This is the resource I have been wanting to recommend. It is clear, covers the critical issues without getting bogged down, and is the perfect antidote to some popular, but misguided ideas about the Bible.
Doreen and I were invited to a weekend where Bill was the featured speaker. He has the scholarly goods but is strong in making that scholarship compelling and accessible.
Some of you know that we were in Boston last month to celebrate the graduation of our youngest son from Harvard Law School. As is our habit, we had dinner one night in the North End at one of their many, terrific Italian restaurants. As we were seated, my wife received a note that Randy had died. Overcome with grief I excused myself, went outside, and cried.
Doreen first met Randy nearly forty years ago. She and Randy worked together at Towson State University in the Baltimore, MD area. Because of Randy’s leadership in wanting to share the gospel, their small Cru staff team (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) of three did more evangelism than schools that had many more Cru staff.
Randy and Pam recently moved to Austin. After leaving Cru, Randy transitioned to ministering through the C.S. Lewis Institute. We started meeting for fellowship and sharing a few, or more than a few, laughs. During one of our coffee shop conversations, a twenty-something guy introduced himself. He was disillusioned with the American church and so stopped going. It was wonderful to tag-team with Randy. Both of us have had our own concerns with the church.
From Boston we flew to England. In the most unlikely of places, we heard about Randy.
We attended a classic Anglican service (see picture) in the English countryside of Taynton which is part of the Cotswolds. After the service, we spent some time with the vicar who gave a wonderful message and shared his own concerns about the Anglican church. Tom studied at the evangelical school, Oak Hill College in London. I don’t remember what spawned his comment, but he told us that one of his favorite books in seminary was Randy’s Questioning Evangelism! That was a wonderful mercy of God and a great encouragement.
Randy was rightly known as funny, clever at asking questions, but I would like to add, a great listener. Here is Randy interviewing me on my latest book. You will find his trademark humor and ability to ask great questions, but authors appreciate someone like Randy who was an active listener:
A terrific book from a top-notch scholar.
It is accessible for the non-expert but you will not be able to speed read it.
If you want more confidence in the Bible, and specifically in the gospels, this book packs a lot in its 140 pages!
My Interview with Tim Keller, Endorsing My Favorite Keller Book, and Reflections on His Life…
I was hesitant to interview Tim Keller, but not for the reasons you may think. I was slated to interview him on his book about trusting God with suffering. I have read many books on the subject, so I was a bit skeptical that any fresh angles could be articulated.
I was wrong, and so very glad to do the interview which you can find here:
It was also a privilege to blurb what is perhaps my favorite Keller book:
https://timothykeller.com/books/making-sense-of-god
Keller had his critics, and some of that criticism seems well-founded. However, there are many things we can learn from his example.
Many times, God uses the most unlikely people. Keller’s awkwardness socially would not have made one think he was destined to the ministry we now know him for. By the way, Keller got a C in his seminary preaching class, not an encouraging sign that he would amount to much as a preacher.
Some other things we can learn from Keller’s life:
*Mentors are hugely influential. Keller had several, but Edmund Clowney was one of the most formative. Clowney’s kindness, learning, and commitment to Keller reminds me of the role Ambrose played for Augustine.
*Keller’s ability to synthesize material, commitment to listen well to others, free people up to use their own gifts, but most of all, his humility, are things God has honored.
*There is no Tim Keller as we know him today without Kathy Keller. If you have a spouse who is a partner in ministry (I am graced by God to say that I do), then thank God for that blessing. If you are single and looking for a spouse, be diligent to find someone who shares the vision God has laid on your heart.
*If I were asked to list a couple of specifics that make a minister used of God, I would list true piety, humility, ability to keep loyal friends over the long haul, and courage. For the latter, Keller had a powerful model in a pastor who preceded him. He is a long-forgotten name, but you will be inspired by getting to know William E. Hill Jr. Many obscure figures had a big impact on Keller.
I have read many books on apologetics and how best to engage the culture. I have read and, in some cases, reread classic works by Augustine, Pascal, Chesterton, and Lewis. Contemporary folks like Keller, both of the two big books by Charles Taylor, Sire, Guinness, Schaeffer, Pearcey, and Moreland have been very helpful. You get the picture. All these have been terrific, but the book that now tops my list is Glen Scrivener’s book, The Air We Breathe.
In relatively short compass Scrivener winsomely, wisely, and wonderfully showcases that we do as Flannery O’Connor said, live in a Christ-haunted world. (She said a Christ-haunted south, but I am expanding on her words.)
If you are looking for a well-written and compelling resource that makes it crystal clear that many of the things we love and take for granted like freedom are a result of Christianity, then this book is for you. If you are not looking for a resource like this, you should be!
A friend asked how I navigate my doubts. Here is what I wrote him:
I don’t like the word “certainty,” especially when it comes to the Christian faith.
When I teach apologetics as I did for four years at Regents School of Austin, I used the word “pointers” instead of “proofs.”
“Faith seeking understanding” is my preferred way to think about my relationship with God. The “democracy of the dead” who have helped me the most in this regard include, but are not limited to: Athanasius, Augustine, Kempis, Luther, Calvin, Bunyan, Baxter (and a few other Puritans), Pascal, Edwards, Herbert, Dickinson, Chesterton, Lewis, Newbigin, Willard, Bloesch, Stott, Oden, and Lundin. Most impactful living authors would include but not be limited to: Keller, Rutledge, Wood, Delbanco, Wright (NT and Christopher), McKnight, Piper, and Taylor.
You mentioned “tending your own garden.” Voltaire’s Candide is one of my favorite books. The glib Pangloss (=all tongue!) repeatedly invokes “It is the best of all possible worlds.” Exposure to the horrors of the world eventually make even him no longer believe what he was saying. For all its brilliance, Candide offers a binary trap: be superficial with the harsh realities of life or hunker down on your plot of land.
I believe (that word is instructive!) there is a third alternative: engage with the messiness of the world trusting there is a God who is really there, and more than fine with my wrestling to make sense of the Christian faith. I am grateful that God is mindful that we are but dust (Ps. 103:13,14), blessed if we believe without seeing (Jn. 20:29), and knows that the best of us sees in a mirror dimly (I Cor. 13:12).
I find it somewhat ironic that you liked Hitchens. I did too so I get it. His short book on dying (Mortality) is compelling. I love that one of the three authors that Hitchens requested be brought to him in his last days was Chesterton! The other two were Nietzsche and Mencken. Quite a trifecta! Yet, Hitchens was a man of certainty. Remember, we read and discussed god is not Great. He sounded like John R. Rice, so in the end I did not find him very illuminating.
There are many things I am not certain of, but I will mention one. As you know, I wrote my M.A. thesis (and then slightly expanded book) as a critique of annihilationists on the doctrine of hell. Though Stott, Hughes, et al. were mentioned, I spent most the time on Clark Pinnock’s view. To my delight, Professor Pinnock (along with J.I. Packer and Dallas Willard) wrote an endorsement. Pinnock said it was a fair and worthy treatment.
Years later after writing that first book (it came out in 1995), I am not so sure about many aspects related to the nature and duration of hell.
The following are some of the things that give me a “proper confidence” of what I believe.
*I start with the evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus. From there, I look at how Jesus handled the Scriptures. See John Wenham’s book, Christ and the Bible. I am fairly confident this is a wise way to proceed.
*I intentionally seek out alternative views to my own. It is why I listened to all three cable stations (we no longer have cable) and in the car listen to everything from NPR to right wing radio. It is also why Ralph Waldo Emerson has been a major conversation partner for over two decades. He wrote things that I need to hear, even and maybe especially when they make me angry.
*I seek out people who are willing to interact over the most contentious issues of the day. For example, in both writing, teaching, and conversations I had many vigorous discussions with pro-Trump Christians. In some of the best conversations we each learned some things we would not have otherwise learned. It is true that I remained a Never-Trumper, but my objections were clarified/slightly modified by these conversations.
You could read this as apologetic that there are others who have not bowed a knee to the Baal of certitude. You may be surprised that there are more than you imagined!
“The Church is in trouble…Could you explain your faith? Do you base it on the Bible? Could you defend it against challenges?”
J.I. Packer
There are many fine worldview books available. I’ve read my fair share.
What makes this one unique is that Poplin weaves her own story throughout this compendious book. Poplin has experienced many of these alternative philosophies not as some detached academic, but as a real participant. Her wide-ranging reading and commentary offers fresh analysis.
Highly recommended!
Seven things I appreciated about Disruptive Witness by Alan Noble:
The writing is lucid and compelling
Terrific illustrations are peppered throughout
Teases out some practical implications from the writings of Charles Taylor
Focuses on major issues all Christians should agree upon
Good unpacking of how lethal distraction and the never-ending choices are in the modern era
Noble has a gracious, but candid style…not an easy combo!
Noble does not just complain, but offers some practical suggestions for us to adopt
Quote to consider: “The challenge for Christians in our time is to speak of the gospel in a way that unsettles listeners, that conveys the transcendence of God, that provokes contemplation and reflection, and that reveals the stark givenness of reality.”
This is a worthwhile investment of your time, but you will need to put on your thinking cap. If you want to shorten the time spent, fast forward to the discussion among the three scholars.