BOOK REVIEW - "YOUNG, RESTLESS, REFORMED: A JOURNALIST'S JOURNEY WITH THE NEW CALVINISTS" BY COLLIN HANSEN

 

I first heard of this book on Trevin Wax's Reconstructing Faith podcast, and soon read about it in another book I recently read ("Killing Calvinism" by Greg Dutcher). So I checked this book out.

In "Young, Restless, Reformed," journalist Collin Hansen investigates the modern resurgence of Calvinism. When Emerging Christianity seemed to be the fad of the day, Hansen went to various places where he found traditional Calvinism was alive and strong.

Hansen goes to various locations, such as the Passion Conference, Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota where John Piper is the pastor, and The Southern Theological Seminary which saw a revival in Biblical inerrancy as well as Calvinism.

My opinion? This book is more of a journal of Calvinism's rebirth, interviewing not just the big names but young people who were influenced as well. It reviews people getting into Calvinism not as one trying to convince the unconvinced but a reporter telling what influenced his interviewees' lives.

I recommend this book.

When One Of My Heroes Changes Jobs

  

 

Maybe I should make a list of living heroes of the faith. Of course, that would include me taking the time to rank them. And with living heroes, I might debate giving an alphabetic list so if one of those heroes reads it, he (or she) may not be disappointed they weren't higher. If I did a list like that and ranked them numerically, I would be shocked if Russell Moore is not towards the top of the list.

Yesterday, Dr. Moore announced he would be resigning as President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), effective June 1. He has been hired by the magazine Christianity Today as full time Public Theologian and in charge of their new Public Theology Project.

I have had the honor of hearing Dr. Moore on three different occasions while he was dean at The Southern Theological Seminary in Louisville, and even had a chance to ask him a question in person. (The third time was when he was a guest on a live performance of Southern's President Al Mohler's radio program, and they took questions; they answered both my question and Becky's.

I enjoy Dr. Moore's sense of humor. At a Q&A session at an apologetics conference he was part of, someone asked if Mohammed was mentioned in the Bible. Dr. Moore said, "Yes. It says false prophets will come."

In 2013, Dr. Moore succeeded Richard Land as head of the ERLC. In 2015, he authored Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel, which was my favorite non-fiction book that year. 

Another thing I like about Dr. Moore: he's not afraid to be controversial. There was talk about the Southern Baptist Convention defunding the ERLC because Moore committed what was considered the unpardonable sin by many evangelicals - he criticized then candidate and later President Trump. Actually, I had concerns about Trump that matched Moore's concerns. After the DC Riot, Moore dared to say the President should have resigned because of it.

One other controversy occurred when Moore and the ERLC filed a friend-of-the-court brief when a city was requiring a new mosque to have more parking spaces than they asked churches to have (and didn't always enforce it with churches). True religious liberty is not only for my religion, but for all others as well.

Moore has appeared on national programs as well, such as Face The Nation.

I will admit - I'm not a Christianity Today fan. Some consider the magazine too centrist theologically. But I'm still praying for my hero in his new endeavor.

Sources for my story on his new job:

 Russell Moore announces departure from ERLC helm by George Schroeder, Baptist Press

Russell Moore, head of Southern Baptist public policy arm, leaving ERLC for Christianity Today by Holly Meyer, Nashville Tennessean, Wed. May 19, 2021