© 2010, 2011 Multnomah Books, Colorado Springs
Joshua Harris is probably still best known for his
ground-breaking relationship book IKissed Dating Goodbye. Now, several years and a mountain of growth later,
he’s no longer in the conference-speaker circuit, but is senior pastor of Covenant LifeChurch in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Even so, he is still writing books, and today we can be glad of this fact.
In Dug Down Deep,
Harris deals with some very heavy issues with a very delicate hand. Systematic
Theology. Just the thought, the mere mention, of the study causes eyelids to
droop and even the most spiritual among us to stifle yawns. Harris takes the
ho-hum out of theology. He makes the study of doctrine, theology (the study of God),
soterriology, ecclessiology, and all the other big –ology words that throw
Christians for a loop, accessible.
The author doesn’t neglect the big words that make us
cringe, but he defines them and helps the reader to better understand them.
Overall, I’d say that he treats all the big issues—the Trinity, the Deity and
Humanity of Christ, the background and reason for the church, among
others—rather well. Certainly he’s not as thorough as Grudem and Erickson, but
that’s his point. He’s not writing for the seminary student but for the
Christian who wants to learn more about faith—to dig deeper. He addresses
subjects such as God, Christ, the Bible, Salvation, and the Church. Mid-book he
gets bogged down with the topic of grace which requires the reader to read a
little of the mind of the writer, or already have a handle on what that topic
means. Other than that the book is solid and helpful for the Christian in the
pew. It’s also a great read for seminary-types like me.
The newly released paperback version includes not only the
notes and suggested further reading, but discussion guide questions to help the
reader to think more deeply about what he has read (whether used in individual
study or in a group). Four out of five reading glasses.
—Benjamin Potter,
October 21, 2011
[Disclaimer: I received this book for free
from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing
Group for this review.]
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