An engaging, often sophisticated analysis of Christianity that fails to extend the same nuanced approach to other ideologies...
Dickerson, a Christian educator, focuses on the centrality of God’s love in this nonfiction exploration of spirituality.
Just as each human has a “unique set of fingerprints” used to identify them, so too, argues the author, does God, whose distinctive identifier is love. While exploring a myriad of topics germane to Christianity, from forgiveness and humility to biblical history and Renaissance art, Dickerson always returns to the significance of God’s love. The book opens with a critique of atheism, which combines anecdotes from the author’s two decades of interactions with atheists in post-communist Hungary as an English instructor with a philosophical analysis of its limitations. Indeed, while Christian apologetics are not the book’s focus, defenses of the faith against its putative ideological and spiritual competitors appear at various intervals. In addition to its refutation of atheism (which boils down to the familiar Christian maxim that “it takes great faith to believe that we are the product of chance”), the book similarly compares Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and various New Age spiritualities. Dickerson concludes that the God of Christianity moves toward recalcitrant humans and that the central fault of most non-Christian religions is their reliance on humans to “make the first move toward God.” Just as atheists may be unconvinced by the book’s arguments (“atheists have difficulty explaining…the existence of male and female” is a claim that ignores long-established theories accepted by evolutionary biologists), so too may those of other faiths be irked by the book’s fleeting descriptions of their beliefs.
Contrasted with its straw-man treatment of non-Christian ideas, the book’s strength lies in its nuanced understanding of Christianity itself. With a master of divinity degree from Princeton and a doctoral degree in medieval history from Cornell, the author provides knowledgeable and thoughtful analysis of Christian theology and history. His chapterlong discussion of the “Lord’s Supper” is particularly admirable, offering a solid history that is sensitive to disagreements between Catholics and Protestants as to the meaning and history of the Eucharist. While definitively Protestant in its theological approach, the book is deliberately ecumenical and includes critiques of fellow Christians. While the book challenges the Catholic belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary, it also questions the Protestant emphasis on doctrinal purity, noting that “God does not want your dead doctrines any more than He wants your dead works.” Despite Dickerson’s academic background, the book is written in a conversational style that juxtaposes engaging vignettes with accessible biblical commentary. Having pastored two churches, the author has clearly honed his skills in distilling complex ideas into concise, digestible packages. Interspersed throughout the text are astute analyses of classical Christian art and frequent breaks for poetry, inspirational passages from the Bible, and even the occasional and adorable piece of artwork by Dickerson’s grandchildren, illustrating the book’s preference for personal connection over academic jargon. Christian scholars may prefer a few more citations and deeper engagement with scholarly sources, but the book’s blend of learned analysis and accessible prose will appeal to a broad Christian audience. An engaging, often sophisticated analysis of Christianity that fails to extend the same nuanced approach to other ideologies and faiths.Pub Date: July 20, 2021
ISBN: 9781666704877
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Resource Publications
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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