Reading and Readers

Hymn books give way to Powerpoint slides. Church organs to electric guitars. Offering bags to online transfers. Local churches to bible study groups, online communities, the metaverse? Is an insistence on local churches simply a clinging on to an outmoded way of the Christian life?
Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review "The Local Church: What It Is and Why It Matters" by Edward W. Klink III. 176 pages, published by Crossway on October 2021. This book review is made possible by Crossway's Blog Review Programme. I get the book for free but Crossway has no input in the review. On to the review!
Online Services Are Great! Or Not
Have you asked or heard this question before: "Why should the church meet physically when online services are just as good?" How do you answer?
"It's different, physical is better, online is not what God intended."
The conversation can go back and forth with no end in sight. Everybody has an opinion, experiences to share. Everyone has their own ideas of what a church is, what a church service is, and sometimes, just sometimes, they might put forward Bible verses to support their position.
And that's the wrong way of doing it. Don't start with a position and search the Bible to support it. Start with the Bible, what does the Bible say about the church?
Cutting through the noise, anger, frustration, confusion, in this book Klink offers theological clarity and pastoral assurance: what does the Bible say about the church?
His biography reads:

Edward W. Klink III (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is the senior pastor of Hope Evangelical Free Church in Roscoe, Illinois and part-time professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He previously served as associate professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University.
PhD. Part-time professor. Associate professor. Is this a tough book to read? You have got nothing to worry about. Klink explains in his introduction:
Although much of my writing thus far has been for scholars or the trained pastor, this book was written with the layperson in view, the average Christian. That does not mean it avoids all meat, for I certainly intended to push readers to broaden their biblical and theological categories as they think about the Christian life and the church. Yet I spend time in the book explaining key concepts and practices, and even include analogies and stories to help make the material more accessible. This book was written with the pastoral intention of offering a resource for “catechizing” Christians by explaining the church to them. It is an introduction to the local church.
Structure of Questions and Alliteration
Listen to the structure and hear for yourself how accessible this book is.
After the introduction you have the first chapter and there are six chapters in all in this 176 page book. The first chapter is titled, "What Isn't the Church?" Right off the bat, Klink corrects a few wrong ways to think of the church. After explaining what isn't the church, in the next chapter Klink explains what is the church. Then the third chapter is, "Why Does the Church Exist?", followed with "How Does the Church Function?". After the Christian understands the what, why and how of the church, Klink poses the most pertinent question today, "What is the Connection between a Christian and a Church?" The last chapter is titled, "Twenty Common Questions about the Local Church."
Klink loves his alliteration. Every chapter title has a P-letter word next to it. Thus, the chapters can be understood as: Problem, Principle, Purpose, Process, Participation and Practice.
By organising the book as a series of questions, the reader immediately sees the relevance. These are not ivory tower abstract ideas. Although you should not skip chapters to read the answer to that one question because each chapter builds on the chapter before it. Even the last chapter, "Twenty Common Questions about the Local Church", his answer makes better sense if you read the preceding chapters.
Stop Looking At The Church Wrongly
Let's now look at the first chapter, Problem: "What Isn't the Church?". Klink breaks it down to four common misperception:

1. The Church is not a Metaphor
2. The Church is not Coffee with Friends
3. The Church is not a Human Project
4. The Church is not a Voluntary Society

Get ready to be corrected here. Not only on your wrong way you have looked at the church but on the wrong way you have looked at your favourite Bible verses.
When Klink says that the Church is not Coffee with Friends, he points out that this idea is derived from a mistaken reading of Matthew 18:20: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
Wrong interpretations lead to wrong applications. By taking Matthew 18:20 to mean that Jesus or the church is wherever two or three Christians gather it has lead some to think: "I don't need the church. Or at least the church as those rigid traditionalists think of it. I just need to gather two or three together and Christ is with us. We don't need organised religion. We just need each other."
This is Klink's response:
... too often the way Christians speak of the church is really another way of talking about any gathering of Christians that involves aspects of fellowship and biblical-spiritual topics. But the church is more than the cumulative collection of Christians, no matter its spiritual fruitfulness.
Notice a few things. He acknowledges that there is fellowship, there is biblical-spiritual content and there is spiritual fruitfulness. He is not denying any of these good things. Klink is just telling us firmly that the church is not coffee with friends. And it's not because Klink, the pastor-theologian, said so. "Come." He invites us to read the Bible.
He zooms out of Matthew 18:20 and shows us the surrounding verses, verses 15-20. He writes:
The context makes clear that it is not a magical number gathered together that makes Christ present but that a symptom of Christ’s authoritative presence in the church is a proper handling of sin in a local church.
He continues on in his exposition. Klink emphasises that Matthew 18:20 summarises one aspect of what the church does. He later writes:
... the order is important — what the church is (in principle) comes before and explains what the church does (in practice).
If you don't know the difference between what the church is and what the church does, you can easily make, what Klink says is, a category mistake. If church is understood to simply a place where you do things, a place where you fellowship, worship, hear a sermon and pray, then it's easy to just replace it with an alternate form of Christianity community, a loose gathering at Starbucks or an online chat group. You can be a Christian without going to church! I have more to say on this but let's move on to another flawed notion.
And that is to see the church as solely or primarily a human project. We are very quick to say that the church is not a building but the people.
A mob crashes through the gates. Mobs with paint brushes and pots of paint. They chant: "My church, my colours. The only colour on the wall must be... "
Then a brave soul comes between the mob and the sacred church walls. "Hold on! Remember! Remember the church is not the building, it is the people!"
The mob return to their senses, return their paintbrushes and return to their homes.
The statement that "the church is not a building but the people" is true. We can point to the Greek word ekklesia and show how every time the NT authors speak of the church, they were not speaking of a building.
However, that statement while true does not mean that the church is of the people, by the people, for the people. I can imagine some people thinking, "It isn't?"
No, it isn't.
Klink writes:
According to the Bible, the church is a divine institution because of the necessary connection between the Lord Jesus Christ and his body, the church. This connection is the theological ground upon which any understanding of the church stands. By saying “theological,” I mean that the significance of this connection requires a summary of Scripture’s message on the topic. Scripture teaches us that the church has a necessarily derivative character, which means the church is not original (it is born from the incarnate body of Christ), it is secondary (it is under the lordship of Christ), and it exists because of another (its power is based on the death and resurrection of Christ).
Later, Klink quotes John Webster who says:
The church is not constituted by human intentions, activities and institutional or structural forms, but by the action of the triune God, realized in Son and Spirit.
This is not just mouthing banalities. This impacts the way you live as a Christian. On one side you have people promoting how to be a Christian without going to church. On this side, the biblical side, Klink says that the church is a divine institution, better understood as the church of God, by God, for the glory of God. Klink closes off this section with this strong message:
Any minimization of the church or disassociation from the church by a Christian is actually a rejection of God himself, for the church is his institution and his ministry.
I've only shared two of Klink's correction here: The Church is not coffee with friends and the church is not a human project. Depending on how you were brought up or what you see as the problem of the church, you could find the other sections: the Church is not a metaphor, the church is not a voluntary society, to be a big eye-opener, scales may drop from your eyes. You have been reading those bible verses wrongly. You have been seeing the church wrongly. So what is the right way to see the church?
Start Looking At The Church As God Sees It
Having stated the negative case of what isn't the church, Klink moves on to the positive case of what is the church. This he does by explaining the seven attributes extracted from the Bible, centred on God. As I read the seven attributes here, I invite you to think what it might mean in relation to the church. The seven attributes are:

1. The Pleasure of God
2. The People of God
3. The Presence of God
4. The Power of God
5. The Proclamation of God
6. The Provision of God
7. The Purpose of God

Klink loves his alliteration. He loves P-letter words. Alliteration is a useful memory device which you can test for yourself. I'm sure if you pause this podcast now, you will remember some if not all of the seven attributes of the church just listed.
These seven attributes did not emerge from a man's vision of what the church should be, like some Christian version of Plato's Republic.
Consider, when Klink says the church is the pleasure of God, he quotes part of Isaiah 43:1-7 which says:
I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine... For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you... whom I created for my glory.
When Klink says the church is the provision of God, he quotes Matthew 25:31-46, which begins with Jesus saying:
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
As he expounds from the biblical text, he draws from other commentaries and resources which he footnotes. In the second chapter, he cites John Calvin, the London Baptist Confession, J.I. Packer, John Frame, just to mention a few. So you can see, he offers the meat he promised, neatly diced, seasoned and grilled for easy chewing.
Inward Loving Reflection
No matter how much you know or think you know about the church, you will appreciate the insights, even if it's just the way Klink puts it together. Let me share another one.
We are familiar with the vertical and horizontal aspect of Christian relationship. Vertical is us and God. Horizontal is us and others. Klink puts it differently. Upward, outward and inward. Upward is us worshipping God. Outward reflects God's missional focus while inward reflects God's affection to his people.
Recently, I've been thinking about the inward aspect Klink mentions here, the loving one another part of the church. Maybe it's because of the arguments within the church on how to respond to Covid or seeing people in the church suffering due to the economic downturn.
When we strongly disagree with others, do we disagree in a way that demonstrates love? When we see people suffer, do we help? Do you know if anyone in your church is suffering? Are you comfortable sharing your trials and needs with someone in the church?
Unlike the other -ologies: Christology, soteriology, eschatology, I find ecclesiology, the doctrine of the church, to be the most reflective because it is the most people-facing doctrine. No Christian thinks they are in a perfect church. And if they think so, they probably haven't been there long enough or haven't served in ministry. So when you read a book on the church, and a good book shows you how God sees the church, you naturally reflect on your own church and your own church practices.
And since I mentioned church practises, by the time you reach the end of the book, you may have a lot of question on church practises. Questions like: How does a church help a person grow as a Christian? Why are churches so different? How do I find and join a church? And many more. Klink poses 20 questions in the end and its worth hearing his thoughts on many common questions asked about the church.
Careful Criticism Controls Crankiness
If I can offer one criticism on the book is that it is a bit too neatly diced for my liking. This may be a personal preference but I am suspicious of alliteration. Have you tried doing them before? You have your text. You have your points. Now you try to be fancy and turn those points into easy to remember alliteration points. But what happens when your last point resists. It doesn't want to be turned into a word that begins with the letter P.
If you can't find the right word that begins with the letter P. Do you choose the closest word? Even if that word does not exactly or fully convey the point you are making?
Or do you change the point? You adjust what you want to say so that the content better fits that word?
Or do you give up on alliteration? Throw away all the work you have done before?
Or do you start over? Find a new letter. Would A or B or C work?
Due to my own experience, I don't do alliteration in my teaching or preaching. The gains, memory recall, are minimal compared to the compromises I almost always make. I read Klink's 6Ps in the Table of Contents: Problem, Principle, Purpose, Process, Participation and Practice; and in chapter two the 7Ps to define the church: Pleasure, People, Presence, Power, Proclamation, Provision and Purpose. When I ponder how he managed to produce and present such a perfect list, I could only pontificate, praise and pillage?
In making the alliteration, is there a missing attribute, perhaps important but not so important, that didn't make the list simply because there was no convenient P-letter word for it? To be clear, Klink gives no hint of such omissions. Nor do I deny his alliterated points are thoroughly substantiated from Scripture. My question is perhaps academic, but how did he arrive at this seven attributes? Why not six or ten?
If I'm spending much time on this it's because I greatly appreciate this distinction between what the church is and what the church does. When I first learnt it, a light bulb came on.
Other Books on the Church
For this, I owe a debt to "Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church" by Gregg R. Allison. Allison gave me theological categories that helped me think on the seeker-sensitive, purpose-driven life, small group model and many other church models. Each model promises church growth and greater proximity to the biblical church.
The key takeaway I got from Allison is there are ontological models of the church and there are functional models. Ontological models build on what the church is. Functional models are driven by what the church does. Does this sound familiar?
Allison's definition of the church, he also has seven points, is, in my opinion better than Klink's. Allison explicitly shows the nature of the church with respect to God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. The boundaries between the points are clearer. Not so mushy as Klink's. Klink's alliteration may help me remember that the church shows the power of God, the proclamation of God and the provision of God, but having remembered the P-words, I struggle to distinguish between the power of God and his proclamation and provision.
You can hear that I am profuse in my praise for Allison's book, but it's a tougher book to read. So I find it hard to recommend to the everyday Christian.
A more accessible book that has gone into a fourth edition is Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever. Similar to Klink's Local Church, this book is targeted towards the everyday Christian. Dever's book is helpful. No doubt about it. Especially for the busy pastor. The busy congregation member. It has a no nonsense feel to it's organisation.
However, between the Klink's and Dever's, I prefer Klink's because I think first principles are more important in the long run. For example, as churches everywhere struggle with online services: "is it good, is it bad, is it biblical?" Dever's nine marks indirectly address the issue. Klink's does better. But Allison reads the best even though his book was published in 2012. One of Allison's seven definition is: the church is spatio-temporal and eschatological, it means the church is located in space, time and destiny. And with this definition of the church, a church is located in space and time, we can explore the Bible of whether a YouTube anytime, anywhere service is an acceptable replacement or complement to the church.
All the books I mentioned are good and all have their place. None have the last word. To illustrate this, look at Crossway's six month publishing schedule. Local Church, the book I am reviewing now, by Edward Klink was published in October 2021. "Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ is Essential" by Jonathan Leeman was also published in October 2021. "The Loveliest Place: The Beauty and Glory of the Church" by Dustin Benge will be published in February 2022. No doubt there will be more books written and published as we the church try to make sense of what is happening around us and what is meant to happen to the church, in the church, for the church.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you need to read not just one book on the church. But if you are a new Christian or if you are a Christian who has grown indifferent or hostile against organised religion or the church, then you should read Klink's book and consider the this humble pastor-theologian's answer to the question, "Why should I go to church?"
This is a Reading and Readers' Review of "The Local Church: What It Is and Why It Matters" by Edward W. Klink III. It's available in Amazon Kindle for USD16.14 and in Logos it's priced at USD13.99.
If you like this episode, perhaps I could persuade you to promote it to your preferred friends and family members. Reading and Readers is available in Apple Podcast, Spotify and other podcast services. You can also listen to the episodes in the website: www.readingandreaders.com. That's www.readingandreaders.com. A podcast, where I review Christian books for you.
Book List

• "The Local Church: What It Is and Why It Matters" by Edward W. Klink III. Amazon. Logos.
• "Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church" by Gregg R. Allison. Amazon. Logos.
• "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (4th Edition)" by Mark Dever. Amazon. Logos.
• "The Loveliest Place: The Beauty and Glory of the Church" by Dustin Benge. Amazon. Logos.

It's the beginning of the new year. Places to go. People to meet. Books to read. And what better way to start the year than to read a book titled Sunrises: Reflections on the New Year Ahead. Oh wait... It's titled Sunsets: Reflection on Life's Final Journey. Wait a minute, this is about death? Who thought it was a good idea to start the year by reading a book about death? Well, someone at Faithlife.
Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review "Sunsets: Reflections on Life's Final Journey" by Deborah Howard. 336 pages, published on August 2017 by Export Press. The book is available in Amazon Kindle for USD8.95 but it is available for free from Faithlife in January.
The author is a Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse. What is hospice and palliative? If you have cancer and the doctor says there is no more treatment, there is no cure, then hospice becomes an option. As Howard explains in her book, hospices do not speed up or slow down death. They do all they can to provide better quality of life for the patient and for the family.
The foreword was written by the esteemed theologian D.A. Carson, let me read it:

Deborah Howard has managed to link narrative and exposition. Most of the narrative books in this area tell a story, or tell a lot of stories, and nothing more. Many other books provide doctrinal structures, but they are rather abstract. This book combines narrative and doctrinal exposition. Of course, that makes the book a little long; for many readers, however, the combination also makes the book more memorable. And apart from all the little stories, the ongoing narrative of Bachman is not one you are likely to forget.
The ongoing narrative of Bachman is an important part of the book and I'll come back to that. I want to repeat what Carson sees as a unique feature: the book combines narrative and doctrinal exposition. I think the author took a big risk putting it together like this. I can see readers who come for the stories and insights of a hospice nurse find the biblical exposition distracting to the flow of the book. I know I did, and let me show you why.
Overall Flow of the Book
The first three chapters are titled "Denial", "Why Me?" and "Options". Options here referring to hospice care. These three chapters gives you what you can expect from a hospice nurse cum author.
Then we have chapters 4, 5 and 6, chapters which sit more comfortably in a systematic theology textbook. The titles are: "The Sovereignty of God", "The Sovereignty of God in Salvation" and "The Purposes of Suffering".
After that, we return to our regular programming. Chapter 7 is "Preparing for Approaching Death". Chapter 8, 9 and 10 deal with questions on angels and things that go bump in the night, death itself, and Heaven and Hell. All very pertinent to the dying and those who care for the dying.
Lastly, Chapter 11 is titled "Comfort". Comfort to the dying, to the caring and to the mourning. She shows how all comfort ultimately comes from God.
Now that I have given a brief overview of the whole book, I want to show what a typical chapter looks like. Every chapter begins with a snippet of the Bachman story. Howard uses that story as a springboard, a hook, to get into the chapter's topic, whether it's denial, or Heaven and Hell. Every chapter will also include a case study from her experience caring and journeying with the dying.
A Big Guy Story
Remember the Bachman story. Here is how we get introduced to the main character:
Big Bachman McNair III sat in the doctor’s office with his slender wife seated apprehensively on the edge of her chair beside him. He’d always been a big guy—a talented football star in high school and college. But football wasn’t his only claim to fame. He was a big man in the business world as well and had provided a safe and comfortable life for his family.
Then the doctor tells him the news.
“You’re crazy,” he raved. “Cancer. Why, I don’t believe that for a second. I’m healthy as a horse. If it weren’t for this back pain, I’d be as fit as I was in high school. I’ve lost down to my college weight already. I just overdid the exercise and pulled my back. That’s all.”
We follow Bachman through his life's final journey. His wife Penny is a loving partner throughout the trial. And we later get introduced to Paula Shaw, the hospice nurse with "the bright smile and the twinkle in her eyes".
Howard writes:
Bachman McNair is a fictional character but one I created as a composite of several patients I’ve known. The experiences he faces in this book reflect actual situations in the lives of those who have shared their stories, their lives, and their deaths with me.
If there was no Bachman in this book, it can be difficult to see how the chapters come together as a sequence. We were there when Bachman receives the bad news from the doctor and are there when he, spoiler alert?, he dies and his loved ones processed his death. Each chapter is a step in Bachman's move towards death. We experience Bachman's doubts, pain, embarrassment, friendship, joy and hope, which Howard then picks up and elaborates in detail as one who has walked alongside many many deaths.
A Christian's Practical Guide to Dying
So that we get what I call a Christian's Practical Guide to Dying. And she is the only one who can do it in this way.
Any pastor-theologian can tell you about the spiritual side of things: doctrines of Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons, "the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".
Any doctor can tell you what happens in the body as it gives up life: the heart, the lungs, the brain, hearing will be the last sense to go.
Anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one can tell you the emotional depth of the days of waiting.
But as I read this book, I am struck by how only a hospice nurse comes to her patient, and begins her assignment by listening to her patient's breathing so that she can listen for the change in rhythm that tells her the end is near and that it's time to call in the family to say their farewells. Most nurses expect or hope their patients to get well. Hospice nurses don't.
And now in this book, we read how a Christian lives out her theology in the days between life and death.
For example, in the first chapter on denial, she doesn't just address the five stages of grief because even unbelievers know and work through the five stages of grief. She tells us where God is in the grief:
I’ve seen over the years that the more we understand the way God works in our lives and the stronger our faith in Christ, the better we are able to find the sweet acceptance that proves so elusive for others without that personal relationship with Him. I’m not saying there is no pain. It always hurts to lose someone you love. I’m saying there is never a reason for despair, bewilderment, or feelings of abandonment when we experience His lovingkindness and understand the truths of His Word.
In speaking about denial, it's not just denial of the inevitable death. She has another denial she wants to address. She writes:
When we say we don’t need a Savior to go to heaven, we are in denial — denying the very Word of God.
Too Theological?
Some reviewers have commented that the book is too pushy in the Christian bits.
In the chapter on "The Sovereignty of God" she presents the sovereignty of God over the earth, over the weather, over Satan and his demons, over governments, over mankind and over life and death. And she dedicates a whole chapter just on the sovereignty of God in salvation.
As I read these Bible-saturated, doctrinally rich chapters, chapters which I would normally love and adore, I must confess my thought was "What's a hospice nurse doing writing on a subject better left to pastors and theologians?"
These chapters are well-written and well-organised. She cites sermons, books and expounds on many dear and familiar Bible verses to tell me things that I already know and have read written by better hands. As I read, I too thought she should cut down or even remove these chapters that interrupt the flow of her book.
But I was wrong. For two reasons.
One, I am being a snob. While there are better books on these themes, as she herself said, she is a student of the Scriptures not a Bible scholar. Here is an everyday Christian who has put together these beautiful truths from the Bible and integrated them into her working life. This is the desire of every pastor for every teaching ministry. I want to be a Christian who can hear the same old truths instead of only searching for a new insight or twist to familiar passages.
Now to the second reason I was wrong to dismiss these doctrinal chapters, and this is the most important reason. We must remember Bachman.
Deborah Howard has written these chapters, and it's not only these God's Sovereignty chapters, all the chapters in this book have a strong biblical flavour to them, because these are important. These are literally, literally, the last words she wants the dying to hear.
There is no hope but Jesus. Call to Jesus. Cry to Jesus. Fly to Jesus. You can hear the urgency of a Christian who has experienced the goodness of God and wants you, before you die, to know Jesus.
More Than A Pastor-Theologian
In my defence, if I am impatient with her biblical exposition of great truths it is because I am so interested in the story of Bachman, the case studies and the practical insights that no pastor or theologian offer so clearly as the humble hospice nurse here.
Pastors accompany and care for many in life's final journey but not in the way that, I've come to realise, hospice nurses do. At one point in the book, a hospice nurse manually removes an impacted stool. Pastors are not in the room for that. It's not something theologians would think or write about. You will never see it shown on TV or movies. It's too embarrassing, impolite and you would never think about the bowel movement of the dying, but here it is in this book.
And it's not written as it would be in a medical textbook: cold, detached, matter of fact, these are the things that happen when dying. She draws us in by describing conversations with anxious loved ones, the reactions of the patient and how a hospice nurse works to preserve dignity when death tries to take even that away.
Let me read a tip she offers in the book:
Don’t be surprised if your loved one begins to have “accidents.” Try to take it in stride, and do what you can to preserve the patient’s dignity as you assist in cleaning her up. Make sure her private parts are covered whenever possible, asking other people to leave the room while you’re working with her and never, never shaming her. Try not to make faces showing revulsion. (If the smell bothers you, here’s a trick I use. Open an alcohol swab and wipe it under your nose. All you’ll be able to smell for a few minutes will be the alcohol.) Many times the patient is already unresponsive at this time or incapable of understanding what she has done. But if she is aware that she has made a mess, it will cause her pain and grief and be a tremendous blow to her already-suffering ego.
Another tip I picked up was "Don't insist that the patient eat." Howard recounts a case where she gives this advice and the daughter of the patient, got furious and asked, "You mean you want us to sit by and watch my father starve to death?" And the answer was yes.
Did you know that as the body nears death, the digestive system shuts down? If the patient eats, he could experience bloating, cramping, vomiting, indigestion, excessive gas production, diarrhea, or constipation, which is why the nurse says, "It could be a cruelty to force food into a gut that has stopped working properly."
I don't want you to misunderstand, the book is more than tips and tricks on caring for the dying. By giving you these examples, I show you that Howard deals with things as it is, this is real, and it's not just real physically and emotionally, she gives it to you, spiritually.
Integrating Theology and Life
When I talk with people about angels and demons, it's a topic of a conversation. "Do angels exist?" We discuss, debate, take a position, study the Bible, preach, and so on. But in this book, when she asks "Do angels exist?", it's because... let me read to you from the story of Bachman. The family are in the den. When...
Looking away from her again, Bachman said weakly, “What do you want?” “What, Daddy?” “Okay. But what did Mama say? Is she going too?” With wide eyes Laura looked back over her shoulder at Sarah and John, who were sitting in stunned silence, watching Bachman. Laura shrugged and softly spoke to Bachman again. “Daddy, what are you talking about?” “I wasn’t talking to you,” he said curtly. “Then who were you talking to?” “To him.” He nodded his head toward the space between the fireplace and the leather chair, pointing one thin finger. They all looked but saw nothing. “You were talking to whom, Daddy? John?” Laura strained her ears to hear his muffled reply. “To ... the angel,” he managed to explain.
Howard tells of a real incident where a woman saw an angel everyday for several days before she died. She writes:
This is not an isolated incident. It happens fairly frequently. I’m not saying absolutely that an angel is there. I’m just saying that’s what people sometimes report. What do the Scriptures teach about this?
So that's what I mean by the theology is integrated with real life. In answering questions like angels and demons, heaven and hell, she does not speculate. She does Scripture.
Recommending booksAfter completing this book, I was struck that we should all read a book before we go on a trip.
You have travel books, travel blogs, travel vlogs, describing every possible holiday destination and what you can see, hear and experience. The travel guide is full of descriptions, warnings and tips and tricks.
But there is that one place everybody will go. A place where everybody should be ready for. Have you read a travel book for your final journey?
I don't have any personal recommendations to make but Howard does. She regularly quotes from these books: "One Minute After You Die" by Erwin Lutzer and another favourite of hers is "Trusting God Even When Life Hurts" by Jerry Bridges. From this Jerry Bridges book she quotes, "We must embrace three truths if we are really to trust God: God is completely sovereign, God is infinite in wisdom and God is perfect in love."
When I read this, I remember a podcast episode, of a father breaking the news he has late-stage cancer to his children. I went looking for the episode and found it.
It's from Truth in Love, a podcast from the Association of Certified Biblical Counsellors. In episode 37, "Talking to Your Kids about Your Cancer", Tim Keeter tells the story:
Tim asks, "We talk a lot about God is perfect in his love for us, right? What does that mean?" "That means, he always wants what is best for us." "Not just that, not only does he want what is best for us but he is perfect in his infinite wisdom. So boys what does that mean?" "It means that not only that he wants what is best for us but he knows what is best for us." "That's great. That's exactly right. I got one more." "We also talk about God is completely sovereign. So what does that mean?" "Well dad, it means that not only does God always want what is best for us, not only does he always know what is best for us, he will always bring it about." "When?" "Always." "No matter how severe the situation?" "Yes dad, always." "Good. Because I'm going to give you a chance to practise that right now."
You can hear Tim break off in tears. I recommend you listen to the full episode in the podcast, Truth in Love. It's episode 37 and there are many good episodes in that podcast from the Association of Certified Biblical Counsellors.
This Jerry Bridges book which has helped Tim Keeter and Deborah Howard and many others proves how books can offer real help, real comfort.
In her concluding chapter titled "Comfort", Howard shares that when she wrote this book, she wrote it to comfort people. But as she wrote the book, she realised even more deeply that the only source of comfort is God.
Deborah Howard's book has helped me reflect on my own life's final journey. And also those of my loved ones. What a great way to start the year. The whole year is ahead of you. Will what you do this way prepare you for the journey you and your loved ones will take?
This is a Reading and Readers review of "Sunsets: Reflections on Life's Final Journey" by Deborah Howard. Foreword by D.A. Carson. Available in Amazon Kindle for USD8.95 but free from Faithlife for January.
After reading this book, I have gained a newfound appreciation for the work of hospices and palliative care. So much so that I'm going to make a contribution to the local palliative care centre. I ask that you join me to support hospices. And if you are not sure why you should, just read the book. Or visit a hospice. Thank you for listening.
Book List

• "Sunsets: Reflections on Life's Final Journey" by Deborah Howard. Amazon. Faithlife.
• "One Minute After You Die" by Erwin Lutzer. Amazon. Faithlife.
• "Trusting God Even When Life Hurts" by Jerry Bridges. Amazon. Faithlife.
• Truth in Love (Podcast) by Association of Certified Biblical Counsellors. Link.

A good advice in life is to "Begin with the End in Mind". If you know where you are heading, you'll know what you are doing. If you agree, then today's book review is for you.
Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I'm reviewing "Revelation and the End of All Things" by Craig R. Koester. This is the second edition, published in 2018 by Eerdmans Publishing. It's priced at USD9.99 in Amazon Kindle but it's free in Logos for January and only January.
Puzzling, Mysterious and Scary Revelation
Revelation. How would you describe the last book of the Bible? Puzzling. Mysterious. Scary. You are not alone. Koester quotes a a famous theologian who said that Revelation was "neither apostolic nor prophetic". This famous historical figure could "in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it". He also said that "Christ is neither taught nor known in it". And thus he "advised people to stick to the biblical books that present Christ clearly."
Who dares to speak against holy scripture? Why, he is none other than Martin Luther. Who dares to smear such a great man? Why, he is none other than Craig R. Koester, a professor at Luther Seminary who has written commentaries on Hebrews and Revelation for the Anchor Yale Commentary series. He was also involved in the Lutheran World Federation's project on the “The Bible in the Life of the Lutheran Communion” from 2011-2016.
Martin Luther is known for his over the top language but what provoked his outrageous comments against Revelation? Koester explains that in 1521 there were three radical preachers stirring up trouble by proclaiming the imminent end of the world. By warning people to stick to the biblical books that present Christ clearly he was protecting Christians from false teachers.
Because to follow a wrong interpretation of Revelation can be dangerous. Koester gives three examples.
The first group predicted Christ's return in March 21, 1843, then March 21, 1844, then October 22, 1844. Then they argued that Christ did return but he returned invisibly to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary. This is the Seventh Day Adventists.
The second group predicted Christ's return in 1874, then 1914. They taught that 144,000 saints have a special status citing Revelation passages. This group is of course, the Jehovah Witnesses.
The third group attempted to gather 144,000 people to greet the arrival of God's kingdom which was prophesied to happen on April 22, 1959. When the date passed without incidence, Vernon Howell, who later called himself, David Koresh took over the remnant. Listen to how Koester describes his teaching:

Since Isaiah 45:1 calls Cyrus or “Koresh” God’s “anointed one” (christos in Greek), David Koresh argued that many New Testament references to the “christ” referred to a latter-day warrior rather than to Jesus. For example, he insisted that the Lamb who would break the seals on the scroll that contained God’s plan for the ages (Rev. 5:2) was not Jesus, but Koresh himself. He also claimed to be the conqueror on the white horse that appeared when the first seal was broken (Rev. 6:1–2). Like Cyrus before him, Koresh envisioned himself as the adversary of “Babylon,” the term he used for federal agents and other outsiders.
When you read how Revelation has been interpreted by the Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses and David Koresh, Martin Luther's over the top warnings seem prudent.
Luther in his commentary on Revelation offers one significant insight. Revelation is a message of warning and promise. Throughout this book, Koester will take Luther's cue to show that message of warning and promise.
If you know nothing about interpreting Revelation, the first chapter is a must-read. Here, Koester traces the history of interpreting revelation from the early church fathers onwards. Notable names include Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Montanus, Jerome, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and later the Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses, David Koresh, postmillennialists, premillennialists, and more. From his big sweep through history, Koester highlights what he sees as important threads and brings them together for his book.
For example, Revelation is not a chronological straight line reading. It is cyclical, meaning the same ideas are repeated in different ways.
You Literally Don't Know What Literally Means
A central argument he makes is Revelation is not a code book for 22nd century Christians to reveal the divine secrets of current or future events. Koester rejects a futuristic interpretation and holds a historical and timeless interpretation of Revelation.
You say, "Why don't we just take a literal interpretation?" The funny thing is everyone says they are taking a literal interpretation. Premillennialists say Revelation literally shows the world will get worse and so Christians must heed the warnings and prepare for it. Postmillennialists say Revelation literally shows the world will get better and so Christians must heed the promises and work towards it. Amillennialists say we must take Revelation as it is literally. It is literally a revelation, a prophecy and a letter.
Many end-times debate start at Revelation 20, which is the millennial kingdom chapter, and people interpret the rest of Revelation based on their view on the millennial. Koester asks that we read Revelation not from Revelation 20 but from the first three chapters of Revelation, read it as a letter to the seven churches.
Then as we advance further and get buffeted by the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven bowls of wrath, the creatures with faces resembling a human, a lion, an ox and an eagle and so on, Koester our steadfast guide will remind us that all these visions were written as a message of promise and warning to the seven churches as they confront assimilation, persecution and complacency. And what they face, we also face. Thus, the message of promise and warning which historically applies to them is timeless for all Christians.
Six Cycles
In the start of a chapter, before he begins his commentary, there is a circle or a cycle to be precise. When he comments on Revelation 1-3, the picture is of one cycle. In the next chapter, we see two cycles and so on. What I appreciate is he doesn't just tell us there is this cyclical structure in the book, which we can gather from an outline. What Koester does so well is to show how the cycles connect to each other. For example, at the start of chapter three, he writes:
As the previous cycle concluded, Christ stood knocking at the door, waiting for the Christian community to open to him (3:20); but before readers can respond, a new cycle begins as John is shown a door that already stands open (4:1). The contrast is provocative: as Christ asks the community to open their door to him, he opens heaven’s door to them through John’s prose.
By showing the connection between cycles, when we reach the final chapter, which is the sixth and final cycle of visions, we are persuaded of his conclusion. Let me quote from him:
The peculiar cyclical structure of Revelation, which we have followed throughout this book, directs attention to God and the Lamb as the End of all things. By taking readers through a dizzying spiral of visions, Revelation helps to undercut the readers’ confidence that they can know the steps by which future events will unfold. Those who find a kind of security in knowing where they are on God’s timeline subtly fall prey to a false faith, because God keeps the secrets of his coming hidden from human eyes (Matt. 24:36). Therefore, the kaleidoscopic changes in images that overlap with each other and convey similar messages in multiple guises actually help to show readers the limits of their own abilities to determine where they are in time. As Revelation’s spirals unsettle readers, however, they repeatedly bring readers back to the presence of God and the Lamb, who are worthy of the readers’ trust (Rev. 1:12–20; 4:1–5:14; 7:9–17; 11:15–19; 15:2–4; 19:1–10; 21:1–22:5).
Sometimes commentaries ask a lot from the readers, knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, ancient history, literature but Koester makes no such demands. He shows us there is a cycle simply by putting the Bible verses together. Just follow the evidence and you will reach the same conclusions.
Not a Reference Book But Better
Normally, if you pick up a commentary on Revelation, it's because you want to know what a symbol means. For example, let me read from Revelation 5:6.
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Christians understand the Lamb to symbolically refer to Jesus Christ. Nobody takes this verse to mean a literal lamb with seven horns and seven eyes. But you wonder, "What do the seven horns and seven eyes mean?" So you take a commentary, and the one we are reading is Koester's and you are disappointed.
To answer your question, "What do the seven horns and seven eyes mean?", Koester just tells us that the horn is a symbol of power (Ps 132:17) and seven refers to God's sevenfold Spirit (Isa 11:1-3). That's it.
What Koester lacks in detailed exposition he more than compensates with big picture exposition. He does explain who is the 144,000 redeemed, the woman, Michael and the dragon, the two beasts, the Great Harlot and so on, but he always tackles the question of what the symbol means in light of the whole book of Revelation.
Why A Lamb? Why Not Something More Direct?
For example, in his comments on the lamb who was slain, the verse we read just now, Koester poses a different question. He writes:
This scene is a good place to ask again why Revelation communicates through word pictures rather than in a more direct way.
Notice that by asking this general question, "Why word pictures?", the answer will help you grasp the entire book which is full of word pictures. Listen to his answer on why a lamb.
In this single vivid image of the Lamb, John brings together multiple dimensions of meaning: vulnerability, sacrificial death, and deliverance. As noted earlier, the imagery also appeals to the emotions and the will by evoking sympathy and a willingness to identify with the one whom the Lamb represents. By juxtaposing the images of a Lion and a Lamb, John portrays the suffering and death of Jesus as an act of power—the power of redemptive self-giving, which accomplishes God’s purposes. The widespread use of the Lamb image in Christian art, music, and worship attests to its ability to capture the imagination.
This is a brilliant answer putting forward the theological, emotional, contextual and practical.
What is the Beast?
Another example, "What is the Beast from the Sea in Revelations 13?" Instead of trying to identify who are the ten horns and seven heads - Are they Roman emperors? Are they the United Nations? - Koester contrasts the Lamb Who Was Slain against the Beast from the Sea. He comments:
Many of the beast’s features are hideous distortions of those of the Lamb. Christians believed that the God enthroned in heaven sent Christ into the world as the Lamb who suffered and died for others. In a perverse counterpart to this story, the Devil who is kicked out of heaven sends a beast into the world to make others suffer and die. In previous chapters, readers learned that the Lamb shares the power, the throne, and the authority of God (5:6, 12, 13; 12:5, 10); now they learn that the beast shares the power, the throne, and the authority of Satan the dragon (13:2).
Koester later concludes that "the beast exemplifies the threats that confront the people of God in many generations."
Do you hear the clash in approach? The clash between the futuristic versus timeless interpretative approach? The futuristic approach tries to map the beast to someone we have to watch out. The futuristic approach is a common way of reading Revelation which Koester rejects. In contrast, the timeless approach warns us to watch out for assimilation, persecution and complacency. The problems that has historically affected the seven churches are the same problems we currently face. Thus, the beast is a timeless symbol of persecution.
A Holy City Shaped As A Cube
One last insight. In keeping with what Martin Luther said is the purpose of Revelation, let's look at a promise this time instead of a warning. In Revelation 21, John speaks of the new city, the New Jerusalem. Verse 21:16:
The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.
If the length, width and height are equal then this city is a perfect cube. 12,000 stadia is 1380 miles or 2220 kilometers. Let's just look at the height. The tallest building in the world right now is not even 1 kilometer high. It is barely half a mile high. Imagine the scale. The mind resists to imagine a cubic city and perhaps resistance is futile. Futile, maybe because the numbers and dimensions point to something else.
Koester asserts that the cubic shape points to the holy city as a sanctuary. Did you know that the inner chambers of the tabernacle and the temple, the Holy of Holies, is a cubic space? Let me read from 1 Kings 6:20.
The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high...
Instead of trying to visualise a cubic Holy City, which is more than 2000 times taller than our tallest building today - How does it look like? How would it be constructed? - let us consider rather the relationship of New Jerusalem with the Holy of Holies.
Who Is This Book For?
Who is this book for? When it comes to interpreting Revelation, I suggest there are three groups of people.
The first group is so intimidated by Revelation that they avoid reading it. The book overwhelms the mind. It's such a hard book, I don't understand it and I'll just skip it because there are 65 other books for me to understand. For the longest time, I was a member of this group.
Then there is the second group who are cocksure that they have nailed the interpretation of Revelation using obviously, obviously, the correct biblical approach and nothing would convince them that they are wrong. Even if they stood before the Great White Throne surrounded by the angelic hosts, they would probably tell the Lord Jesus that it's all great and all but the movie, I mean the outcome, is different from the book.
Between those two extremes, are people who are timidly exploring Revelation to learn Old Testament allusions and theological categories like eschatology, apocalyptic literature and millennialism.
This book has something for all three groups.
For the first group, the scaredy cats, this book gives you the satisfaction that you can understand the book of Revelation. I don't know how to impress upon you how wonderful a feeling this is for a book that is so impenetrable for so long. For those who feel lost reading Revelation, Koester offers a map, a cyclical structure, that will help you make sense of all the visions.
For the second group, the confident students of Revelation, Koester will not change your mind. He spends more time explaining why he is right, and not why you are wrong. You will gain a clearer and better understanding of one interpretation. Or to paraphrase one of R.C. Sproul's jokes, you will have two interpretations, one is yours and the other is God's.
Joking aside, when Christians discuss about the end times we often lose sight of what we agree about the end times. Koester tells us Revelation begins and ends with God and the Lamb. You agree. Koester tells us that Revelation functions to offer promise and warning to Christians. You agree. So while many may disagree with the details or what it means to take a literal interpretation, there is still far more that unites us than separates Christians in this Revelation debate. This book helps build that unity.
For the third group, my earlier comments obviously apply but I add another. We don't like being unsure of anything. It makes us uncomfortable, wishy-washy, sitting on the fence. We become tempted to rush into the first position that makes sense to us. If you are still exploring and are not familiar with other positions yet, I ask that you hold on. At least until you understand why other Bible-honouring Christians hold to differing positions.
Understanding Revelation As A Whole
I have one final reflection that hopefully might tip the balance to get you to read this book. I don't know about you but the Revelation sermons I have heard all came as short series. For example, I attended a conference where Tim Keller preached a series on the seven churches. I remember my pastor preaching a short series on the seven seals. When you consider what Revelation is, with all the psychedelic colours and noise, it's understandable why it's offered as a short series rather than preached from Revelation chapter one to chapter 22. But I understand my experience could be different from yours.
All I am saying is, if you are looking for a book that gives you a clear structure to follow and explains the relationships between the chapters of Revelation in a way that you can get it and stirs you with a timeless message of promise and warning, then this is the book to get.
This is a Reading and Reader's review of "Revelation and the End of All Things" by Craig R. Koester. It's available now for free from Logos for this month and this month only.
Next in Reading and Readers!
As regular listeners would know, Logos is not the only one with a free book of the month programme. Faithlife has one. The next book I will review is "Sunsets: Reflections for Life's Final Journey" by Deborah Howard.
Let me read the description:
Because one death touches many lives, it is important for both those who are dying and those who love them to be prepared for the pain and grief that accompany it. Here Deborah Howard shares words of comfort and encouragement for everyone coping with suffering and death. Her compassion, firm faith in Christ, and years of working as a hospice nurse create a uniquely sensitive, experiential, and biblical volume.
Above all, she emphasizes that there is a light that cuts through death's dark shadow. That light is Jesus Christ, and He offers hope and comfort to all who are facing life's final journey.
I'm looking forward to sharing my review of this book with you in two weeks. See you then!
Book List
"Revelation and the End of All Things" by Craig R. Koester. Amazon. Logos.

Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Except today I'm not reviewing any books because this is a special behind the scenes episode.
These are the last days of December and I've decided to start a tradition. You are listening to the first ever Reading and Readers Year End Reflection episode.
The Desert Shall Rejoice and Blossom like the Crocus
As I look back to April this year, which is when I started this podcast, I remember the trepidation of releasing my first six episodes. In Episode 6, I shared the genesis of Reading and Readers and the meaning behind the cover art. Leaves, river and desert. What has that got to do with reading? Isaiah 35.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. (Isaiah 35:1–2, ESV)
These verses express the refreshing, soul-invigorating experience of reading a good book. Reading could be described as an investment with sure profits, a journey into another world or some other imagery.
Back when I was trying to think of a name for this podcast, these verses just clicked. And when life becomes dry, a good book is an oasis. Remember that God wants everyone to be a reader, even if it's a reader of one book, the Good Book. I humbly suggest that if we read more books, we become better readers of the Bible.
The podcast is titled Reading and Readers. In every episode, my attention is on the reader: young, old, beginner, avid, sinner, saint. What would convince you to start this book? What would stumble you from completing it? What other books could I recommend to you? Today, instead of speaking as a reviewer, I'll share as a reader, how the books I read have impacted me.
Chanting the Fruit of the Spirit
"Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit: Growing in Christlikeness" by Chris Wright proved to be a foundational stepping stone in my Christian walk. It's not flashing with marvellous insights. You will not be captivated by the author's wit and way with words. It's rather understated in what it achieved and I wonder whether it would have the same impact on others.
In the first chapter, Wright describes how John Stott prays for the fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control everyday. That daily prayer just stuck with me until today.
I don't know about you but before this, I never bothered to memorise the fruit of the S pirit. I remember the first three and if forced to recite the rest, I would mumble my way through. With a little bit of effort inspired by Chris Wright's book, I am now the proud owner of a mind that can remember nine words in sequence. Yay, for small victories. But did I succeed to pray them every morning like I wanted to?
Yes. I was consistent for a few weeks. Then momentary lapses. And three months later today, no. I don't pray them in the morning.
However, I chant them.
The word chant evokes casting a magic spell or just mindlessly repeating phrases over and over again. Maybe you would suggest the word meditate instead of chant but chant is the more accurate word. It's like this.
Something upsets me. Maybe wife, kids, work, church, the news or whatever it may be. Then if I am alert and self-aware, I'll intentionally go through the fruit of the Spirit in my head. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And I just repeat it over and over again. I don't meditate and wonder "What is God's love? How do I love? How am I loved?" I don't do that. I am just 'mindlessly' repeating the verse in my head to short circuit the bad thoughts that threaten to come out as unkind words or regrettable actions.
I don't just recite them when angry. When I am washing the dishes or taking out the trash, sometimes I sing a song, my favourite currently is "His Mercy is More" by Matt Boswell and Matt Papa. But often times, I would just recite the fruit of the Spirit. If I don't, I realise my mind would stray towards money, or work, or perhaps some issue somewhere. There is a time and place to think such things but I think more than a solution I need the fruit of the Spirit.
Because it's on my mind often, it's something I talk about with my children too. Self-control especially. And sometimes I lead my family in prayer through them.
Efficiency and ROI in Reading
This is an example of how a book can nurture the mind and soul. Am I able to summarise Chris Wright's book? No, I can't remember most of what I read, nor do I try to. I don't think the point of reading is to remember the whole book.
The John Stott story is told in the very beginning of the book. Since I gained the most from that story, wouldn't it be more efficient to just read that story rather than the whole book and gain the same effect? But if I didn't read the whole book, I wouldn't get the same effect.
When you read a book, your brain is not downloading data. When you read data there is a network effect. The network effect is what happens when you have more people using the product or service. If you are the only person with a phone, the phone is useless. A phone becomes more useful when others have phones.
As you read a page, you are consciously or subconsciously connecting that data to other data stored in you.
For example, when you read a story like John Stott praying the fruit of the Spirit and that's all you read, you could possibly, maybe, perhaps get the same soul-enriching experience I had. But if I read the same story on a tweet, I wouldn't gain much from it.
That story was hammered deeper in my soul because Chris Wright went through chapter by chapter, for example: how God demonstrated love, and how we are to reflect God's love. So my mind was fixated on the fruit of the Spirit for an extended time under the tutelage of an expert.
So instead of considering the Return of Investment based on how many percent of the book I remember or apply, it's more helpful to consider who I was before the book compared to after the book.
Public Disagreements Stick in the Brain
Another thing I learnt this year was by disagreeing with a book, and publicly stating that disagreement, the idea occupies a bigger space in the mind than it should. To give just one example, All Things New by Pete Hughes.
Hughes says that God doesn't have statues in his Temple because we are his living statues. In my review, I questioned the wisdom of describing ourselves as living statues because statues carries undertones of idolatry and we tend to make much of ourselves than of God.
Six months later, I still think I am right but interestingly because of that book, I am more aware of Imago Dei, that we are created in the image of God. I am especially attentive to this when I listen to sermons, read the Bible or read other books. Is All Things New by Pete Hughes a book that I would heartily recommend to others? No. I would easily recommend people read Providence by John Piper over that book.
However, I have not given the doctrine of Providence as much attention as the doctrine of Image-bearing. Perhaps this proves my point, we tend to think of ourselves more than of God.
If All Things New made think more about a subject, there is a set of books that helped me not think about a subject.
Monsters are Scarier in the Dark
One of the most popular episodes here is my review of Fault Lines vs Cynical Theories vs Ministers of Reconciliation. When I read the book, Critical Race Theory seemed to be spreading, exploding and threatening the church. I noticed I was growing anxious. Instead of taking a pill for my anxiety, I decided to read some books. This might not be the best treatment for everyone. You might end up more anxious after reading Baucham's Fault Lines.
I'm sure there are other books, better books: more even-handed, better researched, better written, but at the end of it, after reading Fault Lines, Cynical Theories and Ministers of Reconciliation I had a starting point to interpret all the news, articles, tweets and books that come my way. I am not an expert on Critical Race Theory and related matters, but I now know enough to have conversations, to ask better questions and to not feel so anxious. A monster is less scary in the daylight than in the dark.
So far I have shared how a book inspired a chanting habit, how another book got me attentive to the image of God teachings and how a set of books brought clarity on Critical Race Theory and the church.
When the Reading Gets Tough, the Tough Gets Reading
My last reflection for today on a category of books, let's call them tough books, that I didn't think listeners would have cared much for. It's easy to understand why people listen to my reviews on Paul David Tripp or Eric Metaxas' books. The books are written for a mainstream audience. Big, big pool.
It's a surprise when there are as many, if not more, listeners for my reviews on tough books by Walter C. Kaiser Jr., or D.A. Carson or Gordon Wenham. If you go to Amazon or Goodreads and just look for reviews on the Young Christian by Jacob Abbott, it is a desert. So the fact that there are many listeners to my Jacob Abbott review for example, suggests that some are willing to be stretched in their reading. You may not have read those tough books, but your willingness to listen to the review of these books, is a step in the right direction. Let me explain.
I once read a reading tip. The advice is to read many books at our comfort reading level, to read some books below our reading level and to read a few books above our reading level. When I read below my reading level, for example children's books like the Green Ember series by S.D. Smith and the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, I am reminded that great stories and big truths come packaged in different sizes.
The difficulty is reading above the reading level. I admire people who can read tough books like Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin, Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards or Mortification of Sin by John Owen. When John Piper advises Christians to read less books more deeply, I believe he was referring to such classics.
Aside from the classics, another source of tough books is the Logos Free Book of the Month programme. When I started this podcast, I did not expect to review many Logos books. I thought many of the books as beyond me, better suited as reference and I didn't have the time or ability to do a review. If you listen to the podcast's earlier episodes, you can hear how intimidated I was.
In this year end reflection, I find myself surprised at the tough books I have managed to not only read but also review. In case you don't know, because I didn't initially, reviewing is a lot harder than I thought. In the time it takes to do one review, I could read another book or two!
Let me tell you which was the toughest book to read. Recovering the Unity of the Bible by Kaiser and Hebrews by Owen were both hard to read but the toughest was Scripture and Truth, a collection of 12 essays edited by D.A. Carson and John Woodbridge. It's a good thing it's a collection of essays because with a platter of goodies, you can munch on what you like and ignore the ones that cause indigestion.
There are a couple of essays in that collection that if turned into a full book, would be too philosophical and complex for me, at least for my reading level now.
Let Me Have It
Overall, I'm satisfied with my reading journey for the year and how Reading and Readers have progressed. Since it's the end of the year, I invite you to share your own reading journey. How do you find the podcast? Please send me your feedback via email, or Twitter or the website's contact form. You can find all the contact details in the website at www.readingandreaders.com. That's www.readingandreaders.com.
Before I end the final episode for 2021, I just want to thank everyone who listens to the podcast. For you it's a click of a play button, for me it's affirmation that what I offer has value to someone. Also I want to give a shoutout to Esther from Boston for helping to offset the costs of running this podcast. She was an early supporter and her early feedback remains an encouragement to this day.
Let me end with a quote from Henry Alford (1810-1871) who made this prayer 200 years ago for New Year's Eve.
I quote:
O eternal God, in these last hours of another year we come before you with our praises, and we would humble ourselves in your sight.
We thank you for our preservation during the year that is gone, and for all your mercies in providence and grace; for all your dealings with us that we knew to be blessings; for all in which you have blessed us, though we did not know it.
We praise you for your chastisements, for our bereavements, for our sicknesses, for our disappointments and trials.
We would also humble ourselves before you, O Lord. We are frail and sinful. We are dust and ashes. We cannot so much as lift up our faces to you, who are the Holy One, of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, who inhabits eternity and does not change.
But blessed be your name for that refuge that you have provided from your wrath, for that fountain that you have opened for sin and uncleanness. We flee to our Redeemer to hide us. We rest upon your everlasting covenant with us in Him, and we are safe. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
And as we now lie down at the end of the year, committing ourselves to your protection, so may we lie down in peace at the end of life, knowing whom we have believed, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
This is a Reading and Readers Year End Reflection. May the Good Lord bless you for the new year ahead. Remember to send any comments or feedback. You can consider that a kindness to end the year or to start the year. Contact details at www.readingandreaders.com. That's www.readingandreaders.com. Thank you for listening.

“This greatest work of John Owen is a work of gigantic strength as well as gigantic size; and he who has mastered it is very little short … of being an erudite and accomplished theologian.” That is J.I. Packer quoting Thomas Chalmers on John Owen's Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review Hebrews by John Owen. Or to be more precise the Crossway Classic Commentary abridged version of Hebrews by John Owen. The original commentary on Hebrews by John Owen spans 7 volumes at 3600 pages. The abridged version is part of the Crossway Classic Commentary series edited by Alister McGrath and J.I. Packer. In contrast, it's a manageable 270 pages long and is a Logos Free Book for the month of December.
John Owen
Who is John Owen? Born 1616 and died 1683, John Owen is an English Theologian. According to the Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals:

was without doubt not only the greatest theologian of the English Puritan movement but also one of the greatest European Reformed theologians of his day, and quite possibly possessed the finest theological mind that England ever produced.
I find it serendipitous that in Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals, the next entry is J.I. Packer. Packer has done much to bring Puritan writing to a modern audience, and this book is an example of that.
O.G. Hebrews
I have the original 7 volumes. I just have them. I can't say I read them. The first two volumes are on the authorship (he concludes that the Apostle Paul wrote Hebrews) and other background and theological matters. The commentary proper begins in volume three.
To read the book, you have to know Greek, Hebrew and Latin. And also comfortable with reading Puritan English with its own vocabulary and ways. And it helps if you are familiar with church history.
Owen commenting on Hebrews 6:4-6 writes:
Hence Tertullian, in his book de Pœnitentia, reflects on Zephyrinus, the bishop of Rome, that he had admitted adulterers unto repentance, and thereby unto the communion of the church. But that church proceeding in her lenity, and every day enlarging her charity, Novatus and Novatianus taking offence thereat, advanced an opinion on the contrary extreme.
John Owen's Hebrews for Mere Mortals
Let us leave behind Owen's 7 volumes and move on to the abridged version edited by Packer. We must thank Packer because by writing this abridged version, that means he read the full 7 volumes. A heroic task in itself. And to then compress and translate John Owen's masterpiece for us mere mortals to sip at. Oh thank you J.I. Packer! Thank you McGrath! Thank you Crossway!
Packer pre-empts our thanks by writing in his introduction:
Today’s evolutionary mind-set makes us expect Puritan Bible-work to be cruder and shallower than ours, but this classic work joins hands with Matthew Henry’s great exposition of the entire Bible to prove us wrong, even when downscaled as drastically as it is in this abridged version. To present it in this way, in a form more palatable to a modern readership, is for me a privilege indeed.
Packer. What a humble guy.
From now onwards, when I refer to Hebrews by John Owen, I am referring to the abridged version edited by Packer.
Organisation
Packer has excluded the discussions on the author or date or theological themes. The book is structured as thirteen chapters corresponding to the thirteen chapters in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Each chapter is broken down into groups of verses corresponding to the outline. The outline is described in brief in the beginning of the chapter and from there Owen drills down. He expounds on the verses and then expounds the individual words.
For example, in the Bible Hebrews 1:1-2 goes like this:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
To explain 'at many times', Owen describes the progress of divine revelation in four principal parts. First was to Adam, then Noah, then Moses and finally through Jesus. Just to give you an idea of how much exposition to expect, Hebrews 1:1-2 consists of 45 words - depending on which translation you are using. Owen's abridged commentary uses 2500 words or 4 pages to expound those two verses. If you like maths that's a 50:1 ratio. 50 words to expound 1 word.
Just for fun. I checked how long was the full "director's cut". To copy the text from Logos into Microsoft Word, I was scrolling and scrolling, trying to reach the end of his commentary on verse 1 and 2 and it took awhile. Owen's unabridged commentary on Hebrews 1:1-2 is 41000 words or 61 pages. That's a 900:1 ratio. 900 words to expound 1 word.
Three Examples of Owen's Interpretation
When reading any commentary on Hebrews, you want to give special attention to how the writer interprets Hebrews 6:4-6.
This is the controversial verse that reads, I'm reading from the ESV:
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
The word impossible to restore to repentance has caused no end of controversies. Owen takes the view that the people described here are not believers. I quote his conclusion at length:
From this description of these people we can see who the apostle has in mind. It is clear that these people are not true and sincere believers, in the strict and correct sense of that name. There is no mention of faith or believing. In the following verses they are compared with the ground on which the rain often falls but which bears no useful crop. But this is not so with true believers.
It is clear that these people had been recently converted from Judaism to Christianity. They received special privileges. For they had received extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues or performing miracles. These people had found in themselves and others convincing evidence that God’s kingdom and Messiah, which they called the coming age, had come on them, and they enjoyed their glories. It must have been some horrible frame of spirit, some malicious enmity against the truth and holiness of Christ and the Gospel, that could turn people like this from the faith and blot out all that light and conviction of truth that they had received. But the least grace is a better security for heaven than the greatest gifts and privileges, wherever they may come from.
Another interesting interpretation of his is on Hebrews 5:12, where it says that the word of God is living and active. The way most of us understand it is the word of God refers to the Bible. Owen presents and defends the view that the word of God refers here to Jesus Christ. As per John 1's the Word made flesh.
Let's have a look at one more. In Hebrews 11, we have the famous heroes of the faith list. Verse four reads, "By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain". Let me ask you the question, "Why is Abel's sacrifice more acceptable?" My answer was, "Abel gave his best while Cain did not."
Owen offers a surprising interpretation. Bear in mind, I have not studied the Letter to the Hebrews before so I'm easily surprised. Owen writes:
The difference between Cain and Abel was Abel’s faith. As their faith differed, so did their actions and the objects they used to sacrifice with. Cain considered God only as a creator and preserver, whom he offered the fruits of the earth. He had not thought about sin or how to be delivered from it. Abel’s faith was fixed on God, not only as a creator, but as redeemer also, as the one who, in his infinite wisdom and grace, had appointed the way of redemption through sacrifice and atonement. So Abel’s sacrifice was accompanied with a sense of sin and guilt, with its lost condition by the fall, and a trust in the way of redemption and recovery that God had provided. This is borne out by his type of sacrifice, which was by death and blood: death, which he deserved because of his sin; blood, which was the way atonement came.
I have shared three excerpts from the book which shows the gems of insight we can garner from "the finest theological mind that England ever produced".
Credit Where Credit is Due
Call me shallow but every time I finish a Puritan book, even this abridged one, I see it as an achievement. I make much of the fact that this is 7 volumes condensed into one because I want to remind everyone that one man made a gargantuan effort to study this one letter.
He wrote this with the purpose to edify Christians. He did the hard work and we benefited. Just because Owen wrote more than 2 million words in his commentary doesn't mean that we suspend our critical thinking and accept whatever he wrote. No commentator is authoritative in the way the Bible is authoritative. Even so, I finished in one month an abridged reading of a work that John Owen took 16 years to write. Volume 1 was published in 1668 and the work was complete in 1684.
And what Packer has done here is to make Owen's thoughts and interpretation accessible to a wider audience. Honestly, Owen's original volume may be too much even as a reference book. The Greek, Hebrew, Latin and presumed knowledge on the reader (Hah! That simply shows how Christian scholars have regressed!) means that the original is too dense and would almost never be read, if not for Packer's abridged version.
A Book for Owen Fans
Which brings me to my critique of the book.
This is the Christmas season and I just realised that the Epistles to the Hebrews is as natural to Christmas as Christmas trees and decorations. Normally, for Christmas we would read Isaiah or Matthew or Luke. You can add Hebrews to the list because it explains why the incarnation is necessary. In that sense, I'm grateful to read Hebrews in this season. Mostly the Bible book and not the commentary.
The problem is Owen's structure. For all of Packer's genius in editing, the structure is not designed for easy reading. On the other hand, by condensing the book, Packer cuts off the scholarly nitty-gritty detailed discussions which fits the book's structure. It's too difficult for light reading but it's too light for heavy reading.
When you read this commentary, you need to keep the Bible open. When Owen expounds on individual words, it's easy to forget where those words came from. You dive deep into a word and you get lost in the deep waters. What was the sentence where this word came from?
By the way, this is a good reason to use Logos because you can link the Bible with the Commentary. On your left is the Bible, on your right is the commentary. When you scroll through the commentary, the Bible will magically scroll to the right verse and it works the other way round as well.
This is a really good feature because if you read this book without the Bible open, you will find it difficult to follow the detailed word-by-word exposition.
Then there is the quality of the exposition. Sometimes, the exposition seems redundant. For example, Hebrews 11:2 reads, "This is what the ancients were commended for."
Owen expounds on three words: the ancients, commended and this. To explain "commended", Owen writes:
They received this witness in the Scripture, although it was very different in the world.
I appreciate it's difficult to make sense of what I just read. I assure you, it's not a problem with me wrenching that sentence out of context. Owen (or more accurately Packer) gives us a sentence that forces us to read the full version to know what Owen meant.
Often times as I read this commentary, I am reminded of a conversation I heard about a seminary student. A professor asked a seminarian who was reading some commentaries, "Do you understand what you read?" The seminarian answers, "No. But when I read the Bible, the commentary makes more sense."
Do you get it? Normally we go to a commentary to help illuminate a difficult Bible passage. Here, it's the other way around. And I felt that many times reading this Owen book.
If you are going to spend money on this book as a reference, I would suggest getting a good Bible dictionary to do word studies. You can then use it to study other books, not just Hebrews.
If you want to study the Epistle to the Hebrews, there are options out there more suitable for devotional reading or technical reference. The original Owen commentary is fantastic as a technical reference if anyone could understand it. And I don't see anyone picking this book for devotional reading.
The way I see it, you should only read this commentary because you want a glimpse of John Owen's thoughts on Hebrews.
Or because you need to complete Tim Challies's Reading Challenge. He has a box you can tick after you read a book written by a Puritan. Like I said earlier, I am more satisfied than I should be that I finished John Owen's abridged commentary on Hebrews.
And I managed to do that thanks to the Logos Free Book of the Month programme for giving me the book for free and this Reading and Readers podcast for the motivation to finish. In fact, perhaps you might want to join me for a Reading and Readers Challenge. You can join me to read every Faithlife and/or Logos Free Book. Then drop me an email or tweet and tell me what you think.
Music to Read Hebrews By
Before I end this episode, I have a bonus for you. When I reviewed the Psalter Reclaimed by Gordon Wenham, I introduced Poor Bishop Hooper to you. Their EveryPsalm project, which releases a song based on a psalm each week, is a great companion to read the Psalms with.
For today, I want to recommend a must-listen album to go along with any reading of Hebrews. If you are reading or finished reading Hebrews, you must listen to Psallos, P-S-A-L-L-O-S, that's the group's name, and their album titled Hebrews.
This is simply creative genius. The album progresses through the epistle. The first song begins at Hebrews 1 and the last song ends with Hebrews 13. They don't just take words, they convey the feeling, the theme of the letter. How can you make a song about Jesus as high priest? Listen to this. The genius is in the lyrics, so if you can't catch the lyrics, you can go to the show notes, or readingandreaders.com or just search for Psallos Hebrews, it's song number 10. Let me play a snippet for you:Let me tell you ‘bout the high priests,

Chosen from among men, sent to represent them,

And to act on behalf of a people that have a sin

problem.

Once every year, there’s a day where they,

Well he enters in the holiest place,

To ask grace to be saved from the sin problem.

Sounds like a righteous guy.

Is his life spotless and sanctified?

Nothin’ condemnin’ him like a sin problem?

The funny thing is, as you’ll see,

He has the same disease.

So he must atone for his own sins first.

It’s like he’s not a very good high priest.

How’s he gonna intercede when he’s got the same

infirmity?

Cause just as sinful as the rest of Israel?

These men were appointed by God’s design,

With the lives of the Israelites.

there, Thom!

Sympathy’s not going to save.

I know but listen to what I’m saying, Kelsie.

Yeah, ineffectual types.

Your guitar’s an ineffectual type.

Jesus, He is better, He is infinitely better.

Blameless, spotless, sinless, righteous.

Able to fight this sinful-itis,

Able to justify and save us,

Able to sympathize with our weakness

Cause He has taken on flesh to seek us.

Than the Levite priests of the olden days,

For His priestly reign will never ever cease,

And he is of the order of an ancient priest.

And appointed Him a priest

by the word of an oath.

Let us tell you ‘bout this great high priest

What cracked me up was when Thom, the male singer, says, "These men were appointed by God's design." Kelsie, the female singer, shoots, "Designed to die?" Thom answers, "No designed to sympathize."
Okay, it's not a song that you can sing along with the church. Although there are some that you can sing along. It's a mix. Their Hebrews album, just like their other albums: Romans, Philippians and Jude, have a mix of songs that are fresh, theologically insightful and together make the album complete.
I want to explain what I mean by complete. Have you noticed when you listen to hymns as opposed to contemporary Christian music that hymns seem to tell a story. For example, Amazing Grace ends with "When we have been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we first begun." So there is a progression in Amazing Grace towards Heaven.
So what happens in that one song Amazing Grace is something that happens for the entire album here.
So when you listen to Hebrews or Romans, which is my favourite album from Psallos, it feels complete because it begins at the beginning of the biblical book and goes through the emotional, theological, journey in song and the album ends where the book ends. It's beautiful. Ingenious. I think every theologian and Christian should like, follow, subscribe to Psallos.
Psallos can help you get Hebrews into your head or Hebrews will help you understand what Psallos is singing. John Owen would love it. And that's my bonus for you.
The End
This is a Reading and Readers review of Hebrews (The Crossway Classic Commentaries) by John Owen. Edited by J.I. Packer. Series Editor is Alister McGrath. I don't see a Kindle version in Amazon, the paperback is selling for $10.66 as of Boxing Day 2021, and for the next 5 days it's free from Logos.
And if you are up for the Reading and Readers Challenge, I invite you to join me in reading next month's free book from the good folks at Faithlife. It should be out on the first of Jan and my review, if all goes well, should be released on the 10th of January. Wishing you a blessed 2022, may the Good Lord bless your family and you.
Book List

• Hebrews (The Crossway Classic Commentaries) by John Owen. Abridged. Amazon. Logos.
• Hebrews by John Owen. Amazon. Logos.
• Hebrews by Psallos. Website.

We need to pray more; we need to give more careful thought to the content of our prayers; and we need to spend more time preparing our hearts and our tongues for prayer. It is with that in mind that I offer this book.
That's Pastor John MacArthur from the preface of his book, "A Year of Prayer".

Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review "A Year of Prayer" by John MacArthur. 258 pages. Published by Harvest House Publishers in 2014. Priced at USD11.49 in Amazon Kindle and USD14.99 at Faithlife. But for this month and this month only, this book is available for free from Faithlife.

I am not a MacArthur Hater
John MacArthur is the pastor for Grace Community Church. He is also the President of The Masters College and Seminary. He has written countless books and has preached verse-by-verse the entire New Testament over the course of 42 years. A lifetime achievement! Another fruit of his long labours is the MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set, a 33 volume commentary on the entire New Testament. With this, you can know what MacArthur thinks of every verse in the New Testament.

With that, I want you to know that I am not a John MacArthur hater. You might think that when I give today's book, "A Year of Prayer", a less than complimentary review. Even when I disagree with him at some points, I still value his opinions. R.C. Sproul's highest praise for MacArthur was if you can show MacArthur that the Bible proves he is wrong, MacArthur would unhesitatingly change his position.

The Children's Note
So coming back to today's book, "A Year of Prayer". The only part I like in this book is the personal note written by his children. They reveal the warm relationship in the MacArthur family and their respect and devotion to their father and pastor. Let me quote at length for this will explain the genesis of this book.
A few years ago, a friend approached us and asked what we thought about our dad's prayers being transcribed and published so others could read them. We felt an immediate mix of emotions. We agreed these prayers should be put in print - and we had our children's children in mind here - but we hesitated, because we suspected that our dad would resist. We knew his thoughts regarding the sacredness and propriety of a person's personal dialogue with the Father.
So we talked it over with him. As we anticipated, dad pushed back, not enthusiastic about memorialising something so intimate. Respectfully, we asked him to pray about it and consider the loss for those who would never hear or read these prayers if they were not published. We encouraged him to allow his prayers to be available in print - not only for our own posterity but as a legacy for those of his friends around the world who would be instructed and inspired by them.
After some time, dad finally agreed ... with one caveat. He asked that his children write this introductory note to the book and explain that it was our desire that he put his prayers in black and white.
Sounds the Same
After I finished the book, I conclude that MacArthur was right to be resistant. It's not as helpful or insightful as his other books or sermons. Page after page the prayers sound the same.

There is a thematic arrangement. We have a collection of prayers under the heading of Prayers on Worship and the Attributes of God, Prayers on Joy and Longing and so on, but if I tore out all these prayers and scattered them on the floor, it would be difficult to group them into different themes because they all sound the same.

The title of the book is "A Year of Prayer" and there are 52 prayers for the 52 weeks in the year plus the Easter and Christmas prayers, which makes it 54 prayers in total. The year is not fixed to a calendar year, which means Week 1 is not in January and week 52 is not in December. The good news is you can begin this book from page 1, at any time of your life, the bad news is the prayers become even more generic. These prayers do not refer to any people, place or time. Week 52 is not the Christmas season, you will not read a prayer on the Incarnation of Christ.

Prayers in Context
I had such a hard time reading this book of collected prayers that I asked myself, "Is it because I don't like the genre? Maybe I don't reading a collection of prayers?" But I think back and I notice that I am pulled into prayers when I know the context. For example, in Episode 11 in my review of the Young Christian, I shared a 200 year old prayer of Christians facing death as their ship breaks up in a storm.

I love the prayers in the Bible because it has context. Just to name examples from David. Look at his prayer in 2 Samuel 7. After God promises him an everlasting Davidic Kingdom, David prays "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?" Or consider David's prayer in Psalm 51 after he committed adultery and murder, "Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow." I like prayers that have context.

The First Prayer "Adoring our Advocate"
Let me give an example from the book, the first prayer, "Adoring our Advocate". Like every chapter, it begins with the complete printing of a Bible verse, in this case it's 1 John 2:1-9. Then MacArthur writes:
Our Gracious God, we thank you for our heavenly Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous, whose death on the cross made propitiation for all our sins - perfectly satisfying every demand of Your holy justice. It is he who brought us out of guilt and into forgiveness, out of darkness and into light, out of our rebellion and into Your love, out of death and into life. He delivered us from this evil world, into Your glorious kingdom. How we praise you for the wonder of Your love in Jesus Christ! We thank You for sending Your Son, the Incarnate One, who was despised, rejected, beaten, mocked and crucified - all in order to atone for our sin.
And what I just read is one fifth of the entire prayer. Every prayer is Christ-centred. Every prayer has a Gospel message. We are sinners. Christ died for us. We now live for him. Amazing Grace.

The prayers are also Bible-saturated. Every prayer ends with a footnote of bible verses referenced in the prayer. This book can be a really good book if you have only prayed and heard "God give me something" prayers. Here we have example after example of scripture first, and praying from that scriptural truth to convey an ACTS prayer. ACTS: A-C-T-S stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Supplication is petition, to ask for something. For example, MacArthur petitions:
Lord Jesus, Master, Redeemer, Savior, take possession of every part of our lives - Yours by right through purchase. Sanctify every faculty. Fill our hearts with hope. May we flee the many temptations that relentlessly hound us and mortify the sins that continually plague us.
Mortify the sins is something he says often in the book.

The petitions are generic unlike the Book of Common Prayer which has prayers for peace, for the Church, for families, for guidance and protection.

Read the Book the Right Way
I make a big deal about the lack of variation and lack of context in this collection of prayers but I confess I am reading this book in the wrong way.

Remember, what is the title of the book? "A Year of Prayer". How is the book structured? The first chapter is marked Week 1 and it goes on for 52 weeks. Each week is a new prayer. How did I read it? I read the whole book in a few days. So I read it in a way that it was not meant to be read.

So if the reader was to read it the way it was read, you would be getting a weekly reminder of Scriptural truths, praying from it, covering the Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication, using John MacArthur's words that you yourself can say for your own situation, time and place. It's like the Book of Common Prayer in the sense readers can mouth the words and have these prayers applied to them and these prayers are keyed to the Gospel.

The book might also be good for anybody who loves or hates John MacArthur. A man's prayers reveals much of the man. And MacArthur's prayers, while it doesn't make for exciting reading, it does show consistency in his preaching and his prayer. As a man preaches, he prays.

As I said earlier, if you have only prayed "Gimme, gimme, gimme" prayers before, this will be a massive eye-opener for you for MacArthur's prayers are an extension of his preaching.

And so, as you know, MacArthur's preaching and writing is marked by clarity and keeping close to the text. He is not known to craft words to stir the heart. I'm not saying people who craft words are trying to use words to manipulate you, emotionally or spiritually.

For example, John Piper loves poetry. He thinks about the words he uses, in its precision and also in how it sounds. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. There is a nice ring to it. MacArthur is not known for poetry.

I want to say in the kindest terms that MacArthur's book, "A Year of Prayer" is helpful to know God, to pray to God, to incidentally know MacArthur the man of God, but the book doesn't make good reading.

Another Suggestion: Piercing Heaven
If you are looking for a book of collected prayers as a reader, an appreciator of literature, prayers with a nice ring to it, I recommend another book: "Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans" edited by Robert Elmer. 240 pages. Published by Lexham Press in 2019. You can say this is a best hits compilation of Puritan prayers.

I haven't finished reading the book, I've only read the first 50 pages but I love it. Similar to MacArthur, there is no local context here. The prayers can be said at any time at any place by any one. But there is a difference between MacArthur's collection and the Puritan's here.

Let me read this portion from David Clarkson:
Lord, I would be the most miserable person in the world if my hopes were only in this life. Why? Because I am hopeless without Christ’s righteousness. My life could never be comfortable, and there would be no hope at all of eternal life. If you denied me that hope, I would be the most miserable one of all. I may be happy without worldly enjoyments, but all things in the world cannot make me happy without this. So however you treat me in this world, whatever you deny me, Lord, deny me not this. I can be happy without riches and abundance, like Job and Lazarus were. I can be happy even if I am reviled and reproached, as was Christ and his disciples. I can be happy and comfortable in prison, as were Paul and Silas. But I cannot be happy without the righteousness of Christ.
Let me read a full one from William Bridge:
Lord, we know your words, “The Lord God has given me a well-taught tongue, so I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.” I am one of those wearied souls, Lord. I am wearied with my temptations, wearied with inward trouble.
So now, Lord, speak a word in due season to this poor, wounded, and wearied soul. Let me serve you, Lord—that is all my desire. Let me see you as you please, when you please. I am done, Lord, I am done. I have questioned and questioned my condition these many years. And I see there is no end of such questioning. I get nothing by it. I am a poor, weak creature, and I fear I will never be able to bear testimony of the truth of Jesus Christ. But you have said, “I will give power to my two witnesses.” I am one of your witnesses. Now then, Lord, give power to me, for I am poor. I see the sinfulness of sin, so let me also see the graciousness of grace, and the fullness of Christ. I come to you for righteousness, because I see my sin is exceedingly sinful. O Lord, keep my soul in the ocean of your free love. Amen.
First Comparison: It's Personal
First, the Puritan collection is more personal, it uses I language. I am weak. MacArthur would say "we are weak". Obviously every Christian prays personal individual prayers but MacArthur purposely selected corporate prayers. He begins his preface by saying the Lord's Prayer would sound strange and self-centered if it read My Father in Heaven rather than Our Father in Heaven. MacArthur writes:
We who love the Lord can’t help sensing that the most vital things we need to pray about go way beyond ourselves, our desires, or our own will. The Spirit within us compels us to lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ at the same time. This book is all about helping us, as God’s people, to pray like that more than we actually do.
So, this direction could partly explains why MacArthur's prayers here does not soar to the heavens. Perhaps it would have a different, more personal effect, if he changed the us and we to I and me. Ah... you need to be more selfless!

Second Comparison: It's Shorter
Second, the Puritan prayers collected here are shorter. For MacArthur's book, in 258 pages, we have 54 prayers. For the Puritans' book, you will read 50 prayers one third of the way through the book. These prayers don't intend to present the gospel. For example one prayer titled Strength to Stand Under Temptation by William Bridge goes like this:
O Lord, I have no strength to stand against this great enemy. I confess it is my duty to resist this temptation, but it is your promise to support me under this temptation. Therefore I put myself upon you. Amen.
That's it. Short and sweet.

Third Comparison: It's Varied


Third, the Puritan prayers collects various authors, many I don't recognise, and each have their own writing styles. So it does make the prayers seem fresh as they say almost the same things in their own different ways.

Conclusion


In conclusion, I think there is a place for John MacArthur's "Year of Prayer" for it's corporate, Christ-centred and Bible-saturated nature. It fully satisfies its starting goal to be a legacy to the MacArthur family, both family by blood and by spirit. However, it's not a book to be read in one seating which is clearly stated in the title and in the organisation. The risk is these prayers become boring unless there is some engaging context, which there is none, or there is some writing flair, which MacArthur refuses to indulge the individual, or if and here's the thing if the prayer was not read, but prayed in the presence of God and community. Perhaps that would be the best way of reading this book, outloud mindful of God and believers.

Although I haven't finished reading Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans edited by Robert Elmer, the first 50 pages tells me I will definitely come back to this book. The same way one returns to a book of poetry, as one returns to a book like the Psalms.

This is a Reading and Readers review of "A Year of Prayer" by John MacArthur. It's available for free from Faithlife for this month and this month only.

The next episode will be published in two weeks which will be after Christmas Day. And so, I would like to take this time to wish all my listeners a blessed Christmas. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. Thank you.

Book List

• A Year of Prayer: Approaching God with an Open Heart Week After Week by John MacArthur. Amazon. Faithlife.
• Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans edited by Robert Elmer. Amazon. Faithlife.

A row of men and women stand shackled. Society sees but says it's normal. They say, "This is the natural order of things". But one old man is rallying men to fight it. To fight this modern day slavery: pornography.
Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review "The Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility" by Ray Ortlund.
A Budget for Porn
Porn addiction is a subject that many Christians find uncomfortable to read or talk about. We know it's wrong. The fact that we continue to struggle against it and often fail puts our faith in doubt. For how can Christians who sing praises to a Holy God, who claim Jesus Christ as Lord over all, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can have, as Ortlund puts it, "a budget for porn in their consciences".
The way to win a spiritual battle is to cast darkness into the light. To speak it out into the open. And this book, "The Death of Porn", does just that.
The Author
The man behind this book, Ray Ortlund, is the Senior Pastor at Emmanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee and served as Professor of Old Testament at Trinity Divinity School, Chicago for nine years.
Today's book, "The Death of Porn", is in a different category from the theological books or commentaries Ortlund has written. This is a book of six chapters; six chapters written as six personal letter from an older man - Ray Ortlund is over 70 years old - to a younger man.
Modern Day Slavery
Every chapter begins with, "Dear Son". Although he recognises women can be trapped by porn, this book is written to men. But if you are a woman, keep listening because this book could be of help to you or to someone you love.
Ortlund was inspired to write this book because of a letter. In 1791, John Wesley wrote to William Wilberforce that unless the divine power had raised Wilberforce up, Wesley could not see how Wilberforce can continue to oppose that cursed villainy that is slavery.
I quote from Wesley's letter:

Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away with it.
Later, Ortlund writes:
... this old letter got me thinking: What about us today? What if not just one man but a whole generation of men takes a bold stand against the new slave trade of our time - pornography?
Pornography is not simply a matter of private conscience or private sin, it's a matter of injustice. I am reminded of J. F. Kennedy who said at his Berlin speech, "When one man is enslaved, all are not free." He was speaking of communism but what he said equally applies to pornography. In this book, Ortlund envisions the death of porn, not just for the individual but for nations.
Structure
He divides the book into two parts, three chapters each. The first part is titled: "Reintroducing the Characters" with the chapters, or letters, "You are Royalty", "She is Royalty" and "He is Royalty", Jesus is royalty. Part One is foundational to Part Two. Foundational in the sense if you have all the identities right, men, women and Jesus, then you build on them a good life. But some of us may not know how to build on those foundations and that is where Part Two comes in. Part Two gives practical support and guide on how to overcome porn.
The second part is titled: "Reimagining the Future" with the chapters, "We Can Do This", "We Can Work Together", and "We Can Make a World of Difference".
Dear Son
Let me quote from the first letter Ortlund writes. Listen to the warmth and comfort he offers:
Dear Son,
You matter. You matter more than you know. That's what I want to talk to you about - your dignity before God, what it's worth to you, and how it empowers you to change the future.
Do you believe in your own nobility? Yes, you're a nice guy. But being a nice, likeable guy hardly rises to the stature of your true identity.
Long ago, a Christian leader named Irenaeus got right to the point: "The glory of God is a man fully alive."
This is not a theological dissection of what is sin. Nor is it just a feel-good pep talk. Ortlund presents biblical truths couched in six personal letters, from Christian to Christian, man to man.
In a Crossway Podcast interview, Ortlund explains why he wrote this book:
I'm so fed up with Christian man being scolded, shamed, pressured, cornered, belittled as if that would help them, as if that would change them.
Ray Ortlund has a wonderful radio voice and listening to his gentle and tender voice will likely move you to read the book.
Does being gentle mean coddling? Is he offering a cushion of positive self-esteem? Not at all. In the first chapter titled "You are Royalty", he at one point writes: "We are royal, and we are evil." Ortlund does not offer a psychological solution. he offers the cross of Christ. Addressing the shame men may feel, Ortlund comforts:
Do you really think, after the cross, your shame drives God away? Nope. Your shame is precisely where he can re-create you the most gloriously.
She is Royalty
In the second chapter, "She is Royalty", he quotes Genesis 1:27 "God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
He unpacks the verse:
Back when the Bible was written, nobody else was saying that. It's not as though human thought was evolving upward, inching its way toward the equal royalty of the sexes. It's not as though the ancient philosophers and gurus got the ball in the red zone, and then the Bible finally scored the touchdown. No, Genesis 1:27 surprised everyone. It was God speaking into our abusive world with a bold claim: a woman deserves all the respect any man deserves, because she is created in God's image as much as any man.
Up next is one of my favourite parts of the book.
If you are trying to describe the royalty of women, how would you do it? What picture or illustration would you give that would portray royalty? Ortlund invites us to see every woman as Galadriel, the queen of the elves in the Lord of the Rings. If you have watched the movie where Gimli the dwarf warrior meets Galadriel, you get an idea. God has created every woman with honour, and men are to treasure and protect that honour, even to die for it.
The ideas that Ortlund introduces seem to be from an earlier age. Today, do women need to be protected? Today women are doctors, pilots, police officers, presidents and whatever else they desire to be. Do women need protection?
Let us listen to one woman's story. Ortlund interviews her for this book. Her name is Tara. She says:
My first memory in life was when I was four years old, and I was being assaulted in a bathroom. By the time I was eighteen, I had been hurt by eight people on many occasions. I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't hurting or being hurt.
She continues with how she came to work in sex clubs, how she was first video recorded, how she felt, and finally, thankfully, how she was redeemed in Christ. Her story is a harrowing read. Women like her need our protection.
Ortlund asks Tara, "What would you want to say to men who look at porn?" I quote the first paragraph of her answer:
What if it was your sister? The women used in the sex industry don't just have a face and a body. They have a soul too. They have a name. No woman grows up thinking, I hope I'll spend my life being abused. But every woman in porn has been trafficked. Trafficking is simply making a profit from someone else's sex act. That's every woman in porn. It's all coercive. Every woman is under duress. Every woman would rather be anywhere else.
Here I want to respond to a possible push back from some readers. This is not something the book addresses at length, but if you are like me, you might push back against the idea that all women in the sex industry are coerced, under duress and would rather be anywhere else. All women? Some, many, most, sure. But certainly not all.
Superfreakonomics, a bestselling book by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, was first published in 2011 has one chapter on the economics of prostitution. The authors interviewed Allie. Allie was a programmer. Allie then chose to be a high end escort. In a subsequent online Q&A session, Allie affirms it was her choice. It was not because she was desperate for money or was trapped. She grew up in a healthy family. She goes so far as to even assert:
If the social and legal ramifications were gone, I think that being an escort might be like being a therapist.
If seeing a prostitute is like seeing a therapist, that would salve the consciences of many men. Perhaps the problem is not porn but illegal, forced, enslaved porn. Perhaps what we need is not the death of porn but the regulation of porn to make sure that only willing women enter the sex industry.
Just like the problem was not slavery but illegal, forced and enslaved slavery. What we need is not the abolition of slavery but the regulation of slavery to make sure that only willing women enter the sex industry and willing men get addicted to it.
Ortlund rightly calls pornography a justice issue. If we start with the fact that women are royalty then a regulated sex industry does not make sense. For we are not so depraved yet that we don't understand what it means to be treated like royals. It certainly doesn't mean being treated like a prostitute.
The call for men of integrity to build a world of nobility is not for men to procure willing sex slaves but to completely demolish, abolish, destroy this slave trade that enslaves both men and women. To realise the glory of men and women as royalty under God's good design.
What You Want is Jesus
And the ground, the foundation on which we build this world of nobility is Jesus Christ. In the third chapter, Ortlund quickly dismisses two false versions of Jesus. There is the "Feel-Good" Jesus who "always smiles, always approves, never disagrees". There is the "Feel-Bad" Jesus, for whom your best is never good enough, and who insists you try harder and put your mind to it.
What we need is the real Jesus. What we truly hunger and thirst for is Jesus Christ. In one provocative sentence, Ortlund writes:
It seems crazy, but it's true. Every time you log on to a porn site, what you're really looking for is Jesus.
Jesus is the Conquering Lion. Jesus is the Slain Lamb. Ortlund explains how knowing the lion and the lamb leads to a life free from porn.
At this point, Ortlund has written three letters, titled "You are Royalty", "She is Royalty" and "He is Royalty". With our identities secured, what next? Well, death to porn. Part Two tells us various ways. In this review, I'll just speak on one way because this seems to me the most effective way. Let's talk about brotherhood.
Brotherhood
Brotherhood here does not refer to a men's group or accountability partner. Brotherhood is more than that. It is men sharing a struggle. It is the difference between me fighting together with you in the foxhole against a common enemy vs me advising you from afar, from the pulpit or as an accountability partner.
To see brotherhood is to see the incarnation of Christ. Love in the flesh, real and authentic.
As I read Ortlund's description of brotherhood, I realise this was not my first time reading about this.
Samson and the Pirate Monks
I read about Christians struggling with sexual sins and brotherhood as a solution in another book: "Samson and the Pirate Monks: Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood" by Nate Larkin.
Nate Larkin was a preacher who writes his true story of sexual sins, lies and his descent into, what I can only describe as, hell on earth.
Larkin writes:
I was willing to trust Christ, but I was not ready to trust the body of Christ. To be honest, even my confidence in Christ had worn thin. Evangelists and pastors had promised that all my problems would be solved by a personal relationship with Jesus. I had been reaching out for that relationship for almost my whole life, and where had it gotten me? My biggest problem had grown progressively worse, until I was a lying loner hooked on porn and prostitutes. By the time I hit my bottom, even my wife didn’t like me anymore.
Of course, my relationship with Jesus had never been quite what the preachers described, not even after I became the preacher. The nagging awareness of my religious hypocrisy had prompted countless silent promises to do better. I had vowed to spend more time with God, get up earlier, pray longer, and memorize more Scripture. I had made these promises in good faith, but I lacked the discipline to follow through on them for more than a few days, and I felt terrible about that. My personal relationship with Christ hadn’t worked, and I knew it was my fault. What I did not yet understand was that while Jesus does offer a personal relationship to every one of his disciples, he never promises any of us a private one.
Now next is a spoiler. I try to avoid spoilers in my reviews but when it comes to porn addiction, I think men need to hear that victory is possible. Like any good story you should read the journey and not just the final conclusion. At one point in his story, Nate Larkin confesses his sins to his wife.
I quote:
Yes, I finally said, and told her about the prostitutes. With almost clinical detachment, she asked for more information. When did it start? How many were there? What were they like? Were they young? Were they pretty? When was the last time? Had I been tested for sexually transmitted diseases? I answered every question as truthfully as I could, and Allie cried. She kept crying, and I was powerless to comfort her.
Skipping forward:
For the next week, Allie and I barely spoke. Then one afternoon while I was at work, my phone rang. “Here’s the thing,” Allie said. “It’s clear to me now that our marriage was a joke, and I honestly don’t think we can fix it. You destroyed whatever we had. I can’t even describe how much it hurts to think of you—” She paused for a few seconds, then continued. “But I do realize that you have changed. You are not the man you used to be. I’m willing to start over again with the new you, but it will take some time. I think you should move out for a while. Then we can start dating again, and take it slow from the beginning.”
I hope that as a reader you would want to know who was the man Larkin used to be. And how did he change. Larkin's book is a story of his redemption through Christ, through authentic brotherhood, and what he experienced is available to you.
Death of Porn vs Samson and the Pirate Monks
Although today's episode is a review of Ortlund's Death of Porn, a quick comparison between Ortlund's and Larkin's book will show you what each has to offer.
Both show you the horror of sexual sin. Both show you the hope beyond your sin. Neither of them are self-help books, both books offer brotherhood as a solution to porn.
As to how they are different...
One obvious difference is the title. Ortlund's book is titled, "Death of Porn". You pass this book to any guy and neither of you have to say anything. The subject matter is clear from the title. Larkin's book is titled, "Samson and the Pirate Monks: Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood". I got this book at a discount, thinking it was an adventure novel. Samson and the Pirate Monks. I got a shock when I read about this man's descent into sexual hell.
Larkin's book is his story. He is on a stage and sharing his testimony. And testimonies, as you know are powerful. The abolition of slavery was achieved partly through stories.
Ortlund's book is not his story. He is not on stage telling about his life. He is writing a personal heartfelt letter to you.
Ortlund's book is easier to read. Both are written for the popular reader. Larkin's book is a bit longer 224 pages while Ortlund's is 160 page but that's not why "Death of Porn" is easier to read. Larkin's book is one long story while Ortlund's book is six separate letters. Ortlund wrote it in such a way that you can finish one letter in one seating.
Ease of reading is important because if you are getting this book for someone, maybe yourself, you need to know which book to get. If your guy is a reader, who likes to read biographies, then Larkin's is a good fit. But many don't read, have no time to read, or have very short attention spans. Some people have told me they read can one chapter today and forget the chapter tomorrow.
If you are that type, then you should definitely get Ortlund's book. Again, one letter in one seating. Six letters in all. Easy for the busy man.
Conclusion
And you really want to get more men to read the book so that they don't freak out. Imagine. I go to you. You are a brother in Christ. I start spewing out my deepest darkest sin and shame. You listen. And you don't know what to say. You don't know why I'm sharing with you all these. And you get the feeling that the next things out of your mouth better be good or things are going to get bad fast. Of course, I exaggerate for effect but the truth is it would be good if everyone was on the same page.
So unless you have someone in your church who is teaching this or better yet modelling brotherhood, you might be the only guy looking for a brotherhood. You don't have to wait for the church leadership to start a teaching on brotherhood. If you can't explain, this book helps you to explain. You can't read yourself out of porn, but through this book you can know how God looks at men and women and how we are to look at Jesus and to see God's solution in his people. Through this book and it's encouragement and other solutions which I did not cover, we can altogether call for the Death of Porn.
This is a Reading and Readers review of "Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility" by Ray Ortlund.
The book is available for USD11.99 at Amazon and USD13.99 at Logos.
I'm hoping Crossway might do that thing they sometimes do, which is make the book available for free if you sign up to Crossway. If you want to know more about the book, you should listen to the three Crossway Podcast episodes: the first episode is an interview, second is the author reading the introduction and first chapter of the book, and the third is a Q&A session.
I recommend you subscribe to the Crossway Podcast, especially if you like reading. And if you liked reading, you will like Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you.
I reviewed this book as part of the Crossway Blog Review Programme but I didn't receive any benefits other than the review copy.
Book List
"The Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility" by Ray Ortlund. Amazon. Logos.

• "Samson and the Pirate Monks: Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood" by Nate Larkin. Amazon.

What is truth?” Pilate asked (John 18:38), perhaps not as a serious question since he did not wait to hear Jesus’ answer. Yet his question epitomizes an age-long query that arises in the human mind and has been the object of many discussions throughout the history of philosophy.
That's a quote from today's book, by Roger Nicole. And while Pilate may not have taken his own question seriously, the authors in today's collection of essays do. They all contend for the Scripture and Truth.
Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review Scripture & Truth, a collection of 12 essays edited by D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. Scripture & Truth is a Logos Free Book of the Month. You can buy it for USD25.99 in Amazon Kindle, or download it for free in Logos if you do it before November ends, which is less than 10 days from today.
Scripture & Truth. 446 pages, published by Baker Academic. The first edition was published in 1983. Today I review the second edition, published in 1992.
Scripture & Truth
In the preface to the second edition, the editors wrote:
... the issues treated in the old edition have not vanished from contemporary theological debate. Today, scholars continue to address questions such as these: What is the nature of truth? How have Christians viewed the authority of the Bible during the last two millennia? What are ways to interpret Scripture in a responsible fashion? These questions have, if anything, taken on greater prominence in the Christian community. For this reason the demand for Scripture and Truth has not abated.
30 years on, this book reads as if it was written for today. It's a classic.
Speaking of classics, have you watched that Akira Kurosawa movie, "Seven Samurai"? A village hires seven samurais to protect them from bandits. Each samurai has their own expertise and style. The Seven Samurai was later adapted into the Western, "The Magnificent Seven". We have gunslingers instead of sword-wielders. We can arguably trace the influence of the Seven Samurai in movies like Star Wars or Avengers.
In today's book, we have the editors assembling a team of twelve warrior monks to do battle to protect the church against a great threat. Instead of guns or swords, they wield pens and typewriters. Each writer has their own expertise and style. The result is 12 battle essays from a witty dozen. The doctrine of Scripture that we know to be true today is thanks to the ink spilled by them and others like them.
The twelve essays are divided into three groups. Do you recognise these names?
In first group is the Biblical Essay group. Here we have five essays from Wayne Grudem, D.A. Carson, Richard Longenecker and Moises Silva. In the Historical Essay group we have four essays from Philip E. Hughes, Geoffrey Bromiley, Robert Godfrey, John Woodbridge and Randall Balmer. The third group and last group consists of three Theological Essays from Roger Nicole, Paul Helm and J. I. Packer. If you are not aware, then let me tell you that these are a list of distinguished scholars.
Also note that 40 years have passed since Scripture & Truth was first published. In 1990, Philip Hughes returned to the Lord, Geoffrey Bromiley in 2009, Roger Nicole in 2010, J. I. Packer in 2020, and Richard Longenecker passed away in June this year.
40 years on and their words continue to speak to us today. You can take this collection of essays as a sampler. Who knows you might find your next favourite author here!
To keep this podcast manageable, I pick one essay from each group, and hopefully this will give you a sense of what to expect from this collection.
Biblical
From the five essays in the Biblical group, I chose D. A. Carson's "Redaction Criticism: On the Legitimacy and Illegitimacy of a Literary Tool".
If you are familiar with redaction criticism, then please let me explain to those who are not familiar. What are the tools of a carpenter? A hammer, drill, saw and many others. What are the tools of a Bible scholar? Textual criticism, historical criticism, redaction criticism and many others.
When we read Exodus 20:3, "You shall have no other gods before me", the Bible scholar could ask, "Do all manuscripts have the exact same words or are there variations?". That's textual criticism, to ask questions on the text or the manuscripts. If he asks, "Who was the Pharoah and what do we know of him?", that's historical criticism.
So let us not be intimidated by textual criticism or any other criticism. They are simply tools. And tools can be helpful or they can be useless. The question Carson poses here is, "Can redaction criticism be a legitimate tool?"
Carson narrows the scope to the New Testament only. By narrowing the scope it is easier for readers to understand the issue.
For example, we know there are overlaps between the Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke. How do we explain that?
One answer is "There are overlaps because the three gospels are using the same source". Scholars then use source criticism to figure out what is the original source.
Then, form criticism appeared. The background is folklorists and anthropologists study oral tradition in primitive cultures. They categorised oral stories into specific shapes or forms. You can have many different types of stories, each with their own characteristics. For example, a miracle story must look like a square. Just bear with me for a moment as I try to simplify things. If the miracle story that we received has the shape of a square, then form critics conclude that the story was faithfully transmitted. But if the story does not have the correct form, "I expected a square but I got a pentagon", then form critics conclude that the story was edited from the source. Scholars use form criticism to categorise different parts of the Bible and determine whether it was faithfully transmitted or not.
Redaction criticism takes another step forward. Scholars notice that the NT authors were not just passing stories on. They took the stories and edited them to express their theologies. So now, scholars use redaction criticism to distinguish between what is traditional or authentic versus what is edited.
If you think this tool sounds iffy, it is. Carson lists 20 common criticisms against redaction criticism. I give you one example:
Carson informs us that form criticism came from folklorists who were trying to get at the original oral stories when it was first spoken 300 years ago. However, unlike those oral stories from primitive cultures, the Gospels were: 1. written within 60 years of events making it possible to check your source and 2: the gospels were written in a literate culture. People wrote things down. So the use of form criticism and hence redaction criticism is suspect.
The essay ends with two examples of how redaction criticism is used and suggested guidelines. Carson gives the answer to his question:
How legitimate, or illegitimate, is redaction criticism as a literary tool? If its application to questions of authenticity depends on its roots in radical form criticism, the answer must surely be that redaction criticism is well-nigh useless.
Yet, Carson knows that some scholars see some good in redaction criticism. He responds:
If conservative Evangelical scholars adopt redaction criticism of the conservative variety and, believing that it is an objective tool, ignore the doubtful historical assumptions that make up at least part of its pedigree, they are likely to find themselves in an intensely embarrassing position.
Embarrassing because if you say that this verse is authentic as a result of using redaction criticism. What happens when for another verse, the tool tells you that it is unauthentic? What do you do?
But what does redaction criticism have to do with the everyday Christian today? Plenty! Today, there is a fault line in the church because some say Critical Race Theory (CRT) can be an objective tool, while others say it can't. Let me repeat what Carson says but with one small redaction, one small edit.
If conservative Evangelical scholars adopt Critical Race Theory of the conservative variety and, believing that it is an objective tool, ignore the doubtful historical assumptions that make up at least part of its pedigree, they are likely to find themselves in an intensely embarrassing position.
I know it's not right to use Carson's words here and apply it to a different tool with different assumptions and pedigree. I'm just saying Carson's essay sets a standard for intelligent discourse. It asks and answers the question. I'm asking a new question for today: "Is Critical Race Theory a legitimate or illegitimate tool?" And I'm calling for people to write like how Carson wrote to bring clarity to a divisive topic.
Historical
The next group of essays is the Historical Essays. The first is titled, "The Truth of Scripture and the Problem of Historical Relativity". Is it possible to learn from history or are the events and people too far away for us to meaningfully learn from them?
The next three essays combat the notion that Scripture inerrancy was a recent innovation or a recent priority.
Bromiley tells us what the church fathers believed. Augustine, Origen, Tertullian and others make their appearance.
Then Godfrey tells us what the Reformers believed. We hear from Martin Luther, John Calvin and Francis Turretin.
And the last historical essay by Woodbridge and Balmer tells us what 19th century Christians believed. We hear from A. A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield and many others from that time.
Let's take Robert Godfrey's essay as an example. His essay's title is "Biblical Authority in the 16th and 17th Century: A Question of Transition".
In 1979, Jack B. Rogers and Donald K. McKim wrote "The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible: An Historical Approach". Godfrey writes:
they [Rogers and McKim] insist that the greatest Christian thinkers, including the early Reformers, fully recognized errors in the form of the Bible while maintaining the faithful fulfillment of its function.
If Rogers and McKim are correct in one of their claims, that Martin Luther and John Calvin did not subscribe to Scripture inerrancy or take this doctrine as a high priority, then it implies Christians can hold to the doctrine of salvation and also believe the Bible contains errors. Although if we concede the human writers can make errors in some places of the Bible, why can't they make errors in the doctrine of salvation... and other doctrines?
But how are we to refute Rogers and McKim's claim? They are not questioning the Bible, because if they did we could just read the Bible. They are questioning Luther and Calvin. To check would require us to read much if not all of Martin Luther's writings, to read much if not all of John Calvin's writings. Thankfully, we have Christian historians to do that for us. Robert Godfrey offers a concise response in one essay.
First, Godfrey quotes Luther. Listen to Luther here:
But everyone, indeed, knows that at times they [the Fathers] have erred as men will; therefore, I am ready to trust them only when they prove their opinions from Scripture, which has never erred.
After establishing Luther's commitment to inerrancy, Godfrey responds to the Rogers-McKim proposal. Rogers and McKim say that "Luther stressed God accommodated Himself in speaking to man in the Scriptures." Humans make errors. Human language is prone to errors. Thus, for God to speak using human language means errors. Godfrey tells us that is a leap in logic.
Rogers and McKim goes on to point out:

1. Luther's comments on the lack of beauty in Scripture,
2. His list of recognised errors, and
3. His question on canonicity All of which Godfrey responds by showing what Luther and other scholars have said.

After Luther, Godfrey turns and does the same for Calvin: What did Calvin wrote, what did Rogers-McKim propose and finally Godfrey responds.
One particularly damning piece of evidence is Calvin's declaration that Luke had "made a manifest error". Godfrey shows us the sentence in context. Calvin did not say the Bible or the Apostle Luke was in error but he suggested the copyist was in error. This is a textual criticism issue, not a Scripture inerrancy issue.
The rest of Godfrey's essay covers the Reformed Confessions and Catechisms, English Puritanism, and Reformed Orthodoxy and Francis Turretin. All in order to decisively refute the Rogers-McKim claim that the Reformers did not hold to Scripture Inerrancy.
Apparently the Rogers-McKim book was the centre of a firestorm when it was published 40 years ago. After reading Godfrey's short treatment on this topic, you may want to read for yourself the Rogers-McKim book and even a book length critique. John D. Woodbridge wrote "Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal". 240 pages. Published by Zondervan in 1982.
"Why would I want to?" you ask.
For the same reason we learn and remind each other of World War 1 and 2. Because humans commit errors and we are always in danger of committing the same ones. We really should pay more attention to historians.
Theological
The next and last group is the three Theological Essays consisting of Roger Nicole's "The Biblical Concept of Truth", Paul Helm's "Faith, Evidence and the Scriptures" and J. I. Packer's "Infallible Scripture and the Role of Hermeneutics".
I pick Paul Helm's essay and he begins like this:
Let us consider the following situation. Mrs. Jones is worried about her husband’s loss of weight and his lassitude. With some difficulty (for her husband has never needed a doctor before) she persuades him to have a series of medical tests. The tests strongly support the view, the consultant tells her, that Mr. Jones has cancer. Mr. Jones says he has never felt fitter and that the consultant is probably incompetent.
In this situation there are three different kinds of questions that arise and need separate treatment: the question of whether or not Jones has cancer, the question of what evidence there is that he has cancer, and the question of what would persuade him to accept the diagnosis that he has cancer. These three questions are connected, but they are not the same question. Let us see why not.
Later Helm connects the cancer scenario to the Bible:
Exactly the same three questions arise about the Bible. Is the Bible the Word of God? What evidence is there for the Bible’s being the Word of God? What evidence ought to persuade people that the Bible is the Word of God?
This essay is not a mini version of Josh McDowell's "Evidence that Demands a Verdict". Instead of listing and explaining all the evidence, Paul Helm is concerned to ask sort of evidence might provide adequate answers. The keyword is what sort of evidence. And there are a few views.
Externalism says that external evidence validates the Bible. For example, signs and miracles. Helm asks by what standard do we accept such evidence? There are counterfeit signs and miracles. What is a reasonable evidence to you may not be reasonable for me. And come to think about it, doesn't externalism encourage would-be believers to insist on signs and wonders in order to believe?
Contrary to externalism, there is fideism. You have heard of Sola Scripture? It means "By Scripture Alone". Sola Fide is "By Faith Alone". Fide is L atin for faith. Fideism is:
the view [is] that the proof or evidence that the Bible is the Word of God is not to be found in a set of external criteria, but elsewhere. The contrast established by fideism is not necessarily between faith and reason but between faith and external proof.
There are three types of fideism. The first is: "I don't need evidence, I just need to have faith." And presumably because there is no need for evidence, Helm wastes no time elaborating this view.
The second type of fideism has Helm discussing Alvin Platinga's paper, "Is Belief in God Rational?" I summarise the discussion to mean: "My faith is so foundational, so basic, so indivisible, that is nothing else underneath the foundation. There are no further reasons or whys for my faith." Helm then explains why he finds this unsatisfactory and moves to his solution.
Which is the third type of fideism. This is the view that:
the Bible is the Word of God is a matter of its own evidence, and there are external arguments leading to this view.
Are you confused? Because I was! Helm just wrote pages on why externalism is wrong and here he suddenly supports it. Then Helm explains that externalism and the other two types of fideism share one thing in common, they all consider evidence apart from the Bible. Whereas, Helm's view is we must take the Bible as evidence and there is evidence outside the Bible to support this. Let us hear from Helm's own words:
“Considering the content of the Scriptures” means not merely looking at what the Scriptures say about themselves but examining the force or impact of the Scriptures. Part of the reason for believing that a person is a king may be that he says that he is a king. But the evidence that he is a king is much stronger if he is seen exercising the prerogatives of a king. It is not simply that the Scriptures say that they are the revelation of God that is the evidence for their being so, but also that they function as the Word of God. Let us try to look at this in a little more detail.
As I read Helm's explanation, it dawns on me that Helm is trying to explain the way the Holy Spirit creates belief. There is more - a lot more! - but let me select just one quote here:
The internal testimony of the Spirit is not to be thought of as in some way short-circuiting the objective evidence or making up for the deficiencies in external scriptural evidence, nor as providing additional evidence, nor as merely acting as a mechanical stimulus, but as making the mind capable of the proper appreciation of the evidence, seeing it for what it is, and in particular heightening the mind’s awareness of the marks of divinity present in the text in such a way as to produce the conviction that this text is indeed the product of the divine mind and therefore to be relied on utterly.
Scholars need to be precise and Helm is no exception. Helm pre-emptively distances himself from the accusations of subjectivism. There is the subjective component in the person. But there is the objective component, "the text and its meaning, something public and verifiable."
He writes:
But surely this appeal to religious experience is purely subjective, isn’t it? Not necessarily. If an engineer predicts the collapse of a bridge and it collapses, his prediction has physically objective confirmation. But physical objectivity is not the only kind of objectivity. Suppose Smith wonders whether Robinson really dislikes him. If Robinson does dislike Smith, then in a sense this is subjective, something about Robinson’s state of mind. But in another sense it has objectivity. It has objectivity if, for example, it is sustained in varied sets of circumstances, if it is expressed in different ways. In the case of religious experience similar sorts of tests apply, and a person may become rationally convinced of the objectivity (i.e., the reality) of God’s love, even though God does not have objective physical reality.
Feeling loved is a subjective experience. But the people and events that produce that subjective feeling has an objective reality. You can quote Helm for Valentine's Day or wedding anniversaries.
Conclusion
I hope my choice of Carson, Godfrey, and Helm's deep and thought-provoking essays will entice you to read the rest of the collection.
If the book wasn't free, I would never have gotten it. Scripture inerrancy is not a current issue in my side of the world and the book cover was attractive 30 years old ago.
However, to my surprise, in Scripture & Truth, I found scholars assembled to fight a now forgotten battle. Like many forgotten battles, we don't realise the debt we owe to these men and all like them who fought to secure the doctrine of Scripture and so the many doctrines that flow from it.
This is a Reading and Readers review of Scripture & Truth, edited by D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. Currently priced at USD25.99 in Amazon, but free for November from Logos.
Logos is offering two books for free this month. The other one is "Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions" by Millard J. Erickson. The best thing about free stuff is you don't have to choose between the books, you can just get both of them today and read them later.
Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you.
Book List

• Scripture and Truth by D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. Amazon. Logos.

Psalm 91:1–6 (ESV):

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A fitting, hopeful and comforting Psalm for these difficult times. But there is more to the Psalms than your favourites. Have you read all 150 of them? And if you have, have you made sense of them? Today's book might just show you how.
Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today's book is "The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms" by Gordon Wenham. 208 pages, published by Crossway in 2013.
Gordon Wenham is a British Old Testament scholar famous for his Word Biblical Commentary on Genesis and New International Commentary on the Old Testament on Leviticus. If you browse his books in Amazon, you will see a list of academically leaning Old Testament work.
The book, "The Psalter Reclaimed" is a collection of eight essays, drawn from separate lectures over the years. Thus, there is understandably some overlap between the essays.
What Are We Doing Singing the Psalms?
The first essay, "What Are We Doing Singing the Psalms?" describes how the Psalms was used in Temple Worship and later in synagogues and churches. Also, Wenham suggests the Psalms was designed to be memorised. And he doesn't just mean your favourite Psalm 23, "The Lord is My Shepherd". Some psalms were acrostic or alphabetically structured to ease recall. Psalm 119 is acrostic. It's also the longest chapter in the whole Bible with 176 verses. That's a lot to memorise. But that's not all, based on ancient literature and practices, Wenham suggests that the entirety of the Psalms, all 2,527 verses, could be intended to be stored in memory, which makes your memorisation of Psalm 23 a lot less impressive now.
You could counter that the ancients had to memorise because they had no Bible. There was no printing press so obviously everything had to be stored in memory. But memorisation has it's own reward as Wenham writes:
As a reader memorizes a text, he becomes textualized; that is, he embodies the work he has committed to memory. This does sound like the act of eating the Bread of Life or living out what is meant to abide in him as he abides in us for we embody the Word that we have committed to memory.
Through Speech Act Theory, Wenham shows the increasing level of involvement; moving from a lower level of involvement when we listen to a sermon, to a higher level when we say amen to that sermon, to an even higher level of involvement when we sing or pray the psalms.
In our experience, we know that our songs shape the church. What Wenham did in his first essay is to show that Speech Act Theory applied on the Psalms proves our experience is biblically supported. That should be a frightening and/or promising prospect to church and worship leaders.
Praying the Psalms
The second essay is titled, "Praying the Psalms". Wenham lists the types of psalms: Psalms of Praise, Lament, Penitential, and Messianic Psalms. The book of Psalms is more than "Everything that has breathe praise the Lord". It contains a spectrum of emotions: from joy to grief. The wide variety of psalms points to a much wider biblical response to the human experience.
However, for an essay titled "Praying the Psalms" Wenham is heavy on the variety of psalms and why they are important but too light on how to pray with them. How does a Christian pray the psalms in celebrating a newborn or mourning a death? How do we pray the psalms in Covid or Afghanistan, in marriage or in our careers?
I expected this chapter to be more practical like Donald Whitney's "Praying the Bible". In his book, Whitney shows readers how to pray our everyday prayers in an always fresh way. For example, every day I pray for my children's salvation. Today I read Psalm 23. From Psalm 23, I pray, "The Lord is my shepherd, may you O God be the shepherd of my children" and I continue praying to God with that psalm. If that piques your interest, I encourage you search for "praying the Bible". You will find Whitney's book, articles and videos.
Reading the Psalms Canonically
Coming back to "The Psalter Reclaimed", the third essay in this collection is the most eye-opening. "Reading the Psalms Canonically". What does canonically mean?
Imagine if I printed each psalm on separate cards. So I will have 150 cards. For suits, instead of diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades we would have praises, laments, penitentials and messianic.
Now I deal all the cards in front of you. And I take a pen and label the cards: Psalm 1, 2, 3 until 150. Eventually, what you have in front of you on the table is all 150 Psalms labeled accordingly.
Some scholars say that there is no method in the arrangement of the psalms. The cards were dealt randomly. Psalm 103 being in front of Psalm 104 is a coincidence. Accordingly, the appropriate way to interpret a Psalm is to take one card off the table, and find out everything you can about that one card. We ignore the label, Psalm 103, and we ignore it's position in the book.
The canonical approach says something different. While it doesn't dispute studying the psalm itself, it asserts that the cards were not laid out randomly. Similar to how you would arrange a playlist in Spotify. One playlist is different from another, and there may be a story behind the playlist.
The canonical approach says that the editors have arranged it so that there is a story to tell from Book 1 to Book 5. Yes, there are five books in the Psalms. And Book 3 ends with Psalm 89, which is a lament. Wenham writes:
However, books 4 and 5 respond to the lament of Psalm 89 with the call to trust in the Lord’s rule, not in human rulers, “without giving up the hope in the eternity of the Davidic covenant.”
There are more insights but the main thing is as Wenham puts it:
If, as I think has been demonstrated, the psalms have been arranged thematically, by title, and by key words to form a deliberate sequence, it is imperative to read one psalm in the context of the whole collection and, in particular, in relationship to its near neighbors.
If this is the first time you have heard of this way of reading the Psalms, then you should buy me coffee, cause I have just introduced you to a brand new way of reading the Psalms that will last a lifetime. Previously, you thought the only way was to pick and choose out of a set, now you learn that it can be read cover to cover with a story behind the sequence for you to discover.
Reading the Psalms Messianically
The fourth essay is "Reading the Psalms Messianically". Some scholars argue the king in the Messianic Psalms is not referring to a future Messiah. The king mentioned is a historical king in that time.
On the cross, when Jesus said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He was quoting the first line of Psalm 22. According to these scholars, Jesus was not claiming a prophetic fulfilment. He was simply singing a song, just like how we would pick a song to sing to fit an occasion.
Wenham quotes Hans-Joachim Kraus a proponent of this view:
Jesus, by praying this psalm on the cross, “enters into the deepest suffering of God-forsakenness, that those who pray the Old Testament experience . . . that is, Jesus declares his solidarity with the whole fullness of suffering.”
Do you agree with that? Do you agree that Jesus was merely declaring his solidarity with the whole fullness of suffering rather than explicitly fulfilling prophecy and making a theological point. Well, I don't agree. It sounds like a rationalistic reluctance to admit supernatural prophecy.
In this essay, Gordon Wenham sidesteps the question of the original setting in Psalm 22 to reemphasise the prophetic fulfilment, I quote:
We can read it historically as a lament of a royal figure on the verge of death with his enemies looking on, hoping for his imminent demise. But the New Testament clearly sees it as more fully realized in the crucifixion.
And later he concludes:
This seems to me an excellent case of sensus plenior, of realizing the full meaning of the psalm long after it was first written and the crucifixion had been seen.
Oh no! Sensus plenior! If you listened to my previous review of Recovering the Unity of the Bible by Walter C. Kaiser Jr., you would have heard my wrestling with this sensus plenior or verses can have more-than-one meaning way of intepreting. Kaiser insists there is only one meaning, not two or more.
Does it make a big difference? If you read Kaiser and teach there is only one meaning and next week you read Wenham and then teach the NT gives a fuller meaning to the OT, you have just twisted yourself in a knot. You are inconsistent in the way you interpret the Bible. While, I can't comment on whether there is a big or small difference, I suggest that it's good to be aware and to be deliberate on how you interpret the text.
We are now halfway through the book, four chapters in. Notice that I have mentioned scholars a few times and I just discussed Bible interpretative methods. This is a scholarly book that prompts and welcomes such conversations.
For the rest of the review, I'll quickly go through the fifth, seventh and eighth essay and circle back to the sixth essay because the sixth is the best of the collection.
The Ethics of the Psalms
The fifth essay is "The Ethics of the Psalms". In this essay, Wenham shows how neglected the Psalms are when it comes to ethics. The Psalms, just as well as Proverbs, teaches us so much of what is right or wrong in God's eyes. He systematically goes through each of the ten commandments and where it's seen in the Psalms. Interestingly, there are a lot more psalms condemning lying. Wenham suggests why, I quote:
the Psalms themselves are examples of the positive use of the tongue for the praise of God. This makes the tongue’s negative use to destroy one’s fellow man especially reprehensible.
The Psalms doesn't just amplify the ten commandments, a main theme is to contrast the righteous and the wicked. Let me read Psalm 1 in it's entirety and I'm sure you would agree:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
That was Psalm 1. The canonical approach, which if you remember, emphasises on the arrangement of the Psalms. Psalm 1 being programmatic means the main theme of the entire book includes the way of the righteous and the wicked. If you want to know more, you'll be happy to know that Gordon Wenham wrote an entire book on this subject. "Psalms as Torah: Reading Biblical Songs Ethically", 250 pages, published by Baker Academic in 2012.
Psalm 103: The Song of Steadfast Love
The seventh essay is "Psalm 103: The Song of Steadfast Love". If you want to know how to expound a psalm using the canonical approach, this is your chapter. I give you one example insight.
Psalm 103 and Psalm 104 are connected. They both start with the line, "Bless the Lord O My Soul". That is obvious. What is not so obvious is Psalm 104, 105 and 106 form a set. Psalm 104 is Creation. Psalm 105 tells the story of Abraham to Exodus. Psalm 106 continues from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Knowing now that Psalm 103 is a prelude to Israel's history (Psalm 104 to Psalm 106), this gives us a fresh insight to God's steadfast love, God's hesed. When we read verse 8-9:
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.
We remember that the next few Psalms echo the steadfast love of the Lord in God's dealing with Israel.
The Nations in the Psalms
If the seventh essay is an example of an exposition of one psalm, then the eighth essay is an example of a topical study of the Psalms. The essay's title is "The Nations in the Psalms" and Wenham exemplifies how topical studies should be done.
If I can plea to you, and I don't just mean a pastor or preacher, I mean the everyday Christian, if you want to know what the Bible says about any one topic, whether it's marriage, apostles, homosexuality, spiritual gifts, any topic common or controversial, you must know what the whole, I emphasise whole, Bible says on that topic. You should not do what many people do which is to limit your study to a few verses and rashly conclude from those few verses.
"Wow. That means I'd have to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation to find all the relevant verses and study them." Yes!
"That will take a lot of time." Yes! But we have a lifetime to be humble and learn.
Which is why this eighth essay is so precious in its precision. The title is not "The Nations in the Bible", it is "The Nations in the Psalms". The Psalms has much to say about the nations, and this essay explores the different aspects. Judgment. Promise. The positive and negative aspects. This essay is an excellent example on how to do a topical study using the canonical approach.
The Imprecatory Psalms
Lastly, I want to talk about the best essay in the book: "The Imprecatory Psalms." The Psalms are not all "Bless the Lord O My Soul", there is a category of Psalms that does not bless but rather curse. Listen to this portion from Psalm 58:
O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
And this Psalm ends with:
The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”
Break the teeth in their mouths?! Bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked?! Is this coming from the beloved book of Psalms or from a bloodthirsty monster? Imprecatory means to call down evil or curses. Examples include Psalms 12, 44, 58, 83, 109, 137 and 139. It's not one, two or three, there are a few.
They are so problematic that some churches have taken them out of reading schedules. The idea is to skip them because the content is so out of sync with 'proper' Christian teaching.
Wenham summarises the views of various people on the imprecatory psalms. Calvin said it is right for the righteous to hate wickedness, yet also to remember that it may be God's purpose to bring them into repentance. Kirkpatrick said the sentiments shown in the imprecatory psalms do not belong in the age of Christ. Calvin and Kirkpatrick are older voices, so Wenham helpfully presents some contemporary thoughts from Derek Kidner who is closer to Kirkpatrick and Alec Motyer who is closer to Calvin.
Wenham devotes much of the chapter to the Roman Catholic Erich Zenger's work. He explains why:
Zenger’s exegesis is careful, thorough, and sensible. Here I should simply like to quote his initial plea for taking these texts seriously if we are to understand them. He pleads for dialogue with these violent psalms, and true dialogue involves taking the other side seriously. We must understand them before we can express our disagreement. These psalms may seem very foreign to us on first acquaintance, but we need to ask ourselves why that is so. Could it be something in us that makes it difficult for us to appreciate their standpoint? Such honest introspection could lead to a lively struggle with the text and even to seeing them as friends, not as enemies. Indeed that could lead to a change in our perspectives.
My reflection after reading this essay is the imprecatory psalms simply show in painful and graphic detail what other psalms and prophecies mean by judgment. If you are a Christian who is put off by the imprecatory psalms, what do you expect when Christ returns to judge the evil? A slap on the wrist? Then what is the salvation from judgment that we are so grateful for?
If we are shocked by the violence in the Psalms, let that be a warning to evil-doers of the wrath of God to come. Because for us who are covered by the blood of Jesus, these verses are a relief for we have been passed over from that violence. And more importantly, these verses are a comfort to those presently suffering that God is indeed the Judge of all the Earth.
The idea that churches are removing selected psalms from scheduled reading is troubling. How does that align with the teaching that all of Scripture is God-breathed, inspired and inerrant? If we can take some out of reading circulation, what stops us from removing the uncomfortable parts from the Bible?
The imprecatory psalms are not difficult to understand, hence why it's so distressing. Instead of removing it, we should teach it. Wenham's essay here is helpful and just for this essay alone, you should download the free book as offered by Faithlife for November. This essay would be a useful reference for anyone who stumbles at the imprecatory psalms.
Recommendation
Who is this book for? Personally, I think this book should be a Logos Free Book of the Month instead of a Faithlife Free Book of the Month, because it's more technical than Faithlife's usual offerings. Some readers might protest because they read it just fine, "It's okay!", and would recommend it to anyone.
Let's take the analogy of cameras. Some cameras are like the phones you use, they are point-and-shoots. You click one button and it takes the shot without fuss.
Professional cameras like DSLRs require you to fiddle with the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings. These are technical terms. This might shock you but the professional cameras do not have auto mode. You have to learn the technical terms to use the cameras.
Then there is the prosumer camera. They sit between the professional DSLRs and consumer point-and-shoots. This book is like a prosumer camera. It is written by a scholar for a scholarly-ish audience. However, if you don't let yourself be intimidated by the tone and form, the essays are accessible enough for remarkable insights.
Criticism
And this leads to my main criticism. I question the decision to publish this as a collection of essays. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading a good collection of essays. My next book review is the Logos Free Book of the Month for November, "Scripture and Truth" which is a collection of 12 essays from 12 authors.
Gordon Wenham is the sole essayist in this book which consists of essays on one topic, the Psalms. And the essays has been arranged so that the first tells us how the Psalms was used, the third introduces us to the canonical approach and seventh and eighth apply that canonical approach. So there is clearly an editorial move to link one essay to the next, which begs the question, "Why not rewrite the essays to be a regular book?"
A rewrite will remove the repetitions of background and quotations that appear between essays. An introduction and conclusion chapter will cement the ideas presented here. When I finished reading the last essay, I felt the ending was too abrupt.
It is ironic that I'm calling for a stronger editorial hand for a book that emphasises and celebrates the role of the editor behind the Psalms.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this book will help you read and learn from the Psalms. It will help you reclaim an appreciation and love for how the whole book comes together but because of the scholarly tone and emphasis, it is not clear to the casual reader how to reach the goal of praying and praising with the Psalm. For that I recommend you get Donald Whitney's book, "Praying the Bible", it's only 112 pages.
This is a Reading and Readers review of "The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms" by Gordon Wenham. Listed for USD11.99 in Amazon Kindle and USD16.99 in Faithlife but it's now for November, this month and this month only, a free book from the good folks at Faithlife.
If you like the idea of reading the Psalms from first to last, you might appreciate EveryPsalm by Poor Bishop Hooper, a husband and wife music ministry. EveryPsalm is a three year project to release a song based on a psalm every week. From Psalm 1 to Psalm 150. A great complementary listen while you pray and praise with the Psalms.
Let me end today's podcast with a clip from Psalm 1. Please search Poor Bishop Hooper for the whole song and more.
Book List

• The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms by Gordon Wenham. Amazon. Faithlife.
• Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney. Amazon. Faithlife.
• Recovering the Unity of the Bible by Walter C. Kaiser Jr. Amazon. Logos.
• Psalms as Torah: Reading Biblical Songs Ethically by Gordon Wenham. Amazon. Logos.

Reference

• Sound Effects. zapsplat.com
• EveryPsalm by Poor Bishop Hooper. Website.

If the Church is a force of good, then how do you explain the Crusades? The Inquisitions? Today we look at a book that addresses those questions head on.
Hi, my name is Terence and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review "Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History" by John Dickson.

No Such Thing as an Honest Man
The keyword is 'honest'. Why can't the subtitle just be "A Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History"? The word honest is there because there is a suspicion that a Christian, any Christian, is not able to be objective when it comes to the Church.
Pre-empting this thought, Dickson writes:
I imagine Christopher Hitchens would be deeply suspicious of the project of this book. I can hear him groaning: As if a Christian believer—even a mild-mannered Anglican one—would be willing to look into the darkness of Christian history and provide anything like a fair-minded account! As if a Christian “apologist” could admit that the “saints” can be as brazen “sinners” as anyone, and sometimes worse! I suppose only readers who finish this book will be able to judge if my imaginary Hitchens is correct. Any protestations I offer at this point are predictable and empty. I will simply admit that I have felt Hitchens’s presence—ghostlike—in my study as I write this book.
So why is John Dickson the right man to tell us the history of the Church? This is an excerpt from his online biography:
With a first-class honours degree in Theology from Moore Theological College and a PhD in ancient history from Macquarie University, John was a Fellow of Macquarie’s Department of Ancient History (2004-17), and now teaches 'Historical Jesus to Written Gospels' at the University of Sydney (Department of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies). During 2016-2021 John is a Visiting Academic in the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University, where he is researching Christianity and education in the ancient and early medieval worlds. In 2019 he was appointed the Distinguished Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Public Christianity at Ridley College in Melbourne.
He has the credentials. He has written over 18 books and 3 documentaries, so let's look at "Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History".
Honestly, A Bloody Atrocity
You know how in a flash forward works in a movie? The movie begins lets say with, the hero trying to disarm a bomb. The bomb explodes. Blood, limbs, shock and fear. How could this happen? He is the hero?! Then in the next scene, we see a peaceful garden and the words printed out "10 days ago" and the movie progresses from that time towards the bomb.
That is what happened in this book. Dickson starts with a flash forward, a bomb, the Crusades. He brings out that most damning black mark against the Church, then he rewinds time 1000 years ago and shows how the church progresses from that time towards that black mark and beyond.
What he does this in these first two chapters reveals his approach for the rest of the book. He doesn't sugar coat the atrocities. He shows us how all of us, never mind Christians or non-Christians, any human would be aghast at what the church did. And to avoid being accused of giving a false representation, Dickson often quotes their own words.
Dickson writes on the time when he was filming a documentary on the Crusade in Jerusalem:
With gruesome glee and obvious exaggeration, Raymond of Aguilers, a leader of the First Crusade, wrote of this fateful day in the “ides of July”: Wonderful sights were to be seen. Some of our men cut off the heads of their enemies; others shot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers; others tortured them longer by casting them into the flames. Piles of heads, hands, and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. . . . It was a just and splendid judgement of God that this place should be filled with the blood of the unbelievers, since it had suffered so long from their blasphemies.
That sounds more like a journal entry from an ISIS member than a devout Christian. There is more but I skip to the moment when Dickson had a crisis of faith during filming. He writes:
Retelling these horrible details to camera as I stood in the sacred plaza outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque was the moment I sensed a loss of faith in the church. It was not simply that I had read the sources, rehearsed my lines, and now found myself standing in the hideous spot where it all happened. It was because directly in my line of sight as I delivered the lines, just a metre to the left of camera, was our Muslim guide and “minder” assigned to us to show us around the site and keep onlookers satisfied that we really did have permission to film in this spot. Her name was Azra, a Jerusalem Arab Muslim with perfect English. She watched me deliver my lines, over and over until I got them right (I am not a one-take wonder). By the time we got the take the director liked, I could see that Azra had a tear in her eye. I suddenly realised this is not just a gory piece of history. For Jerusalem Muslims—for many Muslims, actually—this event is a source of pain, shame, and even anger.
You want an honest look? You got an honest look. Dickson is a tender-hearted Christian who loves the church. He sees telling the truth of the church's history as necessary for genuine Christians. Even to admit the church's darkest sins. But he reminds us, it is not all dark, there is also inexpressible light.
The Beautiful Tune
Dickson illustrates this point by an act of public humiliation. In the book he shares a video, which I went to watch, of him awkwardly handling a cello. It is even more cringe worthy when heard side-by-side with a concert cellist, Kenichi Mizushima.
Dickson hammers the point:
Disregarding Christianity on the basis of the poor performance of the church is a bit like dismissing Johann Sebastian Bach after hearing Dickson attempt the Cello Suites.
This Beautiful Tune, that is the Teaching of Jesus, is heard throughout the whole book, which implies it's heard throughout the whole of Christian history. If you can hear it, you, whether Christian or sceptic, will be able to perceive the church in all its glory and shame. Not with rose-tinted glasses where the church does no wrong, nor with distorted lenses where the church does no right.
And to speak the truth of the Church in its shame is, Dickson argues, the Christian way, as Jesus taught it in the first century. He writes:
It was the Master of the church himself who said I should worry more about my own sins than the sins of others. The same Lord who called his followers to pursue love, peacemaking, purity, and all the rest also insisted, in the same sermon, that Christians should be quick to admit personal fault and slow to condemn the faults of others.
As a Christian who loves the Church, this book is simply the writer applying the lessons of Christ in his work as a historian and apologist.
There is one more first century teaching: he titles the chapter, "Good Losers". While some today see the church as a bully, it was clear in the first century that the church was the one being bullied. Early Christians were willing to suffer, to lay down their lives, for their faith. That beautiful tune has not disappeared today. He writes:
In December 2018, for example, one hundred Christians from the underground house church movement in Chengdu, China, were arrested and detained. Most were released shortly afterwards. The leader of the group, Wang Yi, was secretly tried at the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court and sentenced to nine years detention, the longest sentence given to a house church pastor in a decade (I have personally met others detained for just a year or two).
In a letter smuggled out to the west shortly after his detainment, Pastor Yi describes his philosophy. “The gospel demands that disobedience of faith must be nonviolent,” he writes. “The mystery of the gospel lies in actively suffering, even being willing to endure unrighteous punishment, as a substitute for physical resistance. Peaceful disobedience is the result of love and forgiveness. The cross means being willing to suffer when one does not have to suffer. For Christ had limitless ability to fight back, yet he endured all of the humility and hurt. The way that Christ resisted the world that resisted him was by extending an olive branch of peace on the cross to the world that crucified him.”
In this Good Losers chapter, with this Persecuted Church in China example, Dickson shows how the Beautiful Tune in the first century is very much alive today. Which begs the question, how does the crucified "love your enemies" Jesus Christ lead to torture-and-murder Crusades?
And we get an answer in this trek through history.
No Sketches on Martin Luther Here
The first two chapters presents the most damning event in Christian history. The next three chapters presents the beautiful teaching of Jesus. And these first five chapters, as I have briefly introduced, sets the scene for the remaining twenty, there are 25 chapters in all in this 347-page book.
The remaining chapters range from the 300s during the time of Emperor Constantine all the way to today with the sex abuses in the modern church. Roughly, the chapters are concentrated on the 300s (6 chapters), 1100s (5 chapters) and modern (5 chapters). I say roughly because some chapters overlap.
A careful listener will wonder how many chapters does he spend on the Reformation? Well... he speaks of the 1500s only as a background to the Wars of Religions in the 1600s. Meaning, he spends very little time in the Reformation. Gasp! How could a man with a first-class honours degree in Theology do that to the Reformation?
Well, he does care for reformation, just not Reformation with a big R. It's reformation with a small r. One of the central thesis of this book is that the church has an auto-correct mechanism by way of the Beautiful Tune. Just when you think the church is hopeless, it reforms and corrects itself, multiple times over the ages.
Because it's not a theological history, he doesn't spend time on Martin Luther or John Calvin or any other theologian. You'll have to look elsewhere for that.
Also, looking at the title, "Bullies and Saints", you might mistaken this book as a book of short sketches of famous peoples or events. You know books with titles like "50 Christians that every Christians should know". Nothing wrong with those books, I have plenty of those books on my shelf, I find them helpful but this is not one of them.
Even though its title is "Bullies and Saints", this book is not a patchwork of mini-stories. Instead, the later chapters build on the earlier ones.
For example, Dickson shows us one man, the revered St Augustine, and how his brief writings on Just Wars in the fifth century later influenced a theology of Holy Wars leading up to the Crusades and even today.
Understanding the reasons and circumstances doesn't make any murder less horrific but it does offer lessons.
And I suggest that one lesson that history offers here is that us Christians need to be careful in our theology because small, very small, deviations can lead to unintended and horrific consequences some generations later. Will the church learn from history? Or will future historians trace future horrors to bad decisions we make today? And I can think of some of them right now.
Christian Light in Slavery
However it's not all a horror show. In this review, I've not spent any time on the charity, hospitals and schools, the good that the church has done. Dickson does a terrific work, not so much as balancing the scales, but to say good is good, evil is evil. And there is a tremendous amount of good that we continue to experience today because of the church, some directly, many indirectly. But maybe it's because of my belligerent atheist past, in a book like this, I tend to gaze into the horrors of the church.
Before I was a believer, I was a know-it-all, I knew the church's sins and would rub my Christian friends face in it.
As an atheist, it was easy for me to point out the American South's slavery as evidence for Christianity's 'inherent' hypocrisy. In those days, I could milk that cow for all its worth.
Then God decided I was to be a Christian. I soon discovered the life of William Wilberforce. Now, if you are a Christian, you should know this name. Because this name (among many others) will help you answer the difficult question of Christians and slavery. For example, slavery was abolished in the British Empire in the 1800s because of Christians like William Wilberforce.
In this book, Dickson shows me further insights. Did you know that the Christian argument against slavery was articulated as early as the fourth century. Gregory of Nyssa, a bishop in Cappadocia, born in 330AD wrote:
Whenever a human being is for sale, therefore, nothing less than the owner of the earth is led into the sale-room.
That was written 1500 years, 1500 years!, before the abolition of slavery. And Dickson makes a very powerful point:
It is a mistake to imagine that the push to end slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was a secular project as opposed to a religious one. There was religion on both sides, to be sure. The difference is: the arguments against slavery were almost entirely religious or quasi-religious, whereas the arguments for slavery were economic, scientific, and pragmatic, as well as religious.
What I just shared is an assertion that can be verified. In that time, was there another argument against slavery? And this question is still relevant today as people condemn the Church for its slavery past yet too many are ignorant of the Church for freeing the slaves. Just like a DNA test would exonerate a wrongly accused man and release him from 20 years of prison, so history can right a wrong.
Revisionist or Honest Truth Telling?
In this way, I'm asserting that Dickson is an honest man. Or at least a historian that has written an honest account. And I'm not the only one who thinks that way. Other historians have endorsed him.
It is not surprising for a book like this to have strong endorsements from Christian writers and thinkers like: Collin Hansen, Rebecca McLaughlin and John C. Lennox. If you are a sceptic you would dismiss all Christians as living in the same echo chamber.
The book is all the more credible when we have endorsements from esteemed historians. Teresa Morgan, Professor of Graeco-Roman History, University of Oxford endorses the book:
“This is that rare thing—a book that speaks equally to Christians and sceptics. Combining gripping historical narrative with a keen critique of contemporary debates, Dickson makes one of the most honest, challenging, and compelling cases for Christianity you will ever read.”
I'll read another endorsement from Tom Holland, a British Historian, a non-Christian, who writes:
“Bullies and Saints is a commendably honest work that goes beyond simple apologetics: one that is all the more subtle in its effect for being often very apologetic.”
While the book is of interest to all Christians interested in our past, Dickson is clearly inviting the sceptic, which is no surprise if you know his history. Dickson arranges debates between Christians and non-Christians. That debate is how he introduced himself in this book.
Dickson writes books with titles like "The Doubter's Guide to the Ten Commandments" to directly address sceptics. He founded The Centre for Public Christianity, "a not-for-profit media company that offers a Christian perspective on contemporary life." He is the host of a podcast, Undeceptions, one of the top Christian podcast in Australia, which has this tagline: "Advocating for the Christian faith in a sceptical world."
All this explains why and how the book was written. And leads to my one tiny criticism or question.
Saying the Church is Good is Only the Beginning
Collin Hansen, editorial director of The Gospel Coalition, endorses this book:
I don’t often hear people question these days whether or not Christianity is true. I hear them ask whether or not it’s good. And that’s the challenge John Dickson accepts in Bullies and Saints.
I'm not suggesting that Dickson write a different book to answer a different question, "Is Christianity true or not". I'm not questioning whether Christians should give a good answer to whether Christianity is good or not, we should.
Looking at the big picture, I am asking or wondering whether giving a definitive answer to that question will be sufficient?
You see, there was a time, and since we are reading a book of history, there were many times, when society believed that Christianity is good. It was a given. But knowing that Christianity was good, that the church was good, did not do much in terms of a spiritual transformation. For a long time, society was a majority of people who were nominally Christians, individuals who profess a faith in name only.
This book introduces us to another category, individuals who are ethically Christians. We have the historian Tom Holland and social capital researcher Andrew Leigh who are not Christians but are happy to credit Christianity for their moral code. People who are happy to go to church because they notice their children behave better after a sermon. How far should we celebrate this? Because nominally or ethically Christians are not Christians.
Don't get me wrong. Dickson has explicitly written on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. He states it four times in this book. And he has defined the central moral logic of Christianity as: God's love for us must animate our love for all. So there is the gospel message.
I suppose my concern is that this book is so good at making its case that the church is good that some readers might think this is the best way, the only way, to make the case for Christianity. And some, through no fault of John Dickson, might fail to see that ultimately it is God and only God who is good.

Setting The Book Within a Christian's Timeline
This book is not the end. It answers the question of whether Christianity is good or not. But we need the provocation or the offensive question of whether Christianity is true or not. If true, what does that mean for you, Christian? For you, the unbeliever?
This book expresses a Christian honesty and compassion that would attract or soften a Jerusalem Arab Muslim but it lacks the sharp edge that would lead to a Christian conviction. For that, you will need a follow up book or better yet a deeper conversation. Is Christianity true or not?
I can't find any fault in this book, so I thought to frame the book within the bigger picture. It's a delightful read. For Christians, a sobering and hopeful look at our history. For sceptics, a beginning I hope for spiritual conversations. The conversation cannot just end with the conclusion that the church is good. It must go beyond it, and see the source of the beautiful tune.
This is a Reading and Readers review of "Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History" by John Dickson.
If you like this review, then get it while it's still on a discount. As of the 31st October, it's on a 86% discount in Amazon. Bullies and Saints is priced at USD3.99 from a list price of USD28.99. I don't know how long this discount will be so get it while you can.
And if you like discounts, then you should, like me, visit Challies.com regularly. The Challies Kindle Deals has saved or cost me a lot of money, depending on how you see it.
And if you like free books and would like to know more, be sure to listen to the next episode of Reading and Readers, where I will review the Faithlife Free Book of the Month for November. What is it? I don't know. Every month I wait eagerly in anticipation. Until next time, keep reading.

Book List
Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History by John Dickson. Amazon. Faithlife.