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I'm dying to tell youSeekers after GodI’M DYING TO TELL YOU You are in a hospital bed. You have cancer and may not have long to live. How would you spend this precious time? As the title suggests, Neil Hood (director of, or advisor to, several companies, conference speaker, professor, author of four other books, and church elder) demonstrated his passion to point seekers after God towards the One who died for sinners by writing this book while literally dying of cancer. Hood moves carefully from stumbling blocks to faith (in chapters on Where am I? Where is God? How will we meet?) through stepping stones on the journey (What’s missing in my life? What’s on offer? What’s the journey like?) to new foundations (How do I become a Christian? How do I choose? Can I handle the consequences? What happens now?). The author believes in ‘one sovereign God who rules the world and yet can rule my life by invitation only’ (p.32). This, along with his emphasis on ‘free will’, rather undermines God’s sovereignty and underplays the prior necessity of the Spirit’s work in regeneration. He does not believe in limited atonement. The ‘anonymous poem’ alluded to on p.140 is missing. For all that, there is much that is good here. Hood has a fairly rare ability to constantly place himself in the seeker’s shoes, prodding him to evaluate where he stands (using tables scattered throughout) and how his views may be changing, and then encouraging him to move forward. There are simple explanations of relevant biblical teaching and cleverly written life stories helpfully illustrate key points. This is a well thought out, accessible book, primarily aimed at seekers (but also at those wishing to help them) and it hits its target well. Hood presents us with a poignant challenge: how would we spend our last months in his situation? Would we be dying to tell others about Jesus? Richard John, © Evangelicals Now - May 2008 |