Book review: The Good Life
By Jeremy Reynalds (06/29/05)
Too many books which have a lot of important things to say never get read. That's because they're written in dry academic prose usually too boring and too confusing for anyone except the ivory towered academic to understand.
Chuck Colson's new book "The Good Life" doesn't fall into that category. It's an easy read, but a very important one nonetheless. Colson gently directs readers away from an incessant fascination with popular culture, and encourages them to think about life's big questions – the ones that really matter – like finding purpose, meaning and truth in your life.
(For those unaware, Colson is a former presidential aide to Richard Nixon and founder of the international ministry Prison Fellowship, http://www.pfm.org/)
Colson told Focus on the Family's "Citizen Link" (www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0036779.cfm), "In the book, I talk about the fact that I've learned a lot of lessons. I'm writing this book at 73 years of age, because life is put into some perspective when you get to that age. It's part memoirs, part my own experiences, part the stories of others.
"It's also part apologetic. It's a book I've written basically for seekers, because when you read it, and look at the things people search for in finding meaning in life — most of which turn out to be dead ends — you find out that the only thing in life that matters is what you do for other people. What you do for yourself doesn't really count. What you do for others is what counts. But then if you are going to give your life for others, which I believe is the key to the good life, you better be sure it is in the pursuit of the truth."
I agree. The sentiment of living your life for others was echoed recently in country singer Randy Travis' smash hit, "Three Wooden Crosses." Part of the song's lyrics read (www.coquet-shack.com/lyrics/Travis_Randy/Three_Wooden_Crosses_1517.php), "It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you. It's what you leave behind you when you go!"
How true. And with that in mind, if you want to be challenged and learn how to make your life count (more), "The Good Life" will keep you reading from beginning to end and challenge you along the way.
COLSON (ALONG WITH POSTMAN AND HEWITT) ON CULTURE
In a recent telephone interview, I asked Colson what he thought about our culture. He said it has been "degraded and sloth has been exalted. I am worried about nihilism. You lose your sense of pride and dignity. You are being told by strident voices there is no absolute truth and to invent your own meaning. This to me is devastating and diminishes us as humans."
Turning to television news and its focus on "infotainment," Colson said that cable networks make a lot of money by "dramatizing,"citing the bizarre story of "runaway bride" Jennifer Willbanks, and all the recent attention paid to Michael Jackson's trial, as examples.
"All this cable stuff is a banal influence on life," Colson said. "People begin to take everything for granted. Nothing really sticks. We are ‘amusing ourselves to death.' TV reduces our capacity to think critically. (Life) loses all significance."
Colson was of course referring to Neil Postman's classic book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" (www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140094385/qid=1119753933/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-3945944-7293446).
As the back cover of Postman's book reads in part, "Television has conditioned us to tolerate visually entertaining material measured out in spoonfuls of time, to the detriment of rational public discourse and reasoned public affairs."
Or as my friend (and songster) Anglican priest Garth Hewitt (http://www.amostrust.org/) wrote in part in his insightful song also titled, "Amusing Ourselves to Death."
"We're amusing ourselves to death, We're giggling as we go, We're the dance band on the Titanic and nobody wants to know. Anything to stop us thinking, Anything to give us a thrill. We've chosen the path of pleasure, Even if it kills.
"Just another rape scene they're playing for fun, On the motel video, Or you can hire it down at your local store and watch it back in your own home. Who dares to claim it's harmless fun, when violence on women degrades everyone and makes monsters of us all."
COLSON ON THE BIG ISSUES
Colson said he is terribly concerned about a general cultural malaise when it comes to focusing on the big issues.
"People have been lulled into insensitivity. We are wired for God. There is something in us that is looking for meaning and truth. People don't know where to go to get answers. An evidence of this was the incredible response to Rick Warren's book ‘The Purpose Driven Life'" (http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/).
Colson said the church today is not really giving badly needed answers.
"The movement is to get people in ... and have a growing church," he said. "We make churches simple and sterile, and have people sing a lot of happy little ditties. (As a result), people are not getting grounded in the major issues in life and (they lose anchor)."
Colson said although "The Good Life" has only been out a few weeks, he is getting a lot of positive reaction. People are telling him they love the book and it's something they can give to their friends.
One of his goals, Colson said, was also to write a book that wouldn't put off non- believers.
"My target was the boomers because they have tried (everything) and seen nothing matters," he said.
COLSON, THE CHURCH AND THE CULTURE
I asked Colson how he thinks God views the church and our culture. He said, "I would think God would be weeping over the culture and angry over the church. God would be angry at the church because we are failing to do those things He has told us to do."
Colson illustrated his point about the culture. He said, "A friend of mine was attacked by gay activists in his church. They threw condoms at the altar and disrupted the service. I have no more reason to be angry at them than I do a blind man stepping on my foot. Why would we get angry at people who do what comes naturally to them?"
Expounding his feelings about the church, Colson said, "We are not making disciples but we're entertaining."
And as a result, Colson said, the culture is not being impacted by the church. Colson has addressed that issue in one of his previous books, "The Body" (www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0849935792/qid=1119755689/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-3945944-7293446?v=glance&s=books).
A description of "The Body" reads on Amazon, "In this 1993 ECPA Book of the Year, Colson sounds a clarion call for the church to rise above traditional divisions and market-driven programs to be what God has called her to be-His people. In doing so, the Body of Christ can reclaim God's holy vision for His church."
COLSON ON "DEEP THROAT"
Colson shared his thoughts on the recent "outing" of Watergate source Mark Felt, aka "Deep Throat."
"I was called by everyone," he said. "The tragedy of this was that someone we are now elevating to be a folk hero stole classified information he was charged with protecting. That doesn't make him a hero. I couldn't find one interviewer who agreed with me. Don't tell me the end justifies the means."
Colson said there is no genuine interest today in seeing whether or not something is good.
"Reporters looking at Mark Felt say ‘He brought down Nixon. That was good.'"
Colson said he, on the other hand, is trying to reassert "classical ethics."
He said, "People have lost their sense of proportion and balance, and what is true. TV and the Internet have made us get to that state. We are surrounded with a mass of fleeting images, with a limitless selection of what we choose to (watch). It's a function of the information era."
COLSON ON CULTURAL CHANGE
I asked Colson what he believes lies ahead for our culture.
"If this culture remains on its present trajectory," he said, "there will be a giant crackup. It is not sustainable. It is not rational. It is not true."
But Colson hastened to add that he sees glimmers of hope. "I see signs it will turn around. People are recognizing that you can't stay this way."
He said, "Just the response to my efforts in teaching a Biblical world view have been very encouraging. 400,000 copies of "How Now Shall We Live?" (www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0842318089/qid=1119756004/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-3945944-7293446?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) have been sold. Everyone is talking about teaching a world view. That is very encouraging."
Colson said he is also very encouraged by the response he is seeing from the young people whom he is teaching.
"They are numb," he said. "The moment you suggest there could be some meaning in life, they sit up. The young people are asking the really serious questions and are looking for orthodox answers."
Colson said that the big questions to be answered for everyone are whether ultimate truth and God are knowable, and for Christians, whether there is any basis for their beliefs?
With that in mind, Colson said if you had to boil down his book to a few essential elements, they would be, "Dispense with the lies. Open your eyes and see that money, power and self are not legitimate goals in life. Recognize the greatest paradox of all is that if you live your life for yourself, you will die alone. If you give your life for others, you will be fulfilled. If you give your life to others, you had better know what is true and what is not."
TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY? THAT IS THE QUESTION!
I asked Colson why people should want to buy his book. He said, "25 dollars is a modest investment to get the answer to their questions. If you follow the logic and reasoning of the book, there is a very compelling argument for the Christian faith."
I couldn't agree more! Although I have been a Christian for almost 30 years I was both challenged and motivated in my walk with the Lord by reading "The Good Life." I recommend it unequivocally.
For more information, go to www.pfm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=PFM_Site&Template=/Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.cfm&ProductID=484 or www.tyndale.com/products/details.asp?isbn=0-8423-7749-2
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