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Waking the deadThe glory of a heart fully aliveSlipperyWAKING THE DEAD There is a certain genre of contemporary Christian literature which is increasingly popular but difficult to define. So I'm still not sure, having read this latest offering from John Eldredge of Ransomed Heart Ministries in Colorado Springs, what exactly it was! Was it devotional spirituality, or perhaps journal-theology (in which the writer tells the reader about his own life experiences through the prism of his theological world view), or maybe it was faction (in which personal stories, Bible commentary and an assortment of in this case film reviews or favourite quotations merge into a series of loosely connected chapters)? The twin titles of 'Waking the dead: The glory of a heart fully alive' indicate a book with an identity crisis or a publisher that couldn't quite make up its mind! Anyway, that's for you to decide as you read what is an enjoyable, take-it-on-holiday-or-on-a-train-journey-book. Undemanding but well written with plenty of interesting material, it will do well in the competitive Christian market of self help resources and certainly offers more than a ten-step guide to personal spiritual fulfilment. But there is no obvious plot, no coherent thesis (other than the slippery concept of the importance of the heart in spiritual formation), and no terminus. However, the journey has its moments of insight, arguable exegesis, debatable physcho-babble, pleasantly told stories and feel good sound bites. Just the sort of thing that more and more people are reading! It is easy to be cynical about a book like this. But it must be handled with care. Peter Baker,
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