Editor's Picks
W. Bradford Wilcox
April 1, 1996
This issue of RQ we introduce our "Editors' Picks" column. Each issue we will ask our editorial board members to comment on works chat have been formative in their Christian faith.
In the spirit of St. Paul's letter to the Romans ("Do not be conformed to this US: world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds," l2.:2.a), RQ challenges believers to be truly countercultural. But articles in a quarterly can only take us so far in our journey of regeneration. We must seek other means: to fortify our daily struggle to die to ourselves and be born again in Christ Jesus. Here are a few:
• The next time you find yourself in Borders or Barnes & Noble, pick up Kristin Lavransdatter (Vintage Books) by the Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian novelist Sigrid Undset. As it draws the reader into the fabric of medieval life in fourteenth-century Norway, this trilogy offers the most penetrating portrait of romantic love and married life that I have ever read. In particular, Undset, a convert to Catholicism, displays an uncanny knowledge of the ways in which sin—especially sexual sin—corrupts human and divine relations. And while her novel offers an unsparing view of suffering and disordered desire in medieval Christendom, Undset manages to smuggle in redemptive moments. These moments allow her main characters and us, her readers, to transcend this veil of tears.
• Faith, to be sure, is a gift of unmerited grace from God. But it is precisely the kind of gift that demands a response from the believer. We must cultivate the seed of faith that God plants in our souls through prayer, mortification, and acts of love—to God and neighbor. This is hard work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably not living in fidelity to the teachings of Jesus. ...
Like the preview? To read this complete article
and 20,359 more in the archive—JOIN NOW!
Easily find high-quality, well-researched materials that provide a Christian perspective on topics ranging from headlines to history.
Start using this invaluable tool TODAY for preparing your Bible studies, presentations, class lectures, sermons, meetings, and more.
|
It's easy and quick to join:
Brought to You by Christianity Today Int'l |  |
|
| 
Find similar articles
E-mail this page
