Review: Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News

Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News by Brian Zahnd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the first book that I've read within a day in a LONG time. Let that speak for what it's worth. I would also like to add, however, that just because I was able to read it fairly quickly and that in itself lends as a witness to the readability and intrigue of said book, it does not necessarily reflect my agreement with all of the material presented. That being said, I firmly believe that this is a book that most Christians (if not all) should read, not because what he said is necessarily completely true (though Zahnd believes it to be so and does a decent job backing his reasons for believing that) but simply because the subject matter is a HIGHLY important one.

What Zahnd presents in "Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God" is a conclusion of his personal journey as a Christian/minister from the first time encountering the famous "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" to today. Beginning with a direct challenge with the widely popular view of an angry, wrathful God, he weaves through a conversation with Biblical texts, historical theology, and church tradition to produce an intriguing and thought provoking contribution to the Christianity today.

By challenging the reader to interpret and filter what we read in Scripture through the lens of Jesus Himself, Zahnd comes to a picture of God that is vastly different from what was portrayed in Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon (and thus many theologians and pastors since). Overall Zahnd did a nice job collecting his thoughts and conclusions and presenting them in a logical, easy to follow progression through the course of the book. If I have one major criticism of his progression (other than some of his conclusion), I felt that he digressed a little from the main premise of his book in chapters 7-9 (dealing with parts of Revelation specifically), and thus could have condensed those 3 chapters more into 1 or 2.

Chapters 4 & 5 were BY FAR my favorite chapters to read, chew on, and wrestle with (Titled 'The Crucified God' and 'Who Killed Jesus?' respectively). Even if one were to end up disagreeing with everything he presents in these two chapters, Zahnd's conclusions and 'paper trail' for how he arrived at those conclusions are worth reading, exploring, and contemplating.

The chapter on hell (chapter 6) presents his conclusions on eternal punishment and how one might end up in either heaven or hell. From what I understand (and as always, I could have misunderstood), I would venture to say Zahn ends up on the spectrum close to the position re-made popular by Rob Bell not TOO long ago, though with some pretty significant differences (i.e. Bell- eventually Jesus redeems everyone... a Christian Universalist view made originating with Origen (ironic, huh?); Zahnd- Since God is love and the invitation of love is never retracted, one can still respond to that love even after death just as much as one can scorn and reject that love after death. In other words, only you can keep yourself in hell by continuing to reject love and as long as you do so, there you will remain.)

Some of the 'theological structure' that Zahnd builds regarding Scripture seems a little flimsy/suspect at times due to some perceived inconsistencies and 'weak' spots. This is simply my opinion and impression based upon what I feel you'll arrive at if you take EVERYTHING he says to the absolute end.

In conclusion, did Zahnd change my mind today? No. Did he give me things to ponder and think about as I read Scripture and grow in my relationship with Jesus? Absolutely. At the very least, I'd say Zahnd was successful in one of the main motives of which he set out to achieve. After reading 'Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God', you have to at least take a moment and rejoice how loving and awesome our God is.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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Review: As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God

As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God by Eugene H. Peterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First off, even though I own another book or two by Peterson, this is the first one that I've actually been able to read for a little bit so far in my life. Right off the get go I'll admit that this book wasn't quite what I expected, though that might not necessarily be a bad thing.

"As Kingfishers Catch Fire" is not so much a 'BOOK' as a collection of sermons that Peterson has preached over the many years of faithful service in the ministry. While that wasn't what I was expecting when I requested to read this book, it did turn out to prove useful as a devotional type book.

If you're looking to read this book from cover to cover in a sitting or two, you might be able to do it, but I certainly was not. It's rather lengthy (since it contains numerous teachings from such a long ministry). On top of that there are many parts that I encountered that were a little 'weird' to read, though probably wouldn't be if it were preached or taught audibly (someone who tells you different modalities don't matter, I would argue doesn't quite know what they're talking about, haha).

If you are looking for a fantastic book to use as a daily devotional or as a daily personal time book, then I would strongly recommend that you at least CONSIDER looking at this one. He also conveniently divides the book up into various 'eras' of the Bible, i.e. the various parts include a part on Moses, David, Isaiah, Solomon, Peter, Paul, and John. One of the things that I really love about Peterson's book for this purpose, is the fact that he is very purposeful at pairing passages from the Old Testament with the New Testament in his sections dealing with Moses, David, Isaiah, and Solomon (as an Old Testament guy with a New Testament degree, that excited me).

Other than as a devotional, it's still a decent read, but not one that I would necessarily move up to the top of my 'to-read' list.

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