Last night I finished up Conversations on Holiness, edited and inspired by Keith Davenport (my brother). Because I want all my readers (probably only family members at this point) to read it themselves and enjoy it for it's full value, I will not be going into much detail on the book, so this will be a very brief review.
I used to be a person who would always skip anything that came before the first chapter of a book, whether that be the forward, preface, or introduction. College taught me otherwise, and I am so glad! The introduction of this book is absolutely essential as it lays down the premise and inspiration for the book. Davenport starts out by saying that holiness is good news, but "why aren't we talking more about it?" (9). He then tells the story of my life (and many others'), that we have all heard holiness talked about in so many different ways, with different terminology, that none of us are all that sure what it is. The book is a collection of the work of multiple contributors in order to give many perspectives on holiness, and tying them together, the reader gains a well-rounded understanding of the call to holiness and its implications on the life of the believer.
Generally speaking, this book is a quick read and easily understood (with the exception of one chapter). I appreciated how each author described holiness differently, and with different analogies, but the common themes of holiness were evident throughout. They used different language to describe the same things, which I found very helpful. If I, as one who has received theological training, found the simple language and variety of terminology helpful, I am sure that those who are not familiar with theological terms will find it even more helpful than I did.
It is not, however, just a theology book. It is not just about having a theological understanding of holiness. Most contributors explain not just what holiness is, but what that means for the believer. They give multiple examples of what holiness looks like for the individual, the church, and the Kingdom of God. Direct implications are drawn that helps the reader move from understanding holiness to living out holiness.
What I find most appealing about this book, however, is the analogies used to help the reader understand holiness. There are multiple analogies and I do not want to take away from your reading experience, so I will not discuss them in detail. My favorite one, however, compares Entire Sanctification to being pregnant (Davenport). I think I will leave you in suspense over this one... Overall, these different analogies not only helped me gain a fuller understanding of the different aspects of entire sanctification (holiness), but also gave me some tools for ministry in helping others understand it.
Though I have never included one of the endorsements in a book review before, I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. John C. Bowling when he says "Here one finds a breadth and depth of perspectives that enrich, rather than divide, our collective understanding of God's call to and provisions for a holy life" (back cover). This book is written in such a way that any reader could grasp the concepts and gain a better understanding of holiness. I highly recommend not only reading it, but also talking about it!
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