The God Who is There…

[The following is the latest  in a multi-article series in which the author evaluates and summarizes a number of classic Christian books read over the last few months]

In this first of his world renown twenty two book series Dr. Francis Schaeffer assesses and critiques the development of modern culture and philosophy. He explores the developing philosophy, art, music, general culture and theology generated over the past seven centuries – his verdict?  Modern man is being strangled to death by his own system and has fallen below what Schaeffer calls the ‘line of despair’. Contrary to his renaissance counterpart, Modern man has abandoned hope in finding a universal or absolute through which to validate his existence. Meaning, morality, and reason have no place in his system. In response to this defeat the modern humanist honestly evaluating the logical conclusion of his own beliefs, lives in despair.  To him as Satryre said the universe is ‘Absurd’.  Interestingly however is that Schaeffer notes that modern man is incapable of living up to the conclusion of his own beliefs. Despite his conclusion, the reality of the external universe and (what Schaeffer calls) the ‘mannishness’ of man exist and must be reconciled. A Kierkegaardan ‘Leap of Faith’ towards meaning is therefore necessary for the rationalist whether that is a drug-induced ‘final experience’, eastern mysticism, or the new theology – in the modern mind reason and values have been divorced. Schaeffer concludes that rationalism is an inadequate system that does not account for all of human experience. As Dr. Steve Kumar said, an authentic worldview must be “Logical, Factual, and Livable” and humanism in the end becomes an anti-philosophy with very few answers to offer. In the midst of the death and despair of modern man Schaeffer challenges the bible-believing christian to understand the modern mans dilemma and make good on his responsibility to offer a logical, factual, and livable answer that encompasses all of reality.  The answer founded upon the God Who Is There.

I would highly recommend this and/or any of Dr. Schaeffer’s other books.

History Continued…

Latourette’s second volume on Church History succeeded in keeping pace with its earlier counterpart as far as clarity and scope are concerned. In part II we pick up the tale at the turn of the sixteenth century delving into the details surrounding the long awaited Protestant Reformation and in a sense the consequent Catholic Counter-Reformation. With this period I found helpful the attention brought to the fact that on both sides of the theological conflict there was a widely growing rejection and  intolerance in the general population’s attitude towards the rampant corruptions of the Church and rising religious unrest was witnessed on a unprecedented scale. Both the tragedies and triumphs of that particular period are recalled in painstaking detail. Following the Reformations, alongside colonial expansion, Latourette recounts the expansion of the gospel to hitherto unreached peoples and countries, making Christianity a truly unmatched global faith.  We are then guided through the enlightenment with all the challenges and opportunities it afforded Christianity. The battles with modernism on one hand and liberalism in the Church on the other being only a few. The Protestant revivals and movements in England and the Thirteen Colonies (Later the United States) are also patiently dissected and the book finishes by evaluating the difficulties following the two World Wars while also noting the outstanding growth and increasing unity of the Church in the twentieth century.

Again, like the first volume this book has been profoundly helpful to me. Particularly reading the sections on the Reformation period helped to clarify more objectively the whole conflict and understand actually what was at stake in a less simplistic way of explanation. The revivals in England and the Thirteen Colonies also gave historical roots to many modern movements and even nations (The United States) and helped to connect the present with some past developments. Discovering the Church’s battle with the Humanism of the enlightenment also helped explain the liberalism we see in many modern churches and has made the battle against liberal theology all the more urgent to join. So in many ways the book has been helpful. At the same time I also should mention the obvious. This book strives to record the ‘History of Christianity’, not simply Protestantism, or Catholicism, but all of it. So naturally as history moves forward and the church divides and expands there is a lot more history to try to consolidate for any given time. Because of this some of the sections on the geographical expansion of the Gospel, the roots of every branch of Protestantism or every movement of Catholicism plus the struggles or triumphs of the Russian or Greek Orthodox churches were difficult to take in. Basically to cover it all you have to spread yourself very thin, and reading became more and more difficult in such sections. So there you have it! Latourette’s ‘A History of Christianity’ is now history!

Major Project…

Maria…

My younger sister Maria graciously agreed to humor me with a quick photo-shoot this afternoon, enjoy.

A History of Christianity…

A few days ago I finished reading Part I of Kenneth Scott Latourette’s ‘A History of Christianity’ and the book has proven itself as comprehensive as it’s title indicates. His first volume focuses on the birth of Christianity and follows the various forms of that faith right up until the late fifteenth century. Latourette’s style and historical approach to the Christian story could not be more compelling or informative. More importantly his is not a work of dry history but a living story full of interpretive and ethical challenges for the modern reader. A particularly attractive trait found in his writing is how he ‘accentuates Christianity rather than the Church’, and though he reveals a powerful Christian bias, at the same time he remains quite neutral or objective as far as Church forms are concerned. Helpful summaries and reflective chapters are strewn throughout the book thereby inspiring the reader to actually evaluate the effects of the events being studied. Thus far he has divided Church history into appropriate sections and dissects those pieces to deal with in individual chapters before moving onto the next section. For example, for any given block of history we will span the entire period looking at theological and doctrinal developments of the time period and then start the period again by focusing on another aspect, say, the geographical expansion of the Gospel or advances in Church structure etc. This may seem somewhat disorientating at first but eventually helps to give a more comprehensive picture of the development of different periods.

As you can probably gather, I’m feeling very positive about this book. Already this rudimentary understanding of Church history has begun to explain the current state and forms of the Church today and help me to intelligently distinguish between them. Also I am particularly indebted to the sections dedicated to explaining developments in theology and doctrine. Somehow it has been extremely helpful to understand the characters and events surrounding the rise of different ideas and has removed a lot of the confusion over some controversial theological ideas. On a more personal level, tapping into the greater story of the Church with its tragedies and triumphs seems to have inspired in me a bigger lens for viewing life in general. The bigger picture begs some important questions to be asked. How will our generation be viewed centuries from now? Will we contribute to furthering the Gospel, the name of Christ, and embody the Christian ideal? Will we be remembered as influencers or simply the tragically influenced? Or will we instead remain utterly passive and self absorbed and not join in the story for good or ill? How much of my life or yours is simply unimportant and wasteful when viewed against this universal backdrop? How much of it will remain for history to recall? Not with the goal of impressing men, but of glorifying God. Am I living my life in order to leave a eternal legacy that will span the ages or thinking only of my own temporal spurt here on earth?

In any case I would wholeheartedly recommend the book to those brave enough for the undertaking. Some perseverance will be required at different sections but I believe the perspective gained will be well worth the sacrifice.