Through New Eyes

Through New Eyes

Developing a Biblical View of the World

by James B. Jordan
Trade Paperback, 346 pages
Current Retail Price: $39.00
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"You shall have no other God's before me. You shall not make yourself idols in the form of anything...you shall not bow down to them or worship them."Exodus 19:3-5

Idolatry. It's been a problem with man for a long time. And, as witnessed by the first two commandments delivered to Moses on Sinai, God is serious about confronting it.

According to Dr. Herbert Schlossberg in his best-selling book, Idols for Destruction, all idols fall into two general categories: Idols of nature and Idols of history. Picking up where Dr. Schlossberg leaves off, James Jordan believes that since idolatry stands between God and His people, Christians must have a Biblical view of nature, and a biblical view of history.

Through New Eyes demonstrates that nature was designed and created as a revelation of God. Only if we allow nature to point us to the Creator can we avoid idolatry. Jordan discusses the design of the world as a whole—as well as rocks, stars, plants, animals, and humanity—demonstrating how it shows forth the nature of the Creator.

History is also designed and managed by God. Jordan discusses the Biblical view of history, exhibiting that God superintends history so that events of the past shed light on events of the future. "Only with such an understanding of history," contends Jordan, "can we draw legitimate analogies from the Bible to our time.

Through New Eyes sets forth the Biblical understanding of the world, and then traces the development of that world through the successive "covenants" of the Bible—each new covenant transforming the previous one, bringing forth a "new world." Each of these "worlds" was given a symbolic model appropriate to the times: the Tabernacle for Moses, the Temple for David, and so forth. By a study of these models, and of the societies they represented, Jordan is able to set forth the Biblical view of the world and of historical change and progress, and make relevant and important applications to the present day.

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FLAWS: Some unsubstantiated claims
Summary: Jordan provides a biblical Christian worldview in which all of nature, history, and symbolism points to the God who created them.

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  Think Biblically...about the Bible
Miss Pickwickian of Oregon, 3/23/2011
This is a book I've heard a lot about a lot but never read. It was a much easier read than I first anticipated and I really enjoyed it. I wish it was something I'd done a long time ago.

I think Through New Eyes really helped me see better where he and a lot of other writers and teachers are coming from...more of the root of the issue. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Jordan goes through the Biblical "worlds" and covenants, and points out imagery and symbolism that really hit you on the head and make you think. It is a quick and invaluable overview from Genesis to the church today.

The book’s focus was the God of the WHOLE story of the Bible—an ever faithful, all powerful God of patient, steadfast love. This is the LORD of our lives.

Aside from the fact that we want to see the world biblically and see the Bible biblically, I found this book really inspiring when it comes to trying to write fiction in a way that portrays accurately God's world.