Faith Beyond Reason

Rating:
Summary: Did you ever wonder?
Review: Did you ever wonder why so many evangelicals laud A. W. Tozer but lambaste the Christian mystics he so highly regarded? Have you ever tried to practice what Mr. Tozer preached and found yourself at odds with fellow evangelicals? If so, this book is for you.

It is a collection of essays. In one, entitled "Revelation is Not Enough," Mr. Tozer describes a battle. A battle over truth between evangelical rationalists and evangelical mystics. The rationalists believe that divine truth is reducible to mere words and creeds. If you hold the right opinion on the stated propositions, then you have the truth. If you can recite the creed, you have the truth. The rationalists search the scriptures, thinking that in them they have eternal life, but they will not eat the flesh or drink the blood of Him whom the scriptures bear witness. Mr. Tozer likens them to the pharisees, and notes the pharisees were the Lord's worst enemies. Hard words, but there is much at stake. This rationalism will kill off the truth, Mr. Tozer says, as surely but more subtly as a liberalism that denies the divine source of scripture.

Who is on the other side of this battle? Who are the evangelical mystics? They are the ones who believe, as Mr. Tozer did, that great saints of old, such as Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, can instruct today's evangelicals on how to worship God in spirit and in truth. Whose hearts resonate with the words of St. Bernard of Clairvaux:

"We taste Thee, O Thou Living Bread
and long to feast upon Thee still
We drink of Thee the Fountain Head
and thirst our souls from Thee to fill"

Rating:
Summary: A Sack Full of Gold Nuggets
Review: In typical Tozer fashion, he cuts to the heart of every issue with Spirit-guided precision! Tozer tells the truth boldly, plainly, and unerringly on target. This little book is a treasury of spiritual insights like:

"Faith never goes contrary to reason; faith simply ignores reason and rises above it."
or
"I have been memorizing the Scriptures ever since I was converted, but my faith does not rest on God's promises. My faith rests upon God's character."

or, talking about the importance of emptying oneself:

"The less there is in the kettle, the quicker it begins to boil."

I love Tozer's straight-forwardness and his plain talk about complex matters. He takes the abstract and makes it concrete.
Tozer writes, "It is not enough that I hold an inspired book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart."

Thanks, Lord, for sending Tozer to us and for giving him such an inspired heart.