Jump directly to the Content

Religious Complexity Produces Shallow Faith

A.W. Tozer and other wisdom from The MacDonald Files.

"Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations, and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all."

So wrote A.W. Tozer—about 56 years ago.

I grew up with the Tozer name. He was a mid-century pastor/preacher in the Chicago area for many years and later in Toronto. Converted to Christ in his earliest adulthood, he lacked educational credentials, but he excelled in a hunger for God and an ability to absorb immense amounts of information through reading (especially the Christian classics from the early fathers and later Catholic ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

From the Magazine
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Controversy over Bibles in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Germany reveal the divide between the sacred and the relatable.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close