Article first published as Book Review: ‘Authentic Faith: A Survival Guide for Christian Living' by Bo Lange on Blogcritics.
November 18, 2013
AUTHENTIC FAITH:
A Survival Guide For Christian Living
Bo Lange
Richards Printing (2013)
New Book Examines Basics of Faith and How to Grow as a Christian
Bo Lange’s new book Authentic Faith builds upon his earlier book Simple Faith, incorporating some of the same material but taking it farther in this new book that looks at just what it means to be a Christian and how one can feel confident that Christianity is based upon authentic truths.
Lange begins by discussing how he grew up in Sweden and saw how secularism was taking over the culture there. After immigrating to the United States, he saw the same issues affecting the culture here—people no longer know what to believe, having been taught to doubt and question anything having to do with religion and all forms of authority. But Lange does not write about religion. He makes it clear that religion is full of rules and regulations that are largely unnecessary and simply complicate matters. The bottom line is that one must have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and that is enough for salvation, although once that faith is established, people should grow in their faith and spread that faith to others, as Lange demonstrates throughout the book.
Having faith is not easy. Nor does Lange find anything wrong with having doubt. He argues that God does not expect or want us to accept his truth and promises based on blind faith. Rather, God wants us to be assured that our faith is based in truth. Lange discusses how we must study the Bible to find proof that it is God’s Word, authentic and true. He walks the reader through various passages in the Bible that include prophecies that were fulfilled and even descriptions of the universe that could not have been known by ancient man unless revealed by God as proof of the Bible’s authentic truths. Lange’s arguments are enticing and based in common sense, and while some objections might be raised, he foresees and responds to most arguments throughout his discussion.
After establishing that the Bible is scientifically and historically true and also speaks truth about the future, Lange turns to discussing how one is to live once faith has been established. He discusses what life is like for people prior to becoming Christians, how life should change once one accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, and what sorts of difficulties and setbacks one can expect in a life of faith and how to work through those obstacles. In Chapter Six “Letting God Use You,” Lange shows how the mission of Christians is to help others find God, and in Chapter 7, “Spiritual Warfare,” he explains what we should expect as our body and mind go to war with our spirit, as well as how the world and the devil try to turn us against God.
In the end, Authentic Faith is a refreshing book that even the most devout and longtime Christian will find to be an affirmation of faith that breathes some new, or rather old and authentic, fresh air into the Christian faith. I believe anyone struggling with his or her faith, anyone skeptical of Christianity, even anyone who mocks it, will find here food for thought, and spiritual food that will make his life happier and easier once he embraces that faith and allows God to work in his life.
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of the award-winning Narrow Lives
