Category: Theology/Christian Living Page 3 of 32

DETAILS:
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Publication Date: April 30, 2024
Format: Hardcover
Length: 226 pg.
Read Date: March 23-30, 2025

What’s Rift About?

A gripping memoir about coming of age in the stay-at-home daughter movement and the quest to piece together a future on your own terms.

Raised in the Christian patriarchy movement, Cait West was homeschooled and could only wear clothes her father deemed modest. She was five years old the first time she was told her swimsuit was too revealing, to go change. There would be no college in her future, no career. She was a stay-at-home daughter and would move out only when her father allowed her to become a wife. She was trained to serve men, and her life would never be her own.

Until she escaped.

In Rift, Cait West tells a harrowing story of chaos and control hidden beneath the facade of a happy family. Weaving together lyrical meditations on the geology of the places her family lived with her story of spiritual and emotional manipulation as a stay-at-home daughter, Cait creates a stirring portrait of one young woman’s growing awareness that she is experiencing abuse. With the ground shifting beneath her feet, Cait mustered the courage to break free from all she’d ever known and choose a future of her own making.

Rift is a story of survival. It’s also a story about what happens after you survive. With compassion and clarity, Cait explores the complex legacy of patriarchal religious trauma in her life, including the ways she has also been complicit in systems of oppression. A remarkable literary debut, Rift offers an essential personal perspective on the fraught legacy of purity culture and recent reckonings with abuse in Christian communities.

“Lyrical Meditations on the Geology…”

I really didn’t intended on talking about this, but reading that line in the jacket copy drives me to it. Every time West started talking about the geology, in using contintental rifts as a metaphor for what was going on in her family, and so on–I rolled my eyes.

It was clear what she was doing, but there was no subtlety to it. I’m not trying to say that this kind of thing should be subtle, but it shouldn’t be so heavy-handed and artless. It just came across as pretentious.

Critiquing Patriarchy

I picked this book up because I heard an interview with West and was intrigued by her–when I heard that she had a book out detailing her story in more detail than she could in 30 minutes or so. So please understand, I have very little sympathy for those who would be considered–by themselves or others–part of the Christian patriarchy movement. But I don’t think this book is an effective critique of it.

I do think it’s a tragic case study into what this movement can do, and has done, in one family. And it is easy–maybe too easy–to critique what this father did to his children. It’s hard to see the things that were experienced by others nearby–who thought similarly, but not necessarily identically to, this man.

So, what did I think about Rift?

This is an accessible read–frequently powerful. I do wish that West had curbed her attempts at artistic flair. I also wish that she’d done a more thorough job of trying to show how her father’s beliefs and behaviors lined up with others, and were linked to specific teachings by particular individuals rather than just a vague guilt by association.

I fully believe that documentation could be made, let me stress. But for what are probably good reasons. I don’t get them–but I assume she had them. If for nothing else, it’d change this from a memoir into some other kind of thing. I guess I’d hoped for that something else–a memoir +.

But it’s Cait West’s story, hers to tell how she wants. For this reader, it wasn’t enough. But I’m probably in the minority.

It took a lot for her to put this together–to expose the pain. My problems aren’t with her or what she said. Simply the experience as a reader.

3 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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REPOSTING JUST CUZ: The Ten Commandments by Kevin DeYoung: A Warm, Engaging Study of God’s Revealed Will

By HCNewton

On April 20, 2025

In Theology/Christian Living

Well, I ran out of time to finish a post about a book I read this year about the Commandments, so…let’s dust this off.

The Ten Commandments: What They Mean, Why They Matter, and Why We Should Obey Them

by Kevin DeYoung

eARC, 208 pg.
Crossway, 2018
Read: September 23, 2018

My initial thought when I saw this book was: do we need another popular-level work on The Ten Commandments? We’ve got so many already, like: Ryken’s Written in Stone, Horton’s The Law of Perfect Freedom, Packer’s Growing in Christ. We’ve got Douma’s, Watson’s and Durham’s (newly republished) on the heavier end of the spectrum, too. Why bring out a new book by DeYoung? Still, I was intrigued, so I requested a copy.

Not too surprisingly, I’m glad I did. This is typical DeYoung: a strong, affectionate, orthodox take on the Law delivered in a very accessible and affable manner. He made me think, he made me reconsider a thing or two, and he reminded me of a few things I needed reminding of.

He begins this work against the framework of the secular “anything goes” point of view, where everything certainly does not go — as much as we as a culture might rail against an external source of morality — there are things that simply cannot be said or done. Giving us a choice between humanity’s unwritten, assumed code — or God’s revealed will. DeYoung then goes on to list reasons for the study as well as the following of God’s Law.

The other important groundwork comes from the midst of his very strong chapter on the First Commandment in which he describes the role of the Law for New Covenant believers. It’s still applicable, still binding — just in a different manner. I think this could’ve been developed more — maybe in its own chapter, but what we got here was good. I do particularly appreciate his metaphor of transposition. The Law in the New Covenant is the same for believers as it was in the Old, it’s just in a different key.

Following the introduction where he lays out his framework, DeYoung turns to consider the commandments individually. This is the bulk of — and the heart of — the book, with a chapter devoted to each commandment. If the book has any value, it’ll be found here, and there’s a lot of it to be found. I briefly considered summarizing each chapter, but why steal his thunder. Also, he’s not carving out anything new here, so there’s little need. What’s new is his expression of the timeless truths, his way of explaining and applying them. If you want a quick summary of what he’ll say about each commandment read The Heidelberg Catechism questions 92-115 or the Westminster Shorter Catechism questions 39-85, and you’ll get a pretty good idea.

Instead, I’ll just comment on a few highlights and a couple of problems I had (your mileage may vary). I found his comments regarding the Fourth Commandment to be helpful, but hesitant — in his effort to not be legalistic, or overly dogmatic, he comes across as wishy-washy. I appreciated most of what he had to say about the Second Commandment, but again, he’s hesitant enough in some of his application to stumble a bit. Which is not to say that the bulk of those chapters weren’t good and helpful — they were. I think he could’ve been more consistently so.

Conversely, the chapters on the Eighth and Tenth commandments were incredibly helpful. If you ask me, these two are where the American Church and American Christians stumble more often than we realize (or care about). Publicly, Protestants are expounding so much energy on certain applications of the Sixth and Seventh commandments that one would be tempted to think that 8-10 are concerns of the past. DeYoung doesn’t let the reader think that for an instant, and if you don’t come away from these chapters with a good dose of conviction of your own sin, you probably didn’t read it too closely.

The chapter on the Third Commandment was invaluable also. It’s far too easy for Western Christians to reduce this to “don’t be a potty mouth” and far too hard for us to really get what the importance of “name of the Lord” is. DeYoung does a yeoman’s job on both fronts and does a good job expounding the meaning of this commandment.

You’ll never walk away from any of these chapters thinking that DeYoung is writing a hellfire and brimstone jeremiad against the Church, you, or anyone. He’s sharply critical of a lot of general culture, and individual inclinations, but that’s to be expected. There’s conviction and inspiration both to be found in these pages — all delivered in DeYoung’s warm, almost conversational, style — a strong blend of wit and charm with the steel in his words. I won’t get into it, but his chapter on the Third Commandment contains one of the funniest anecdotes (more in the telling than the story) I’ve read from him. Ignoring his content for a moment, his writing style is what will keep me coming back to DeYoung’s books for years to come.

I think I’ve said before, I’m not a big one for study/discussion questions in books — I like to think the engaged reader doesn’t need them and someone leading a discussion/study of a book will be clever enough to come up with their own. But, I’m obviously swimming against the tide on this because publishers keep printing them. That said, on the whole, this is a pretty good set of questions and would help someone who likes those kind of questions for their own use or for those using the book in Family Worship, Sunday School, or Bible Study.

In the end, my question, do we need another popular-level book on The Ten Commandments? Is answered yes: we need frequent — constant — reminders of the revealed will we’ve been called to obey, so we never stop striving for that perfection and never cease calling on the Spirit’s assistance. We also need to remember how great our sin and misery are so that we constantly live lives of repentance. So bring on DeYoung’s good summary. And others as well — and we need to read them, as well as the older popular-level works. And then we need to push ourselves and read some of the less-popular level ones as well.

This is a good, short set of meditations and reflections on the perfect law, the law of liberty for a contemporary audience. It’s approachable, it’s warm, it’s pointed, and it’s Gospel-centered. It’s not perfect, but it’s good. It functions well as a refresher for those who need one, and a good starting point for their own study of The Ten Commandments. I’m buying a copy (at least one) for my personal library and will be encouraging my household to read it — and anyone else who asks.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Crossway via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

—–

4 Stars

Miracles by C.S. Lewis: A Pleasant, If Not Particularly Helpful, Read

By HCNewton

On April 13, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Further Up and Further In, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

Miracles: A Preliminary Study

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS:
Publisher: Collier Books
Publication Date: 1960
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Length: 168 pg.
Read Date: March 2-9, 2025

…the shock comes at the precise moment when the thrill of life is communicated to us along the clue we have been following. It is always shocking to meet life where we thought we were alone. “Look out!” we cry, “it’s alive.” And therefore this is the very point at which s many draw back—I would have done so myself if I could—and proceed no further with Christianity. An “impersonal God”—well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads—better still. A formless life-force surging through us, a vast power which we can tap—best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the hunter, king, husband—that is quite another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion (“Man’s search for God”!) suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?

So it is a sort of Rubicon. One goes across; or not. But if one does, there is no manner of security against miracles. One may be in for anything.

What’s Miracles About?

In this book, Lewis sets out to defend the idea of miracles. The possibility of them. He flat out says he won’t defend the historicity of Christian miracles—that’s not his field (of course, neither is theology, but that doesn’t stop him). He wants to lay the groundwork. If he can convince the reader that miracles are possible—even better they expect them and appreciate the relationship between them and Christianity—well then, he hopes the reader will—like Lewis himself did—examine the claims of Christianity on a more reasonable and ready basis.

The Direction of the Argument

First, Lewis starts with Supernaturalism vs. Naturalism (and it’s here that he might be at his best for the book)

Belief in miracles, far from depending on an ignorance of the laws of nature, is only possible in so far as those laws are known. We have already seen that if you begin by ruling out the supernatural you will perceive no miracles, We must now add that you will equally perceive no miracles until you believe that nature works according to regular laws. If you have not yet noticed that the sun always rises in the East you will see nothing miraculous about his rising one morning in the West.

His point is essentially that his readers will fall into two camps: those who will refuse to accept a miracle because they can’t happen or those who are willing to accept there are—or at least might be—supernatural possibilities in the world. If you are a committed reader in the former camp, there’s nothing that Lewis can do or say to make you change your mind. He will, at least, help you to see that—and lay out the possibilities of a supernatural explanation.

If you’re open to a supernatural explanation for things—like a miracle. Then Lewis has some things he’d like to talk to you about.

…it is mere confusion of thought to suppose that advancing science has made it harder for us to accept miracles, We always knew they were contrary to the natural course of events; we know still that if there is something beyond Nature, they are possible. Those are the bare bones of the question; time and progress and science and civilisation have not altered them in the least.

Then he moves into Christian miracles—or at least the miracles that Christians claim as part of their story—their Scriptures, their religion.

…you cannot [remove miracles] with Christianity. It is precisely the story of a great Miracle. A naturalistic Christianity leaves out all that is specifically Christian.

This is, he suggests, part of the path that he took to get to where he is.

If at any point along the line of argument, Lewis loses you, he will not ask you to accept his conclusion—or at least he has no basis to do so. Otherwise…

So, what did I think about Miracles?

You are probably quite right in thinking that you will never see a miracle done: you are probably equally right in thinking that there was a natural explanation of anything in your past life which seemed, at the first glance, to be “rum” or “odd.” God does not shake miracles into Nature at random as if from a pepper-caster. They come on great occasions: they are found at the great ganglions of history—not of political or social history, but of that spiritual history which cannot be fully known by men. If your own life does not happen to be near one of those great ganglions, how should you expect to see one? If we were heroic missionaries, apostles, or martyrs, it would be a different matter. But why you or I? Unless you live near a railway, you will not see trains go past your windows. How likely is it that you or I will be present when a peace-treaty is signed, when a great scientific discovery is made, when a dictator commits suicide? That we should see a miracle is even less likely. Nor, if we understand, shall we be anxious to do so. “Nothing almost sees miracles but misery.” Miracles and martyrdoms tend to bunch about the same areas of history—areas we have naturally no wish to frequent. Do not, I earnestly advise you, demand an ocular proof unless you are already perfectly certain that it is not forthcoming,

I enjoyed it—this was the second or third post-Narnia book I read by Lewis, and it’s one of them I’ve returned to the most. It’s also less and less effective to me the more times I read it. I just don’t like his line of argument. Nor do I appreciate some of what he says about the Scriptures. But, I do enjoy reading this.

There are two major aims for an apologetic work, as I’ve heard from a few apologetic professors/writers. The first is to present a defense for the faith to unbelievers—to convince them, to provide evidence for the faith to them, or at least to show that Christianity has a rational basis (things along those lines). The second aim is to buttress the confidence of the believer that they haven’t taken a blind leap of faith, that their convictions can stand against a hostile culture—or a disinterested one. I don’t see this working to well with the unbeliever (outside of maybe stressing that they’re committed to not accepting the possibility of miracles), rather the strength of his book falls into the latter category.

I appreciate what Lewis attempted to do here. I enjoy seeing him think through these things, and generally have a good time with his language. But it’s not the best thing he penned, and I’m not sure it’s all that useful.

Still, I like it. And anyone who’s going to name a chapter what he called Chapter 9? I want to spend a little time with.

3.5 Stars

REPOSTING JUST CUZ: You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World by Alan Noble: Correcting Our Understanding of Humanity

By HCNewton

On April 6, 2025

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

This seemed like a fitting book after the last few weeks–I needed a reminder of the highlights of this book.

You Are Not Your Own:
Belonging to God in an Inhuman World

by Alan Noble

DETAILS:
Publisher: IVP
Publication Date: October 11, 2021
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 232 pg.
Read Date:  May 29-June 12, 2022

I’ve tried to write this post 4 times since I finished it—and I’ve struck out each time, because I keep trying to interact with and reflect on Noble’s arguments—because there’s a lot to chew on, a lot to commend, and a great deal to unpack. But that’s not what I’m supposed to be doing here—I’m supposed to talk about the book, talk about how Noble wrote it, and what I thought about it—sure that involves some reflection on the content, but it’s not supposed to be my focus (as much as I might like it to be). So, I’m going to take a more surface-level approach, just so I can get something out.

(I said something similar with Winslow’s The Border recently—you’re probably not going to find a lot of people discussing these two books in similar fashions anywhere else)

The Back of the Book Description

(from ivpress.com)

“You are your own, and you belong to yourself.”

This is the fundamental assumption of modern life. And if we are our own, then it’s up to us to forge our own identities and to make our lives significant. But while that may sound empowering, it turns out to be a crushing responsibility—one that never actually delivers on its promise of a free and fulfilled life, but instead leaves us burned out, depressed, anxious, and alone. This phenomenon is mapped out onto the very structures of our society, and helps explain our society’s underlying disorder.

But the Christian gospel offers a strikingly different vision. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, “I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” In You Are Not Your Own, Alan Noble explores how this simple truth reframes the way we understand ourselves, our families, our society, and God. Contrasting these two visions of life, he invites us past the sickness of contemporary life into a better understanding of who we are and to whom we belong.

Acting as If We Are Our Own

The part of the argument from the first paragraph takes the first four chapters and the majority of the book. I guess you could consider this the “Here’s What’s Wrong and Why” part—if we are our own (as we’re told) several problems ensue—personally, culturally, and ecclesially. We (and Noble includes most of the American Church here) have a faulty anthropology, and that results in many problems.

Noble explains where he sees the faulty anthropology leading with compassion and sensitivity, while not pulling any of his punches.

Understanding We Belong to Christ

But for the Christian, our faith begins with the realization that we are not our own (as explained in the words of Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1). Noble points the believer to recalibrate their understanding of human nature—particularly redeemed human nature—to begin to understand what being the possession of Christ means to our life, our future, our identity.

The strength of this section comes from Noble’s honesty:

At this point you might expect me to introduce my “Five Steps for Changing Your Life by Accepting That You Are Not Your Own.” But as this is a work of nonfiction, I won’t be doing that.

Instead, he gives some advice, based on his own experiences and observations—but he offers no guarantees. I found his honesty refreshing and thought there was a lot of wisdom to his advice, but I was mostly impressed by the humble nature of the approach—advice, not a program or techniques.

So, what did I think about You Are Not Your Own?

I really liked this—I thought it was insightful and helpful. Noble’s diagnosis and advice were sound—they seemed to match up with the world around us and the problems we see. More importantly, he points to the One whose grace, mercy, and care offer any true hope and help in this broken and dying world.

Noble’s writing flows—he’s engaging, compassionate, and relatable. It’s easy to understand even the more complex points he’s making, and his illustrations give the reader plenty to hang on to.

I think Noble’s book would serve as a great companion piece to Kapic’s You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News*. Both of these authors remind the reader of our place in the world, and why we’re there—so we can respond in dependence and trust accordingly.

* Meador’s What Are Christians For?: Life Together at the End of the World, and even the better parts of Thompson’s Growing Downward fit here, too, I think—just not as neatly.

I’ve already re-read parts of this book, and find myself chewing on it repeatedly—especially as I compare it to Kapic’s. I heartily recommend and encourage you to pick it up.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

PUB DAY REPOST: Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People by Nicholas G. Piotrowski: Looking At The Heart of the Bible’s Narrative

By HCNewton

On March 18, 2025

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People

by Nicholas G. Piotrowski

DETAILS:
Series: Short Studies in Biblical Theology
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 224 pg.
Read Date: January 19-26, 2025

What’s Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People About?

I’m not going to do better, or be more succinct, than the Publisher’s Description:

God’s people, once resting in his divine presence, now toil in exile. The theme of humanity’s expulsion and wandering begins with Adam and Eve, but echoes in events throughout the Bible. Emphasizing the pain of separation from God, exile stories also highlight the hope of resurrection and creation’s imminent restoration back to the Edenic state.

In this addition to the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series, Nicholas G. Piotrowski traces the theme of exile throughout Scripture, giving readers a renewed appreciation for redemptive history and atonement in Christ. Sharing from his 15 years of study, Piotrowski connects the journeys of Abraham, Joseph, and Jesus with tabernacle imagery and other types to illustrate recurring themes of exile from Genesis until the new creation. This accessible volume helps believers understand their own exile and rejoice with the hope that they will one day worship in God’s holy presence.

Part 1: Exile and Death

The first part of the book traces the theme of Exile—beginning in Adam and Eve being exiled from the presence of God and the mountain garden/temple of Eden. Then several expulsions/exiles (with returns) are looked at as recapitulations of these themes, over and over up to the Babylonian exile.

In the last chapter of this section, “Chapter 5: Israel out of the Land,” there’s an extended discussion of the Psalms’ discussion of Exile/Return, seeing it even in the structure of the Psalter. This section (and the footnotes that accompany it for follow-up) is one of the highlights of Part 1 (actually, of the whole book, as I think about it).

Piotrowski does a fantastic job of drawing out the Redemptive-Historical threads running through this part of the canon and tracing their development.

Part 2: Return and Resurrection

For reasons that are generally obvious, the tone and manner of discussion shift a bit—as does the focus—here in the second part, which focuses on the pivotal, epoch-making event in this narrative—the Death/Resurrection/Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He begins with the Gospel accounts of Christ’s life—he applies the metaphor of “foreshocks” to these—his life, his teachings, and his miracles, how they point to the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the “mainshock” of his Death/Resurrection/Ascension. This is followed by the “aftershocks” of the returns from exile experienced by His people in the inter-advental period, leading to the ultimate “ultrashock” of the New Heavens and the New Earth, where the Return to the Garden Temple is complete.

It’s hopeful, it’s encouraging, it keeps the reader focused on the assurance we can gain from the Gospel events while we anticipate the Last Day and Return of Christ.

It’s easy to take John 3 for granted—or to avoid it due to “overuse” (or a perception of it) in contemporary Evangelical writings. But Piotrowski’s discussion in this part of the book was excellent—as was the final chapter on the close of the narrative arc.

So, what did I think about Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People?

Am I wholly convinced by the thesis that the principal drama of Scripture is best understood in the Exile because of Adam’s sin and the Return due to Christ terms? No. But I’m not going to argue against it. And even if I were to do that, it’d be half-hearted at best, because it’s a fantastic way to frame things, and any alternative I could suggest is easily compatible with it. I only mention this because I think some of Piotrowski’s insistence on it being “the” way to read Scripture is a bit too strong.

I do appreciate his use (and frequent footnoting) of some titles from the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology series (particularly, and unsurprisingly, Harmon’s Rebels and Exiles), if only because I couldn’t help thinking of that series as I read this (a common occurrence for books in this series). At the same time, I do admit to preferring this to Harmon’s book. I can’t put my finger on why, but Piotrowski’s discussion better resonated with me (this might also be my favorite book in this series).

My main complaint—and this is not one that most readers will have to put up with—is that the eARC doesn’t come with any of the figures/tables that will be in the published versions. It would’ve been so helpful to see them—or at least it would satisfy my curiosity. That’s such a niche (and self-centered) complaint that you should probably disregard this—I just wanted to whinge about it a bit. Just know if you buy a copy, you’re going to have a fuller experience than I did.

Like the other books in this series, there’s an emphasis in Piotrowski’s work to be accessible—and he really succeeds with that. But that shouldn’t be read as saying that there’s no depth, no challenge to the reading. There is, but the little bit of effort is greatly rewarded and it’ll carry you through the book. There’s plenty to chew on, but plenty of help to do that.

I took more notes that I expected to while going through this book—even now as I look over them, I’m surprised at the ratio of notes to pages. It’s higher than usual for a book of this depth and length. I got a lot out of reading this (and think a re-read would be equally rewarding), and I fully expect I won’t be alone in that.

I strongly recommend this for your personal study and encouragement.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Crossway via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

God of All Things by Andrew Wilson: Ordinary Stuff also tells of the glory of God

By HCNewton

On March 3, 2025

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World

by Andrew Wilson

DETAILS:
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Format: Paperback
Length: 202 pgs.
Read Date: January 12-19, 2025

But instead [God] made a universe filled with things. Objects. stuff Planets, weather, colors, animals, vegetables, minerals. People, complete with noses and kidneys and bodily fluids. It is Curious: an immaterial and entirely spiritual God created a thoroughly material and physical world. Perhaps it should surprise us more than it does…

For Paul in Romans 1, creation reveals God’s invisible power and divine nature. Few of us can stand in front of the Grand Canyon or see a high-definition picture of the Horsehead Nebula without wanting to praise somebody or something for the majesty of what is before us. Some of us will suppress that urge. But those of us who don’t and allow the song of gratitude to swell within us like a storm will find ourselves concluding all sorts of things about our Maker. The God of the Sahara must be vast, boundless, and expansive. The God of quarks must have an unimaginable eye for detail. The God of wombats must have a sense of humor. Everything in creation has theological implications, and one of the joys of being human is figuring out what they are.

What all of these answers have in common is the fact that creation points beyond itself. Things ‘exist not for their own sakes but to draw us back to God. In Augustine’s image, the gifts of God in creation are like a boat which takes us back to our homeland: a means of transport which we can {and should} celebrate but never mistake for the destination itself. C. S. Lewis talks about following the sunbeams back to the sun so that we enjoy not just the object of goodness but the source of good. Creation preaches to us. The things of God reveal the God of things.

What’s God of All Things About?

That extended quotation from the Introduction is basically the foundation for this whole book (he does expand it a little from there). God made things. He uses those things to point to Him in various ways. This book takes 30 of the common, everyday things in this world and shows us (some of) the ways that they pointed to God and His redemptive work in Scripture—fifteen items per testament.

I won’t list all thirty things that get a short chapter devoted to them, but to give you an idea some are: earthuqakes, tools, honey, donkeys, flowers, pots, viruses, and flowers.

An Example

I really don’t know the best way to describe how Wilson approaches these items (although I don’t want to sound like every chapter follows the outline), so here’s a paragraph and change from Chapter 3, “Pigs: The Welcome of God”:

As gentiles, by nature unclean and separated from Israel ourselves, we can feel a certain sympathy for [pigs].

That is not where the similarity between pigs and gentiles stops. The first person who ever preached the gospel to gentiles was the apostle Peter, and he did so only because he saw a vision of a sheet full of unclean animals (Acts 10:9~16)—a vision in which, we may assume, pigs played a starring roleand heard a voice telling him to eat them, since “what God has made clean, do not call common” (v. 15). Non-Jewish people like me got baptized only because Peter saw a bunch of pigs and other unclean animals, and then saw a bunch of gentiles, and then saw the resemblance. “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation,” he explained to the gentiles who had invited him over for a visit, “but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean” (v. 28). That’s a nice way of putting it. Even Peter, not always the most diplomatic of the apostles, had the good manners not to mention that his hosts were the equivalent of a sheet full of pigs, scallops, and snakes.

Not only does that give you a little hint of Wilson’s voice, but it gives a flavor of his approach. That’s from the Old Testament portion, but he’s invoking Peter and events from the New Testament. He looks at the use of whatever item throughout the canon, showing how they’re used in the primary texts he’s considering, what they say about God, they say about redemption and people.

Strengths

There are several, really. Some of the chapters (like Rainbows) seem pretty obvious in the aim and content. The chapter on the Wind, on the other hand, went in directions I wasn’t expecting. But beyond that, what he did in a few pages to describe the work of the Spirit—particularly the discussion of “being filled with the Spirit”—was so rewarding.

The chapter on Salt was also helpful—if only for the discussion of how metaphors can have several interpretations and meanings at the same time. As anyone who has ever heard more than one sermon on Matthew 5:13 knows too well, it’s ripe for interpretation. Wilson wisely encourages readers to embrace the probability that Jesus meant more than one thing by the metaphor of salt.

So, what did I think about God of All Things?

We worship a God of things. The cosmos is filled with them: everyday, mundane, quotidian, humdrum, ordinary things. Sometimes they delight, sometimes they exasperate, and sometimes they escape detection altogether, but whether quietly or loudly, they insistently point beyond themselves to the God who made physical stuff. Everything in creation tells us something about our Creator.

More than once on The White Horse Inn, I heard Rod Rosenbladt say, “God likes stuff [or matter], he made it.” It’s this notion—reflected in this quotation here, or the one that kicked off this post—that is too easily forgotten by modern Christians who (like many others in the last 100+/- years) have adopted a quasi-Gnostic attitude toward matter and spirit. So any book that seeks to remind anyone of that deserves attention.

In many ways, this reminded me of Finding God in the Ordinary by Pierce Taylor Hibbs. But where Hibbs looked at things around him and used them to launch his thoughts God-ward, WIlson looks at things around people in the Bible and uses them to take in the themes from Scripture and launch thoughts God-ward from there. Similar ends, similar means—just slightly different starting points. I’m not suggesting one is superior to the other in any way. In fact, I’m trying to work both exercises into my own life.

It’s a quick read, it’s a fun read (Wilson’s gentle wit and fairly mainstream pop culture references are nice for that), it’ll likely cause you to think of a few things you haven’t before, or will be a reminder that it’s not just the big things in nature that testify to the glory of God (the heavens, stars, and so on), it’s the little things, too (salt, lilies, sparrows, falling hairs)—and things in-between. I recommend this for your attention, it’s fit for High School (maybe younger) and up. Which probably includes you, reader.

3 Stars

The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis: What Can Happen When a Bad Review Copy Falls Into the Right Hands

By HCNewton

On February 23, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Further Up and Further In, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Abolition of Man: Reflections on Education with Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS: 
Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Company
Publication Date: September 1, 1978 
Format: Paperback
Length: 91 pg.
Read Date: February 2, 2025

This thing which I have called for convenience the Tao, and which others may call Natural Law or Traditional Morality or the First Principles of Practical Reason or the First Platitudes, is not one among a series of possible systems of value. It is the sole source of all value judgements. If it is rejected, all value is rejected. If any value ts retained, it is retained. The effort to refute and raise a new system of value in its place is self-contradictory. There never has been, and never will be, a radically new judgement of value in the history of the world.

What’s The Abolition of Man About?

This starts off with starts off as a review of a textbook or two, “Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools” (to quote the subtitle). He has strong objections to the direction (and the foundation) these books are taking. From there he shifts into English schooling/thinking in general, and the deficiencies he sees in it and what he fears it means for the nation as a whole.

This centers on the idea that English teachers and schools are abandoning objective truth, which he mounts a defense of while writing about what he thinks will happen to a society that abandons it.

English Education

This begins, as I said (as does the subtitle) by reviewing a couple of textbooks used in English classes in the upper grades. Lewis had been sent review copies of them and took issue with a lot of what he said.

Lewis (in a move I could never duplicate) doesn’t want to seem ungrateful for these copies, so disguises the authors and titles before he starts explaining the problems. I don’t know if his original audience could see through his thin disguises—or if that just became clearer later. I suspect the former.

From what he tells us about these books, I think he was being too generous in his appraisal. This was some lousy curriculum.

I’d have appreciated more along these lines—but I get why Lewis moved on to other things.

The Tao

As Lewis begins to leave the realm of English education toward looking at education—and thinking—as a whole, he begins to utilize and develop his concept of a Tao:

It is the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false, to the kind of thing the universe is and the kind of things we are.

As the quotation that opened this post indicates, this comes in many names—Natural Law, Natural Revelation, “Traditional Morality,” and so on.

With the Tao, as assumed and/or believed throughout the world for most of human history, we get absolutes. We get objective values, objective truth. As we begin to neglect or throw off the concept of objective truth for subjectivity—or, worse yet, “pure” Reason on its own. We lose the basis of all civilization, the basis of the value of life and individual rights, and so much more.

While I think he could’ve been more thorough in his explanation of the Tao and in explaining his arguments—t’s hard not to look at the world around us today, as it’s developed (devolved?) since the early days of WWII when these lectures were delivered, and not think that Lewis was on to something.

One Issue that Troubles Me

In order to avoid misunderstanding, I may add that though I myself am a Theist, and indeed a Christian, I am not here attempting any indirect argument for Theism. I am simply arguing that if we are to have Values at all we must accept the ultimate platitudes of Practical Reason as having absolute validity: that any attempt, having become skeptical about these, to reintroduce value lower down on some supposedly more ‘realistic’ basis, is doomed. Whether this position implies a supernatural origin for the Tao is a question I am not here concerned with.

As good as this sounds—as reasonable, as open-minded, as whatever you might want to call it—I’m unconvinced that this is a position that a Christian can self-consciously hold (without trying to call into doubt Lewis’ faith, I just think he’s inconsistent on this point).

I have trouble holding that a consistent position regarding Practical Reason—or anything else, whatever “Values” you might choose—having absolute validity separate from the inspired Christian Scriptures is possible. I realize those of us who hold that kind of thinking are a minority in the history of the Church, but I can’t argue myself out of it. Lewis’ attempt to build his argument—his Tao—in this way is the part of this book that keeps me from getting super-excited about it.

The Appendix

The appendix features quotations from a variety of ancient (and less ancient) texts from around the globe illustrating that several civilizations held to certain positions on a variety of issues. This isn’t to prove the existence of his Tao (or whatever you want to call it); it’s to demonstrate that it exists in the way that “everyone” holds to something very much like each other in certain aspects.

I don’t know if I can take it as confidently as Lewis did—but I get what he’s trying to show, and can appreciate it

So, what did I think about The Abolition of Man?

I remember the first time I read this—in 1992 or 1993—and a few times since that this argument, this look toward the objective and the importance of it, while not absolutizing Science or much of anything else, hit me hard, impressed me, and really formed a lot of my thinking.

I wasn’t as impressed this time (at least a decade since my last reading)—don’t get me wrong, it’s good, and I share a lot of the concerns and convictions with Lewis. But I wonder if he goes as deeply as we need today. It’s not enough to argue for a vague absolute—we need to understand the absolute, and where it comes from. There’s also the question of what do we do when we cannot agree on absolutes in a civic society, how do we approach this with wisdom and grace. I believe Lewis would have a lot to teach us—even if I objected to some of it. I understand that given the nature of this book (written version of lectures), his cultural context, and the enemies (literal and figurative) he had in mind, why we don’t get that book here.

Also, even the English curriculum he critiqued is better than a lot of what is given today (by all sorts of stripes of schools).

That said—this is a superior work to The Problem of Pain that takes advantage of Lewis’ strengths in a way the other couldn’t while not exposing many of his weaknesses as the previous book did. He’s got better works waiting for me, and I’m eager to get to them.

3.5 Stars

Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People by Nicholas G. Piotrowski: Looking At The Heart of the Bible’s Narrative

By HCNewton

On February 16, 2025

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People

by Nicholas G. Piotrowski

DETAILS:
Series: Short Studies in Biblical Theology
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 224 pg.
Read Date: January 19-26, 2025

What’s Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People About?

I’m not going to do better, or be more succinct, than the Publisher’s Description:

God’s people, once resting in his divine presence, now toil in exile. The theme of humanity’s expulsion and wandering begins with Adam and Eve, but echoes in events throughout the Bible. Emphasizing the pain of separation from God, exile stories also highlight the hope of resurrection and creation’s imminent restoration back to the Edenic state.

In this addition to the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series, Nicholas G. Piotrowski traces the theme of exile throughout Scripture, giving readers a renewed appreciation for redemptive history and atonement in Christ. Sharing from his 15 years of study, Piotrowski connects the journeys of Abraham, Joseph, and Jesus with tabernacle imagery and other types to illustrate recurring themes of exile from Genesis until the new creation. This accessible volume helps believers understand their own exile and rejoice with the hope that they will one day worship in God’s holy presence.

Part 1: Exile and Death

Piotrowski does a fantastic job of drawing out the Redemptive-Historical threads running through this part of the canon and tracing their development.

Part 2: Return and Resurrection

It’s hopeful, it’s encouraging, it keeps the reader focused on the assurance we can gain from the Gospel events while we anticipate the Last Day and Return of Christ.

So, what did I think about Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People?

I strongly recommend this for your personal study and encouragement.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Crossway via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis: His First Apologetic Work is a Mixed Bag

By HCNewton

On February 2, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Further Up and Further In, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Problem of Pain

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperOne
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Format: Paperback
Length: 159 pg.
Read Date: January 5-12, 2025

His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible. You may attribute miracles to Him, but not nonsense. This is no limit to His power. If you choose to say ‘God can give a creature free will and at the same time withhold free will from it’, you have not succeeded in saying anything about God: meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix to them the two other words ‘God can’. It remains true that all things are possible with God: the intrinsic impossibilities are not things but nonentities. It is no more possible for God than for the weakest of His creatures to carry out both of two mutually exclusive alternatives; not because His power meets an obstacle, but because nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.

What’s The Problem of Pain About?

This book is an attempt to answer the question, “Why do Bad Thing Happen to Good People?” as well as “Why do Bad Things Happen to Not-Good People, or Animals, or Pretty Much at All?” Why is there suffering among those beings and creatures that God created?

Lewis approaches these questions with a mix of Biblical wisdom, careful thought, compassion, and understanding. And the ability to not go too far (frequently) with his own insight, but to stop and say, “I don’t know.”

This is an honest, if imperfect, attempt to wrestle with these questions, put them in the right context, and assure the world and the Church that there are answers.

Some Weaknesses

This is the work of someone who is still relatively new to the Faith as he wrote it, and that shows. There’s a lot of vaguely Christian speculation. But not quite enough dealing with the text of Scripture to base this speculation on.

Chapter 5, “The Fall of Man,” is a great example of this. It contains a lot of nonsense—and by the end of the chapter, he’d lost me completely (not that I didn’t understand him, I just couldn’t stay with him). Still, I liked most of it, and given the presuppositions he started with and stated (as much as I’d want to tweak them), I could ride along with his argument and enjoy it. The last paragraph of the chapter was okay and went a good way to getting me to stick with the book.

A Few Good Points

I don’t know that I have the patience to work through these ideas—and this would post would end up going in a direction I try to avoid if I did. But I rather enjoyed these quotations and like thinking through these ideas, so let me just paste them here as an example of the highs that this book can hit—and the thoughts it can provoke.

From Chapter 3, “Divine Goodness.”

We want, in fact, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven—a senile benevolence who, as they say, ‘liked to see young people enjoying themselves’, and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, ‘a good time was had by all’. Not many people, I admit, would formulate a theology in precisely those terms: but a conception not very different lurks at the back of Many minds. I do not claim to be an exception: I should very much like to live in a universe which was governed on such lines, But since it is abundantly clear that I don’t, and since I have reason to believe, nevertheless, that God is Love, I conclude that my conception of love needs correction.

From Chapter 6, “Human Pain”:

Confessors as well as martyrs are saved, and some old people whose state of grace we can hardly doubt seem to have got through their seventy years surprisingly easily. The sacrifice of Christ is repeated, or re-echoed, among His followers in very varying degrees, from the cruelest martyrdom down to a self-submission of intention whose outward signs have nothing to distinguish them from the ordinary fruits of temperance and “sweet reasonableness’. The causes of this distribution I do not know; but from our present point of view it ought to be clear that the real problem is not why some humble, pious, believing people suffer, but why some do not. Our Lord Himself, it will be remembered, explained the salvation of those who are fortunate in this world only by referring to the unsearchable omnipotence of God.

From Chapter 7, “Human Pain Continued” (which might be my favorite chapter, although the preceding one is close)

But if suffering is good, ought it not to be pursued rather than avoided? I answer that suffering is not good in itself. What is good in any painful experience is, for the sufferer, his submission to the will of God, and, for the spectators, the compassion aroused and the acts of mercy to which it leads.

So, what did I think about The Problem of Pain?

If any real theologian reads these pages he will very easily see that they are the work of a layman and an amateur. Except in the last two chapters, parts of which are admittedly speculative, I have believed myself to be restating ancient and orthodox doctrines. If any parts of the book are ‘original’, in the sense of being novel or unorthodox, they are so against my will and as a result of my ignorance. I write, of course, as a layman of the Church of England: but I have tried to assume nothing that is not professed by all baptised and communicating Christians.

As this is not a work of erudition I have taken little pains to trace ideas or quotations to their sources when they were not easily recoverable. Any theologian will see easily enough what, and how little, I have read.

Despite many good things Lewis wrote in this work, these two paragraphs that close the Preface might be the truest. Lewis makes some serious errors here, misreading Scripture and showing an ignorance of theology (what he says about Total Depravity is the easiest illustration of this). He’s a layman, he’s allowed (many who read this will be quick to point the same is true of me—and I assure you, I’m just as aware as Lewis was). There’s a part of me that wishes he’d continued in his efforts to not write this.

Still, he did. And I do appreciate him wrestling with so many important ideas here—if nothing else, the way he framed the questions and thought through his answers demonstrates that “The Problem of Pain” can be responded to, can be shown to not be an insurmountable problem. Best of all, Lewis demonstrates that a thoughtful believer can have questions, can struggle, can find things difficult, and yet continue to believe.

Lewis has greater works ahead (I know because I’ve read some of these), and while I ultimately find his work here to be wanting—I respect the effort. I find a lot worthy of chewing on—but sadly, there’s a lot of it that must be ignored.

I do recommend it as a tool to make yourself consider some difficult ideas, and to find some good ways to think about them.

3 Stars

Broken Bonds by Amy Mantravadi: 16th Century Figures Come to Life in This Novel

By HCNewton

On January 26, 2025

In Chet and Bernie, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, History, Theology/Christian Living

Broken Bonds

by Amy Mantravadi

DETAILS:
Publisher: 1517 Publishing
Publication Date: November 26, 2024
Format: Paperback
Length: 300 pg.
Read Date: December 15-22, 2024

What’s Broken Bonds About?

This is a work of historical fiction focusing on April 1524-January 1525, at what will prove to be a significant period in the German Reformation. The narrative focuses on three men: Desiderius Erasmus, probably the greatest scholar of the era, and a would-be reformer of the Church; Martin Luther, the Reformer (who went further than Erasmus would’ve), and Philipp Melanchthon, a promising young scholar with ties to them both.

The book follows their connections and interactions with each other—as theoretical as some of them might be—as leaders put pressure on all three to sway them one way or the other, to pick up their pen (or lay it down) for an end, to cease their efforts to reform the Church, to increase their efforts to reform the Church (in ways they cannot agree with), and so on.

Martin Luther

Luther is the most well-known of the trio today, for good reason. In this novel we see Luther trying to reason with his former friend Karlstadt as the latter continues to cause trouble for Luther and everyone in their area. Luther is also trying to get more compensation for and more opportunities to teach and write for Melanchthon—for the sake of the young man’s family and the University of Wittenberg, who could use him.

He’s also dealing with some personal issues—how far does he go himself? Does he give up the monastic robe for that of an academic? It’s so much of his identity, he still holds the vows he swore before him, it cost Luther so much personally to follow this path—and despite the upheaval in his life, is he prepared to lay it all aside? This was so excellently done.

We get some glimpses of some of Luther’s multiple medical issues, a little bit of his humor, and a delightful relationship with and interaction with his goddaughter, too. Mantravadi is careful to present us with a human Luther, not some superhero.

Looming over all that Luther does here is an impending intellectual showdown with the one man he’s not sure he wants to debate with, but is steeling himself to lock horns with:

Desiderius Erasmus

Before Luther burst on the stage, it was easy to think of Erasmus as the greatest Christian thinker, writer, and scholar of his time. Erasmus did try to push for some institutional reforms and had many of the same aims as Luther, but he went about things in a less inflammatory way.

He’s been dodging requests and pleas to interact with Luther for quite some time now—but the pressure is mounting and he’s not certain he can do so much longer. Reluctantly, he picks up his pen to compose On Free Will to directly counter some of Luther’s teachings.

We get a very sympathetic view of Erasmus and his interactions with friends and Protestants he interacts with daily. His health struggles are different than Luther’s but painted just as vividly here. One bout of kidney stones, in particular, almost triggered flashbacks to my last one. I found myself really liking Erasmus and pulling for him.

One of Erasmus’ greatest goals—to chill the Lutheran movement, to further promote diverse ideas in the Academy/Church, and to hand off his work to a brilliant scholar—is to get Melanchthon to come to work with him, and essentially assume his mantle when he’s gone.

Philipp Melanchthon

Melanchthon is a struggling academic, just trying to make enough money to provide for his wife and daughter. He loves to be in the classroom (and it shows), but he’s equally open to teaching in other places, too. He sides with Luther, just not as vociferously as some may want—but Luther appears to trust him.

Melanchthon is tempted to take Erasmus’ offer—it’s a dream situation for him, it’s exactly what he wants. But he’s afraid that he’d have to water down or abandon his Protestant convictions and he’s not ready to do that.

His depiction is easily the most relatable, the most appealing—between the way other characters (particularly Erasmus and Luther) talk about him and the way that Mantravadi shows him, you could make the argument that the others are supporting characters in a novel where the young man is the protagonist.

He does frequently seem too much like a 21st-century man rather than one from the 16th. Particularly when it comes to talking about his wife and daughter. But maybe that’s just me. I really liked it, so I don’t care. Hopefully, it’s close to the truth.

The last thing I want to say about Melanchthon is that there’s a scene with a bunch of students for a sort of study club (best way I can summarize it). It is one of my favorite fictional depictions of a teacher and a group of students since John Keating and that ill-fated group at Welton Academy. I don’t want to give you details, but more than I want his family life to be the way that Mantravadi depicts it, I want this to be true.

The S-Word

So, a lot of the subjects of this book—particularly when it comes to health, but even beyond it—are what some would call “earthy.” It wasn’t a pleasant time to live in many ways, particularly digestive. Anyone who’s read much of Luther’s daily life, humor, or personal history well knows that he can be somewhat scatological. The working of his bowels is a frequent topic for him.

Erasmus isn’t much different. Melanchthon, thankfully, is—but not the people he spends time with.

It’s likely not enough to put anyone off—if anything, it might recruit some younger readers 🙂 But Mantravadi has her characters use vocabulary that Christians in the 16th Century would for these processes and products, even if most 20th/21st Christians would hesitate to use it. Just a word of warning for those who might be put off.

So, what did I think about Broken Bonds?

I went into this with some hesitation—the last two fictional works I read about this time period put me off in a serious way. (one was pre-blog, so I can’t point you at anything I wrote, and I don’t feel like picking on the other again). But I know that Mantravadi has a good reputation among some Church Historians—and even heard her interviewed by one a few years ago, so I felt safe.

I’m so glad that I did—these characters came alive to me in a way that two of them haven’t before (even if I think she handled Luther with kid gloves). She used their positions, arguments—sometimes even words—well in the progress of the novel. There are plenty of footnotes for those who want to dive more into their works. Which is always a bonus in this kind of work (also, footnotes—not endnotes).

The historical detail is there, but not so much of it that you get bogged down in it—the pacing keeps moving at a good clip throughout. Are some of these events overly-dramatized? Quite possibly. Are some of these under-dramatized? Equally possible. It is, in the end, a work of fiction and that needs to be remembered.

It’s a fast-paced read for something in this genre, it’s sympathetic to all its protagonists (even when they’re at odds), there’s good tension—even when it comes to talking about academic pursuits (not the easiest thing to dramatize), and there’s a heart and warmth to it all.

I think this would work for middle school-aged readers, and for most adults, too. You might even learn a little about history and theology while you’re at it. It’s definitely worth the investment of time. I’m more than ready for the second in this duology.

3.5 Stars