What do you think?
Rate this book
Faith and its Counterfeits
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 27, 2022
A short, broadly helpful, book by evangelically inclined neo-orthodox Donald Bloesch who was a professor of theology and member of the mainline presbyterian church in the USA.
He warns against deviations from the faith which often exist as subtle temptations. Legalism, formalism, humanism, enthusiasm, eclecticism and heroism. Many of these warnings are right and helpful. We can easily evacuate a biblical liturgy of faith, or seek to go beyond faith into a mystic union with God that we are not offered in the gospel.
Despite some interesting passages Bloesch suffers from his own eclecticism. He routinely quotes Reformed and orthodox forebears but then adds in quotations from Roman Catholic writers and mystics. The careful reader can also detect his tendency to limit the authority of scripture to when it is preached and met with faith in the human heart.
Published in 1981 by IVP US it is a window back into a slightly undefined broadly evangelical past which has become no clearer in the succeeding years. The importance of a living faith is correctly stressed but one always senses a gap between that and then being able to explain why a correct biblical confession of Christian truth is vital. Much better to find a way to hold these things together.
He warns against deviations from the faith which often exist as subtle temptations. Legalism, formalism, humanism, enthusiasm, eclecticism and heroism. Many of these warnings are right and helpful. We can easily evacuate a biblical liturgy of faith, or seek to go beyond faith into a mystic union with God that we are not offered in the gospel.
Despite some interesting passages Bloesch suffers from his own eclecticism. He routinely quotes Reformed and orthodox forebears but then adds in quotations from Roman Catholic writers and mystics. The careful reader can also detect his tendency to limit the authority of scripture to when it is preached and met with faith in the human heart.
Published in 1981 by IVP US it is a window back into a slightly undefined broadly evangelical past which has become no clearer in the succeeding years. The importance of a living faith is correctly stressed but one always senses a gap between that and then being able to explain why a correct biblical confession of Christian truth is vital. Much better to find a way to hold these things together.
March 10, 2022
This was an impressive effort which was small but wonderfully to the point and direct, and best yet, this book actually brought several new and exciting ideas to the table in the orthodoxy/heresy discussion. One of the ways that Bloesch does this is by bringing in a few new areas into the debate, like the fascinating chapter on Heroism, as well as the excellent discussions on Enthusiasm or Eclecticism or Formalism. Bloesch spices his points with a seemingly perfect assortment of quotes from a wide variety of Christian history, like Blaise Pascal (of course), J. C. Ryle, Teresa Of Avila as well as many others. Everything Bloesch has to say is clear and heartfelt and surprisingly for a book like this, challenging. Another thing he does here, is he actually ties all his loose ends together and shows what True Religion is all about, in his final chapter "Toward The Recovery Of True Religion."
March 19, 2013
This out of print volume is well done by theologian Bloesch. He encourages balance in faith against "counterfeits" such as legalism, formalism, humanitarianism, enthusiasm, eclecticism, and heroism. Aside from Bloesch's ecumenical bent, his concise treatment of each subject is solid and insightful. Plus, he typically concludes each chapter by offering inspiring examples of key figures from church history to serve as models of balanced faith.
The last issue of heroism is the only weak chapter of the lot. I found it vague in some ways, but Bloesch concludes on a crescendo emphasizing glorying in our identification in Christ's work rather than in our own sacrifices. He writes, "Therefore we can take pride as little in our self-renunciation as in our heroic self-affirmation." Who we are in Christ is greater than what we do for Christ.
This book may be difficult to find (IVP 1981), but it is well worth getting, reading, and discussing with others.
The last issue of heroism is the only weak chapter of the lot. I found it vague in some ways, but Bloesch concludes on a crescendo emphasizing glorying in our identification in Christ's work rather than in our own sacrifices. He writes, "Therefore we can take pride as little in our self-renunciation as in our heroic self-affirmation." Who we are in Christ is greater than what we do for Christ.
This book may be difficult to find (IVP 1981), but it is well worth getting, reading, and discussing with others.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews