Bound to Get it Right
Bound For Glory, by R.C. Sproul Jr., published by Crossway
Reviewed by Dakota Tremayne

It should not be so difficult to understand why the Christian family is reaping the same fate as the worldly family. If the Christian family is suffering from all of the same effects as the world's defunct version of the family, it is ostensive proof that both are beset with the same causes. In other words, the Christian family is following the worldly family in thought and practice.

Unfortunately, many Christians don't see this glaringly obvious truth in order to ask what must be done to fix it. Thankfully, we now have a book that concisely identifies the problem and answers the question of what the solution is: R.C. Sproul Jr.'s Bound for Glory.

In 119 pages, R.C. takes back the "family" from the world, defines it in biblical terms, and shows us from the Scriptures what God promises the biblical family. It starts with a conversation between R.C. and his father where they discuss family issues from the perspective of their family, the Sprouls. From there, R.C. dives straight to the source of the family's problem by starting with the word "family". Where did it come from, who made this word up, and how do we define it? (I'll give you the answer now: It came from the Bible, God made it up, and God's Bible defines it.) Since the family is an institution created by God, does it not follow that our families should be managed according to the standards God has ordained and not by the advice of some "expert"? In a very logical and natural progression, R.C. shows us what the chief end of the family is, followed by the roles of the husband, wife, and children. He then rounds out the role of the family by describing the church family, bringing in the widows and orphans, and how the church is called to nurture and admonish the Christian family. As the book begins, so it ends, with another conversation between father and son, discussing some of the more difficult issues in the book.

There are a few theologians that R.C. believes may be better equipped to deal with the family; yet I am inclined to disagree. It is true that there may be some teachers who have a greater experience in family issues than does R.C., yet I find, and many agree, that R.C. has a knack for putting these issues on paper (and audio) that few people can match. Bound for Glory is a perfect example of such skill. This book is adapted from the series that R.C. did on his father's radio broadcast Renewing Your Mind. Based on an audio that was broadcast to a variety of demographics, the style of writing is more laid back and conversational than his previous books and less likely to offend someone; i.e., R.C. tactfully left his fiery vehemence of the church's acceptance of the world's individualism in the parking lot. But it is still just as good as if he had let his Scottish temper fly.

The Gnostic Ghosts That Haunt Me Now
Against Christianity, by Peter Leithart, published by Canon Press
Reviewed by R.C. Sproul Jr.

What with our friends at Canon Press having already published "Reformed" Is Not Enough, and now publishing Against Christianity, I wonder what's coming next—Monotheism Comes From Hell? If such a title comes with Dr. Peter Leithart's name on the front of it, I'd buy it. (Or at least ask for a reviewer's copy.) (I have often wondered if Dr. Sproul's third children's book, after The King Without a Shadow, and The Priest with Dirty Clothes would be The Prophet Who Smelled Really Bad.)

Not only have I had the honor of endorsing his A House For My Name, but I have read most of Dr. Leithart's wisdom, and always appreciate it. Against Christianity was no exception. As is his habit, like an observational comic, Leithart takes assorted everyday events, and twists them around to show us facets we had never considered. Blessed Are the Hungry, his collection of brief meditations on the Lord's Supper, reflects its subject in feeding the soul. Against Christianity looks not so much at bread and wine, but at the body of Christ. He aims to remedy what we here often call the Gnostic captivity of the church. He reminds us that the great story of the Bible is not a collection of ideas, but that it is the flesh and blood story of the Groom and His bride.

Such doesn't mean, of course, that the reader is encouraged to adopt some sloppy anti-intellectualism where we cease to love God with our minds, where our vision of God becomes blurry around the edges like a sappy greeting card. Instead we, in being encouraged to see the forest, begin to recover a vision for the trees. Or perhaps it is that we see the forest better, because we are looking at the trees. When we embrace Christ, we learn, we are not merely moving from one worldview to another, but from one world to another. We are moving not just from error to truth, but from darkness to light. And that we think those two ideas are equivalent makes manifest our captivity.

I have but one comparatively small caveat. Dr. Leithart's insights are invigorating, and challenging. The book, at the very least, will make you think. My only concern is the footnotes. It's not that there are too few, or too many. It's who the sources are. Given the propensity among some Reformed people to condemn the friend of the friend of the friend of the fiend, I would be remiss to not note that several of the folks quoted with some liberality are not much my friends. Who those fiends are you'll just have to guess.

This book, if read rightly, will not merely change your mind about the church, but could just change your church. You might find yourself better able to love your neighbor in the pew, and in so doing making known the glory of the Son. It can change your thinking, and your feeling, and your doing. It can help put flesh on the very body of Christ, the Word made flesh.