mohler

The Ten Commandments was among the first lengthy passages of Scripture I ever committed to memory. Like most children, I was told to memorize the commandments and did so. Every week they were read in church, ensuring that they remained fresh in my mind. And yet, as I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that I think little about these Commandments, usually convinced that I am living by the letter of the law but rarely pausing to consider whether I live in the spirit of them. I’m a New Testament Christian, I suppose, often seeing little reason to look back to these laws, given so long ago. And it is to my shame, I’m sure. So it was some interest that I turned to Words from the Fire, a new book in which Al Mohler calls Christians to hear the voice of God in the Ten Commandments.

The great crisis of our day, of the postmodern times in which Mohler writes the book, is one of knowledge. It is an epistemological crisis that goes to the very root of how we can know anything and, continuing on from there, what right we have to tell other people what is true and what is false. Mohler summarizes the question in this way: “How do we know and teach what we claim to know and teach?” The great challenge for Christians, in face of such questions, is to “make certain we know on what authority we speak, and know, and teach.” As Christians our claim is not that we have something to say or that our words merit attention. To the contrary, we claim that God has something to say and has chosen to say it through us. We speak only because he has spoken and we ought to speak only what he has spoken.

The format of the book is dead simple and really exactly what you would expect—after an Introduction there are ten chapters for ten laws. This Introduction is excellent, structured around eight “if’s.” If we grant that God has spoken as Creator to his creation, there are eight things we must now acknowledge: that we now do know; that we know what we know only by mercy; that we too must speak; that all of creation is about God; that God has spoken for our good; that we must obey; that we must trust; that we must witness. “We are here because God has spoken, not only in the fire, but also in the Son—in whose name we gather as the church and in whose name we serve. The voice at Horeb points to its ultimate fulfillment in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate. For beyond the miracle of Israel hearing God’s voice and surviving, we can now know the Word of God made flesh…and be saved.” And from this starting point Mohler consistently shows how the Ten Commandments are relevant to us today and how God calls us to obey them; he shows how they are all a work of God’s grace. And always he points to the ultimate fulfillment of these commandments in Jesus Christ, the one in whom the law has been fulfilled. These are commandments we can know and obey and delight in today in a way that the ancient Israelites could not even imagine.

As I considered reading the book I was particularly interested in Mohler’s teaching on the fourth commandment. I was raised in the Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed traditions, both of which insisted on a real continuity between the Old Testament Sabbath and the New Testament Lord’s Day. Though I am now a convinced Baptist, I have still found it difficult to reconcile the Ten Commandments with a non-Sabbatarian view of the fourth commandment, a position Dr. Mohler refers to as Lord’s Day observance. I found his arguments here logical, convincing and convicting. The main issue in this commandment, he insists, is what we are to do rather than what we are not to do. That simple observation, combined with his other teaching, shows me that I can be a non-Sabbatarian and actually have a higher view of the Lord’s Day, just as a New Testament Christian should have a higher view than his Old Testament equivalent of any of the other commandments. “Are there things we ought not to do on the Lord’s Day?” he asks. “Certainly there are. Anything that would detract from our worship should not be done on the Lord’s Day. Anything that would rob the Lord’s Day of priority worship should not be done. Anything that would be on our minds when we are worshiping, as if we can only get done with this in order to go do that, is a matter of sin, no matter what it is.”

If I were to point out a potential weak point in the book I’d say that strangely and rather surprisingly, I noticed several little editing oversights—a missing quotation mark here, a missing word there, an overuse of a word in a few other places. There are only a few such things, but still more than I would have expected. It is certainly not enough to detract from the message of the book but still enough that I made a note of it.

We’ve seen a steady stream of books come from Mohler’s pen in the past couple of years. I have read them all and am quite comfortable saying that this one is the best of the bunch. Logically, consistently, biblically, Mohler looks to the Ten Commandments and then calls us to live in light of those laws, not as people burdened by rules, but as a grateful people acting in love toward a great God. “Understood rightly, these commandments lead, not to our despair that we fall short of them, but to our thankfulness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ comes to save lawbreakers like ourselves. Thus, we see the commandments themselves as grace to us. But our confidence is not in our ability to keep these commandments, for we will surely fail. Our confidence is in Christ, whose perfect obedience fulfills the law.”

Buy it at Monergism Books

“The moment a person forms a theory his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory.” (Thomas Jefferson)

Last night a reader of this site took the time to send me a link to an article I had somehow missed reading. It was written by Dr. Albert Mohler and discussed the subject of “confirmation bias.” Dr. Mohler traces an article written by Michael Shermer of Scientific American as he discusses a study based on this topic. Schermer discusses “A recent brain-imaging study [that] shows that our political predilections are a product of unconscious confirmation bias.”

As a fiscal conservative and social liberal, I have found at least something to like about each Republican or Democrat I have met. I have close friends in both camps, in which I have observed the following: no matter the issue under discussion, both sides are equally convinced that the evidence overwhelmingly supports their position.

This surety is called the confirmation bias, whereby we seek and find confirmatory evidence in support of already existing beliefs and ignore or reinterpret disconfirmatory evidence. Now a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study shows where in the brain the confirmation bias arises and how it is unconscious and driven by emotions. Psychologist Drew Westen led the study, conducted at Emory University, and the team presented the results at the 2006 annual conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

During the run-up to the 2004 presidential election, while undergoing an fMRI bran scan, 30 men—half self-described as “strong” Republicans and half as “strong” Democrats—were tasked with assessing statements by both George W. Bush and John Kerry in which the candidates clearly contradicted themselves. Not surprisingly, in their assessments Republican subjects were as critical of Kerry as Democratic subjects were of Bush, yet both let their own candidate off the hook.

This is no great surprise, as experience shows all of us that we are much more willing to grant clemency to people whom we like and support than those with whom we disagree. What is particularly interesting about this study, though, is the source of the brain activity that formed these judgments. “The neuroimaging results, however, revealed that the part of the brain most associated with reasoning—the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—was quiescent. Most active were the orbital frontal cortex, which is involved in the processing of emotions; the anterior cingulate, which is associated with conflict resolution; the posterior cingulate, which is concerned with making judgments about moral accountability; and—once subjects had arrived at a conclusion that made them emotionally comfortable—the ventral striatum, which is related to reward and pleasure.” What the researchers saw “was a network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known to be involved in resolving conflicts.” In other words, when people assessed the statements made by President Bush and John Kerry, they reacted with emotion rather than reason.

Like Dr. Mohler, I am “suspicious of all efforts to reduce human consciousness and cognitive activity to measurable or observable studies of the brain. There is a connection there, no doubt, but biological reductionism (and its close cousin, biological determinism) is a woefully inadequate explanation for human thinking and behavior.” To reduce human cognitive function, thinking, feeling and believing to mere imaging results is clearly inadequate in explaining the intricacies of the brain, the will and the heart. I don’t believe that we can ever neatly map out human reason or that we can ever solve how and why humans love, feel and believe. And yet there is likely some truth in the results of this study, for we are no doubt prone to make judgments based more on emotion than reason. Michael Shermer says, “The implications of the findings reach far beyond politics. A jury assessing evidence against a defendant, a CEO evaluating information about a company or a scientist weighing data in favor of a theory will undergo the same cognitive process.” In other words, confirmation bias can show itself in any number of situations.

Dr. Mohler writes, “We are unquestionably inclined to seek evidence that confirms our bias and to discard or discount evidence to the contrary. There may be biological evidence of this fact (indeed I assume there must be such evidence), but the main factor behind this problem, from a human perspective, is the Fall. The corruption of the race involves the corruption of our cognitive abilities. Confirmation bias is just one more evidence of the Fall; one more reminder that we are fallen creatures whose minds are not only finite, but corrupted. The human mind is truly amazing, but we all have to deal with conflicted thinking, limited knowledge, fragile memory, and emotional influences.”

When we affirm the doctrine of the fallenness of man, we affirm that through the Fall we have been corrupted in every way. The depravity of man extends to every area of his being so that nothing remains untouched. We are unable to use our minds without allowing emotion to interfere with reason. Clearly this poses a threat to intellectual integrity. “The reality of confirmation bias and its threat to intellectual integrity is one reason that Christian thinkers must read widely and think carefully.” Christians bear the responsibility of knowing their sin and thus knowing their proclivity for all manner of sin—even the sin of confirmation bias. For if we are able to admit that confirmation bias is a result of the Fall, we must also admit that it likely comes naturally to fallen men and women and that we are all likely to slip into it from time to time. I did not have to think long or hard before seeing areas where I am prone to make snap judgments and to allow emotion to override more measured reason. And, as the subject of discernment has been much on my mind in recent days, I also see how people to seek to be discerning may be particularly prone to this bias.

Here is an application Dr. Mohler drew from his reflections on the subject: In order to avoid confirmation bias “We must not limit ourselves to reading material from those who agree with us, fellow Christians who share a common worldview and perspective. Instead, we have to ‘read the opposition’ as well — and read opposing viewpoints with fairness and care.” If we are to avoid this bias, we must deliberately stretch ourselves. As I read this I thought back to the review I posted just a couple of weeks ago about the book While Europe Slept which was written by a homosexual. When I posted that review, several people questioned the validity of reading and reviewing such a book. These questions arise often when I read and review books that are written by unbelievers or by those who write from a liberal Christian perspective. Yet I think these books are important, for it is all too easy to delude ourselves, sometimes deliberately and sometimes inadvertently, into thinking that we are fair and unbiased when the reality may be far different. I believe, like Dr. Mohler, that it is important that we read the opposition. I believe that there is nothing to fear in doing so, provided that a person is well-grounded in the truths of Scripture.

John Calvin, in his Institutes wrote “If we regard the Spirit of God as the sole fountain of truth, we shall neither reject the truth itself, nor despise it wherever it shall appear, unless we wish to dishonor the Spirit of God.” We can look outside the Christian bookstores for truth. We would not look outside a Christian worldview to find eternal truths, but we may still find truths outside the church and perhaps even truths to which Christians are oblivious. To ignore or to reject these truths, especially on the basis of confirmation bias, would be to dishonor God, the very source, the fountain, of truth.

A couple of weeks ago I said that I was Monitoring Mohler (so to speak), reading through his entire suggested summer reading list. At that point I had read The Unforgiving Minute, With Wings Like Eagles, Hunting Eichmann and World War One. Since then I’ve read several of the other titles on this list and thought I’d check in.

Number five on the list was Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton. Mohler says, “Horse Soldiers is a story that demands to be told and Stanton tells it well. No one reading this account will believe that the establishment of a lasting peace in Afghanistan will be anything but unspeakably difficult—and unquestionably important.” This book tells the story of a tiny handful of US soldiers who were among the first American servicemen to deploy to Afghanistan after 9/11. What they did there was pretty incredible and Doug Stanton tells the story very well. Anyone with an interest in military history or modern warfare will want to read this one to see how twenty-first century warfare came face-to-face with the nineteenth century in the mountains of Afghanistan. And, as Mohler says, this book shows the great and perhaps impossible challenge Afghanistan faces as it tries to build a lasting peace. Having said that, it’s hard to believe that what the Americans did there has had any lasting value as it seems that the violence continues to escalate and that the nation is a long, long way away from any kind of peace. Time will tell, I suppose. Do note that there is some swearing in this book since these are, after all, soldiers we are talking about here.

Up sixth was Sultana by Alan Huffman, a book about the worst maritime disaster in American history. Through gross greed and negligence, the Sultana, hugely overloaded with Union soldiers recently liberated from Confederate prison camps, exploded and sank in the Mississippi. Around 1700 of the 2400 passengers aboard the ship died. Mohler says, “Sultana is a book that makes for compelling reading that reaches the heart.” The book does more than recount the disaster. It follows several of the men involved through their service in the Union army, through their imprisonment and it is only in the final few chapters that we come to the Sultana. Ironically, I found the earlier chapters more interesting and more compelling than the tale of the disaster itself. I appreciated that the author saw fit to widen the scope of the book by making it about the whole war and not just about a single tragedy. Any Civil War enthusiast will appreciate this book, I’m sure.

Next in line was For the Thrill of It, the New York Times bestseller that describes the brutal murder in Chicago in 1924 of a child by two wealthy college students who killed solely for the thrill of the experience. The crime scandalized and riveted the nation. Mohler says, “Simon Baatz tells his tale with the skill a reporter and the skill of a historian. For the Thrill of It is one of most compelling criminal legal thrillers of our times. Readers of this book will gain an understanding of America in the 1920s even as they follow one of the most interesting criminal investigations and trials and the nation’s history. Beyond this, the reader will have to think through some of the most difficult moral and theological issues that arise when we are confronted with the darkness of human depravity.” This was a very odd story of homosexual lovers who were also arrogant intellectuals and who were out looking for depraved thrills. Honestly, I found the story hard to read and recoiled a bit at the depravity portrayed. I found little of redeeming value (as is usually the case, in my experience, with “true crime” books)—I did not sense that this murder and the subsequent trial have had a lot of long-term impact in America and, though it was a scandal in its day, I think it has largely been forgotten. Therefore, I wondered at what value there was in reading about it. I’d recommend any of the other titles on this list ahead of this one.

The eighth book on my list was The Third Reich at War by Richard J. Evans. This is probably the most “niche” book Mohler recommended and it is going to appeal to only a narrow spectrum of readers. Thankfully I am among that group and I enjoyed it a lot. It is a huge book with over 750 pages of text (and over a hundred pages of end notes and indexes). Mohler says, “Richard J. Evans’ achievement is to tell this massive story in a way that maintains the reader’s attention and provides detail missing from other accounts. The Third Reich ‘continues to command the attention of thinking people around the world,’ Evans states. For this reason, thinking people will be especially appreciative of The Third Reich at War.” And he is right on. This book not only completes Evans’ trilogy on the Third Reich but it does so in a way that is interesting and wide-reaching. He looks to far more than the battles but looks as well to the home front and the foreign frontiers. He looks to economies, media and even art during the Second World War. This is a must-read for any serious student of World War II. But beyond that crowd I suspect it will have only very limited appeal. If there is a knock on this book it is the sheer space it gives to atrocities. There must be at least two hundred pages that describe the various ways and means by which the Germans put people to death. We cannot downplay such acts and yet, at the same time, it may be that Evans gives them just a little bit too much ink. It is hard to know. Regardless, the book is fascinating and well worth the read.

I mentioned in my first post that in his “Reading List” feature Mohler had recommended a novel that looked rather interesting: City of Thieves by David Benioff. I decided to give it a read. Mohler said of it, “City of Thieves is brutal, and is not for the faint of heart. It glides very close to nihilism, but pulls back. It is one of the most thought-provoking coming-of-age novels I have read in years.” It is, indeed, a great story—so simple and yet so interesting. Quite simply, it tells of two young men, one a deserter and the other a thief, who, during the German’s brutal siege of Leningrad, are given a chance to save their lives by complying with a commander’s strange request: find a dozen eggs for his daughter’s wedding cake. Again, the story is brilliant and the writing is nothing short of excellent. But the language and much of the narrative is absolutely filthy. There is constant profanity and more vulgarity than in any other novel I’ve ever read. There is lots of (mostly non-graphic) sex and ongoing coarse jesting from cover to cover. So I’m not quite sure what to say. I usually hand any novels I read to Aileen so she can enjoy them after me; but this one I just got rid of. As good as the story is, I just don’t think I could recommend it to her or to anyone else. It is brutal, indeed. And I have to think it could have been just as good, or maybe better, without all the filth.

And that’s it for now. I have just two left to complete Mohler’s list: Maverick Military Leaders and Masters and Commanders. Both books showed up at the door while I was writing this post, so give me a week or two and I’ll let you know what they are all about. And then I’ll have to go looking for another reading list to make my way through. Any suggestions?

It is becoming difficult to keep up with the volume of books coming from the pen of Dr. Albert Mohler. In the past eighteen months we have seen five new books and there is still one remaining for later in 2009 (an original work based on a sermon series, slated for release later this year). Atheism Remix began as the W.H. Griffith Thomas Lectures Mohler delivered at Dallas Theological Seminary early in 2008; He Is Not Silent, a book on preaching, is an original work, written as a book; Culture Shift and Desire and Deceit began as articles written over a period of years, most of which were posted at Mohler’s blog. Each of these books speaks to a different subject that is of importance in our cultural context.

Newly added to the mix is The Disappearance of God. Like Culture Shift and Desire and Deceit, this title had its genesis on Dr. Mohler’s blog, though interestingly, this is not acknowledged anywhere within the book. Like the previous titles, it is a series of articles that speak to a common theme—in this case, dangerous beliefs that point to a new spiritual openness.

If you have read Dr. Mohler’s blog, you will know how good these articles are and how applicable they are to living as Christians in this culture. The book begins with what I consider one of Mohler’s most helpful articles, “A Call for Theological Triage.” Here he explains how to contend for the faith and how to understand distinctions between theology of utmost importance and theology of lesser importance. In later chapters he discusses assurance and perseverance, the doctrine of hell, Christian beauty, the emerging church, church discipline, faith in a post-Christian age, and so on. Here are just a few of the questions this book answers: Is God changing His mind about sin? Why is hell off limits for many pastors? What’s good or bad about the “dangerous” emergent movement? Have Christians stopped seeing God as God? Is the social justice movement misguided? Could the role of beauty be critical to our theology? Is liberal faith any less destructive than atheism? Are churches pandering to their members to survive?

By its very nature as a book that began as articles written over a long period of time, the book does not have a great deal of flow and does not offer a real sense of building an argument. It simply compiles articles and essays dealing with the subject matter. Thus those who keep up with Dr. Mohler’s blog will inevitably have a sense of deja vu when they read this book. I stress this because I think it is important that you know what it is you are buying here. Still, these articles (chapters) are worth owning and worth reading again. Reading this material in a book is far superior to reading it online and there is value, I think, in having it in this printed format. I am glad to have it on my shelf rather than being forced to access it only online.

Buy it at Monergism Books

Dr. Albert Mohler has released four books this year and they have had very different origins. Atheism Remix began as the W.H. Griffith Thomas Lectures Mohler delivered at Dallas Theological Seminary early in 2008; He Is Not Silent is an original work, written as a book; Culture Shift and his most recent work, Desire and Deceit, began as articles written over a period of years, most of which were posted at Mohler’s blog. Each of these books speaks to a different subject that is of great importance in our cultural context.

Desire and Deceit is subtitled “The Real Cost of the New Sexual Tolerance.” In this book Dr. Mohler addresses issues related to sexuality and, in particular, issues related to contemporary challenges on biblical sexuality. It begins in a unique spot, quoting J.R.R. Tolkien and the biblical wisdom he shared with his sons, warning them to avoid the devil’s snares in deviant sexuality. From here Mohler looks at lust in both a secular perspective (quoting philosopher Simon Blackburn) and a Christian perspective (reviewing Joshua Harris’ book Not Even a Hint, a.k.a. Sex Is Not the Problem, Lust Is). Two chapters look at issues related to pornography while ten turn to homosexuality. Mohler wants his reader to understand that the acceptance of homosexuality on the part of Christians can only be done at the expense of critical doctrines and ultimately only at the expense of Christianity itself; the two cannot co-exist. He offers character studies of Alfred Kinsey and Andrew Sullivan, shows how male friendship has been negatively impacted by the widespread acceptance of homosexuality, looks to boys raised by lesbian mothers, and explains the historical developments that allowed homosexuality to become accepted and celebrated in our culture. A final three chapters look to the age of polymorphous perversity, turning to Freud and his followers who championed the idea that every child is a clean slate when it comes to sexual identity; it is only restraint and repression that keeps people from becoming who they are really meant to be. Overall, the book presents a solid, useful primer on issues related to sexuality and the many ways our culture is turning from biblical categories of sexuality.

Those who, as I am, are regular readers of Dr. Mohler’s blog, may find that they recognize some of the chapters. In fact, several of these chapters are almost unchanged from their original form. Though there is some thematic cohesion in the book as it moves from topic-to-topic and chapter-to-chapter, the book’s genesis as scattered blog posts does show even as the book gets printed and put between two hard covers. Unavoidably, the book reads more as a series of articles than as a work that moves consistently and logically towards a certain conclusion.

I suppose my sole wish for the book is that Dr. Mohler would have dedicated just a little more time to proposing solutions and to suggesting how Christians are to live in the midst of new realities. Certainly there is some of this, but not as much as I might have liked. It may be that this is unavoidable in moving articles from a blog format to a book. Still, a little more application would have been nice.

Desire and Deceit completes the list of four books coming from Dr. Mohler’s pen in 2008. Like its predecessors, this book is both valuable and timely and is worth adding to any library. It deals with real issues and offers valuable guidance on them. If I were to rate the books by the order I think you should read them, I would rate this one second behind He Is Not Silent (and ahead of Culture Shift, with Atheism Remix falling behind that).

Buy it Here! or from Amazon:

Preaching is not just for preachers. Every Christian can, and, I’m increasingly convinced, should be educated about the task and calling of the preacher. I am convinced that there is great benefit in all Christians becoming students of preaching. This applies even to those who will never stand behind the pulpit and bring the Word of God to His people. The book I would recommend to laypersons wishing to learn about preaching and to pastors wishing to learn how to preach better, is Al Mohler’s He Is Not Silent. Just released by Moody Publishers, this book is a brilliant and insightful look at the task and challenges of preaching in a postmodern world. It is not a how-to guide and is not a dry exhortation valuable only for those with theological degrees; instead, it is a compelling, winsome, biblical case for understanding the utter centrality of preaching to Christian worship.

This postmodern world has lost its respect for preaching. Once regarded as the center of Christian worship, preaching is now seen by so many Christians as something that is supplemental instead of instrumental. In the Foreword to this book John MacArthur writes, “One of the clearest lessons we can learn from church history is that strong biblical preaching is absolutely vital to the health and vitality of the church. From the birth of the New Testament church until today, every significant phase of authentic revival, reformation, missionary expansion, or robust church growth has also been an era of biblical preaching.” Indeed, from the church’s earliest days to the Reformation, through revivals and awakenings, it is always preaching that has been the tool God has used to call, draw, change and revitalize his church. And in the face of history’s testimony, “it is remarkable that over the past half century (or longer) evangelicals have devoted vast quantities of energy and resources to the invention of novel church-growth strategies that tend to discount biblical preaching.” We have taken our eyes off Scripture and off the testimony of history.

Mohler begins his examination of preaching by discussing the state of preaching in our day, turning to Dickens and his famous words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Though there are signs of great promise and though many Christians are renewing the emphasis on preaching, there remain thousands of churches where the preaching of the Word is minimized or forgotten all together. Mohler offers six factors which together have contributed to undermining the role of preaching in the church and to define it as something other than the exposition and application of the biblical text. Here we see how the world has invaded and shaped the church.

Having set the stage, Mohler puts preaching in its proper context at the very heart of Christian worship, looks to the Trinitarian nature of preaching and then defines true, biblical preaching as being expository in nature. After a chapter defining this type of preaching, he looks to the preacher’s authority and purpose, to the importance of preaching the Bible’s big story and to the importance of every pastor being a theologian. The book wraps up with a look at the particular challenges of preaching to a postmodern culture, with an exhortation to preachers about the urgency of their task and an encouragement to preachers drawn from the ministry of Ezekiel. An Epilogue provides a brief biography of Charles Spurgeon and discusses his contagious passion for preaching.

This is a book that will challenge and, I hope, shape many pastors. I cannot imagine the pastor would could not derive some benefit from it. Mohler, a great preacher in his own right, is passionate about this topic and speaks as a preacher to other preachers. If you are a pastor, read this book! You will find it a source of great wisdom and great encouragement.

But, as I indicated a short time ago, I think it is also an ideal book for all Christians to read and absorb. Let me illustrate this way. If you were to commit to going to a baseball game at least once per week for the rest of your life, I suspect you would want to understand the sport. Though you would always know that you would never be out on that field, you would still want to know what makes a great player great; you would want to understand how a pitcher faces a batter and attempts to outwit him with a mixture of pitches, speeds, breaks and locations; you would want to see how a manager attempts to set the perfect lineup to face the opposition. Without such knowledge you would not fully understand the game and would not derive as much pleasure and benefit from it. What you take from the game is in many ways contingent on your understanding of it.

In the same way, understanding preaching will help the Christian in many ways. He will know what kind of preaching he should expect and what kind of preacher to seek out; it will give him new respect for the preacher and for the difficulty and uniqueness of the task; it will give him reason to praise God for His gift of preaching and preachers. As Dr. Mohler writes, “A theology of preaching begins with the humble acknowledgment that preaching is not a human invention but a gracious creation of God and a central part of His revealed will for the church.” Of course he must read carefully and humbly, knowing that his preacher is imperfect and prone to sin. But his understanding of preaching will teach him how to listen, when to listen and why he must listen to the preaching of the Word.

This is the third book from the pen of Dr. Mohler we’ve seen in 2008. In my view, it is the best (at least of the three I have read to this point). Though Mohler aptly addressed culture and new atheism in his previous two titles, there is a new kind of passion in this book. Mohler calls for the “re-centering” of an element of worship that has been pushed to the periphery. He does so with confidence based on Scripture and in a way that can appeal to any reader. Buy it, read it, and while you are at it, buy a copy for your pastor.

Here are a few quotes I culled from the book—a few of the many notable quotes.

“The audacious claim of Christian preaching is that the faithful declaration of the Word of God, spoken through the preacher’s voice, is even more powerful than anything music or image can deliver.”

“If we do not come face-to-face with our sin as individuals and as a congregation, we have not seen God, and we have not worshiped Him.”

“The anemia of evangelical worship—all the music and energy aside—is directly attributable to the absence of genuine expository preaching. If we as pastors are truly serious about giving our people a true vision of God, showing them their own sinfulness, proclaiming to them the gospel of Jesus Christ, and encouraging them to obedient service in response to that gospel, then we will devote our lives to preaching the Word. That is our task and our calling—to confront our congregations with nothing less than the living and active Word of God, and to pray that the Holy Spirit will thereby open eyes, convict consciences, and apply that Word to human hearts.”

“The health of the church depends upon its pastors functioning as faithful theologians—teaching, preaching, defending, and applying the great doctrines of the faith.”

The most surprising thing about Culture Shift is that it is Dr. Albert Mohler’s first book. Though he has been a contributor to edited volumes and though he is a very prolific writer, this book represents his first solo effort. Published by Multnomah and set to his store shelves on January 15, Culture Shift is a book that engages current issues with Scripture’s timeless truths. It teaches Christians how they should think about such issues. Dr. Mohler is one of the church’s foremost cultural commentators and is well-qualified to write such a book. Through his blog, through his radio program and through his media appearances, he has proven that he can combine theological acumen with spiritual discernment as he addresses the issues that affect the church in our culture.

In the first four chapters, Mohler lays some important groundwork. He first addresses Christian faith and politics by using the case St. Augustine made in The City of God. Humanity, he says, is confronted by two cities—the City of God and the City of Man. While the City of God is eternal, the City of Man is only fleeting and temporal. However, it’s passing nature does not mean that the city is entirely unimportant. Christians are called to responsibility in both cities. “Even as we know that our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, and even as we set our sights on the glory of the City of God, we must work for good, justice, and righteousness in the City of Man.” As we seek to live between these two cities, Christians tend to swing between extremes, sometimes giving undue attention to one or sometimes looking too singularly to the other. This book seeks to help Christians understand how they can live in this tension. Having addressed the importance of engaging the City of Man, Mohler moves two three secular arguments, three secular myths and then five theses related to Christian morality and public law.

Having laid the groundwork, he turns to particular areas where Christian truth can speak to cultural issues. He looks at a Christian challenge to the culture of offendedness, the Supreme Court’s rulings on religion, terrorism, torture and public schooling. He looks to the God gene, American immaturity, abortion, natural disasters and other contemporary issues. In each case he addresses these topics by looking to the Bible’s timeless truths to show how God informs and directs our engagement with the culture. In each case he handles the issue with grace but also with truth. Those who are familiar with Mohler’s blog will be familiar with the way he sets about engaging with issues and will even recognize many of these essays as most of them began their lives in one form or another at his blog.

In his introduction to the book Dr. Mohler writes “We must first understand our culture and its challenges because we are to be faithful followers of Christ and faithful witnesses to the gospel. We are called to faithfulness, and faithfulness requires that we be ready to think as Christians when confronted with the crucial issues of the day. This is all rooted in our love of God.” An understanding of culture, then, is an evangelistic necessity if we are going to impact this culture with the good news of the gospel. The essays in this book will help equip Christians to understand the culture in which we find ourselves so that we can reach into it and engage with it for the glory of God. Dr. Mohler’s first book is an excellent one and I pray it is only the first of many.

I spent some time this weekend reading Al Mohler’s forthcoming book, Culture Shift (set for a mid-January release). In an endorsement of this book, John Piper writes, “Albert Mohler is a steady guide, unremittingly clear-headed.” This is a fair assessment. Anyone who reads and enjoys Mohler’s blog, will find this book is more of the same—commentary from the junction of faith and culture. In fact, many of the book’s twenty chapters are based upon Mohler’s previous commentary at his blog. It is a good book and one I benefited from reading. It has given me a lot to think about and, as you’ll see today, plenty to write about.

In June of 2005, Mohler wrote an article titled “Needed: An Exit Strategy” and discussed the issue of public education and the Southern Baptist Convention. At that time, for the second year in a row, a resolution was “submitted to the denomination’s Committee on Resolutions, calling for Christians to reconsider support for the nation’s public school system.” Dr. Mohler begins with this article and adapts it in the ninth chapter of Culture Shift. Here he says “Christians parents are increasingly aware that the public schools are prime battlegrounds for cultural conflict. Given the deep ideological chasm that separates the worldviews and expectations of many educators from those held by many parents, we should not be surprised by the vitriolic nature of this conflict.” He believes that the near future of public education will prove increasingly hostile to Christians and traditional values.

Examples of the downgrade of public education abound. He provides several examples. For example, he writes about King & King, a parable of homosexual marriage in which a young price decides he wishes to marry his true love, which in this case is another prince. This book has been read to seven year-olds in Massachusetts. He writes also of children who were sent home with “diversity book bags” to help teach that there is no such thing as a “normal” family and that all family structures are equal in value. And he writes of the national “Day of Silence” now supported in many high schools—a day organized by homosexual activists. These are not just extreme and isolated examples but are, more and more, becoming common.

“The breakdown of the public-school system is a national tragedy,” he writes. “An honest assessment of any history of public education in America must acknowledge the success of the common school vision in breaking down ethnic, economic, and racial barriers. The schools have brought hundreds of millions of American children into a democracy of common citizenship. Tragically, that vision was displaced by an ideologically driven attempt to force a radically secular worldview.” What was once one of America’s great strengths is now beginning to lead to her moral breakdown.

Because of these factors, Mohler believes that it is time for Christians to leave the public school system and that homeschooling and Christian schooling are alternatives all Christian parents should consider. Those who are not yet ready to make the move should, at the very least, have an exit strategy in place. In his original article, Mohler writes this:

I believe that now is the time for responsible Southern Baptists to develop an exit strategy from the public schools. This strategy would affirm the basic and ultimate responsibility of Christian parents to take charge of the education of their own children. The strategy would also affirm the responsibility of churches to equip parents, support families, and offer alternatives. At the same time, this strategy must acknowledge that Southern Baptist churches, families, and parents do not yet see the same realities, the same threats, and the same challenges in every context. Sadly, this is almost certainly just a matter of time.

In the book he changes the statement only to increase the scope from Southern Baptists to all Christians. It is time, he believes, to leave the schools. Or at the very least, it is time for parents to consider the alternatives and what factors would drive them to these alternatives.

As I’ve indicated in the past, Aileen and I choose to place our children in public schools. We do not do so lightly and certainly not without some trepidation. Yet, because of factors I’ve outlined elsewhere, we feel this is the best thing we can do right now. Every year we re-evaluate. While we do not have a firm exit strategy, one that says “precisely under these conditions we will withdraw from the public schools,” we do keep a close eye on what our children are being taught and do not take for granted that they will remain in the public system indefinitely. We benefit, I believe, from our province’s highly-regulated system where the curricula are consistent throughout the entire system. We benefit also from knowing teachers and from pressing them to understand what children are being taught and what ideology is behind it. We have been very pleased with almost all of the teachers we’ve met so far.

If the time comes that we feel it would be right to take our children out of the public education system, I will be left with two great and related concerns I would need to reconcile. The first is this. If all of the Christians withdraw from the public schooling system, it seems to me that we lose our ability and even our right to speak to that system and to influence it. Though the political system is terribly corrupt, Christians continue to be involved and continue to vote, knowing that only in this way will we have any influence. Yet in the schooling system many wish to withdraw. But when we do so, I fear, we lose any right we might have to correct or influence. As Christians we look to better not only our own lives, but the lives of those around us. We look to be a transformative influence. If schools truly are “prime battlegrounds for cultural conflicts,” as Dr. Mohler states, why would we purposely remove ourselves from them? Why would we give up and retreat from this battleground? If this is where the hearts and minds of generations of citizens will be formed, why would we take no interest in it? If we retreat, we lose our voice.

And from there I think we will see as well that the downfall of the public education system becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. When I look at the examples Dr. Mohler provides—examples of all kinds of ugly things that happen in the public schools, I realize that things in Canada do not seem so bad. Canada is a very liberal nation and, by rights, it should be in worse shape than in America. Yet I do not see that this is the case. Yes, there are occasional stories that strike fear in this parent’s heart, but it seems that our education system is less corrupt than that of our neighbors to the south. And I can’t help but wonder if this owes to the fact that fewer Canadian Christians have exited the public schools. While the homeschool movement, following the American trend, is beginning to catch on in Canada, and while it seems that homeschooling is fast becoming the favored or even the default option for conservative Christians, this is largely a recent development. With Christian schools notoriously underfunded and overpriced, and with homeschooling not an option many believers have even considered, most Canadian Christians have kept their children in public schools. They have maintained their voice and their influence. When all the Christians leave, we would expect the schools to decline. And perhaps this is what we are seeing in the United States. Perhaps Christians are inadvertently contributing to the decline.

I wonder sometimes about a “Genesis 18” principle. In Genesis 18 we read of Abraham interceding for Sodom and for his people in that city. “Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?’” Abraham asks God, pesters God even, whether God will preserve the city for the sake of the righteous. Will God preserve the city because His people are in it? God answers in the affirmative. And is it possible, I wonder, that the Canadian system has been preserved more than its American counterpart because God’s people have remained there? Perhaps this is a long shot; perhaps I am abusing the text and the principle it teaches; but I can’t help but wonder. Would we not expect God to preserve an institution where His people are present and are attempting to make inroads for His glory?

At any rate, Aileen and I continue to keep our children in public schools and continue to wonder if the day will come when this is no longer something we can do in good conscience. I believe that Dr. Mohler is right and that we will need to arrive at an exit strategy. Yet I hope this is never a strategy we need to put into action. I hope and pray that Canadian Christians will find that they can continue to place their children in public schools and that, as parents, they can continue to serve within the schools, to make their voices heard, and to positively influence this prime cultural battleground for the glory of God.

Yesterday I received a long list of emails with announcements for books that will be published early next year. Most of these I had already heard of or found entirely uninspiring. There was one exception. I was absolutely thrilled (honestly—I’m that big of a book geek) to see that we are going to see the first book from the pen of Dr. Mohler. Yes, it is hard to believe, but this is his first “real” book. He has edited and contributed to other titles, but this is his first solo effort. The book, set to hit store shelves in mid-January, is called Culture Shift and will deal with the challenging cultural issues of our day. I cannot think of anyone who is more qualified to answer these issues.

There are few people I would rather learn from than Dr. Mohler. He is such an asset to the church and particularly so in his ability to see into the culture in which we find ourselves. I can hardly wait to read his book! Here is what the publisher says about it:

Are you prepared to address the most challenging cultural issues of your time?

Mass media and technology are exploding. Popular entertainment relentlessly pushes the envelope. Biomedicine stretches ethical boundaries. Political issues shift with the polls.

The world in which you live is in the midst of a major cultural transformation-one leading to a widespread lack of faith, an increase in moral relativism, and a rejection of absolute truth. How are we to remain faithful followers of Christ as we live in this ever-shifting culture? How should we think about-and respond to-the crucial moral questions of our day? How can we stand up for the truth?

In Culture Shift, Dr. R. Albert Mohler-one of today’s leading Christian thinkers and spokespersons-addresses these tough topics clearly, biblically and passionately:

• Christian faith and politics
• The Supreme Court and religion
• The truth about terrorism
• Christian parents and public schools
• The abortion debate
• Christian response to global tragedies
• And many more

Here is trustworthy help for developing a comprehensive Christian worldview. It’s timely information powerfully connected to timeless truth that will equip you to stand strong and speak out.

As you’d expect, the book comes with some great endorsements.

“From grade inflation to global calamities, Albert Mohler is a steady guide. From the psychological coddling of the American ego to the hollowing of the American conscience, Mohler is unremittingly clear-headed. From Nineveh to New Orleans, Mohler holds the mirror at a blazing fortyfive-degree angle between heaven and earth. The burning light of divine wisdom illumines a hundred shadows of ourhuman folly. And at the center of the blaze is the mighty cross of Jesus Christ defining the final meaning of everything. I thank God for Albert Mohler.”—JOHN PIPER, pastor for preaching and vision,Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN

“Al Mohler is a unique gift to the church. His writing combines penetrating theological discernment and insightful cultural analysis with a passion to faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m delighted that Al’s wisdom is now available in this book. May it be the first of many.”—C. J. MAHANEY, Sovereign Grace Ministries

“We all know, as Dorothy said to Toto, that ‘we are not in Kansas anymore.’ But how to apply the deep truths of our Christian faith to a culture that seems to be transmogrifying before our very eyes, well, that’s perhaps the most difficult question facing the church today. In this well-written book, Al Mohler surveys the landscape and offers insight and wisdom that helps us do just this. A manifesto for responsibleChristian engagement!”—TIMOTHY GEORGE, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and senior editor of Christianity Today

“Thoughtful Christians seeking to engage the culture from a well-informed and thoroughly bibilical perspective will find an impressive resource in this new work by R. Albert Mohler. Culture Shift is an outstanding contribution, which I heartily recommend.”—DAVID S. DOCKERY, president, Union University

“Dr. Albert Mohler brings his intellectual brilliance, moral wisdom, and theological insight together in a book that belongs on the shelf of anyone who is interested in both understanding the shifting sands of morality in our culture and how to deal with it. If you are in that category this is a must read.”—JAMES MERRITT, pastor of Cross Pointe Church, Duluth, GA, and host of Touching Lives media ministry

“Understanding our culture is a matter of Christian responsibility. Culture Shift helps us to do that and do it well.”—DANIEL L. AKIN, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC

I am looking forward to getting a copy of this one and will have a review completed in the near future. In the meantime, you may wish to pre-order a copy from Amazon.