I read, Getting Involved with God by Ellen Davis, immediately after reading, Irresistible by Andy Stanley who feels we should concentrate far more on the New Testament than on the Old Testament, since we are new covenant believers. Therefore it was interesting to then read a book from someone who obviously loves the Old Testament and believes it has a lot to offer us today. Davis’ understanding of the Old Testament was instructive and insightful. Her desire to see people engaging with God on a deeper level and using psalms, stories and books of the Old Testament to do so, was inspiring. It reinforced to me that God has always desired a close, personal relationship with his people.
Ellen Davis comes from an Episcopal tradition and writes from the position of enjoying meditative and liturgical practices, which are foreign to me. Consequently, there were parts of the book I struggled with. However, overall, I found the theme of connecting more deeply with God to be uplifting and encouraging. I found one of Davis’ most helpful suggestions was to slow down when we read the Bible. Sometimes we come to the Bible with the view we have to get a certain amount read. Instead, we should read slowly, looking out for unusual or unexpected phrases and words, and ask ourselves why the writer used this particular expression.
Davis’ audience would be mature Christians from liturgical churches. This is a very different audience to Andy Stanley’s, which explains their completely different approaches to the Old Testament. Both views are valid in their context.
Overall a thoughtful and encouraging read.
