Author- James Thwaites
Publisher- Paternoster Press
ISBN-1-84227-040-0
First published in 1999 and reprinted several times since, this book provides an in depth view of the Biblical Hebrew worldview and applies its understanding of creation to the need for change within the church of today. The book is divided into four sections, the first of which looks at current thinking and church structure and examines where it has come from. It details the history and development of the Christian and Western mind and the influence of the Greek worldview on this; this dualistic view of things nourishes a congregation centered approach to church life rather than the large creation context which God has put in place. The second section looks in some detail at the Hebrew vision of things with its view of creation reality and the Fall, the matter of divine revelation and the incarnation. Although for some, this section may be hard to wade through, it will bring rewards for those who do so. In the third section of the book there are several chapters where the Hebrew world view is applied to Christian Life and church structures and strategy. It concentrates on the biblical text in the letters of Paul and how he followed the plan set out by the Lord Jesus. The final section follows through on the Hebrew world view in its view of the unity of all things such as the nature of work both paid and unpaid in the life of the saints. There is much profit in reading and pondering the large picture which is set forth in this book. There is a message here, which for some will be illuminating and liberating. Many in the churches have not been shown the underlying dualistic way of looking at things; it results in the separation of the physical from the spiritual, the heavenly from the earthly, and the church from the creation. This compartmentalizing of life has serious detrimental effects on the life and witness of the churches whilst a revelation of the wholeness of all things, their correlation and interconnection will lead to a stirring and releasing vision which produces a new relevance in the world in which it is set. This book represents the strategic role of the church in the postmodern era. Certainly it will enlarge the vision of all who read it.
