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The Cradle, the Cross and the Empty TombEssentialsThe Cradle, The Cross, and the Empty Tomb Subtitled 'a faith we can be proud to proclaim', the General Director of the Evangelical Alliance addresses those who are embarrassed to parade the gospel in public, because we feel intimidated by modern cynicism towards it. In marked contrast Edwards argues, Paul wasn't, because he never lost sight of: The book's great strength is its relevancy: it scratches where we itch, addresses the world we live in, and reminds us that words are not enough - that living out the gospel enthusiastically and positively is our best argument for it. Its weakness? This very need to be seen to be relevant. Occasionally it hijacks the gospel's own agenda (e.g. the 'cradle' teaches us 'people with small dreams shouldn't be put off, if to the best of their awareness God has pledged his support'), and is probably the reason for the book's failure to go as far in its analysis of our plight as Paul does (e.g. sin is defined as that which 'disappoints God and hurts us' rather than that which defies and provokes God). Nevertheless this well-written book is both helpful and enjoyable. Alan Black,
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