Probably like many of you who follow my blog, I am a voracious reader.
Like Francis Bacon wrote, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
The above volume belongs, in my estimation, in the last and superlative category.
Why? What reasons do I have for my estimation? Here are a few:
- Ortlund writes with a scholar’s mind and a pastor’s heart. He “keeps it real,” if you’ll forgive the common diction. He remains in touch with the “everyman.”
- He cites his sources (his book is footnoted so that we can confirm and/or repudiate claims).
- He deals with naysayers head-on (Dawkins, Darwin, Sartre, Camus, etc.).
- He excels in providing context, context, context . . . not just proof-texting and ripping verses or passages out of their proper context.
Encouragement: Today after Sunday school, corporate worship, and lunch with friends, I read this volume in one sitting. And now I’m blogging about it. It’s that helpful and, in my view, important.
I have already purchased another copy to give to a friend.
If you have skeptics in your life about whom you care, or those you love who, for whatever reason, are hostile to the Christian faith, pray about giving them a copy of this book, then do it, and ask them to discuss it with you.
Well done, Dr. Ortlund; well done. Thank you for this offering to the body.
*P.S. Lady was not expecting to be in the picture, but there she is nonetheless.
