By Joshua Ryan Butler
Thomas Nelson, 2014
English, 384 pgs
Description:
How can a loving God send people to hell? Isn’t it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God? What is up with holy war in the Old Testament?
Many of us fear God has some skeletons in the closet. Hell, judgment, and holy war are hot topics for the Christian faith that have a way of igniting fierce debate far and wide. These hard questions leave many wondering whether God is really good and can truly be trusted.
The Skeletons in God's Closet confronts our popular caricatures of these difficult topics with the beauty and power of the real thing. Josh Butler reveals that these subjects are consistent with, rather than contradictory to, the goodness of God. He explores Scripture to reveal the plotlines that make sense of these tough topics in light of God’s goodness. From fresh angles, Josh deals powerfully with such difficult passages as:
- The Lake of Fire
- Lazarus and the Rich Man
- The Slaughter of Canaanites in the Old Testament
About the Author
Josh Butler serves as pastor of local and global outreach at Imago Dei Community, a church in the heart of Portland, Oregon. Josh oversees the church's city ministries in areas like foster care, human trafficking and homelessness; and develops international partnerships in areas like clean water, HIV-support and church planting. Josh is also a worship leader who enjoys writing music for the life of the church.
Review:
By the title alone, one could rightly wonder what sort of
theological approach Butler might be taking with The Skeletons In God’s Closet. Butler serves as pastor of local and
global outreach at Imago Dei Community church of Portland, Oregon. Imago Dei is
located in a challenging, “post-Christian” field for
ministry in famously “liberal” leaning city. The perspective that he brings is
worthwhile and needed for modern outreach. For those who have been reared in
the Christian faith, much of what is presented here might seem somewhat
obvious. However, Butler’s intended audience is clearly those who have only a
passing understanding of Christianity and the book is written to engage that
audience.
Major questions
answered include the perennial “doubting” favorites: how can a loving God send
people to hell? Isn’t it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God? The
subtitle itself is clearly intended to engage – when one further titles a book
with “the mercy of Hell, the surprise of judgment, the hope of Holy war,” there
is obvious intention to elicit a response.
The theology presented
is itself orthodox Christianity. Butler explains that he was originally caught
unprepared to give an answer for some of the more difficult to understand
portions of the Bible, forcing him to look deeply into the Word to understand
God’s intentions. The perspective that he brings is presented in an engaging
writing style. Butler doesn’t bludgeon the reader with dry theology, rather
giving the perspective on God’s purposes in easy-to-read language. By
confronting the caricatures of doctrinal division points and explaining the
purpose of each, Butler provides biblically based sound perspective on each.
This book might at
first glance seem ill suited to aiding mature believers. However, the tone and
approach is extremely useful from a point of developing understanding and skill
in apologetics. The questions asked are salient, widespread, and worthy of
discussion. The Skeletons In God’s Closet
is a useful tool for small groups, new believer discipleship, and for
individual believers willing to speak to misunderstandings about the Christian
faith.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher for the purpose of a review on this blog and a commercial bookselling site. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment