« Back to Issue 62

Christian Faith for Handing On

Reviewed by Alun Brookfield.

This is a fresh approach to apologetics and, as such, is welcome, because it concentrates on what we can know rather than getting bogged down in what we can’t. The fourteen chapters are grouped under the section headings of Believing, Belonging and Behaving.

Under the heading of Believing, the author argues broadly that human beings have always believed in something beyond themselves, and not simply because there was so much they couldn’t understand. This is basically the ‘God-shaped hole in the heart’ argument, except that Oppenheimer comes at it from a totally fresh direction, which I found much more convincing than the old versions.

The middle section of the book is a series of essays under the general theme of Belonging, and explores how we relate to God. Finally, the Behaving group of essays focuses on what it means to live Christianly in the world.

This is a fresh approach and I shall read it again. Warmly commended.