Customer Reviews

Easy Chairs, Hard Words: Conversations on the Liberty of God

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This book takes the form of a conversation between a younger Christian seeking answers and an older pastor who is willing to discuss the tough and often contentious issues surrounding the biblical doctrines typically labelled as Calvinism or Reformed theology. While the mechanics of the conversation are at times a bit contrived (as another reviewer has mentioned), this is not a major drawback of the book. There are many more thorough introductions to the distinctives of Reformed theology but this is one of the best I've come across for recommending to those with little or no familiarity with the subject and who either have little time to read or are daunted by the prospect of tackling a thick and weighty didactic treatment. Not only does it serve as a good introduction to Reformed theological distinctives, it is also useful as a guide to the spirit in which conversations on this subject ought to be conducted.

The conversation is a mixture of plausible (and in my experience, actual) questions, biblical interpretation, sound reasoning and unapologetic affirmations and it is loaded with sections of biblical texts for further study. I highly recommend this book to those who are honestly seeking answers to thorny questions on such doctrines as the sovereignty of God, election and predestination, the effects and results of sin, etc. Doug Wilson provides a great service in this basic and accessible introduction to the major distinctives of this stream of thought within the Christian church. Wilson is right, these doctrines (words) are not easy but they are true and that is why this book and others like it are so valuable.

This is a truly impressive work. It is a penetrating, but yet sufficient simple and "reader friendly" introduction, defense, and reflection upon the doctrines known to many as "Reformed Theology".

Wilson does a fine job of integrating theological ideas into the conversational story he weaves. He relies upon clear and simple analogies and writes in a convincing and effective way.

Highly recommended for those who are seeking to understand (or defend) reformed theology!

If I had to give only one book away, it would be this one. It is so filled with knowledge, it is almost a sin to keep it.

This is a solid book. Doug Wilson explains many of the common questions about Calvinism and Reformed thinking (beginning, of course, by stating his reticence to use these terms) in an engaging, informative manner. I have read assorted other books on Calvinism, and Doug Wilson here answers some questions in ways I've never seen them answered before, and gives great analogies to help understand what he's talking about. The whole book is written in a dialogue format, which makes for an occasionally stilted read (there are only so many ways a character can say "I see" or "I don't understand" before it gets kind of old). But overall, I think the format works great, illustrating how down-to-earth these principles are, and following the natural logic when thinking through these things. It's a stellar book.