Book reviews: ‘In the Beginning Was the Word’; ‘A Camaraderie of Confidence’; ‘Unashamed’; ‘Discipling’

In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, 1492-1783

Mark A. Noll

Review by S. Craig Sanders

One of the more interesting recent studies on the Protestant Reformation, historian Mark A. Noll’s In the Beginning Was the Word explores how the printing of the English Bible, its dissemination, and biblical authority shaped colonial America. Noll traces the origin of the “United States’ Bible civilization” from Martin Luther’s appeal to Scripture to the labors of William Tyndale to the translation of the King James Version.

In the Beginning of the Word promises to be the first of a multi-volume study of the role of Scripture in American history up to the present day. Noll describes how “biblicism” was a powerful force in 16th-century England and later resurged in the American colonies to wield revolutionary results in the Great Awakening and United States political ideology.

Biblicism, Noll writes, is the “effort to follow ‘the Bible alone’—absent or strongly subordinating other authorities—as the path to life with and for God” and began as a reaction to what Protestants perceived as the abuse of Scripture in the Catholic Church.

“It is no exaggeration to claim that the Bible has been—and by far—the single most widely read text, distributed object, and referenced book in all of American history,” Noll writes in the introduction. “This book about the Book examines the public history of America’s most comprehensively present ‘thing’ from first European contact through the American War of Independence.”

This history is complex, as Noll examines how pastors interpreted Scripture in light of current events and leaders used the Bible to enforce social status. Noll’s expertise and clear prose along with the relatively low price point surely make this monumental study one of the best investments for the seminarian’s library.

 

A Camaraderie of Confidence

John Piper 

Review by Andrew J.W. Smith

In A Camaraderie of Confidence, John Piper studies the lives of Charles Spurgeon, George Müller, and Hudson Taylor, ministers who shared an absolute trust in the providence and provision of God.

“Beneath all their talk of faith and the simplicity of trusting God to fulfill his promises for us in everyday life lay a massive vision of God’s right and power to govern every detail of life, the evil and the good — with nothing able to stop him,” Piper writes.

In the seventh installment of The Swans are Not Silent series, comprised of short biographical sketches of great Christians, Piper observes how Spurgeon, Müller, and Taylor shared many doctrinal convictions, were active in missions, and with no theological degrees among them were each relatively simple men. But beyond that, the three men each left behind a rich legacy of personal confident in God’s purposes.

 

Unashamed 

Lecrae with Jonathan Merritt

Review by S. Craig Sanders

Sex, drugs, and violence. Before Lecrae Moore redefined Christian hip-hop and broke out on the national scene, his life was trapped in a cycle of sinful behavior that were the ramifications of fatherlessness and abuse.

In his new autobiography, Unashamed, Lecrae tells his incredible story of redemption with a brutal honesty that you can’t find from many Christian leaders. Giving readers an insight to the man behind the Grammy Awards, Lecrae says fame has reinforced “that part of being human—and especially being Christian—means not fitting in, and the only solution is learning to look to God for ultimate recognition.”

Lecrae opens up about how fatherlessness left him craving for attention, and how being molested at an early age rewired his sexuality. But God radically transformed his life, and this book will encourage and inspire anyone who picks up this unashamedly gospel-centered book.