Where in the World Is the Church?: A Christian View of Culture and Your Role in It

Rating:
Summary: A Good Beginning!!
Review: Michael Horton's treatise is basically an introduction to Reformation Theology concerning culture and the Christian's role in it, and as such, if you aren't a fan of Calvinistic teaching, this might not be the book for you.

Overall it wasn't a bad read, and it was quite compelling in spots, however when he insisted that "everything and everyone" has its place, I lost him for awhile. Such as artists need to stay within their sphere; politicians within their sphere; and the church within their sphere. He basically stated at one point that a politician with religious beliefs needs to refrain from "saving the nation." And while that may be a noble virtue, I don't think William Wilberforce subscribed to it, as he took most of his political life in England to abolishing the slave trade and saving a nation from ruin.

This book was a fine beginning, but it didn't go far enough, and may Horton will have something else to say later on. It was a better book than some others out there, though, and if you can handle Calvinism, this book's fine.

Rating:
Summary: Very Enlightening
Review: This book is a good warning to Christians who tend to hide from the world for fear of losing their faith. The author argues for the Christian's liberty to read fiction, to listen to good music, or to engage in scientific research without feeling guilty that his activities are "purely secular" and that God's time is too valuable to be "wasted" on such things. Prudent participation in culture is both a duty and a pleasure. It helps God's children to see Him as the Creator of everything that is beautiful and brilliant and to be able to say with J.S. Bach: SDG (Soli Deo Gloria)! The author does a wonderful job supporting his conclusions Biblically.