Learning in Christ's School

LEARNING IN CHRIST'S SCHOOL
By Ralph Venning
Banner of Truth Trust. 284 pages.£2.95.
ISBN 0 85151 764 1

First published in 1675, this Puritan paperback looks at the Christian life from the unusual angle of four 'classes' of Christian: babes, little children, young men and fathers. It takes the form of doctrinal teaching, interspersed with sections of detailed application.

While his basic framework of the four 'classes' is drawn from 1 Corinthians 3, Hebrews 5 and 1 John 2, Venning's material is only loosely related to these passages. Rather than expounding them, he uses them more as a springboard and supports his doctrinal analysis with texts from throughout Scripture. It is not easy to summarise the different sections-particularly the one on babes which is the longest and most diverse. It contains much godly wisdom-I was especially struck by the comments on God's grace and by several challenges to be godly in all our attitudes. He deals more briefly with little children and young men who are noted, respectively for their knowledge of God and their strength. Through modesty, Venning mentions fathers only in passing.

As someone who has read little Puritan literature, I thoroughly appreciated the seriousness and orthodoxy with which he tackles his subject, his infectious love for God and his Word, his desire to encourage and comfort the fainthearted, and his boldness in spurning on the complacent. His exhaustive method requires energy at times and readers will probably find that they do not agree with quite all his conclusions and interpretations of Scripture. However, these are minor criticisms. The unusual subject matter, the mature godliness of the author and his careful application make it an immensely refreshing and challenging read.

Mary Davis

© Evangelicals Now - February 2000
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Main Articles

• A youth worker's nightmare
  'I ask you, members of the jury: 'How many of you could defend yourself if you were falsely accused? How many of you could produce 16 witnesses and 100 letters of reference to defend yourselves?'
• Ready to die? When the question is suddenly personal
  Helen England describes how it feels to face death in the aftermath of a car crash
• Rome and the Lutherans
  The declaration on justification signed by the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation (reprinted from World Magazine)
• Bringing men back to church
  Suggestions and strategies on how to get men back into church (reprinted from The Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood)
• The beauty of God
  Can we properly call God beautiful?
• The Crowded House
  Steve Timmis concludes his series on planting a network of household churches in Sheffield (part 2 of series)
• Monthly column on hymns and songs
  The prominence given to music in modern worship
• Kingdom cool
  Style and content in the 21st century church - how should we confront the culture and what should the focus of church be?
• Monthly column on the arts: notes from the Dome
  The music chosen for the Millennium Dome and Cliff Richard's Millennium Prayer
• Monthly column for youth leaders: snoozing in the armchair church
  How to encourage young people to participate and become involved in the wider church

Other articles

• A New Kind of Living
• The Iron Giant
• Cantatas (BWV 105, 179, 186) by Johann Sebastian Bach - CD review
• Star Gazing - (Audio tape)
• Matters of Life and Death - An extract from the book Matters of Life and Death giving a Christian response to the consequences of limited resources in the NHS
• Holy Communion for Amateurs
• The Claims of Truth - John Owen's Trinitarian Theology
• Paul the Apostle - A Biography
• Learning in Christ's School
• Setting Hearts on Fire - a guide to giving evangelistic talks
• Be Sure What You Believe - the Christian faith simply explained
• Let's Explore - the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes
• Whatever Happened To The Ten Commandments?
• Making Connections - building relationships with people at the edge
• Geneva Commentary Series - Judges
• Sins of the Fathers