Reviews for Christians Among the Virtues: Theological Conversations with Ancient and Modern Ethics

The average rating for Christians Among the Virtues: Theological Conversations with Ancient and Modern Ethics based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-08-14 00:00:00 ktqxqtcy catuiile Have you ever wondered about this book?  Nancy Campbell's book has been reprinted 5 times.  It has become a mainstay in the Quiverfull ideology, however, I'm not sure it's in print currently. It is not for sale even on her own website.  I got mine used.  The main premise of the book is obvious, that God's first and primary command is to be fruitful and multiply.  This means to her that any and all prevention or modification of conception is anti-biblical.  There were so many errors in the book, I could barely make it through.   1.  Use of Superlatives.  My first observation is her incessant use of superlatives.  One gets the sense that there is NO other purpose under heaven for a Christian family than to raise as many children as possible.  This is a dangerous way to characterize Scriptural ideas.  While it is true that children are a blessing, and being a godly mother is an important and primary role, and one purpose of the Christian family is to have a godly heritage, Campbell extrapolates that truth to mean that there is no other purpose for a Christian family.  I can think of several examples in the New Testament of women who were mentioned without any reference to her role as a mother:  Priscilla, Mary Magdalene, Martha & Mary of Bethany, Lydia, Joanna, Susanna, Phoebe.  To be sure, Jesus rebuked his disciples for shunning the little children, but children are not the focus of the New Testament by far.  Here is just a smattering of examples of Nancy Campbell's statements. "God says that motherhood is exalted above everything else"  (pg. 45). "God's number one blessing is multiplication"  (pg 59). "God says children are His best gift"  (pg 65). "It is only our children that are lasting gifts that we will keep forever"  (pg. 71). "Parenting is the highest calling God has given to mankind.  Every other career is subservient to this one"  (pg. 75). "It seems that many couples would do any sacrifice for God rather than obey God's first commandment. [i.e. to be fruitful and multiply]"(pg. 115).  (Interestingly, the Mormon church also views the command to be fruitful and multiply as the "first commandment" (source).  In reality, the first command to a man and woman was to "leave and cleave"(Genesis 2:23-24). "Motherhood is an eternal career" (pg. 165). "I am fulfilling the only career that is eternal" (pg 209). I don't know how one can read the New Testament and come away with this kind of understanding of what is truly important in our New Testament age. 2.  Temporal blessings should be sought and expected.  This was the biggest indicator of her non-dispensational theology (see my point below).  God's promises to the nation of Israel and previous dispensations were definitely blessings of children, land, and health (Gen. 22:16-18; Gen. 28:13-15; Gen. 35:9-12, Ex. 15:26, Lev. 26, Deut. 28).  In the New Testament, however, we know that the spiritual will trump the temporal in all things even in family relationships (Luke 12:53; Matthew 12:48-50).  She discusses at length the concept of fruitfulness, that it must be that "the natural comes first and then the spiritual" (pg 48).   There is a recurring theme in her book that we should have lots of children in order to "build God's army" (chapter 5).  Not only that, she believes that families should not only be blessed by children, but should pursue the maximum number of children possible in order to "fill God's eternal kingdom" (pg. 40).  Multiplication, she says, is the main thrust of Scripture.  This is that particular Quiverfull interpretation of Psalm 127:5 (a.k.a. Millitant Fecundity).  In my view, the same argument could be made for any worthy endeavor, but should we do only that, all of the time, to it's farthest edge?  In reality, numbers have nothing to do with God's plan for the church or any of His other purposes. Only one family on earth had such promises made related to its number, and that was the family of Abraham.  In the Age of Grace we find that "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt 7:14).  Even in the Old Testament we are told not to "dispise the day of small things" (Zech 4:10).  What about the story of Gideon's small army or the widow's mite or the boy's meager lunch of fish & loaves?  Is it our numbers that matter?  Is it our earthly fruitfulness that matters?  Small numbers were and are the norm especially as we strive for holiness in a sinful world in the New Testament.  It has often been the very small groups of believers who have attempted great things for God and expected great things from God.  After all, it is HE who does the work, not us.  Nancy Campbell's understanding of the Word is very narrow in this regard.  Here are some of her statements: ... See the rest of this review at MostlySensible.com

Review # 2 was written on 2007-07-07 00:00:00 J Halpenny This book opens my eyes about what Treasure laid up in Heaven really means and what kind of eternity are we building. Here it illustrates multiple bible verses and cultural evolution, how they contradict each other and how unfortunately, most Christians have bought into - sterilization, abortion, contraception, etc, to prevent birth of babies when children are blessings from God. It builds faith mainly through childbearing and having numerous children. A lie buster book. Must read for all.