WHY WE (STILL) BELIEVE
Standing Firm on Biblical Christianity
Edited by David J’ Randall
Christian Focus. 256 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 527 100 886
Back in the day, my Year 9 English teacher told me that words in brackets will often communicate the greatest meaning, and so it is with this excellent collection of essays edited by David Randall. Indeed, what these learned contributors are emphasising reflects their experience over many years, that biblical Christianity offers, now as much as it ever has, the answer to the most fundamental questions of life.
There are 14 carefully-reasoned essays, some of which cover the usual suspects in apologetics: the goodness of God, the authority of Scripture, the case for intelligent design, the uniqueness of Christ, etc., while others issue direct challenges to the church to present a more energetic, ‘front foot’, approach to engaging with the issues and dilemmas presented by contemporary culture. All 14 essays are helpful, but I’ve picked out two of the latter category to offer an insight into the treasures contained within this compendium.
Prioritising evangelism
The book opens with Andy Bannister’s call to the church to prioritise evangelism. The challenge is clear. He says: ‘Many pastors I speak to mutter that it’s easier to find volunteers to dredge the church drains by hand than to do street evangelism in the local shopping mall.’ He identifies three reasons for this: fear of giving offence; fear of not being able to answer questions and fear of failure, and gives reasons why these should not be a discouragement to sharing our faith. He calls for a clear Gospel message, uncluttered by political opinion or theological hobbyhorses.
Losing sense of the human
One of the longer essays is David Robertson’s intriguingly titled ‘Why I (still) believe in Humanity’ which identifies the danger of seeing the world through the eyes of secular humanism. He argues strongly that when we cease to believe in God it is not just that we lose the sense of the divine, but we also lose the sense of the human. This essay takes head-on a number of sensitive issues at the forefront of our political and social agendas, including self-identity and issues around what Robertson refers to as ‘gender fluidity’ and its implications for society in the future. He concludes: ‘Secular humanism will lead to the destruction of humanity; Christianity leads to its re-creation. That is why I (still) believe in God – because I am a real humanist’.
Elsewhere there are some encouraging statistics from Gordon Wilson on the growth of the church, a timely reminder from Nora Leach of the ‘inestimable worth of each individual called into being by God’ and a stimulating contribution from the editor for preaching that has conviction, relevance and humility.
All in all, this is a very thought-provoking read. But more than that it calls the church to reflect on these wonderful foundational truths and to react with positive energy and enthusiasm.
