Deus Misereatur

Evolution and Holiness: Sociobiology, Altruism and the Quest for Wesleyan Perfection Matthew Nelson Hill IVP Academic (InterVarsity Press) PO Box 1400 Downers Grove, IL 60515 ISBN: 978-0-8308-3907-0; $30.00; February 2016 Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber for Deus Misereatur Intriguing. 3 Stars out of 5 There you are at a huge family reunion and everyone is related in some way. Many have the same family name, though there’s a mixture of other names through marriage, along with a plethora of body shapes, sizes, colors and regional dialects. Each group slowly huddles around folks they’re familiar with, and the reunion becomes a band of clans, all related but different. As you take the bold step to meander between clusters, you happen on one knot of people and come to the awkward realization that though this particular crowd is linked to the larger family, their assumptions and approaches to politics and religion are clearly different and outside of your purvi...

I have been a Christian for a number of decades now, and a pastor for over 12 years. In all that time I have bumped into, and sometimes crashed into, various oddities in the Christian tribe. One of those quirks has to do with Christian holiness. On the one hand are those who promote a strenuous rigor through various fastings, prayings, askesis (the Greek word for athletic or military training from which we get “ascetic”), techniques, and mechanical maneuvers. It has been my regular experience that this kind of scrupulousness breeds a subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, self-righteous vanity. This approach reads only half of the New Testament, the “do this” or “let us” directive portions of Sacred Scripture, which consume and wipe out the Gospel-promises. I think that much of North American Evangelical Christianity sits in this campsite, which is why you see loads of books and hear oodles of sermons that address the Twelve Steps to Success, or 40 days to being a better you or a ...