"A Primer On Worship and Reformation: Recovering the HIgh Church Puritan" by Douglas Wilson

isbn #978-1-59128-061-3

It has been awhile since I received this advanced copy from LibraryThing and I thought I'd better get on the ball and post the review I promised to do! I have now read the book two times (it's a small book) and I must say I am not exactly sure how to review it, but here goes:

This will be a small review consisting of the following:
1) What I appreciate about Doug Wilson's book
2) What I disagreed with Doug Wilson about
3) Why I recommend it...sort of!

1) What I appreciate about Doug Wilson's book

Many years ago when I was a student at the University of Idaho, I attended a conference called "The Wars of America from a Christian Perspective." That was not the exact name, but it was pretty close to it. At any rate, it was then that I first came to know Doug Wilson and since then I have had the opportunity to read much of what he writes in his magazine "Credenda/Agenda." When I say I came to know Doug Wilson, by the way, I don't mean that I know him personally but that I have heard him speak and have read his writings before!

Anyhow, I like much of what Wilson says and writes, and this book was really no different. His humorous and quite apt discussion (critique) of "christian" marketing and its consumers was right on target, and I especially liked what he wrote on pages 11-12 of the book, where he discusses the Veggie Tales phenomenon. He says:

"And then there are the Veggie Tales. What is the issue here? That would become abundantly clear if someone seriously suggested a Veggie Tales version of Beowulf, or Lord of the Rings, or Prince Caspian. Modern evangelicals are reverent of everything except their religion. Just try to picture Aragon as a cucumber. What does that do to the ethos of the thing? Or imagine Aslan as a beet. "We couldn't do that! It would wreck the story! I see. Apparently, as far as modern evangelicals are concerned, the Bible doesn't have a story to wreck. If misguided evangelicals were to try to bridge current tensions by making a Veggie Tales version of the Koran, they would all now be in hiding because of the fatwa declared against them. In short, the Muslims would respond with outrage over what had been perpetrated on their holy book. But we are not outraged for two reasons- first, we are clueless, and second, we did it to ourselves."

Ouch. That is so very true, and I appreciate Wilson's courage in saying so.

I also appreciate his calling the Church to a reformation, if you will, in how we worship the Lord. I found his book much more helpful in this area than I did Michael Horton's "A Better Way."

2) What I disagreed with Doug Wilson about

Okay, this is not going to be some big interaction with passages from Wilson's book in which I attempt to refute any specific stance. On the contrary, it boils down to this...Doug Wilson is Reformed in the full sense of the word while I am a self described Reformed Baptist. What this means is that I don't see eye to eye with Wilson in regards to a convenantal (sp?) view of Isreal and the church, therefore I cannot embrace much of what he says. This does NOT mean, however, that what he has to say is not valuable. And anyone who is Reformed and/or leans towards a Reformed and Covenantal (sp?) view of Scripture will be more than pleased with this book. As it is, I am pleased with most of what Wilson has to say, and so...

3) Why I recommend it...sort of!

I do not hesitate to recomment this book to any and all readers, then leave it up to that reader to decide how much of it they will take in. To be quite frank, you do not at all need to be Reformed to enjoy the book, nor is it imperative that you be Reformed to appreciate and value what Doug Wilson has accomplished. I can certainly say that I am pleased to have this little book in my collection and can see how I will refer to it often when I am preparing studies!