This book is the latest in over 14 other books by Philip Graham Ryken, pastor of Tenth Presbyterian. He is becoming known not only as an effective preacher but also clear, cogent, and effective writer. This book deserves to be read and circulated among Christians today who are not living in a friendly nor safe world, spiritually speaking. Never has it been more important for Christians to understand that Christianity relates to all of life. As the sovereign and triune God, He does speak to us everywhere.

If there is one thing that is needed today, it is for Christians to understand that Christianity provides a coherent, unified, and satisfying worldview. The tragedy of not having that perspective is taking its toll in all of life.

Ryken builds this book around occasional talks given at Tenth Presbyterian. He states, “The world is a complicated place, so like the original talks, this book addresses a wide variety of issues. However, there is a coherent perspective that unifies the book and runs through all its chapters.”

The topics are loosely gathered into ten parts. These include: love, marriage and family, sports and leisure, science and technology, social issues, politics, feasts and festivals, the Bible, church history and Christianity today. The topics, fifty in all, are usually only three or four pages in length.

In this diversity of topics, Ryken shows that God is concerned about all areas of life. One example deals with the concept of intelligent design. Ryken states that intelligent design may be a useful tool for Christian apologetics because not only are we to understand the implications of intelligent design, we have a responsibility to challenge those who believe otherwise. We need to know how to talk sensibly about the subject.

Another example is the topic of the human genome. Ryken rightly maintains that it really takes theologians who know that we are more than a genetic code to understand who we are. It takes knowing that we are made in God’s image and likeness to know who we are, which means that we must know who God is.

Ryken discusses the TV psychologist guru, Dr. Phil, and talks about the wrong emphasis of encouraging us to look inwardly for all the answers needed to solve life’s problems. There are good brief articles on Bible translations in which he explains why he favors the English Standard Version, as we do.

You will appreciate this book and find it helpful not only for yourself, but for your family and friends who need to be challenged to develop a coherently biblically reformed world and life view.

- Charles Dunahoo, CEP Coordinator