I found this book, of its time (1982), helpful, despite completely rejecting psychiatrist John White’s implied doctrinal position. His frankness about his own characteristics and explanations reveal his humanity which helped this reader to confront and refine some of his own attitudes. Issues he uses as examples to consider worldliness, such as homosexuality, personal acquisitions and activity choices are the sorts that cause conflicts and doubts both between Christians and between Christians and non-Christians.

I presume he was writing for a specific audience: one that knows, for example, what is meant by terms like pre-mil and pre-trib. I didn’t but was sufficiently curious to search the meanings down from the Internet. At heart he writes about matters that help one to determine the difference between being ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world’.

The study and discussion questions that end each short chapter prompt reflections about how, with spiritual and human help, one might refocus one’s own life.

I particularly appreciated the author’s stress on the importance of mutual sharing of all that we are in smallish groups: cells, house groups and such like, as part of our individual and collective spiritual growth and worldly contributions.

In his introduction Howard Snyder explains how he believes North American 1980’s Christians had drifted into individualism and praises John White’s exposition of how we might overcome our drift to worldliness through our corporate lives.

My regret with John White and many doctrinaire Christians is their certitude that grace and salvation require specific beliefs: the Bible is right about everything, homosexuality must not be practised, and all that pre-millennialism and pre-tribulation business!

I agree with John White that at the core of a healthy spiritual life is openness to God, or whatever mystical power you recognise as being capable of human influence that can result in life changing positive renewal, and a desire that one might daily seek to carry out only what ‘God’ inspires and requires. We also perhaps need to explore these ideas within our families: that is indeed quite a challenge!
29th July 2011. ( )