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Christianity Today, April (Web-only), 2008 |

REVIEW

Colson the Catechist

A culture warrior sets out to explain Christianity's essential doctrines.

Reviewed by Trevin Wax | posted 4/08/2008 08:53AM

The Faith: Given Once, For All: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters
By Charles Colson and Harold Fickett
Zondervan, February 2008
240 pp., $18.99

Most Christians in the ...

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Ephrem Hagos

Posted: April 15, 2008 7:30 AM

There is nothing whatsoever about Christianity which is true, or good, or beneficial for the world without firsthand knowledge of Jesus Christ as provided for in His ministry. This is the central focus of the new covenant as divinely committed (Jer. 31: 31-34), taught throughout in Discipleship Training and confirmed appropriately at Jesus' death on the cross (Matt. 26: 26-29). This can be verified in the end chapters of the four Gospels by one eye-witness (John), one trained but scared disciple(Matthew) and two reporters (Mark and Luke). More than any outside influence, what is undermining Christianity is its own great, obvious omission and literal consequence of the Parable of the Weeds (Matt. 13: 24-30). If we search the Scriptures for the hard evidence of the identity of Jesus Christ, "Christianity" will begin to make real sense. If not, it will continue to prove more and more worthless!!!!!!!!!

Charles

Posted: April 10, 2008 12:09 PM

Dear Kozak - Hmmm ... a theocracy perhaps? The implication of your comment is that you know of such a movement, which is independent of a nation state, with an organized agenda and the means with which to accomplish such ends, and are familiar with what they believe, and what they hope or plan to accomplish. Please by all means share your information with us, so that we can defend ourselves against these radical monotheists at our gates ready to plunder our Christian nation. Dear Ragamuffin - Undoubtedly you have a point, it's simply not apparent in your comment what it is. The point you seem to missed (or I missed it in your comment, which seems to be commenting on another comment, not the review) is that Colson's book is exactly the sort of thing you would it would seem, based on upon what can be discerned from your comment, find troublesome. A divisive polemic! Given that you are a fisherman, not incline toward clear commentary, perhaps you ought to stick to fishing.

Dave N.

Posted: April 09, 2008 3:01 PM

Colson's work was certainly among the best things ever to happen to Christian prison ministry. But like many ministers (understood in the broad sense) who gain notoriety--James Dobson is another example who springs to mind--they move to other areas to which they haven't been called and know very little about--suddenly becoming experts and authority figures on everything ranging from Bible translation, world religions and politics to ecclesiology and systematic theology. His facile adoption of the term "Islamofacism," while actually possessing very little knowledge about Islam itself, is certainly more than enough reason to steer clear of this book.

Ragamuffin

Posted: April 09, 2008 12:30 PM

I'm not a "theologian", I don't "have the skill to intelligently interact with the biblical texts in their original language." I'm just a common fisherman, not a chief priest or teacher of the law, not a Pharisee. May God bless us all with the unity for which Christ grieved in prayer before His betrayal. May we understand that we are to worship the Lord our God, not the letter of our doctrine. Our doctrinal differences come from the fact that there are things our Father left unsettled in scripture; they are important, but not essential. Let's not confuse the two and continue to war as Protestants v. Catholics, Calvinists v. Arminians, Sprinklers v. Dunkers, etc. His grace and mercy and peace be upon us all, as Christians.

Robert

Posted: April 09, 2008 9:14 AM

Barclay - the ironic aspect of your comment isn't your thought I'm angry (amusing pseudo psychoanalyst), but that you seem to think that whether I have written a book, or host a media show, is relevant to my critique. This is strictly an ad hominem argument. My point is that: Colson is not a theologian; he doesn't have the skill to intelligently interact with the biblical texts in their original language; he doesn't he have a firm grasp of Christian history or the history of theology; he seems unaware that the battles once fought against secularism and modernity are over, having been replaced by a post-modernity that is not hostile per se to the metaphysical; and that Islamofascism is something that the neocons made up, does not exist, has no creed, tenets, or over arching philosophy. Colson is given to the polemic. To my knowledge, Ficket is a novelist of sorts and former pastor, not a theologian. The real question is when you could read Wright, why bother with Colson. Nuff Said!

Discerning believer

Posted: April 08, 2008 11:16 PM

I generally enjoy listening to Colson’s Breakpoint Minute on the radio. However, I would not read or cherish a book on Christian doctrine written by him.**** While the book review is interesting, the problem is that many Christians believe that Charles Colson is an evangelical Christian. He is Catholic. Knowing this, even the book’s title makes me uncomfortable. How can Colson tell the world what Christianity is if he doesn’t fully understand that principles of the Catholic Church are at odds with Biblical truth? It was only a few months ago that the Pope made the pronouncement that those outside the Catholic Church are not part of “the true church.” **** The Council of Trent’s anathemas include much doctrine which is clearly not Biblical, “all of which were renewed by Vatican II, the Code of Canon Law, and the current Catechism of the Catholic Church, and which remain today as the official teaching of Roman Catholicism.” (Dave Hunt, The Berean Call, 2/06).

Chuck

Posted: April 08, 2008 10:10 PM

Satan delights in division. Anything that fights division and seeks to unify Christians with the sum and substance of the faith cannot be a bad premise. What we share as Christians is more than the points on which we differ. And the points we share are far more important than the areas of difference. Any book which helps to make that clear cannot be bad. Colson may be a bit moe enaging for the average Christian than Wright. The book that gets read is the most effective.

Barclay

Posted: April 08, 2008 3:44 PM


Hmmm. Robert, what books have you written? What audience do you speak to on a daily basis? I am puzzled as to why you are so angry.

Terry

Posted: April 08, 2008 2:52 PM


Why make so strong a distinction between propositions and narrative? The narratives in Scripture are propositional too, that is, they are communicated in meaningful sentences. “Abraham left Ur in obedience to God’s call” is a narrative statement but it is a proposition no less than the statement “justification is by grace through faith.”

Robert

Posted: April 08, 2008 1:52 PM

1st - neither Colson nor Fickett (in anyway whatsoever, training, vocation, experience or intellect) are qualified to write this book. 2nd - Western secularism has long been replaced by post-modernism (making whatever Colson/Fickett have to say completely) and Islamofascism is a non-existent construct dreamed up by neo-conservatives as a polemic (again, making whatever Colson/Fickett have to say completely irrelevant). 3rd - Simply Christian is hardly a doctrinal primer, but rather an articulate narrative of the Christian faith set in its historical (read - Jewish) context, geared to a post-modern culture and mind set, in contrast with Mere Christianity, also hardly a doctrinal primer (very few so called Evangelicals would agree with much of what Lewis writes about doctrine, they just have never bothered to actually read this book), which was addressed to a modernist (read Enlightenment) culture and mindset. Read (a lot of) Wright; skip Colson; read (some) Lewis.

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