Can it be...a Biblical proposal for the break-up of denominations? In Frame's usual style of taking theological precision and pressing to see it applied by hearts stirred by God, this work is a wonderful look at denominationalism and its true Biblical warrant. Dr. Frame sets out to show that denominationalism is in fact not Biblical and only comes into the scene as a result of sin - whether by the original group, the seceding group, or both. His arguments throughout are cogent and convicting. He argues that the Lord set out to establish one united Church Body (Eph. 3:4ff) and not the factional denominations we have today (at least not in their present form). Frame is constantly calling the church back to the Scriptures which call for a unity in truth and love. His practical suggestions are helpful; and he admittedly does not have all the answers but desires for those who can provide more helpful insight into the dissolving of denominations to come forward. He shares great insights into the nature of the body of Christ, the divisional character that has come from within it, and some steps we can (and should) take, as evangelicals, toward a stronger unity in the faith. His approach is not to be seen as some rash ecumenical call to boil everything down to the least common denominator so as to be left with nothing but liberalism (and so nothing for the evangelical). Crazy Love? Confusing Message... This book is one of the most confusing I've ever read about the Christian life. Chan offers a mixed view of saying the Christian life is lived out of love and not out of fear-and-guilt, but then mainly tries through fear-and-guilt to persuade his readers to live the Christian life. Throughout the book Chan seems very confused and inconsistent in his approach to either stir up the idle Christian or convert the non-Christian. And you're never sure which of those actions he's trying to do. Frankly, I'm not sure he himself is quite sure at any given point which one he's trying to do. For instance, he says on the one hand, we're basically all lukewarm, halfhearted, stagnant Christians (p. 22), only to say later that "lukewarm" Christians aren't even Christians at all (pp. 83-84ff), only later to assume again that his reader is a Christian and also a lukewarm believer (p. 111). The inconsistency abounds so greatly throughout the book that it would be difficult to list all the examples. But as a reviewer I would caution the reader to beware of this fact and to be on the lookout for a multitude of false dichotomies (either this, or that, when it very well could be both this and that, or something else entirely, etc.). Now commendably, Chan recognizes a problem in the church where many Christians seem to have a very shallow Christian life. The reason for this I think Chan presents very well in his preface: "I don't think my church's teachings were incorrect, just incomplete. My view of God was narrow and small" (p. 20). "The core problem isn't the fact that we're lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God" (p. 22). To put it clearly, many Christians in today's church have shallow Christian lives because they have a narrow, small, inaccurate view of God. And I would whole-heartedly agree with this assessment. (For a particularly compelling article on this same assessment, I suggest A.W. Tozer's, "The Knowledge of the Holy," which to Chan's credit, he quotes in his book.) However, while Chan sets up the problem clearly in the preface, the rest of the book falls very short of the solution. Stated and Defended Indeed This is truly an exceptional work on presuppositional apologetics. Complementary to his book, Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis, which is a comprehensive address of what presuppositional apologetics is, in this work Bahnsen offers an outright defense of presuppositional apologetics and a critique of those who have mistakenly been labeled as presuppositionalists. Part one addresses the method and defense of presuppositional apologetics as the only Biblically and theologically consistent approach to defending the faith. In chapter one, Bahnsen sets forth the presuppositional method and forcefully shows how presuppositionalism is (and must be) part of Christian theology. He demonstrates in chapter two the foundation for Christian presuppositionalism, namely revelational epistemology, and gives ample Scripture references to this effect. It must be said that if one is familiar with Bahnsen's writings or lectures, up to this point most of the material is nothing more than a heavy review, which seems very repetitive at times. However, in chapter three Bahnsen really pushes revelational epistemology to another level, effectively demonstrating the impossibility of divorcing one's metaphysic from one's epistemology. He shows that one must already know something about the state of affairs (metaphysics) before he establishes a criterion of how he can proclaim his beliefs justifiable (epistemology). One must know in order to know. This argument transitions perfectly into the presuppositional view that the unbeliever does know God (even while suppressing that knowledge); and his worldview is tainted by that metaphysic even though it is professed otherwise in his epistemology. |
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