Book Review
Why Do You Believe That? By B.A. Berean
I am an itinerant evangelist with one wife and four children. Our fifth child is due Summer 2012, another blessing from the Lord. With that family background in mind, I wish to share this review.
A few months ago, we stayed in the home of some new friends. It is always a blessing getting to know brothers and sisters in Christ, and this stay was a special blessing in many ways. We were in Florida for a week, staying with multiple families over the course of our 3 city trip, and we were exhausted already with tired children. We were also preparing for a move from Georgia to Maine the upcoming week. When we arrived at our friend Nathan's home, the hospitality was superb, and the fellowship of Christians was great. A few other families gathered to meet us for dinner as well, adding to the blessing. We were reminded that night that the fellowship of Christians is not limited to those we know well, but any who are brothers and sisters in Christ are instant friends.
We spoke about our Savior, our families, our convictions in obedience to the Lord, about digging deep into God's Word, and the cultural traditions of the American church. Nathan began to think about a book he had that might speak to some of our thoughts and discussion. He had just one copy of this book, "Why Do You Believe That?" by B.A.Berean, which he then loaned to me. I read the book at bed time.
As a Christian man with deep convictions (some preferential, some Biblically mandated, all based on Biblical principles) and a desire to always learn more of God's Word, I devoured the book in no time. I finally fell asleep at 3am, though I had finished reading hours earlier. I needed to compare the thoughts shared in this book to God's Word (the point of the book) and to have time to pray for God's wisdom, which "He gives generously and without reproach" (James 1:5). I had a great time of prayer that night, so lack of sleep didn't seem to matter. I asked if Nathan knew where to get more copies, and he thought the book was out of print, so I was especially blessed recently to find the book listed on Amazon.
Though it was a short read, a mere 148 pages, this book surprised me. It was conversational, gentle, and yet very challenging to me. Along with many other books that have been handed to me over the years, I found this book contained some things that I agreed with immediately, some that I disagreed with, and many more that required further study. I had been led to study marriage and Biblical patriarchy for months, and looked forward to finding a book that stood on Biblical truth more than popular opinion. That is precisely the point of this book, though. The author does not want you to just believe what he says, but rather urges you to study God's Word on the topic at hand and every topic. He urges you to truly be "Berean" in your approach to knowledge of God's Word. If you are not familiar with this term, you would do well to consider Acts 17:10-15 below:
"The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left."
We see here what it means when the author calls us to "be Berean" in our approach to knowledge, that is to hear the teachings of men of God, then compare them to the Scriptures to check the validity of the information. We then see in the following verses that this truth was contrary to culture and therefore caused persecution for those preaching the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah and Savior.
While the topic of this book is not of salvation, I do believe it is important that we seek to extend ourselves beyond where we are comfortable and learn to love our brothers and sisters in Christ even when we disagree at times. There are some Scriptures that are clear, others are difficult to discern with complete certainty. God's Word requires not just intellectual understanding, but spiritual discernment and specific leading of the Holy Spirit to understand and implement in our lives. I have found that the way we dress, the way we live, the number of children we have, and many other things have been an offense to other Christians over the years, and I have to ask why. Our beliefs are based on Scripture and we have prayed at length about a list of things that we feel God calling us to do. We are very conservative, but abhor legalism. The difference I believe comes in judging ourselves, but leaving the judgment of others to God. Our job is to love, be an example, and deal with sin. Our job is not to add to the Bible and make sins out of things God does not call sin.
This following of the Bible even when opposed to culture (even church culture) has put us in a strange situation, as we see that we can have differing views on some subjects as Christians and yet be united. I may take up this thought more in another post, and urge you to consider Romans 14 as I have at length these last few months. That passage has reminded me that I ought not be a stumbling block to others, yet I must obey God even if that is not acceptable. These thoughts and many more are contained in this wonderful little book, and I highly recommend reading it. Even if you disagree with some of the points, I believe this book will be a great blessing and perhaps inspire you to dig even deeper into God's Word.
