Book Recommendation--Stockholm Syndrome Christianity (Why Christian Leaders are Failing--and What We Can Do About It)--John G. West

I grew up reading books.  I am not sure if it was expected that I should read books but once I learned how to read, books became things that took my mind and spirit to places I had never been before.  I read all the Hardy Boys series, many of the biographies that were prevalent in the children’s library in Dothan, a host of stories about the advancement of America toward the west, and sports stories.  Duane Decker was a fictional writer that wrote about fictional major league baseball teams and the ups and downs of the players.  Beverly Cleary’s books about Henry Huggins were another big hit for me. 

Then I started reading the westerns that were written by Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey which led to Peter McCurtin and his Sundance series.  As I got older, I found Stephen Ambrose (recommended to me by Harold Hoffman) and read Undaunted Courage about Lewis and Clark and their expedition.  Then I started working through his books on World War II and that opened more books about the great war in the European theater.  Biographies by McCollough, Meachum, Chernow, and others were another avenue that I went down. 

Mixed in was another writer that I found about the time I started in RN school whose books captivated me for more than a decade—Robin Cook!  He has written more than 40 books, and I have read at least 35 of them, some of them multiple times.  Somewhere along the way I accidentally found A. J. Cronin whose writing, even to this day I find incredibly intriguing especially the two that I have read several times, The Citadel and The Keys to the Kingdom.  Another similar incidental find is The Lords of Discipline and The Great Santini by Pat Conroy, which pushed me to read all his other books—deep, melancholy, and provoking characters and twisting plots that have stayed with me for the long years since I have read any of his books.  I could go on and on about books and authors but that is not what this blog is supposed to be about—it is a book recommendation—so I shall commence with that task.

I found this book from an author interview podcast late one night while traveling.  It is by John G. West, Stockholm Syndrome Christianity—Why Christian Leaders Are Failing—and What We Can Do About It.  John West was formerly a professor at Seattle Pacific University that was a solidly conservative Christian college.  He taught there for more than a decade in a school that had been founded by the Free Methodists in 1890.  Its early days were marked by a strong commitment to the Word of God and the traits of devoted Methodists.  In those days, there was a great emphasis on personal holiness, devotion to prayer, and fostering strong discipleship traits among the youth.  A statement from their 1929 yearbook noted this:  “The Bible is the very Word of God, the Book of books.  In this day when modernists, skeptics, and faithless scientists and philosophers are doing their utmost to discredit the Bible as the Word of God and to prove it only a collection of myths and folklore of a primitive and semi-civilized people, our Bible School is glad to take its place in the front ranks of those standing for the inspiration and integrity of Scriptures.”  That is a telling statement in that you can see they were dealing with the barbarians at the gates almost 100 years ago and furthermore it acutely points out that not much has changed in our days either.  We still contend with the intellectual snobbery and loud guffaws of the enlightened religious elite.  For those of us who are earnestly contending for the faith that was once delivered we have our work cut out for us.  There must be a rigid and unyielding front that is presented to these barbarians at the gates of our homes and our churches.  Strong spiritual leadership is a necessity!

West tells a gripping story about how he became marginalized and finally silenced in some of his efforts to put the brakes on the push toward a more liberal approach to the education of students at SPU.  He writes about how that some of his colleagues who were supposedly bona fide conservative Christians had become embarrassed by the stances of those who believed in creation that was given by the biblical account in Genesis.  They had a strong tendency to lean toward what some have called “theistic evolution.”  West attempted to bring in some speakers who championed the biblical account he was thwarted in his efforts by slow moving admins who were pushing the minds of their students toward a much more liberal curve.  West does an excellent job of citing very clear plans that were worked through to silence anyone who might have an influence on the students.  As he tracks through his story, it becomes clear a nefarious pattern that was at work at SPU and in other institutions around the nation.  It is not very hard to see that kind of thing taking place even among us.  The drift is ultimately what takes down ministries, churches, and finally organizations and denominations.  When you see the move away from prayer, personal holiness, and dedication to the Word of God, you cannot help but to slide and to drift. 

What I really liked about this book was the more than 700 footnotes that he strongly documents what he is proving to the reader.  I tracked down several of the sources that he named and found them to be disturbing and even discouraging to see what kind of mentality we are facing nowadays. Sadly, we have come to a time in America’s history that we are not only post-modern but we have come to a place that we are post-Christian.  While there are still some swaths of the nation that do adhere to some semblance of Christianity, outside of a national revival (which could always happen), we will continue to see the secularization of religion and our steps are mirroring that which Europe is experiencing presently.

One of the most valuable chapters in the book is chapter 10.  West entitles it “A Call to Wisdom” and provides some very good points to help to navigate through the spiritual darkness of our day.  I am very much in agreement with his observations and advice concerning the matter of entertainment.  It is my belief that once television programming and the ills that it brought into the homes of America, it pretty much began to slowly pound the nails in the coffin of the mind and soul.  Discernment and direction needs to gain a prominent place in the life of the Christian soul and mind for any serious potential of recovery to take place.  May God help us! 

I recommend this book to you and hope that you will read through it thoughtfully and carefully.  If you are a preaching pastor or fill the role of a Bible teacher, it is my hopes that you will use this book as strong illustrative material.  Beware of the pushback that you will receive from the carnal and worldly members of the churches that you serve in.  But just keep on preaching and pushing!!!!!

 

Thanks for reading. . .

Philip Harrelson