Category: Reviews (Books)
Deconstructing with Silas Marner
In the early pages of Silas Marner, a devout young weaver falls asleep at a sick man’s bedside and is accused of having robbed the dying man. His religious community resolved on praying and drawing lots… Silas knelt with his...
In Conversation with Os Guinness
This marks a veritable baker’s dozen of Guinness books I’ve read. None of the thirteen have been duds, though I certainly have my favorites. Guinness has authored about thirty-five books along with being the lead drafter for the Williamsburg Charter...
The Minutemen and Their World
Robert A. Gross is the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Professor of Early American History Emeritus at the University of Connecticut. Last year, I interviewed Professor Gross on his magisterial book, The Transcendentalist and Their World. The Transcendentalists and...
An Education for Love
Each Sunday, many churches throughout the world begin their service with “The Summary of the Law.” One of the first things Christians hear each week is Jesus’ words defining a good life. Here’s what he says: “You shall love the...
No Reluctant Father
In his book Attached to God, Krispin Mayfield tells the story of how Mr. Rogers, the patron saint of unconditional positive regard, questioned his own standing before God on his deathbed.[1] Alluding to Matthew 25, Mr. Rogers asked his wife...
Dante Was Right: Suffering and Our Journey Toward God
“Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself/ In a dark wood, the right road lost.” These are the famous opening lines of Dante’s Divine Comedy and, even if you hate what follows, their brevity and archetypal power are hard...
The Hollowness of the Mainline, Now and Then
Douglas J. Brouwer Chasing After Wind: A Pastor’s Life. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022. 238 pp. $22.00 It’s no secret that Western Christianity is in decline. And this is nowhere more evident than in the once venerable churches of the mainline....
Book Interview: The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith by Trevin Wax
Trevin Wax is vice president of research and resource development at the North American Mission Board. He is also a visiting professor at Cedarville University. The following interview revolves around his recently released book, The Thrill of Orthodoxy. The Thrill...
Why We Never Move Past the Gospel of John
David Ford is Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Selwyn College. The following interview revolves around Ford’s latest book, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary. The Gospel of John: A Theological...
When the Therapeutic Replaces Sin
Chuck DeGroat. When Narcissicism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community from Emotional and Spiritual Abuse. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020. 200 pp, $24. (originally published in Digital Liturgies) Imagine the following scenario. You are approached by two people in your church,...