The Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer, belongs on every Christian’s bookshelf. It’s a very short book, less than 150 pages, but it is dense. The book is about the nature and attributes of God, and Tozer makes the excellent point that we spend too much time thinking about how God affects us, and not nearly enough time thinking about God Himself.
Some excerpts:
p. 78 “If He is unchanging, it follows that He could not be unfaithful, since that would require Him to change.”
p. 18 “Secularism, materialism, and the intrusive presence of things have put out the light in our souls and turned us into a generation of zombies. We cover our deep ignorance with words, but we are ashamed to wonder, we are afraid to whisper, ‘mystery’.”
p. 69 “God is spirit, and to Him magnitude, distance have no meaning”.
In other words, it’s clear thinking about God. The author starts out by saying that he is standing on the shoulders of giants, and bemoaning the Modern’s lack of interest in chewing their way through Anselm and Aquinas. Fair enough, I’ve been lectured thoroughly on my lack of reading classical theology and philosophy quite a bit of late, and as I dip in, it is all pleasure to do so.
But the reader should take note – this may be a much shorter (and perhaps easier to read) work than that of Aquinas, but it is by no means an “easy” work to encompass. I took notes, and I’m glad that I did. This is a book that rewards a thorough chew, and would reward many a re-read to fully digest.
Five stars, if we’re keeping track of that sort of thing… if you haven’t read this, and you’re serious about your Christian faith, you should do so.
Hands, Heart, Hearth 