Reading Evangelicals - Daniel Silliman

 

A fun, insightful read for Christian bibliophiles

Reading Evangelicals: How Christian Fiction Shaped a Culture and a Faith
Daniel Silliman
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Pages: 276

What is an evangelical? Looking to answer the question, author Daniel Silliman, a historian and one who grew up in a “peculiar” church and found faith as an adult, starts with a Christian bookstore. Though now a dying breed it was once a popular Christian focal point. I can personally attest to this. Becoming a Christian in August of 1976 I soon became a lifelong customer and eventually an employee of One Way Book Store in Eureka, CA. I was working there when sadly it went out of business after 30 years. So Silliman had me from the beginning in that Christian bookstore. If you are a Christian bibliophile this is not only an insightful analysis but a fun one.

Before I started I was a little apprehensive. Would I discover that I had run my course in vain? Would the author’s words be like a hammer or his thoughts cut like a knife? I didn’t want to see the environment that was formative for me lying in ruins. Although here the emphasis is on Christian fiction whereas I was more of a non-fiction reader. It was not until later that I saw the benefit of Christian novels. I’ll never forget the owner of the bookstore and editor of the George MacDonald series, Michael Phillips, giving me The Musician’s Quest. My eyes were opened. Later, I began to enjoy my mother’s collection of the House of Winslow series by Gilbert Morris.

So it was with some trepidation that I approached this book. To my relief I found Silliman to be fair and balanced; no bashing going on here. Even if he disagrees with views presented in the books under consideration, he doesn’t critique. I suppose it’s nearly impossible to be entirely neutral, but it’s only towards the conclusion that I saw a little more of his personal viewpoint as he mentions how some of the mindsets in the books paved the way for the acceptance and popularity of Donald Trump. But if you are a fan of the former president, there is no reason to be deterred since it’s not a book that is overtly critical of him. It’s a volume that I recommend to anyone who has an interest in Christian fiction and the bookstores and industry that gave rise to its popularity.

It’s greatest value may be in clearly articulating the background and worldview behind some of the most popular books in this category. It’s as if, like in the Wizard of Oz movie, Silliman is pulling back the curtain, not to reveal charlatans, but authors trying to convey what faith looks like in the world of their time. Having read one of these books when I was young in the faith and being aware of the others, through Silliman’s summaries I see the underlying messages in these novels. Perhaps they could be broadly summarized as a shift to more of a man-centered theology as opposed to being God-centered. To some extent they fall short of love being expressed through sacrifice, serving and suffering as encouraged in our own day by New Testament scholar N. T. Wright.

The novels reviewed in their order are:

Love Comes Softly
This Present Darkness
Left Behind
The Shunning
The Shack

The other day I attended a library sale that had a large selection of Christian fiction that had already been picked over from a previous sale. Aside from me there appeared to be little interest in these books, which consisted of the ones reviewed here or were similar in some way. They seemed destined to be thrown away or included in the next buck-a-bag sale. It saddens me that since they are no longer popular, they seem to be of little value to most people. Too much fiction today, Christian or not, is probably disposable. How I wish it were not the case.

Perhaps in considering Reading Evangelicals and books like Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, which I have not read but know enough about to see as a companion, we can have a more substantive engagement with popular culture.

It amazes me that what Silliman highlights defines evangelicals during the times the books were written. Each volume tells another part of the ongoing story, reflecting and influencing the movement. It’s a novel way of defining evangelicals but it succeeds in presenting a less than flattering picture. Evangelicals should welcome whatever is valid. It gives us the opportunity to change so that the rest of the stories we write having more lasting value.

The book itself is a beautiful green cloth with silver gilt edge on the spine. I also like the color scheme on the jacket.

Desert Rain - Trinity

Surprised by a multi-cultural sound!

Desert Rain
Artist: Trinity
Label: The Fuel Music
Length: 12 songs/56 minutes

It’s not often when I start to listen to something new that I’m taken by surprise. Such is the case with Desert Rain by Trinity. It starts with the title track, a short instrumental with Andean-like flute, hand percussion, and a few other exotic sounds. It’s a foretaste of a world music experience; a hybrid of folk, pop and rock styles drawing in particular from South America.

“Rise Again” follows starting with gentle guitar and some type of woodwind. It’s like a moving tribute to courage:

Though I’m bending in the storm
I’ll never break

It makes me think of the bravery of people in the Ukraine. If they could hear this, they might be encouraged in their struggle.

Another memorable line is found at the end of an interlude: “truth crushed to earth will rise again.” It can be an anthem for anyone engaged in a noble struggle.

“Metropolitain” is partly in French with a tight, fast rhythm and a definite South American vibe. The lyrics are broad in scope and juxtaposed with some opposites: “City of artists, of searchers and martyrs, of lovers and violence, of lambs and lions. What if getting was giving, what if losing is winning? What if the sacred comes out of its hiding, joining the searchers in finding?”

“A Miracle” is a mid-tempo exploration of the profound mysteries in a relationship. Here as it is throughout the perspective is from a position of faith rather than being overtly about the Christian life. I have nothing against the latter but the subtlety is refreshing. I found it interesting that a non-Christian friend told me the other day that the music by Christian artists that he likes best is when it’s not obvious. This falls in that category. There is as much attention to overall craft as the lyrics.

Low end bass, synth and sassy brass give weight to “Satellite Television.” The playfulness in sound and the use of satire make this a lot of fun and a favorite:

I hardly have a roof
but I’ve got Satellite television
My love life sucks
At least I’ve got Satellite television

A chorus of voices join in on the title to emphasize the gravity of the subject. Music could use more of this kind of humor.

A cheerful tune on the flute. Mandolin strumming. A chorus of voices gaily singing syllables. It adds up to the Celtic-sounding depiction of a father’s tender love for his infant daughter on “The Way That I Do.” It’s promise of constancy mirrors God’s lasting love for his children:

My baby my dear
I wish it weren’t true
But the world and its sorrows will someday hurt you
But know when you fall, I’ll be there with you too
To hold you and love you the way that I do

Festive sounds return on El Sonido De Mi Tierra, a mid-tempo Salsa-style number in Spanish and English. It lends itself to being interpreted as a prayer:

Be the reason that I live today
Be the air that I breathe, fill me now

“It’s All Gonna Change” is the first of three songs toward the end that include Neema Ntalel from Kenya on vocals. They take the form of a duet on the somber “Shooting Stars,” a reflection on bereavement.

C. S. Lewis said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” This idea fits with the sentiments expressed on “We Are Born,” whose sound has Middle Eastern influences. A driving rhythm propels the forceful thought:

We are born with an aching for more than we’ll ever know
To be fighters and lovers to know what we are living for
There’s a burning desire inside that can’t be controlled
An unquenchable fire that tells us we’re made for more

Trinity consists of three Dutch brothers, Elbert (lead vocals, flutes, saxophone), Johan (acoustic guitars) and Nick Smelt (drums & percussion), who grew up as missionary kids, and Dutch-raised Bert Bos (bass). It’s amazing that these four produce such a variety of earthy but sophisticated sounds. Listen and find joy in hearing a multitude of diverse cultural influences.