FLY ON THE FENCE
Have you seen it from this angle before?
By John Woods. OM Publishing.
115 pages. ISBN 9 781850 783060
Fly on the fence consists of 12 easy-to-read chapters of topical significance.
The author tackles doctrinal issues in a readable style. He likens truth to a beautiful diamond which only reveals its full splendour when viewed from more than one angle: 'Evangelicals, like other people with strong convictions, often assume that their way of seeing an issue is the only right one. After all, they are the people of truth.' (p.1)
He points out that our approach to truth is coloured by the 'party line', that is, the church tradition from which we come, which itself needs to be tested by the Bible.
Guidance; grace; the Fatherhood of God; calling; handling the Bible; spirituality; Sabbath observance; and the miraculous - are covered with ease and clarity.
There are some very useful, quotable snippets. For example, the following does preach well! 'Just in case we fall for the contemporary lie that 'life is too short to be good!', we need to think about the fact that eternity is too long to be wicked.' (p.32)
Here is a valuable introduction for the new believer to key theological topics, with the doctrinal teaching earthed in specific exegesis. The author shows some awareness of the deeper complexities surrounding subjects such as the role of law (p.30). Clearly, it was beyond the scope of the book to deal with these such issues in detail.
However, I did feel tantalised by a certain incompleteness of argument. If this is a book encouraging the reader to go beyond one-dimensional thinking, these subjects require more space. But that does not take away from an enjoyable and provocative read.
