Tag Archives: Christianity

Book Review: Church in Hard Places: How the Local Church Brings Life to the Poor and Needy, by Mez McConnell and Mike McKinley

April 11, 2016 durough Leave a comment

When browsing Crossway’s list of available books for review, I was intrigued by the title Church in Hard Places: How the Local Church Brings Life to the Poor and Needy, but given the growing number of similar books addressing the same thing, it was when I saw that Brian Fikkert (co-author of the wonderful When Helping Hurts) had written the foreword that I decided to read it. As I read, I was shocked by Fikkert’s words—an honest and not-so-glowing reference that made me wonder why it was even included. Fikkert writes, “You might not agree with every word of this book. Indeed, I wish there were some things that were stated differently. But do not let that deter you.” I now stand on similar ground in regards to this book.

Mez McConnell and Mike McKinley, church pastors in Scotland and the US respectively, begin with straight-forward, hard hitting thoughts on poverty and the damage that has been done by incorrect perceptions thereof, emphasizing that poverty and lack of education do not equate to stupidity and the inability to comprehend complexities, as has often been the approach to spreading the gospel in inner-city areas and poorer nations. Though they then proceed to emphasize the need for spreading the whole gospel message alongside meeting physical needs, I believe they have still oversimplified and narrowed the gospel, which is most often spoken of in the New Testament as the “good news of the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is at the center of the good news, but there’s a whole kingdom he wanted us to know about and live in now that the authors have missed in their address. I concur with that that “getting the gospel right” is important, which is why I mention this. They also place heavy emphasis on the necessary belief that hell is a place of eternal conscious torment, on which there is much historical tradition but nothing in Scripture.

The authors then tackle the issue of whether or not doctrine matters, that which has recently been set aside by many who, with good intent, desire to focus on the love of Christ but throw out the way in which we live a life in God (the rules, commands, or whatever you want to call them that let us know what righteousness and justice really are!). It is at the end of this chapter that the authors explicitly state that they are “convinced Calvinists.” Given that Fikkert is (to my knowledge) Dutch Calvinist and he disagreed with how some things were presented, I could only imagine that the text was not Reformed enough, too hard lined, or too soft. After reading the entire text as one who is not a Calvinist and strongly disagrees with the foundation of Calvinism (summed up in the acronym TULIP), I’ve concluded that the authors and I agree on the big umbrella points of the book: poverty needs to be rightly defined, the gospel in its entirety, doctrine, local churches (parachurch organizations should support and enable local churches, not hinder or replace them), evangelism, preaching (I would say “teaching” with the implication of a two-way relationship), and discipline are important, as well as wisely preparing oneself, family, and team for work in areas of poverty; however, the way we talk about these things, indeed some of our definitions, may differ significantly. I don’t want to speak for Fikkert, but I suppose we may have read this book similarly, that there is heavy emphasis on a Calvinist approach (especially regarding the foundation of “unconditional election”) that may prove divisive, or at least a barrier, to those who could really benefit from the helpful approaches to working in poverty that are found within.

I greatly appreciate the heart of Christ and heart for those need that I read in both McConnell and McKinley. That said, I’m not sure this book is one that I will recommend. However, should one pick it up, I’ll state again that there is some excellent material that may found while wading through the heavily Reformed current.

*I received a complimentary digital copy of the reviewed book from Crossway through the Blog Review Program in exchange for this honest review.

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward, by Nabeel Qureshi

March 31, 2016 durough Leave a comment

They obviously didn’t begin then, but since September 11, 2001, conversations on Muslim-Christian relations have been on a sharp rise, even more so with recent worldwide bombings. Tensions are high, misunderstandings are often higher, and hate fills more rooms than the love of Christ. This is what eventually pushed Nabeel Qureshi, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity some years ago, to break his silence on the matter and quickly write Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward. Qureshi does not waste his reader’s time; in the Introduction he explains his background, purpose in writing, and the point on which he will eventually land: “[A]s long as Islam is practiced in a way that calls Muslims to return to its foundations, violence will follow. … I really do feel that the Christian teaching of loving one’s enemies, even in the face of death, might perhaps be the most powerful answer to jihad at our disposal today. Not only does it allow us to counter jihad, it also enables us to treat Muslims with the utmost dignity: as image bearers of God” (19–20). From there the book is divided into three parts in which Qureshi answers eighteen questions to eventually get to his point:

Part 1: The Origins of Jihad
Question 1: What Is Islam?
Question 2: Is Islam “a Religion of Peace”?
Question 3: What Is Jihad?
Question 4: Is Jihad in the Quran and the Life of Muhammad?
Question 5: What Is Sharia?
Question 6: Was Islam Spread by the Sword?

Part 2: Jihad Today
Question 7: What Is Radical Islam?
Question 8: Does Islam Need a Reformation?
Question 9: Who Are Al-Qaida, ISIS, and Boko Haram?
Question 10: Who Are the True Muslims—Violent or Peaceful Muslims?
Question 11: Why Are Muslims Being Radicalized?
Question 12: Are Muslims Trying to Take Over the West with Sharia?

Part 3: Jihad in Judeo-Christian Context
Question 13: Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?
Question 14: Why Do Some Christians Call God “Allah”?
Question 15: How Does Jihad Compare with Old Testament Warfare?
Question 16: What Does Jesus Teach about Violence?
Question 17: How Does Jihad Compare with the Crusades?
Question 18: What Does Jesus Have to Do with Jihad?
Conclusion: Answering Jihad

Also included are several helpful appendices that are worth reading.

Given that my wife was living in Manhattan on 9/11 and subsequently obtained her M.A. through the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (studying Middle East relations, terrorism, and Arabic), I knew throughout the reading of this book that we’d be having some intense discussions later. So, until she gets a chance to read it herself and we actually have more of those discussions (I don’t know Arabic and have not studied Islamic scholarship), I’ll try to address this text based on the evidence presented, convincing or otherwise, and keep “but my wife says” comments out of it. (Maybe we’ll add a follow-up inclusion or post later!) If nothing else, this has lead to our determination to read together the Quran (in English—please save “there is no translation of the Quran” comments for forums that wish to engage in those debates) and hadith in their entirety so that we can better address these things.

Parts 1 and 2 I found quite helpful in defining terms and ideas using the Quran and traditions chronologically as to maintain timeline of what they meant and came to mean, establishing a convincing argument, in my estimation, of the violent foundation of Islam and that to which “radicals” are bringing people back. Does this mean all “good Muslims” are violent? No, and Qureshi addresses this (91–92); but his argument throughout the book is that of Islam’s foundation (the Quran and Muhammad’s teachings) and what a call to this will bring: violence.

Part 3: This is where my “expertise” and scholarship comes into play, and this is where I find many of Qureshi’s arguments wanting.

Question 13: Quershi’s answer is an absolute “no.” That’s fine, but his reason is perhaps based on a semantic misunderstanding of the word same. His principle argument is that Islam denies Jesus and the Holy Spirit as God, and therefore worships a different God. He claims this is not the case with Jews because the Trinity can be developed from the Old Testament; however, he stops short of answering whether or not Jews practicing Judaism (those who deny Jesus as the Messiah) are worshipping the same God. His arguments would say they don’t. So, as he writes in reference to the word Allah in Question 14, perhaps these words may also be applied to same: “The term can be used in multiple ways, and our conversations would be far better served by focusing on meaningful matters rather than proper use of a term that can be legitimately used in many ways” (119).

Question 15: The conclusion: “The final marching order of Islam is jihad. The final marching orders of Christians are grace and love” (125). Okay, but let’s not sidestep theses Old Testament passages by stating that they “serve little more than an historical footnote in the practice and expectation of the Christian life” (124). That’s not very helpful.

Question 16: Jesus makes no room for violence, even in self-defense. Amen! Qureshi does a great job in briefly and concisely addressing the seemingly problematic verses for pacifists in the New Testament in favor of complete nonviolence. Jesus calls us to peace and to love our enemy. It appears that he really is going to conclude the book with the love of Christ and sacrifice, not retaliation, in the face of jihad. But then he addresses Question 17…

Question 17: “When we condemn the Crusades, we ought to do so in light of what they actually were, a defensive effort after much of the Christian world had been conquered by Muslims. Yet I do condemn the Crusades. The slaughter of Jews in the Rhineland and Muslims in Jerusalem was unconscionable, especially since crusaders had taken on the name of Christ. If their efforts had represented the state and not the church, and had they been much more humane, perhaps I would feel differently. But to take the symbol of the cross, on which Jesus died for his enemies, and to turn it into a symbol for killing one’s enemies in my mind deserves to be condemned” (136, emphasis mine). Wait, what? If the Crusades had been in the name of the state on not in the name of Christ Qureshi may have felt differently about them? Only because the cross of Christ was taken into battle does he have a problem with it? When do Christians not carry the cross of Christ? Did Jesus ask us to take up our cross in a church building and lay it down when our nations call us to action on their behalf? Never! This is a dangerous door being opened, which will be fully swung open in his ultimate conclusion (Question 18 properly reflects Question 16).

Conclusion: “I am not advocating naïve pacifism in the face of genocide and murder. Many Christians believe it is the duty of the state to fight for and protect its people, as defending the oppressed is an expression of loving one’s neighbor. They often refer to passages such as Romans 13:1–5 and 1 Peter 2:13–14 to suggest that Christians should play active roles in such state-led efforts.
So, I am not promoting pacifism, but neither am I advocating a violent response. I am, in fact, not advocating any particular course of action, but rather a frame of heart and mind that will, in turn, shape the way we respond” (146–147, emphasis mine).

Here Qureshi unfortunately does not address the noted passages as he did with those in Question 16, perhaps avoiding further conflict with the military background of his family, though I don’t know how a proper addressing of these passages and maintain a nonviolent stance in the name of Christ would be anymore offensive or controversial than writing this book with a still Muslim family. And if not advocating for any particular course of action, then what is the point of the book? Seriously, love is not apathetic; it is active. With heart framed in Christ, we are called to action; not violent action, but action nonetheless. Being passive is not the same thing as pacifism. Jesus calls us to lay down our lives, not to take others’.

By opening this door to violence in the name of a nation, Qureshi has effectively sanctioned jihad for any people group, Christians included, in the name of a nation’s best interest. If an Islamic state exists, then they could rightly use Qureshi’s own words to point out that it is not in the name of religion but in the name of the nation that they “defend” others from the “evils” of “Western culture,” just as Western nations use violence to “defend” others from ill-perceived cultures and to promote its own ideals. Patriotism is idolatry. We are first citizens of the kingdom of God, and we ought never lay down our cross.

Love our neighbors, Muslim or otherwise, yes. Leave open the possibility of violence in the name of our nation so that we can justify that which goes against the act of loving? Never! Jesus is Lord, and demonstrating his love is the only way forward.

I’m not sure who to recommend this book to because the Christians I know who already hate Muslims (or really anyone they disagree with) would take away from this book exactly that which I found dangerous in Qureshi’s conclusion: a way to kill them all through via the nation state. Of course, my response: #facepalm Missed. The. Point. But if listening to Qureshi, they’re positioned could be justified. Those who are already trying to love their neighbor do not need this book (at least not for its intended purpose). So, I’m torn. There’s some really compelling material here with a cataclysmic conclusion.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past, by Robert F. Rea

March 17, 2016 durough Leave a comment

Robert F. Rea, a professor of church history, wrote Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past to fill a void he had in providing (primarily Bible and seminary) students with a resource that both explains the necessity of studying church history and instills a practical and encouraging desire to want to study it. I, too, have been hoping to find such a resource for students, so I was excited when I stumbled upon this one. After reading, I was hoping this book would be accessible to a broader audience than that for which the author intended. Granted, IVP Academic published it, but one can still hope, right?

The nature of the text makes me wonder for whom the book is really written. It seems as though it may be most helpful if taken before a history course, although without some knowledge of history one may be lost on some of the references. It’s rare that a Bible/seminary student would follow a strictly prescribed course schedule, so I’m not sure when this would be read—in some introductory course for the program, in another non-history course, or within the first week or two of a specific history course that may or may not be taken as the student’s first? Some people (like me) enjoy reading academic literature outside of educational institutions, but I don’t think this is one that’s going to be picked up by the average churchgoer who really needs something like this. So, when, where and by whom is it really going to be read? I don’t know.

The book’s sections and chapters are as follows:

Part One: How We Understand the Tradition

What Is the Tradition?
How Have We Understood Tradition Historically?
How Do We Understand the Tradition Today?

Part Two: Expanding Circles of Inquiry

Who Am I? Christian History and Christian Identity
A Great Cloud of Witnesses: Christian Community Across the Centuries
Accountability Partners: Sharing Accountability with Historic Christians
Mentors and Friends: Historic Christians Broaden Our Horizons and Fill Gaps in Our Understanding

Part Three: Tradition Serving the Church

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
Tradition and Ministry

“Part One” is fantastic and especially helpful in defining “tradition, traditions, traditioning, and Tradition” as they are used and understood among different Christian spheres, including why some people like and others oppose them. This is the most unbiased and informative section in the book, and that which I highly recommend to anyone.

“Part Two” begins with a helpful description of our spheres of influence and why it is important to become more aware of others, which should helpful increase our own spheres without being one who simply buys into anything and everything. However, the author’s particular beliefs in what is right and wrong about Christian history via specific examples begins to come out, though he never explicitly states the tradition from which he writes, perhaps distancing some readers and himself demonstrating why it is important to study church history—if one has read a good bit of history and understands more of the politicking involved in some faith decisions among some traditions he or she may see that there is more involved than just the Holy Spirit, and that power grabs sometimes win the debate, leading some to come to a different conclusion about the specific examples Rea uses.

“Part Three” takes an even more practical approach to the title’s question with an ever-increasing bias from the author’s own tradition.

If one is able to recognize the author’s biases and take them in stride, I believe this book can be quite helpful (again, if nothing else, especially “Part One”). However, as it is, the audience has been unnecessarily limited to students of particulars strains of evangelicalism, which is quite ironic given the broad spheres of past and present influence from which the author desires we pull in our understanding of the church and its continued direction.

Book Reviews

Book Review: The God Who Smokes: Scandalous Meditations on Faith, by Timothy J. Stoner

February 12, 2016 durough Leave a comment

I picked this one up years ago because it had a nifty title, sweet cover, and what I assumed would be some wrestling with American Christian culture. So, five or six years later, I’ve finally gotten around to reading it. The never-ending lesson: don’t judge a book by its cover.

The God Who Smokes: Scandalous Meditations on Faith is written by Reformed-Baptist-lawyer Timothy J. Stoner, someone who grew up as a missionary kid in Chile and Spain with 1950’s fundamentalist-evangelical parents, is pushing back on some of his upbringing, and really wants to be a writer. It’s basically autobiographical narrative with quotes primarily from the Bible and C. S. Lewis (or people writing about Lewis). Much of the book rails against Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis, Gregory A. Boyd’s God of the Possible, and Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christian, which Stoner uses as his only examples of postmodern Christianity and Open Theism. At the time of writing (published in 2008), much of Stoner’s family lived near, worked for, and/or attended Rob Bell’s church, which appears to have heavily influenced the purpose of writing the book (I think it’s really for his kids). I concur with much of his concern with how he understands these authors, although not having read these works myself and merely working with Stoner’s text and what he has to say in his endnotes, I think he may at times be reading them incorrectly—I don’t know.

Though I am neither “Reformed” or “Baptist” and at times disagree with Stoner, my biggest concern with the book is that it simply has absolutely nothing to do with the title and reads like someone who really wishes he was writing a novel (see above). The idea behind God “smoking” comes from him being on fire, but other than mentioning it at the beginning and end of the book, there’s nothing that I found to actually connect the material to that claim. I’m not sure that even in 2008 most people would consider saying it’s okay to watch movies, make art, dance, and talk about sex to be “scandalous” outside of a few remnants of extreme fundamentalism.

If you know Stoner, then this book may be of interest in learning more about him and his theology; if not, then I find no compelling reason to pick it up (other than misunderstanding the intentionally deceptive title—like me).

Art, Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: Sense and Spirituality: The Arts and Spiritual Formation, by James McCullough

January 14, 2016 durough Leave a comment

James McCullough recently received his PhD from St. Andrews, and Sense and Spirituality: The Arts and Spiritual Formation comes out of his dissertation (“Aesthesis and Ascesis: The Relationship between the Arts and Spiritual Formation,” 2013). The notes, “This book began its life as a doctoral dissertation, and … has undergone extensive editing and rewriting in order to make it readable and indeed palatable for a general audience” (xvii); however, McCullough states that this work “submits itself for approval and approbation…first and foremost, to the growing body of scholars and practitioners in the field of theological aesthetics” and “[s]econdly…to those in practical theology” (xv). I’m not certain that it has indeed been reworked for a “general audience”; it maintains the form, function, and readability of an academic thesis, not something one would generally pick up at a bookstore if interested in the arts and spiritual formation. However, not having read the actual dissertation, I am unable to compare and contrast notable differences and distinctions that may prove beneficial in determining which may be the most helpful for the intended theologian reader: the dissertation or Sense and Spirituality. For what it’s worth, given the brevity and lack of depth in “Part II: Practical Application,” it is my assumption that the dissertation would be the better route.

Part I: Theoretical Framework
McCullough simplifies “aesthesis and ascesis” into “sense and spirituality,” stating that his agenda is “to explore how skills in sensory perception with those related to ascetical development or spiritual formation, and how this dialectical relationship can be mediated, enhanced, or catalyzed through encounters with the arts” (9). The thesis is belabored and restated a number of times (academic filler material), but this is an important discussion to be had. How does art catalyze sense and spirituality “aimed toward progressive spiritual growth” (45)? McCullough takes roughly fifty pages to get to the point of trying to define art (craft, content, and context [Figure 03, p. 43]) and stating—in my own oversimplification—something that is quite well-known: the more one understands art, the more one may appreciate art, as well as the more one may gain from art. In this context, the gain intended is spiritual growth.

Part II: Practical Application
McCullough provides three examples in an attempt to demonstrate a practical application of his thesis: poetry (Four Quartets, T. S, Eliot), painting (The Four Holy Gospels, Makoto Fujimura), and music (Seven Last Words from the Cross, James MacMillan). Each of these is briefly discussed according to its craft, content, and context. The author writes, “I do not wish to write full-blown commentaries on these works, but something more akin to liner notes for a record album” (62), which is a shame because they do not, in my opinion, provide adequate commentary to qualify as examples of practical application of the original thesis (the chapter on Eliot provides only a hint of spirituality and does not appear to connect the reader with enough evidence to support its inclusion, though the subject matter itself certainly would if given greater attention; Fujimura’s is the most connected of the three, providing decent commentary on the purpose, method, and meaning behind the project, though the black and white images in a paperback do not help the reader; and MacMillan’s is, I believe, a poor example to use because of the tradition within which the music is composed, already easily recognized as “sacred” music intended for spiritual growth, meaning that the example appears to be stating the obvious). His conclusion, with which I concur: “Art is an irreducible amalgam of what is said and how it is said, to the point that they are inseparable” (101, emphasis original).

Part III: Conclusion
This “Part” is only five pages, restating and concluding in the tradition of this type of writing.

Truthfully, there’s some helpful material here despite its redundancy and what has already been noted concerning its practical application; however, much more work needs to be done in order to make it more accessible for a general audience. I’m now more interested in what the dissertation may have to offer.

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith, by Christopher J. H. Wright

October 2, 2015 durough Leave a comment

While working through the unread books in my library, I realized I still had one more by Christopher J. H. Wright that I had forgotten about: The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith. Wright here works through four of the big questions people often have when struggling with God and the Bible: evil & suffering, destruction of the Canaanites, the cross, and thoughts on the end of the world. He addresses each of these issues through faith, scholarship, and trust, honestly and humbly admitting his own struggles along the way. The book is easy to read and understand, despite the subject difficulty. (This isn’t necessarily intended for those looking for the kind of thorough academic arguments as found in other works of Wright, but still both a useful and helpful starting point.)

If I ever get the chance to meet Chris, I’m going to thank him and give him a giant, awkwardly lasting man hug. His The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (review) is still my top recommendation (a bit too academic for some, but I encourage taking the journey anyway), with The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission (review) in an easy second (more of an expansion on a particular aspect of the former, and much easier to read). The God I Don’t Understand is a helpful addition!

Book Reviews

Book Review: Humility: True Greatness, by C. J. Mahaney

September 29, 2015 durough 3 Comments

C. J. Mahaney’s Humility: True Greatness is a quick read and quick reminder that if we’re keeping a proper perspective on God and ourselves, then we really have no choice but to be humble. It’s not really something we do; it’s something we are (or should be).

Mahaney begins with his own definition: “Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness” (22). He writes that God hates pride and that the real first sin was Satan’s pride in thinking he could be greater than God (30). “Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him” (31). This is the heart of the book: Jesus paid our ransom and leads us—he’s the only leader. When we attempt to be in control, we can no longer be truly humble.

The bulk of the book presents ways in which we can weaken pride and cultivate humility. Keeping in mind that there’s a good bit of Calvinist language here that those unfamiliar may find confusing (certain “doctrines” aren’t actually outlined for those who don’t know what Calvinists teach), the purpose remains clear. I had been keeping an outline during my reading, only to realize that Mahaney provided a nearly identical list to what I had written at the end of the book. So, with some of my comments in parentheses, here’s that outline:

Always:

Reflect on the wonder of the cross of Christ.

As each day begins:

Begin your day by acknowledging your dependence upon God and your need for God.
Begin your day expressing gratefulness to God.
Practice the spiritual disciplines—prayer, study of God’s word, worship. Do this consistently each day and at the day’s outset, if possible. (These are not the only spiritual disciplines, but still vital.)
Seize your commute time to memorize and meditate on Scripture. (Listening is preferable to reading while driving! Bibles are great for passengers.)
Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.

As each day ends:

At the end of the day, transfer the glory to God.
Before going to sleep, receive this gift of sleep from God and acknowledge His purpose for sleep. (We can’t do it on our own, we aren’t all powerful, and we need downtime, unlike our Creator; hence, we remember our place beneath Him.)
(Not in his outline, but I think was likely meant to be here: “If possible, make your final thought each night an expression of gratefulness for the Savior’s sacrifice on the cross as your substitute for your many sins” [84].)

For special focus:

Study the attributes of God. (This is great if you have a systematic reference and are familiar with what many have to say about God, but Mahaney provides enough in the text to get one started.)
Study the doctrines of grace. (By this he means election, calling, justification, and perseverance, which will take some explaining and convincing [I’m not convinced by the Calvinist core of “TULIP”], but I think Mahaney explains enough to understand one’s place with God here in the text without bringing much controversy to the table.)
Study the doctrine of sin.
Play golf as much as possible. (Stepping away from pure study, Mahaney notes how humbling golf is for him. Pick your own humbling activity.)
Laugh often, and laugh often at yourself.

Throughout your days and weeks:

Identify evidences of grace in others.
Encourage and serve others each and every day.
Invite and pursue correction.
Respond humbly to trials.

All in all, I think this can be quite helpful.

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World, 2nd Edition, by Lee C. Camp

September 27, 2015 durough Leave a comment

It’s a shame that I’ve taken this long to pick up and read a copy of Lee C. Camp’s first book Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World, now it it’s 2^nd edition. I studied Political Theology under Camp’s in 2011 at Lipscomb University, and it was the most challenging and time consuming course in all my graduate studies, partly because I was quite ignorant in the ways of politics and felt like I noob. I was, however, already a pacifist, convinced of the necessity to love our enemies and witness to the sacrificial way of the cross as commanded by our Lord, Jesus; but I what I lacked was a fuller understanding of multiple arguments, typical jargon, and a better way to articulate my beliefs. It was unfortunate for class dialogue that every student in the class was already against any form of just war theory, though I did consider it an encouragement and joy to wrestle with all of our differing perspectives on politics as a whole. It was also in this course that I was introduced to John Howard Yoder, whose arguments upon which the book at hand is based. Following in the footsteps of C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, Camp wrote Mere Discipleship after Yoder’s passing to honor his work. It should be noted that this is note merely a work based on Yoder; it is also in line with Camp’s own convictions. So, let’s now (finally) turn to the book!

If you’re looking for a step-by-step book on how to “disciple” (mentor) someone, as it is often called in evangelical circles, this is not that book. Again, Mere Discipleship is like Mere Christianity in that it addresses several contexts and how one ought to be a disciple therein. Given the focus on Yoder’s teachings, it is highly political, and rightly so! Being a disciple of Christ includes a holistic approach to life, not a sectarian approach. As such, all of life must been seen through one’s position as a citizen in the kingdom of God with Jesus as Lord. Any other perspective betrays one’s allegiance to something other than Christ, whether it’s a job, family, country, etc. (A book I previously reviewed, The Myth of a Christian Nation, quotes heavily from works of Yoder and this book.)

Camp structures the work into three parts: 1) what we mean when we talk about “discipleship,” 2) what disciples believe (gospel, savior, church), and finally 3) what disciples do (worship, baptism, prayer, communion, evangelism). Taking us from the first century, through the Constantinian shift of the church becoming the state (convert or die!), and to today whereby there has been a complete separation of church and state in more recent centuries so that we now (wrongly) perceive our lives in compartments: I have duties to God and duties to the state and they are mutually exclusive. This has been detrimental in living as true disciples of Christ, wherein our lives ought to holistically pursue Christ in the way of the cross (it’s never just politics, business is never just business, etc.).

Included in the 2^nd edition is a wonderful, in-depth study guide by Joshua Graves for personal and groups use. This is not simply a collection of questions to ponder! A guide for each chapter contains a serious synopsis hitting the big points, a list of important terms and definitions found within the chapter, questions on content, questions relating the material to discipleship, and then a list of relevant bibliography for further reading; truly one of the best study guides you could hope for in a book!

This may end up being a bit more academic for the liking of some, but I still highly recommend it for all.

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church, by Gregory A. Boyd

September 21, 2015 durough Leave a comment

Gregory A. Boyd’s The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church is a must-read for those who still believe the United States of America was and/or is a “Christian nation,” and still a great read for anyone who wants to look deeper into “American Christianity.” Here are a few major considerations on which Boyd writes:

Kingdom of the Sword vs. Kingdom of the Cross
Whose nation is holy?
Warlord Conquerors vs. Sacrificial Witnesses
Fallacious presuppositions in “taking America back for God,” “a Christian nation,” and “one nation under God.”
Violence vs. Pacifism

Before this summer (2015) I had spent about ten months with my former church working through political theology, emphasizing the need to be and working first from the perspective and position of citizens of the kingdom of God. It was a great time, full of diverse backgrounds and opinions as we wrestled with history, scripture, and a plethora of contexts. Boyd’s book was on my shelf the entire time, but it was just one of many in my library waiting to be cracked open. Had I read it beforehand, I certainly would have used it as a group study. There are great discussion questions for each chapter at the end of the book to aid readers in wrestling with Boyd’s postulations, with which I will go ahead and say I agree. One may really appreciate his final chapter, wherein he addresses tough questions some readers would likely pose. It’s always nice to see an author continuing to honestly wrestle with his own tough convictions.

I do wish there had been a section on the importance of better understanding the way laws work, how they are or are not enforced (sometimes rendering them ineffective and pointless), legal rights, what “freedom” really is, and from whom we really receive these things. Boyd does briefly touch on a few of these, but not near enough given his main thesis. Perhaps just one more chapter would have rounded it out a bit better. However, I still highly recommend this one and hope to be able to use it in another group setting!

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb Into the New Creation, by Michael J. Gorman

September 14, 2015 durough Leave a comment

Michael J. Gorman’s Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb Into the New Creation proposes exactly that: read Revelation well (stop taking symbols literally), worship and be a witness of the Lord (not governments, and be especially mindful of those that co-opt Christianity and claim to be the mighty savior), and follow the Lamb (imitate him by being nonviolent and sacrificial—lay down your life, don’t take others’) into the New Creation (there will be a new creation!). “Yes” on all fronts!

Gorman briefly describes several ways people read and interpret the last book in our canon, noting some of the problems that arise and unhealthy conclusions thereby taken from the text. He helpfully explains not only what we know of apocalyptic writing, but that the book of Revelation is actually a collection of genres: apocalypse, prophecy, and letter, as well as being both liturgical and political. There’s a lot going on here, and it cannot be simplified into one narrow way of interpreting the entire text—certainly not a literal approach (e.g., 1,000 years does not mean a literal 1,000 years). We are reminded that the sacrificial Lamb is the central image of the drama, and that when the Lord comes with sword in mouth (not in hand!) his robes are already bloodied—his own blood from already conquering evil through sacrificing himself!

Revelation is about worshiping the true Lord and living that out (discipleship). It’s not all about either what was (the Roman empire) or will be (a blueprint for the “end times”), but encouragement for us in the end times (between Jesus’ ascension and future return) while we live as witnesses of the Lord. Empires will rise and fall, but freedom, salvation, and truth are in Lamb!

I highly recommend this one. It may be particularly helpful for those who currently find themselves in the hermeneutical camp of dispensationalism.

Aside: I read the book in Kindle format, which has no page numbers and is sometimes a bit clunky in the formatting.