December 30, 2011
Simple Faith: Biblical Christianity, Religion, and Secularism
Bo Lange
ISBN 9781449733117
West Bow Press (2012)
New Book Offers Simple Biblical Evidence that Bolsters Faith
Bo Lange has written a simple book about faith and biblical Christianity. A native of Sweden, he wrote this book while living in his own country and being concerned about the growing trend of secularism there. After now living in the United States, Lange sees a similar issue here so he has translated this book into English to provide a message he feels needs to be heard. In a time when many are turning to secularism because they are “turned off” by organized religion, Lange encourages his readers to go back to look at the Bible and the Christianity that first came from it. He is not interested in organized religion but the true Christian faith the Bible teaches. With plenty of biblical support, Lange makes his arguments for the truth of the Bible and Christ as the Messiah and Savior.
I found “Simple Faith” to be an easy book to read. It is not weighted down with theology or historical detail about biblical times. It simply looks at what the Bible says and quotes it extensively to support its arguments. It is divided into four relatively short chapters:
- Through Faith in Jesus Christ You Receive Eternal Life with God
- The Two Natures in the Believer’s Life
- Letting God Use You
- You Can Trust the Bible to be God’s Word
These chapters progress from helping the reader come to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, to offering a guide for how to be a Christian despite human weaknesses, how to live as a Christian example to others, and finally, biblical evidence for Faith in God and Christ.
I found the second chapter especially to be gentle and reasonable in its discussion of how one can live the Christian life; Lange is not one to pound the reader over the head with rules about what is right and wrong, or one to instill guilt in the reader. Christ would not himself have tried to make people follow rigid guidelines and then want them to be filled with guilt when they failed. Lange advocates simply reading the Bible so its Word will fill your heart; he admits we will all fall back now and then, but by reading the Bible, rather than focusing on struggling against our human weaknesses, we will master those human shortcomings because our focus will be upon God and his work. This concept is the most practical and educational way to come to Christ and follow him that I can imagine.
I also enjoyed reading the final chapter. I have read and studied the Bible numerous times, so I am well aware of all the prophecies concerning Christ as the Messiah and all the other arguments Lange makes with biblical evidence for our faith in Christ. What I admired about this discussion in “Simple Faith,” however, was how simply and easily the argument flowed and how clear it was to follow. Lange’s organization and presentation is focused, clear, and convincing. And for people unaware of how Christ’s coming was predicted in the Bible more than five hundred years before his birth, it will make for fascinating reading.
For non-believers, this book is worth taking a look to see whether perhaps Christianity does offer something you may have overlooked. For people struggling with their faith or seeking to be better people—I hope that includes all of us—this book serves as a simple and friendly guide to living a better life. It is comforting and reassuring, and even if in the end, one chooses not to be a believer, “Simple Faith” offers a Christian perspective one can respect as being close to what Christ himself taught without all the trappings of organized religion.
For more information about “Simple Faith,” visit www.WestBowPress.com
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D., and author of the award-winning “Narrow Lives”
