A Tender Lion: The Life, Ministry, and Message of J. C. Ryle

Bennett W. Rodgers | Reformation Heritage Books | 2019, 400 pp., $21 | Reviewed by Sam Spear

The last half of the 19th Century saw the church experience significant changes as it dealt with the aftermath of the Second Great Awakening, increasing openness to (previously rejected) Catholic practices among Protestants, and the acceptance of higher criticism as an approach to the biblical text.

J.C. Ryle (1816–1900) was a significant figure in the Church of England and ministered and wrote during this period mentioned, but he has not been much biographed. Bennett Rodgers’ aim in this work is to “produce the first intellectual biography of J.C. Ryle.” Rodgers’ work is both topical and chronological, as it seeks to place the themes of Ryle’s thought and ministry alongside a chronological account of his life.

One of the intriguing sections of the work is an analysis of the development of Ryle’s preaching style and approach. A sermon of Ryle’s is placed alongside sermons on the same passage by two of his contemporaries, John Henry Newman and Charles Haddon Spurgeon, in order to illustrate Ryle’s approach. Ryle’s classical argumentation and his appeal to the common man in the pew are highlighted.

During his earlier pastoral years, Ryle began to be known as a writer. The book discusses his tract-writing ministry, his hymnal publications, and his Expository Thoughts commentaries on the gospels. Ryle’s tract writing, though now seemingly antiquated, was a significant means of influence, apologetics, and evangelism, perhaps parallel to the way blogging now functions in the church. Psalm singers will be interested to review his five criteria for a good hymn in light of our inspired praise book.

The largest chapter in the book is given to Ryle’s dealing with contemporary controversies in the Church of England. His use, or lack of use, of engagement, prosecution, and organizational structures is discussed with regard to controversies over ritualism, neologianism, and Keswick spirituality. Ryle opposed these movements, but sometimes he conflicted over direction, methodology, and intensity with others who shared his position. It is interesting to see that these controversies are not gone from our circles today.

Two chapters are spent on more ecclesiastical matters. Considerable time is spent on his proposals for and approach to church reform, including methods of engaging the modernists and advocating participation in church congresses, which were seen by some as tools of disintegration. Another chapter discusses his term as the Bishop of Liverpool during the Industrial Revolution. For readers in non-establishment, non-Episcopal churches, this chapter is an eye-opener and discusses questions that have not been encountered before.

The book is footnoted and has detailed appendices and bibliographies, as is fitting in this somewhat academic book. However, Rodgers manages to introduce us to the man and his circumstances and to invite us to consider his strengths and weaknesses, which is most of what you can hope for in a biography.

History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 1871–1920

Dr. William J. Edgar | Crown & Covenant Publications | 2019, 232 pp., $25 | Reviewed by Nathan Eshelman

DNA testing has become a popular way for people to find out something of their heritage and ancestry. People long to know the stories of where they have come from and the stories that help make up who they are. This desire to know has grown as our culture has become more transient, disconnected from family, and, overall, ahistorical. It is natural for us to desire to know the stories that influence our lives today.

For those in the RPCNA, many have the same longing to know our heritage and spiritual ancestry. Some have long, literal family connections to our historical church. Others, like myself, have been received into this historic denomination with the exclamation: “Your people will be my people and your God my God!” The desire to learn of our common history is important for many who long to know where we have been and the stories of us. How difficult is it to learn these stories? It has been tremendously difficult for the one who does not know where to look.

William Glasgow’s History of the RPCNA is a great resource, but it concludes in 1888 and is far removed from most of our experiences. The Minutes of Synod tell an official story, but they are inaccessible to those who want to curl up with a good book. Much of the last 140 years of the history of the RPCNA has required searching in the archives on Penn Avenue, scrolling through microfiche, searching master of theology and doctoral dissertations, hearing stories from our eldest saints, and seeking out the few books that tell a portion of our history, such as Hoi Moon and North and East of Musa Dagh. The 20 years of my life have been dedicated to learning these stories, and I know I am not alone in that search to know my adopted and spiritual ancestry.

Dr. Edgar’s History of the RPCNA, 1871–1920 has filled a void in our need to know our common history and has done the church a service in providing a big-picture overview of Christ’s work among us in those years. Whether one is wanting to hear the stories of natural ancestors or spiritual ancestors, this volume ought to be in the home of every RPCNA household.

In 1871, the RPCNA entered into a new covenant that would seek to define the church for the next several generations. The covenant had six commitments, according to Edgar:

▶ Devotion to the means of grace

▶ The Westminster Standards and RPCNA Testimony

▶ Jesus Christ, ruler of the nations

▶ Missions, foreign and domestic

▶ Visible church unity

▶ No doctrinal retreat

The genius of Dr. Edgar’s book is that each chapter carves out an epoch that examines how well or how poorly the RPCNA adhered to her covenanted principles. Dr. Edgar, focusing on the big picture, describes the successes, trials, and failures of the RPCNA; not backing away from hard periods in our history, but speaking favorably of her successes. Many of our histories present the church only in the best light. With respect and reverence, Dr. Edgar does not back away from our failings as a church. This is refreshing and at the same time leaves the discerning reader with dozens of questions—along with numerous doctoral dissertation ideas!

The book shows the RPCNA shining not in her history of racial relations, although the RPCNA has a better history than most denominations in this light; not in our high view of women in the life of the church, and we have always had a high view of women; and not even in our attempts of having Jesus Christ recognized constitutionally as the King of Kings; but the RPCNA shines brightest in her missionary zeal—both nationally and internationally. For all the ways that the RPCNA has been pigeonholed over the years (women deacons, temperance, mediatorial kingship, a cappella psalmody, etc.) Edgar’s book shows the church what we have done best: bring the good news of Christ to those who need him. Whether in China, in Syria, or in Oakland, Calif., Christ has been proclaimed through the zeal of the Covenanter Church. Despite our many warts, our history shows a church dedicated to proclaiming Christ, who is King.

Edgar writes in a clear style, telling a story rather than just recording facts. This book reads quickly and has several exciting narratives of those who helped to shape RPCNA history. Whether you can trace your heritage to the 17th Century in Scotland or you made a profession of faith in the RPCNA last month, this is your story and helps you understand the victories, quirks, and peculiarities that make us who we are.

We are Covenanters. This is our story.

Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion

Rebecca McLaughlin | Crossway | 2019, 240 pp., $24.99 | Reviewed by Elsa Sturm

In Confronting Christianity, Rebecca McLaughlin gives a dozen well-researched and well-reasoned answers to difficult questions many have raised about Christianity. These questions range from issues that Christians have wrestled with for ages (How Could a Loving God Send People to Hell?) to issues that have come to the forefront of more modern debates (Isn’t Christianity Homophobic?).

McLaughlin strives to avoid easy answers, acknowledging instead the true difficulty of these questions. In doing so, she presents a compelling apologetic for Christianity as the only belief system that can adequately deal with the moral, philosophical, and rational concerns we have as we live in this fallen world.

One thing I enjoyed about McLaughlin’s approach was the amount of study she brings to each answer. McLaughlin holds a PhD from Cambridge, and she draws on a wide array of studies, lectures, statistics, and books in her arguments. She seriously engages with authors such as Bonhoeffer, Dawkins, Douglass, Lewis, Marx, Nietzsche, and Solzhenitsyn; she is just as comfortable referencing the writings of early church fathers as she is citing current scientific studies, news articles, and pop culture illustrations. I appreciated the serious intellectual work displayed in her arguments. I also appreciated that, in each chapter, McLaughlin never completes her argument without bringing it back to Scripture.

Another aspect of Confronting Christianity that impressed me was the level of deep personal care that McLaughlin brings to each answer. The book is dedicated in part to McLaughlin’s “fiercely intelligent friends who disagree” with her conclusions (p. 7). McLaughlin acknowledges her personal struggle with many of these questions. She never assumes that those asking these difficult questions are asking in bad faith, or that they have simply not thought hard enough about the answers. McLaughlin writes with honesty, empathy, and grace.

Undoubtedly, some of McLaughlin’s answers invite further consideration—which worthwhile writing will always do! Some readers may wish that she had spent more time on a different facet of her answer, and some may even disagree with her at points. Nonetheless, Confronting Christianity draws readers into serious and compassionate consideration of questions many have struggled with and points them to our triune God and His Word as the ultimate answer.

Transformed: Life-taker to Life-giver

Karen Hodge and Susan Hunt | Christian Focus Publications | 2016, 256 pp., $13.99 | Reviewed by Catherine Metzger

We all live in this world and daily face temptations to conform to the patterns of the world in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In Romans 12:1–2, Paul challenges us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by having our minds renewed. Karen Hodge and Susan Hunt’s book, Transformed, aims to guide women through the challenging transformation from “life-taker to life-giver.”

The authors set the stage for transformation by referring back to the immediately preceding verses from Romans 11: “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways.” After this glorious doxology and vision of the grandeur of God, we should be drawn to be transformed in every area of our lives for His glory. Hodge and Hunt describe the ultimate demonstration of life-givers as “when the life of Christ fills us and spills out onto our circumstances and relationships.”

Transformed is divided into eight chapters, using biblical lessons from the lives of Eve, Sarah, and Mary. Each chapter is divided into seven short sections, studying through specific Scripture passages and drawing applications, always with the goal to renew our minds and be transformed by the Word of God. Each daily devotional section includes Points to Ponder (to aid in understanding and application) and Transformed by Prayer (to guide the reader in prayer using words from the Psalms).

The authors describe the book as a combination Bible study and devotional. It is not designed to be read in one sitting but to be read a few pages each day. This allows women to study and absorb the scriptural lessons, ponder and pray over the truths, and let God bring transformation as they behold Him. A helpful leader’s guide gives direction and a focus for each chapter by providing expanded study material, handouts for each chapter, and suggestions for discussion questions.

The women in my church enjoyed working through Transformed together and discussing it at our regular meetings. (Weekly meetings would be ideal.) The concepts specifically challenged us to consider what it means to be a life giver, to seek to be transformed by renewing our minds through the truth of the Word, and to grow deeper in our relationship with our glorious God.

Work: Its Purpose, Dignity, and Transformation

Daniel M. Doriani | P&R Publishing | 2019, 248 pp., $12 | Reviewed by Sam Spear

In this insightful and gospel-informed volume, Dan Doriani, vice president of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis and former Bible professor at Geneva College, brings a lifetime of his own varied work experience to a theological examination of how Christians should think about and pursue work.

Drawing on his experiences as a dishwasher, construction worker, crop picker, security guard, teacher, and pastor, as well as interviews with dozens of people from various fields of work, Doriani’s writing is personal, biblical, and practical. Twelve biblical principles of work are laid out briefly in the first chapter and are developed in the other nine chapters. The character of God and His work is foundational throughout. Each chapter is fitted with discussion questions for group or classroom use.

Doriani addresses questions related to both work’s goodness and the misery attached to it. Will our labor be in vain? What is the cure for exhaustion? How can we divide between work that is itself sinful and work that is done with and by sinners? How shall we think about inequality in the area of work? He explores how each of the ten commandments informs ethics attached to work.

Avoiding a merely contemporary view, he surveys the philosophy of work from Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics, through the Reformation, and into modern times. Doriani explores the strengths and liabilities of Lutheran and Calvinistic thinking on work and proposes one way that Calvin’s view exceeds Luther’s regarding calling and station. The contributions of Adam Smith and Karl Marx to the development of our contemporary cultural understanding are discussed, too.

One chapter is given entirely to ideas connected to calling. He touches on the sacred/secular divide and also revisits Lutheran and Calvinistic thoughts regarding vocational calling in light of Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 7. Again, good questions arise and are dealt with. How are calling, talent, and skill related? How can we discern our calling and develop it? How can we resist the Western idea of choosing and retain a sense of appointment without entering into stagnation and a loss of engagement?

Three chapters contain instruction in how to think about faithfulness in our callings. We are invited to see God’s hand in our workplace and through our work output. Is all work equal? What is the value of leadership, excellence, and ambition? In a helpful section about working in difficult places, Doriani examines working for wicked bosses through the lives of Joseph, Moses, Elijah, and Obadiah. Sabbath-keeping and the faith involved in rest are set against the idols of worth and wealth.

Readers will find in the last two chapters a theology and a plan for social reform through work. Christ-centered leadership is a vehicle by which principle, passion, position, and perseverance combine to bring restoration to society through work. Two-kingdom thinking about work is (kindly) examined and dismissed, while a careful view of the fall and its effects leads us to a meaningful one-kingdom view of work based in love, justice, and faithfulness.

Courageously, Doriani adds an appendix in which he applies five principles, or resolutions, to 10 particular professions or industries, including the military, entertainment, coaching, and, perhaps, yours.