Canterbury Letters to the Future

Canterbury Letters to the Future
By George Carey
Kingsway. 238 pages.
ISBN 0 85476 773 8

We look at our grandchildren with deep, deep love and, foreseeing them on the threshold of adult years, ask what we would like to give them for their Christian understanding and direction of life.
This is the question the Archbishop has set out to answer for his six grandsons and one granddaughter. He writes them 10 letters covering all the major Christian doctrines: thinking about God, Creator, Father, Holy One; the importance of Jesus, Jesus in the Gospels, his resurrection, the Cross, the Holy Spirit, and eschatology. Each letter is given a 'catchier' title than this bare statement of topics, but throughout, the catchiness stands in contrast to a serious style of writing that makes few concessions to the reader.
Abundant quotations point to a wide range of reading, always appropriate even if some are maybe too demanding to be illuminating. Dr. Carey stands firm on the authority of the Bible and in affirming the 'empty tomb' reality of our Lord's resurrection and the objective accomplishments of the cross. A fine letter about the Holy Spirit roots pneumatology in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and there is no equivocation about heaven and hell. These are serious plusses in a book which could provide a starter for serious enquirers who are ready for a demanding 'read'.
Is it 'picky' to wonder if such a strong emphasis on tradition distracts attention from the sole authority of the Scriptures, why the affirmations about the death of the Lord Jesus as sacrifice, reconciliation, redemption and victory stop short of the terminology of substitution and if the End includes the personal, visible return of Christ? Well, no, I don't think so, but I remain grateful for having been given so much so thoughtfully and with such conviction.

Alec Motyer

© Evangelicals Now - December 1998
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Main Articles

• Black life
  A review of white Christian attitudes towards black and other ethnic minorities with the UK with diverse culture and modes of worship
• Open to what?
  The meaning of the term 'evangelical' and the emergence of a new group calling themselves 'open evangelicals'
• Evangelistic worship
  The problems of praise and worship and making it relevant to all - and a review of the SFC (Seeker Friendly Church) Movement
• Who needs it?
  Edited from a lecture on why religion matters and the moral crisis today in a society which rejects the Judaeo-Christian faith
• Has your church got a child protection policy?
  Reprinted guidelines from a child protection statement from Park Evangelical Church at Stoke-on-Trent
• Every Christian a witness? (Bulldog for December)
  A study of witness and the duties of the ordinary believer
• The approach of God
  Vernon Higham tells of his early life and path to faith

Other articles

• What Every Christian Needs To Know
• Online Bible Deluxe CD v. 7.06 - CD-ROM review
• You want to pierce what? Getting a grip on today's family
• Christianity in a Consumer Culture - 177 shades of lipstick - an edited extract from the book Christianity in a Consumer Culture on the effects of consumerism on Christians
• Christmas Sermons - an Exposition of the Magnificat - Bringing down the mighty - an extract from the book Christmas Sermons - an Exposition of the Magnificat
• The Truman Show
• Canterbury Letters to the Future - Ten letters to the archbishop's grandchildren covering the major Christian doctrines
• Bloodline of the Holy Grail - The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed
• Knowing Where We Stand - The Message of John's Epistles
• Elizabeth
• The Hymns of Vernon Higham - A collection of 162 hymns
• Shadows of Scotland - The Story of the Covenanters
• Charles H Spurgeon - The Prince of Preachers
• Get Up and Give - 101 little ways to make a big difference
• Calvin and the Calvinists
• The Relationships Revolution
• Four Men and a Church - The Story of Worthing Tabernacle
• Spirit-Empowered Preaching
• Blame it on the Brain - Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders and Disobedience