I have an avid interest in the Second World War. I am of the generation whose grandfathers fought in the war and I have always been proud of the contributions made by members of my family. My maternal grandfather, Lawrence Belford, wished to fly bombers but was not permitted because of poor eyesight. Still, he served the Royal Canadian Air Force as a member of the ground crew, loading bombs into Lancaster bombers. He would often recount his memories of the war and at one point I even conducted an interview with him. My grandmother’s brother, Harold, was a Spitfire pilot who lost his life in a mission over the Mediterranean. My paternal grandfather, George Challies, whom I never met, was a Lieutenant Colonel and I am unsure of his contribution, though I believe he commanded an artillery training centre in Quebec. When I was in college I majored in history (my minor was in euchre) and took every possible course that centered around the war years.

The subtitle to Invitation to Solitude and Silence by Ruth Haley Barton is “Experiencing God’s Transforming Presence.” Had I been the editor, I might have suggested something a little more appropriate. Perhaps “A Textbook in Eisogesis” or “Constructing Complex Theology From Non-Supporting Scriptures.” And really this book is an adventure in poor use of Scripture and unsupported statements.

Let me say from the beginning that I believe silence is important. I believe solitude is important. Both are important parts of a healthy spiritual walk. I also believe in the importance of meditation, albiet meditation in a Puritan sense rather than an Eastern sense of the word. While these are good and necessary parts of a healthy spirituality, they are also dangerous if misused, and particularly dangerous if used in ways not only unsupported, but forbidden by Scripture.

Yesterday I provided the first part of a critical review of Is The Reformation Over? by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom (read it here. I wrote a summary of each chapter, allowing the reader to understand the author’s arguments as they reached the conclusion that the Reformation is, indeed, over. Noll and Nystrom feel that the most important differences between Catholic and Protestant theology are no longer based on issues of soteriology (how people can be saved) but now primarily concern issues of ecclesiology (the nature of the church). Today I would like to provide some analysis of the book and the author’s arguments.

Analysis

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21).

Jesus’ High Priestly prayer, clearly shows the emphasis Jesus places on unity within the church. His desire is that the church show forth the same unity expressed in the relationship between the members of the Trinity - a unity that is perfect and beautiful to behold. This prayer has two dimensions to it: a future fulfillment where the unity among believers will be as perfect as that displayed among the members of the Trinity, and a present fulfillment where believers enjoy unity, albiet imperfect unity, with one another. To be faithful to our Lord we must work towards that present unity while looking forward to the final unity, that the body of Christ may not be fractured.

It seems that “theological novels” are becoming increasingly popular. Of course English literature began with a theological novel in the form of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. In more recent years we have seen a series by Richard Belcher that has been quite popular in Reformed circles and Brian McLaren’s somewhat notorious series, popular in Emerging Church circles, that began with A New Kind of Christian. A recent addition to this list is Common Grounds written by Glenn Lucke and Ben Young.

Ben Young is a Southern Baptist who is associate pastor of worship at the inconceivably huge Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Glenn Lucke is a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary and leads Docent Communications Group. Their relationship and a common concern about the lack of theological understanding in the young people they interacted with, led them to write a book presenting the basics of the faith. As they began to write the book evolved into its current narrative format.

Wicca, and witchcraft in general, have seen a great resurgence in interest over the past few years. There are several factors that have contributed to this, not the least of which is the success of the Harry Potter books and movies. Witchcraft is widely-regarded as “just another religion” - one that is not much different from any other. But what sets Wicca apart from the alternative systems of religion is the attraction it has to young people, and young girls in particular. Teens are turning to witchcraft in droves, proudly adopting a system of religion that they feel allows them great freedom.

As I closed the cover on this book, having read it over the course of several days, I felt a strange disappointment. This book has no 10-step path to success! It has no baseball diamond model for ministry and no acronym-driven program planning guidebook. Nope. It’s just old-fashioned Bible-driven, Spirit-led Christianity. And somehow I let myself feel disappointed by that. I guess I’ve just read too many market-driven, church growth books that make church into a program, defining it in sexy terms and slick marketing. I should have paid more attention to the final page where the authors summarize the book. “The message of this book isn’t about flow charts and outlines. It’s not about fresh metaphors or new growth graphs. It’s about a vision of a whole church deliberately ordered and led so as to facilitate its own edication and ministry…The Deliberate Church is designed to help liberate both leaders and members from the tyranny of popular growth models and church fads” (page 202).

I have long-since learned that when an actress launches a career in music it is best to avoid her album. Similarly, when a musician tries her hand at acting the results are usually painful. It seems the same is generally true when an author of novels tries his hand at non-fiction. So it was with some trepidation that I opened The Slumber of Christianity, a book written by Ted Dekker, an author known for his heart-pounding thrillers. This represents his first attempt at writing a non-fiction book. Thankfully, it turns out that he is a gifted writer who is able to express himself in either genre.

Abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia are just three of the issues facing our society at this very moment. As Christians we have strong opinions on each of these issues, believing them to be in direct contradiction with the will of God. So how do we go about discussing such difficult topics in our pluralistic society. The truth is that we often shy away from such discussions rather than risk offending others or appearing intolerant. Yet as Christians it is our responsibility to share what we know to be true. Talking About Good and Bad Without Getting Ugly, written by Paul Chamberlain, director of the Institute of Christian Apologetics and professor at Trinity Western University, offers a solution to this dilemma.

Of the many biographies of Mother Teresa available to us, to my knowledge only two of them are largely critical in nature. The first, provacatively titled The Missionary Position examines Mother Teresa’s faith and practice. Written by Christopher Hitchens, the book received a fair amount of recognition and formed the basis for a television documentary. The book is quite short and contains very little in the way of footnotes and documentation.