PRIDE:
Identity and the Worship of Self
By Matthew P.W. Roberts
Christian Focus. 182 pages. £14.99 (HB)
ISBN 978 1 527 109 391
THE NEW REFORMATION CATECHISM
ON HUMAN SEXUALITY:
A Catechism based on The Heidelberg
Catechism of 1563
By Christopher J. Gordon
Gospel Reformation Network.
32 pages. £4.99
ISBN 979 8 218 052 447
HUMAN:
Made and remade in the image of
God
By Ros Clarke
IVP. 158 pages. £12.99
ISBN 978 1 789 744 835
WOMEN AND THE GENDER OF GOD
By Amy Peeler
Eerdmans. 274 pages £19.99
ISBN 978 0 802 874 097
The subjects of some books are like buses, you don’t see one in a while, and then three come along at once!
The first book is from a classic Reformed perspective. It argues persuasively that the contemporary debate concerning identity is informed and challenged by the Biblical concept of idolatry. Cleverly using the word PRIDE in the title highlights how idolatry is an expression of the worship of ourselves by the exaltation of our desires to the level of ultimate identity markers. There is much to commend in this book, but I was surprised by how many question marks I pencilled into the margins! The author insists that Christians should reflect carefully on how the gospel lands in our lives, what it offers and what it demands. The consequence of this is the call to abandon labels that might suggest that becoming a Christian can mean not abandoning our distorted desires. The author writes in particular of the problematic phrase ‘same-sex attracted’, which has become a mechanism for helping some Christians seek to be faithful in following Christ, while at the same time being aware of their ongoing struggles with their sexuality. The author asks whether this approach fails to affirm the transformative power of the gospel to remint our identity and reorder our desires.
