BOOK CRITIQUES

    I am writing a paper on how secular books about habit formation could be usefully incorporated into church teaching regarding spiritual disciplines. 

    As part of my research I looked at many lists of top-rated books on spiritual disciplines. I wanted a sampling of available teaching on the disciplines and needed to see how they approached the subject. I found three that appeared on all the lists and got myself a copy of each to dive in deeper:

• Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline (1978)

• Dallas Willard's The Spirit of the Disciplines (1988)

• Donald Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (1991)

    Sometimes things that should be obvious still surprise me. When I started researching these three online, I found abundant criticisms of all three books and their authors. 

1. Too Catholic.
2. Too unaffiliated. 
3. Too Calvinist. (And not Calvinist enough!)

    And, according to some critics, all three books are just too "mystical".

    (There's no room for mysterious spiritual experiences in the life of a Christian, for heaven's sake.)

    As believers we must be discerning of what we read. And I have found much to question in all three books. 

    But if we're looking for a Christian book (or podcast or blog) with 100% guaranteed true and perfect theology, we aren't going to find it ... outside the Bible. 

    And even there, we can argue over translations!