Book Reviews
The only safe criteria to use in evaluating a book is to carefully monitor the fruit that comes from the reading.
One individual may get a lot of good out of the same material that works evil to another. It depends on how it is taken.
We have a burden to make others aware of our experiences with different books. If you try some of this reading and do not find it a profitable experience, lay it aside. Perhaps it is not for you at all, or not for you at this time. Ask the Lord to guide you.
The Hidden Life
Of all the books by C. E. Orr, this one has meant the most to me. In my early teens, during a period of illness, I was deeply impressed with the chapter on humility. It changed the pattern of my life.
Brother Orr’s burden is for deeper living, walking more closely with God.
This well of water in the soul is a well of living water; it is a well springing up into everlasting life. It is fittingly represented by an artesian well, which needs no surface pump….
The force that produces the outward flow from an artesian well is down in the depths below. It is the pressure of the inward flow. Open the check-valve at any time and the water flows. The force that produces the inward flow of the water of life in the Christian heart is the exercise of the soul in prayer. The more the soul is thus exercised the stronger is the inward pressure. Without the soul’s being exercised in converse with God; without its being deeply concerned about the affairs of eternity; without examination of the heart: or without secret reading, meditation, inquiries, and seekings—the inward flow from God will not be maintained.
The outward flow is necessary. The pressure of the inward flow raises the water so high, and if there is no outward flow, the inward flow ceases, and all will become stagnant.
[Charles E. Orr; The Hidden Life, “The Hidden Life”]
Over the years, this writing has come to mean more and more to me. Highly recommended.
Ben Hur
Edited and abridged by James S. Bell, Jr.; published by Moody Press, 1993
This abridged version is much more readable than the original. We understand that Lew Wallace, a Civil war general, was an unbeliever, who began this book with the intention of proving that there was nothing to the story of Jesus. According to what we have been told, he was convinced, as he gathered material for this book, that the Biblical account is true, and he wrote this book from the standpoint of proving that the story of Jesus, as revealed in the scriptures, is true.
Ben Hur was a son of one of the princes of Judea during the Roman occupation at the time of the Christ. As a very young man, he was accused of treason and sent to the galleys for life. His mother and sister disappeared. The subsequent narrative details his desire for revenge, his preparations for the same, his temptations, and most significantly, his encounters with the Messiah.
The author has imagined a fascinating tale, which is woven with some truth. There are some things that I do not care for in the writing. A large portion of the book deals with Ben Hur’s attempts to get revenge, his hatreds, and carnality. Still, it is an accurate picture of how many a person lives. It is informative of the times and may help you to be able to project what it was like back in the days when Jesus walked the earth in bodily form. Lew Wallace has probably given us his best vision of what it means (and has meant) to meet the Master. Salvation, however, goes further, much further, in the life than was found by the son of Hur. Even after he “settled” down, he still seems to come short of the salvation experience taught and practiced in the New Testament.
There is enough merit in the book that we feel we can recommend it with some caution. It may not be for you. We strongly suggest that you pray about it and wait on God to see if you can read it unto edification.
Arena, The Story of the Colosseum
Published by McGraw-Hill, 1973
This very interesting and readable book delves into the effect that the arena had on the Roman citizenry, comparing the circuses and gladiator shows to the effects of television today on the populace. The gladiators were celebrities as sports figures are today. It also mentions the reaction of the early Christian church (up to approximately 270 A.D.) to this popular abomination. They were afraid of its effect on human nature. “As Augustine knew, the arena was a danger to the church, but not primarily as a source of persecution. The real threat came from its infection” (pp. 166). “A Christian was taken by friends to the amphitheatre, very much against his will. The spectacle, the violence, the bloodshed—they seduced him” (pp. 16-17). Different emperors realized the degenerate effect of the games and tried to abolish or diminish them, but to no avail. The overall tone of this book, while informative, is grim and sad. What an awful waste, both of participators and spectators! “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29)