Evangelicals Now
<< September 2001 >>

Blue

Half decent

BLUE
By Nick Page
HarperCollins. 173 pages. £4.99
ISBN 0 551 03265 0

Nick Page is 38 years old and writes history books. Blue is, I think, his book to present the Christian faith to non-Christians. As such, it half-succeeds brilliantly.

The 'blue' (as opposed to 'green' or 'gilt') values are these: hope, faith, stillness, truth, mercy, wonder, friendship and celebration. Each one takes up a chapter, unpacked against the backdrop of our own culture.

The observations of same are sometimes stunning, always spot-on, for example on our lack of mercy: 'Our society has forgotten how to admit mistakes. When was the last time you heard a politician say: ñI'm sorryî? There are also a number of quasi-spiritual statements which seem less helpful, for example: 'Just to rest, just to stop for a moment, can be a healing experience. At the very least it can set us on the road to wholeness.' Really? I thought that true healing would only come when we are glorified with Christ. Again: 'We must look at our lives with imagination. We must ask ourselves: "What would I like my life to be like?".' Compare and contrast 'I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me . . . ' (Acts 20.24).

The Bible is used, sometimes well, sometimes badly. Is truth really true because it sets us free to be ourselves (page 77)? Did Jesus actually teach much more about love than about judgment (page 101)? Does 'become like a little child' mean that we all need to rediscover our sense of wonder at the world (page 114)?
Overall, the book is unsatisfactory: sin is against self rather than God, Jesus is the great healer of empty men rather than the Saviour of sinners, there is nothing about God's holy hate of evil, nothing about hell, nothing really about the cross. I will gratefully raid Blue for its many excellent quotes and illustrations, but to give to non-Christians I will rely on something more straightforward, more accurate and more Christ-honouring.

Tom Forryan, Watford