Dr. Russell Moore
addresses several of the hot button topics of today in his book Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing
the Gospel. (B&H Books, 2015). He is adamant that the church needs to
be doing a better job of addressing these issues, not in a political way, but
in a way that looks to the gospel of Jesus Christ for answers.
I found myself strongly agreeing with some of his positions,
especially how Christianity as a whole has gone from “Moral Majority” to
“Prophetic Minority”. I also disagree with others—if I read it right he is not
a big fan of creation (61,62). And as often happens, I’m close enough to the
middle of the argument, that I could be persuaded either way. Luckily in most of these cases Moore and I
tend to agree.
There is no doubt in my mind that Dr Moore is well versed in
scripture and theology. And he quite capably states and defends his
position. Although many liberals will be
unhappy with his understanding of many of the issues of today, they will have
to admit that he is not just repeating what he has heard from pastors and
parents over the years. His arguments
are first and foremost based on his study and understanding of the Scripture,
and backed up with scholarly and scientific studies.
The admonition for Christians is to seek the Kingdom of God.
Moore points out how that often is at odds with culture and society. The people
in the church have a choice: they can be at odds with society as they seek the
kingdom, or they can realize that perhaps they need to do a bit more studying
before they identify themselves as Christians.
Interestingly enough this book took me a long time to read,
not because I didn’t like it, but because I did. I could only read so much
before I had to stop and think about how I would respond to his arguments.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in
exchange for the review. There was no requirement to post a positive review.
Having said that, I rate this book 5/5.
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