BOOK REVIEWS

 

The continuing journey...

For the background to the series and a survey of the preceding titles see G&T Magazine, Issue 7, page 35

No. 8 - A journey in Revival
No. 9 - A journey in Baptism
No. 10 - A Journey in Roman Catholicism

Reviewed by Chris Good

 

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8. A Journey in Revival
 
by Richard P Belcher

A 'Revival' comes to the town, headed up by a 'ghost' from Ira's past. With it comes hype and pressure to uncritically embrace the latest move of God's Spirit. Ira however is more wary, and seeks to test the Revival against the Word. He also draws on Jonathan Edwards (a key figure in the first Great Awakening in the 18th Century) who the revivalists are claiming for support. As the movement threatens to sweep all before it, it starts to unravel and its true nature is exposed. Meanwhile a true Biblical concept of revival is established.

 


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9. A Journey in Baptism
 
by Richard P Belcher

This has been a long-awaited book. The main strength of it is that Ira explicitly refutes the 'to be Baptist is to be Dispensational' stereotype and ably demonstrates that ours is a covenantal/Reformed Baptist position.

Weaknesses of the book:

In the end what we are presented with an evenly balanced argument that is the best paedobaptist argument up against a reasonably good, but not the 'best/strongest' Baptist one. For these reasons the book will not convince most paedobaptist readers to abandon their position. However it will at least effectively demonstrate that we are not dispensational and are closer to them they may have supposed.

 


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10. A Journey in Roman Catholicism
 
by Richard P Belcher

Ira finds himself the victim of a smear campaign and is accused of writing a book announcing his conversion to Roman Catholicism. This leads to him studying some the major claims of Rome (such as the authority of the church, the nature of justification, and Mary) against Scripture and history and finds them wanting indeed. Finding the perpetrator of the fraud turns out to be a more of a puzzle though - especially with Dink missing - and their lives may depend on it!


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