Wright feels like not only do popular conceptions of holidays like All Saints Day contribute to misconceptions about heaven but undermine the arc of the Christian calendar and the story it tells.
Continue readingThose of you not living in a cave, or to be fair not tuned into to either publishing or evangelicalism, are probably aware of the whole phenomenon surrounding Love Wins by Rob Bell. I never posted a review here because it was such a complex and constantly moving debate that I never managed to spend the time and focus I felt necessary to give it justice.
Nevertheless, I read the book several times and even spoke at my church about it (you can read my initial take at Goodreads). I also read some other books that grew out of that larger debate on the doctrine of hell. And so when I heard about Why be a Christian (If No One Goes to Hell)? I was intrigued. I wanted to see how someone from a Reformed perspective tackled and framed this issue (Calvinists/Reformed were amongst the most negative and vitriolic of Bell’s critics).
Those of you not living in a cave, or to be fair not tuned into to either publishing or evangelicalism, are probably aware of the whole phenomenon surrounding Love Wins by Rob Bell. I never posted a review here because it was such a complex and constantly moving debate that I never managed to spend the time and focus I felt necessary to give it justice.
Nevertheless, I read the book several times and even spoke at my church about it (you can read my initial take at Goodreads). I also read some other books that grew out of that larger debate on the doctrine of hell. And so when I heard about Why be a Christian (If No One Goes to Hell)? I was intrigued. I wanted to see how someone from a Reformed perspective tackled and framed this issue (Calvinists/Reformed were amongst the most negative and vitriolic of Bell’s critics).
Dug Down Deep – Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters by Joshua Harris is part of the WaterBrook Multnomah Blogging for Books program. I wanted to read it because I am inerested in theology and “orthodoxy” and I wanted to see what the author has been up to since his claim to fame writing about dating.
Dug Down Deep is basically an argument for the importance of theology and a primer on the basics of the Christian faith. Harris argues that orthodox theology is important because only by “right thinking” can we find salvation and live out our faith. Wrong theology undermines faith and growth.
But it is a mix of argument and storytelling. He both outlines key theological points, and discusses why they are important, and tells the story of his spiritual growth from evangelical wonder kid to pastor.
All in all it is a engaging and honest call to take theology seriously and to integrate into our lives not as just knowledge but as a necessary part of living out our faith.
More thoughts below.