will we accept our responsibility and discipline ourselves to live in habitual obedience to the will of God? Will we persevere in
the face of frequent failure, resolving never to give up? Will we decide that personal holiness is worth the price of saying no to our body’s demands to indulge its appetites?” (152).
What I didn’t Like
There are a few shortcomings in this book, though not very many. Bridges would have made an even stronger case for personal holiness had he done more to truly identify what it means that God is holy. Bridges aimed at this goal, and brushed up against it on occasion, but he never truly gave the reader a deep sense of awe of God’s holiness. I write this fully aware that Bridges was not trying to write Sproul’s The Holiness of God, but was instead writing a book aimed at calling us to be holy. However, I would have liked another chapter or two on the importance of what it means that God is holy.
At the end of the book, Bridges points out the other shortcoming that I will mention. He (or his publisher) points out that this book focuses mainly on how to put off sin, but does not focus as much on putting on the godly alternatives that will help a believer to live in righteousness. In the final pages, readers find an encouragement to read The Practice of Godliness for this kind of advice. However, if more of how to put on righteousness had been in this book, it would have been stronger.
My Recommendation
The Pursuit of Holiness is a book that any believer could benefit from reading. The chapters are short, easy-to-read, and power-packed. This book would be ideal for small group studies between friends or for personal devotional reading. I highly recommend this book to anyone who desires to have more joy in his Christian life by living more of what God calls him to be.
Pastor Travis Peterson 