Everything about this book - cover style, title and contents says "this is a response to Steve Chalke's book The Lost Message of Jesus Christ."

With cover blurbs (front, back and inside!) from a who's who of evangelicalism Liam Goligher takes us on an excellent tour of what the gospel is.

The book is divided into three "Acts", each with several "scenes" - which form the chapters. Act 1 takes us from Eden and the fall to the sacrifices God commanded for the Day of Atonement. Act 2 shows us the predictions of the cross in Isaiah and the need for the cross in Psalm 51. We are then shown the events of the cross from Mark's gospel.

Act 3 takes us through the New Testament's teaching on the significance and achievements of the cross showing how Paul and others interpret the sacrifice of Jesus in terms of the passover, day of atonement and suffering servant.

Liam Golligher writes very well and the book is highly readable, easy to follow and theologically sharp.

My only reservation about it is that it's not really a response to The Lost Message of Jesus, despite the fact that everything about it seems ot shout that it is! Well that's not quite fair. I suppose it is a response in that it totally demolishes Steve Chalke's ridiculous charicatures of the doctrine that Jesus died as our substitute bearing the penalty of God's wrath for sin. And it shows that the Old and New Testaments clearly teach that.

But that was, really, not the main point of Chalke's book. The main point of The Lost Messgae of Jesus was that evangelical Christians, for all their insistence that we have a life changing, life saving, wonderful and brilliant piece of good news are rubbish at reaching out to and communicating with the most marginalised and vulnerable people in society.

Chalke's answer was to thrown out the baby of Bible doctrine with the bathwater of evangelical subsulture. Golligher's work admirably restores the baby to its place. But this alone is not enough. We also need to change the bathwater of evangelical subculture - which is, almost exclusively, middle class, respectable, white and not in social need. We have farmed out caring for the poor to the state - and, on the whole, the state has made a rubbish job of it. Where are the evangelical social activists of the C21st? The people who understnad the true gospel Golligher outlines and then live out its implications in society?

As a white, respectable (?!), middle-class leader of a largely white and middle class (though not particularly respectable!) church I need help with this. And for all its admirable statement of biblical doctrine the Jesus gospel really doesn't help me to answer Steve Chalke's question. and if we can't answer that question, if those who believe the biblical gospel aren't making any real strides to reach those who are despised by society and rejected by the wealthy, what right do we really have to claim any moral high ground?

Blue like jazz - or "how to be a cool Christian"

Don Miller's book, Blue Like Jazz, has been something of a puzzle to me. The first time I heard of it one of my most trusted friends, no theological slouch himself, told me he thought it was brilliant. The next thing I saw was a review on the IX Marks web site (one of my most trusted sources!) that absolutely panned it. Hmmm.

It seems that of the hundreds of thousands of people who have bought the book (even 4 years after publication it's in the top selling 300 books on amazon.com) have, largely loved it. But many people have not - see here for a typical critique, as offered at Southern Baptist Seminary - a sound and sharp theological college, though somewhat socially and politically conservative.

So what do I think?

Well, despite some harsh criticisms of Don Miller's writing style by others I like it. I like the fact that he tells stories (there is something of Douglas Coupland in the style) and that he is really honest about his own failings. Although some people have a go at him for not being clear that it is sinful to have a crush on a lesbian pop star, I do think Miller is honest and open about his sin in a way that does not glorify it. To be honest I wish that more "solid" Christian authors would oursure something of Miller's writing style - if they did more people might read Christian books, even if the style wouldn't satisfy academics.

Miller is excellent on grace and brilliantly identifies the way Christian people fall into making judgments about people based on matters that are nothing to do with salvation or faith. His sections on "money" and "gods" are also interesting and thought provoking.

The problem with Miller's book, as with so many others, is the heresy of omission. His spirituality, it seems, makes God's wrath and judgment entirely peripheral to the gospel. "Jesus" talk is much less common in his book than "God" talk and it seems to be the incarnate Christ in his frailty more than the risen and ascended king of the universe who features.

If you want to find out the true centre of Christian spirituality this is not the place to go. But if you want to think about how Christian preachers and writers can adopt a style that will engage better with people in their 20s and 30s and to think about grace this book is worth a read - with caution!

Reading Speed....

Thanks for the question about getting through books at a pace. Basically I have two types of reading. For information books of all sorts - history, theology etc - I tend to check out the introduction, conclusion and chapter headings first. If the material seems interesting I then skim the whole book and then go back and read carefully anything that seems new/interesting. That way you can avoid reading lots of things you already know.

For novels, plays and poetry I have a much more leisurely pace and try and take time to let the beauty of the writing (which, it seems to me is one of hte main points of reading fiction) sink in.

I've only come to this over several years - basically matter of becoming convinced that it is better "value" use of time to read the bits that are important than to read every word just because I've paid for a book!