I Have Learned to Be Content
After Darkness Light: Essays in honor of R.C. Sproul, edited by R.C. Sproul Jr.
Reviewed by Steven Warhurst

After graduating college, I lived for a year in a PCA church. My mattress graced the floor of time elementary Sunday School room, and I cooked my meals in the church kitchen. One of time benefits of living at the church (besides having a flannel graph in my bedroom) was that it had a library. So I began to read R.C. Sproul books. The books had such an impact on my thinking that I packed my bags, grabbed my mattress, and headed to Reformed Theological Seminary to study under Dr. Sproul.

Over the past 30 years, R.C. Sproul's ministry has been used by God to bring me and many others to the Reformed faith. Thus, After Darkness Light was compiled to honor this modem day reformer. The book is an excellent introduction to the Reformed Faith, perfect for the beginner who wants to understand the distinctives of Reformed thought. However, it's not only for the novice.

Keith Mathison's essay on Solo Scriptiura is superb. He concisely deals with the important difference between Sola Scriptura and Solo Scriptura. Many modern evangelicals have unthinkingly embraced Solo Scriptura, the doctrine which eventually led 19th century liberals to deny the fundamentals of the faith. Mathison shows how liberals and fundamentalists share a common view of scripture, and this view carries with it the seeds of their destruction. When these seeds bear fruit, the sovereign conscience of man, led by his own personal interpretation, subtly replaces the authority of Scripture.

Robert Godfrey's essay on election offers a helpful exposition of the Canons of Dordt, and his comparison of the synod's approach to the doctrine with the approach of Scripture is intriguing. The synod walked gingerly to the topic with several qualifications, while the Apostle Paul hits us in the nose with it.

Here are sonic more highlights. Sinclair Ferguson defends faith as a gift of God's grace. O. Palmer Robertson shows us how robbing a bank and limited atonement are related. Michael Horton defends Sola Gratia from the nasty attacks of Charles Finney and exposes this evangelical hero for what he was, a heretic. If you want a short essay full of evidence indicting Finney, this is it.

Douglas Wilson shows how the Scriptural metaphors describing our salvation exalt the irresistible grace of God. New creations don't create themselves. Reborn people don't choose their birthday. And resurrected sinners weren't considering waking up when they were called forth from the grave.

John Macarthur warns us of still more trouble in the evangelical camp. A popular header has rejected So/us Chrirtus, claiming that sinners can be saved without knowing Christ. Macarthur doesn't name him in the article, but the mystery is revealed in the endnotes.

Jay Adams and R.C. Sproul Jr. bat clean up, assuring us that we will persevere to the end, and it will be to the glory of' God. In summary, the book sheds light upon several shadowy places in the modern church. Thus, justifying its title: After Darkness, Light.

Green With Envy
Plowing In Hope—Towards a Biblical Theology of Culture, by David Hegeman
Reviewed by R.C. Sproul Jr.

The best books I've ever written have never been written. That is, sometimes I get a great idea for a book only to discover that someone else has already written it. Most of the time, however, it's a good thing that someone beat inc to it. My first reaction is always mad jealousy. Then, typically, as I read the book, my jealousy is tempered by admiration. By the time I finish the book my pride is swallowed, amid I realize that God chose time right man to write the book.

Which is precisely what happened with the object of my review. As I was trying to coax some wisdom from the barren landscape that is my brain on the relationship between my own latent agrarianism, amid my zeal for the kingdom of God, as I tried to understand why the Bible moved from garden to city, along came David Hegeman, and my friends at Canon Press with this thoughtful collection of answers to my nascent questions. Perhaps out of jealousy, perhaps out of fear that I might not actually like it, I put off reading it for several years. Conversations with Rick Saenz, the well-read poo-bah of Draught Horse Press coaxed mime into finally reading the book. I wouldn't be surprised if he praises and curses Canon's Doug Jones as I curse and praise David Hegeman.

I was pushed over the edge, not only in terms of getting to the business of reading the book, but also in confessing its greatness, by being in Saint Petersburg, Russia. There I witnessed the fruit of the destruction of culture. There I lived among the ruins of history's latest tower of Babel. And so, I read about how time Bible understands culture.

Part One is entitled A Positive Theology of Culture . There we are given not so much a Niehburian exposition of antithesis. but a vision so positive as to be antithetical. That is, he actually tells us what culture is, reminding us that it is the outworking of the dominion mandate, and as such a reflection of the glory of God. We as His image bearers create, as He creates. The result is culture. He examines layers of culture, reflecting sonic of Ken Myer 's wisdom in All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes. He gives a balanced understanding of the inter-relationship among men in the cultural task, finding a golden mean between every man an island, and every man but a cog in a machine.

Part Two deals with Culture and Redemption . Here we see more antithesis, but also common ground. Hegeman explains the relationship between the redemptive work of the new Adam as He exercises dominion over all things, and the labors of those who will not be redeemed. The book then concludes with brief essays on Sabbath rest and on the arts.

As with the books in my mind, this one will no doubt not receive the recognition it deserves. But unlike the books in my mind, here I am trying to do something about it. Get this book, and read it.