cover image The Fire of the Word: Meeting God on Holy Ground

The Fire of the Word: Meeting God on Holy Ground

Chris Webb. InterVarsity, $15 trade paper (192p) ISBN 978-0-8308-3563-8

Webb, an Anglican priest and head of the Christian ministry Renovaré, applies thought processes that once guided him as a devout student of Buddhism to encourage the reader to find God in the way he did: through reading the Bible in a different way. He suggests approaching the Bible like a puzzle on which to meditate or as a mystery novel scrutinized with prior knowledge of who “did it.” Webb explores tough questions about the validity of the Bible, whether prayers are answered, the nature of God, and how and why God relates with humans. He tackles foundational questions of Christian theology, for example, why God chose to take human form, and at the end of each chapter suggests Bible readings for further meditation and study. Personal reflections and information about various figures from the church’s history are scattered amid the erudition and can be distracting when not obviously illustrating a point. Harder editing could have better organized the free range of his thoughts. Agent: Kathy Helmers. (Jan.)