Forgotten Heavens

Secularists are materialists. Science (or the ideological charade that goes by that name) has presumably dealt a death-blow to the idea that the universe is comprised of anything more mysterious than atoms. Spirits, magic, witchcraft, souls—none of these are real because none of them are physical, and God is the least real of all because He has revealed Himself as pure spirit.

Christians see things differently....or do they? In his introduction to The Forgotten Heavens, Doug Wilson points out that, while most Bible-believing Christians accept the existence of things which seem to defy science like angels and demons, they mentally put those things on a different plane. Sure, spirits exist, but they don't exist in this realm.

The essays in this book seek to dispel that dualism with a look at the biblical evidence. Topics include the existence and placement of the underworld, the nature of angels, the practice of witchcraft, and the existence of mythical creatures. While some of the authors' conclusions are more compelling than others, all of them will certainly rock the modernist boat many of us are sitting in.

All of the six authors here represented are notorious controversialists, especially Doug and Evan Wilson, but these essays don't have the flavor of mere controversy. Rather, they ask Christians to rethink their cosmology, their philosophy of the origin and structure of the universe, aligning it closer to the worldview established and expressed in God's Word.

The primary strength of this book is that each writer is a capable exegete who deals directly with the applicable biblical texts. There isn't a lot of speculation here (there is some), but there is a lot of exploration outside the established scientific worldview. Scholarly, challenging, odd, and highly entertaining,The Forgotten Heavens is the ideal book for the theology/philosophy geek in your life.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.