Simply Christian: Tom Wright.

Simply Christian
Tom Wright
SPCK 2006

This book has been touted as the most thrilling attempt to re-express the heart of the Christian faith since CS Lewis's Mere Christianity. I can't say I was thrilled, I was certainly fascinated. The difficulty for Tom Wright is that the audience is much more diverse in their presuppositions and attitudes than it was when Lewis wrote. I got the feeling that the book is such that few would follow and nod in agreement with all the premises and arguments throughout. However, there is much that would ring bells for many. The difficulty is, in an age of image and sound bite, would they persevere through the parts of the book that seem somehow foreign to them.

In Part I Wright looks to connect with his audience through what he calls "Echoes of a voice." In an age where traditional concepts of sin, salvation, authority of the bible are but echoes of a bygone era, I think Wright does very well to find what I call a "point of engagement" with his audience. These are, simply: A shared passion for justice, a hidden spring of spirituality, an ache for right relationships, and an appreciation of beauty. Through each of these he paints a picture of seeing what is right, but having it so often slip through our fingers - justice not given in full, beauty marred by carelessness or greed. Both his points of engagement and the development of his argument are worth of study and imitation. The proof will be if they lead to a more in depth look at the claims of Christianity.

Wright goes on to place today's beliefs and believers in historical context. This is refreshing to see as so often the gospel has been presented out of context of God's story. He also introduces three options which he continually refers to as options 1, 2, and 3 as a way to avoid mentioning "isms" too much. I wish he'd come up with some more descriptive labels, though he is right to avoid the more academic, thought meaningless to most, pan(en)theism and deism labels. Perhaps "All God", "Distant God", and "Engaged God" would have served his purpose better.

This book is likely to be of benefit to many Christians who are lacking in seeking their faith in relationship with other faiths and with history. It is less likely to be understandable by the non-Christian unless they have some prior understanding of Christianity and the Christian language (despite Wright's efforts to minimize these). As such it will serve a very good purpose for many, but it is unlikely to be revelationary for the masses.

The Castle in the Forest

A Book Review

"The Castle in the Forest" by Norman Mailer

Little Brown, London, 2007

Frightening, sickening, compelling, brilliant, vulgar are all adjectives that apply to "The Castle in the Forest." Mailer has taken Screwtape and made him the ugly, voyeuristic, devious, devil he really is. If you find reading CS Lewis's Screwtape letters a difficult experience, as I do, then expect this to be ten-fold worse.

The story follows the early few years of a young Austrian boy in the late 1890s. One is alternately sympathetic towards and sickened by the boy and his family. The knowledge of the monster, Adolf Hitler, that he grew into is always there in the background.

The story is told through the eyes of a devil who had responsibility in the region. That sounds as though it is mere fantasy and easily dismissed. But, it is the shear realism Mailer brings to this devil and his works that is frightening. How the devil uses sex (not his - that going on between family members) for his own ends is both vulgar and all too honest and very very hard to read.

What is really compelling is the monologues of the devil ... they peel back the layers of defensive "good feelings" about humans we try and build up around ourselves and expose us without mercy. Like Lewis's Screwtape, one is never sure, though, how much truth there is in these monologues. Here are some samples ....

p76 [speaking about humans] "The seek to be free. They often remark ...'I want to discover who I am.' All the while we devils guide the people we have attracted (we call them clients), the cudgels [this is the devils' name for Angels] contest us and many a particular individual does his or her best to fight off both sides. Humans have become so vain (through technology) that more than a number expect by now to become independent of the Lord and the Devil."

p99 "... we do look for the lowest common denominator to any truth"

pp215-6 "Injustice was a yeast to inspire hatred, envy, and the loss of love. For rare was the man or woman who did not possess an intense sense of the injustice done to them each day. It was our taproot to every adult. It was a fury in every child. Our work would fall apart if humans ever came to brood as intensely upon the injustice others might be suffering."

p394 "There is a good reason why it is difficult for any man or woman to picture their own death. The soul, I would offer, does expect to be immortal."

p398 "... self pity is the lubricant we use most often to smooth the entrance of the heart into the uglier emotions."