Book Recommendation: RA Torrey's "The Fundamentals"

I have a confession to make. I hate theological liberalism. Look up all the synonyms for "hatred" in your thesaurus, and if you roll them all up into one mega-hate word, and then smother that hate-word in the hottest red chili sauce known to man (y'know, the stuff you have to handle with rubber gloves), well then, that's how I feel about liberalism. And, coincidentally, most actual theological liberals get on my nerves rather quickly.

Having made that confession, I want to say that I got R.A. Torrey's two volume work, The Fundamentals, for Christmas and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It's four books, actually, and each is a collection of essays from various authors.

These books began to be collected/assembled in 1909, as an obvious frontal assault on the then-fashionable liberalism that was coming out of Germany, and beginning to infect Christianity in North America.

As with any collection of writings, some are more helpful than others, so I'm not offering a blanket endorsement here, but generally speaking these are thoughtful essays written by brilliant, well-educated Christian men who hated liberalism nearly as much as I do. (They might leave off the chili sauce.)

The first book is focused on countering the en vogue Higher Critical method, and the remaining three center around theological topics. Some of the names I recognized before I started reading: James Orr, B.B. Warfield, W.J. Erdman, Thomas Boston, H.C.G. Moule, J.C. Ryle, G. Campbell Morgan, C.T. Studd, and Philip Mauro. (I also recognized C.I. Scofield, but I was trying to list the good ones above...)

I have seen this set for sale many times before, but I have passed over it because I had a suspicion that it would be filled merely with the rantings of snake-handlers and those who believe that holiness has something to do with the length of your shirt sleeves.

I have been pleasantly surprised, and quite edified, by this collection. Did I mention how much I hate liberalism?

But here's the thing, the reason why you really ought to consider getting The Fundamentals by R.A. Torrey for yourself: The current Postmodern fad gets all of its theological legwork from the 19th and early 20th Century liberals. The pomo's haven't hit on something new. They're simply rehashing all the same junk that has destroyed Christianity in Europe and brought down all the mainline denom's here. And smarter men than you and I had 'em pegged a long, long time ago.

RA Torrey's The Fundamentals, a two volume hardcover set, can now be had for about fifteen dollars, which is 85% off the original retail cost. Talk about bang for your buck! Very highly recommended.

The Fundamentals, 2 Volumes

A Mediocre Review of a Great Book: "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices" by Thomas Brooks

Is there a Reformed view of "spiritual warfare?" And if there is, does it differ significantly from the modern, charismatic rebuking-the-devil sort of thing?

The answer to the first question is Yes. Thankfully, the answer to the second question is also Yes. (In the interest of full disclosure, I write this review as a former charismatic, warfare prayin' demon buster. I could cast devils out of just about anything, including stuff you never knew they'd get into. Those were the days, joining hands in warfare prayer around a pallet-full of demon-possessed ceiling tiles... but I digress.)

For my money, the best treatment of so-called spiritual warfare from a Reformed perspective is Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, a Puritan classic by Thomas Brooks, published by Banner of Truth.

Here's the shocking, secret weapon of the devil in spiritual warfare, that the typical charismatic completely misses as he's rebuking spirits of hip-hop music in the sound system: The devil wins in spiritual warfare when he can coax God's people into...brace yourselves...into sinning.

Precious Remedies is really like a foot-soldier's field-manual, instructing him thoroughly in the enemy's tactics and how to overcome them. It has spurred me personally to a greater pursuit of holiness. I suspect that was intentional on Brooks's part.

There is one section that some might find controversial, in which Brooks discusses what is often called "besetting sins," or those particular sins, particular to us as individuals, which we seem to struggle with (and lose against) more often than other people do, and more often than we do with regard to other sorts of sin. Mary is known as a gossip, and can't seem to help herself. Joe is famous for his temper, etc. They both hate their "trademark" sin, but seem to be unable to defeat it utterly.

Brooks's somewhat surprising answer to this is that he was unable to find any promise in the Scripture which gave assurance that these sorts of besetting sins could or would be completely annihilated from the Christian life. He goes on to propose some reasons why God may allow the believer to struggle so, reasons that are both thoughtful and redemptive.

The controversy may come as this sort of thinking meets with a currently popular answer to the same topic. This other answer is: "Stop that! Cut it out! You are probably not saved if you continue to struggle with this one thing and can get no lasting victory over it. Etc." Brooks was unwilling to paint things in such stark black-and-white on that one. Whether you wind up agreeing with him or not, the discourse is worth reading.

For my money, the best way to get your hands on Brooks' Precious Remedies is in the first volume of The Works of Thomas Brooks, a six-volume hardcover set that is now on sale for about 4 cents a page. Talk about your treasure troves, aye, mateys. Brooks is widely regarded as one of the most readable, and profitable, of the Puritan authors and this set is a crown jewel in any Reformed theologian's bookshelf. If any of you out there are wondering what to get me for Christmas--hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

Works of Thomas Brooks, 6 Volumes

If I Could Force All Christians to Read....

Here are some books that would be on the mandatory list:

Five Views on Law and Gospel The issue of the relationship of the New Testament Christian to the law of God is more complex than most of us have bothered to think about. This "debate" book does a fantastic job of clearly setting forth a handful of options that have historically been proposed. As a theonomist, of course, I think Greg L. Bahnsen carries the day here. But even if you disagree, it's vital that we start thinking about these things Biblically.

Bondage of the Will This is the first book that taught me that non-fiction can be passionate. Say what you will about the "mad monk," Martin Luther, but his fiery zeal for the Gospel of Jesus Christ radiates from the pages here. If this book served as the Constitution of all Lutheran churches (which it doesn't, sadly) I'd happily join them.

The Godly Man's Picture Thomas Watson's portrait of the true Christian, "drawn with a Scripture pencil," was my introduction to the Puritans. I confess that I had, at the time, the popular charicature of this crew firmly lodged in my brain: dour, cold, stern, strict, humorless, severe, etc. If you've got that same picture in your head, please allow this book to blow that vision to Kingdom come. I was moved to weeping (yeah, I can admit it) by the sheer warmth and pastoral compassion of this book. You will never think so meanly of your Puritan brethren again.

The Pursuit of God AW Tozer is my favorite Christian author. Shocking, I know: He wasn't a Calvinist, wasn't a rigorous theologian, probably would have cut off his own arm rather than pastor a modern SBC church. What he was, though, was a man with fire shut up in his bones. He was a man who heard the Word of God whispered sweetly, and took it and shouted it from the rooftops. Especially, I'd make all my button-down Reformed brethren read this book, because top-heavy brainiacs with their giant craniums could use a strong reminder that a pound of wonderful theology won't help you if you lack an ounce of what the Puritans called "experimental religion."

The Roman Catholic Controversy One of the greatest needs among modern Protestants, in my view, is that we remember what it is that we're protesting against. It's especially vital in our day, when the battle cries seem to be, "Theology isn't worth fighting about!" and "Can't we all just get along?" Dr. White does an even-handed job of evaluating the Pope's church, by referencing Catholic writings on theology. This is important: He isn't constructing straw-men, but rather allowing Catholicism to speak for itself. Very instructive. For other great books that come with hearty, Reformed Mafia approval, see here.