Thursday, May 19, 2016

Review: Heavenly Help: Experiencing the Holy Spirit in Everyday Life

Heavenly Help: Experiencing the Holy Spirit in Everyday Life Heavenly Help: Experiencing the Holy Spirit in Everyday Life by Sarah Bowling
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Would really have appreciated an introduction to the book whereby Bowling would, at the start of the book, clearly highlight the allegorical nature of the fictional storyline of Ruth and Naomi. Somehow I had missed that part and had a rude shock when I found out in the last chapter. What I had thought to be an amazing and authentic recounting of a real life friendship turned out to be just a fairy tale. While I did feel cheated (although due to my own fault of not reading more conscientiously), I really did enjoy the story though!

The book's primary thesis would probably be the importance and joy of living a life that is sensitive and obedient to to Holy Spirit. As Bowling does not attempt to engage in complicated theological discussion, the book is suitable for readers with sparse bible knowledge, i.e. new believers or even Christians who have yet to receive formal theological/seminary training.

While easy to read and not too lengthy, I was bothered by the many attempts at lexical theology, i.e. trying to explain the Greek meaning of a word to illustrate a point. As my hermeneutics professor pointed out, the non-Greek and non-Hebrew students/scholars often give themselves away by doing that; those well versed with the bible languages are able to explain and persuade using english words. For an important caution, see D A Carson's Exegetical Fallacies (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59...).

I am concerned why Bowling had to use fictional stories when personal testimonies would have added so much more credibility and encouragement to those who struggle with listening to and obeying to the voice of the Holy Spirit. This and coupled with the problematic lexical theologies, make me hesitant to recommend this book. Hopefully in subsequent revisions, Bowling would be able to share more of her real-life testimonies and experiences.

p.s. If I could think of a person who walks and talks and lives a life in tune with the Spirit's voice, Sis Margaret Seaward comes to mind. While you probably would not be able to find books written by her, she ministers and lectures in churches and bible schools in Singapore and Malaysia. Hopefully she would be able to pen down her testimonies and real-life encounters with the Holy Spirit so that generations across the world would be blessed and encouraged.

I received this book from Baker Publishing Group's Chosen Books Blogger Review Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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