Experiencing God (Inner Land: A Guide into the Heart of the Gospel Volume 3)

Reviewed by:

G. Connor Salter, Professional Writing alumnus from Taylor University, Upland, IN.

Title:

Experiencing God (Inner Land: A Guide into the Heart of the Gospel Volume 3)

Author:

Eberhard Arnold

Publisher:

Plough Publishing

Publication Date:

February 25, 2020 (original German edition 1936, first English edition 1975)

Format:

Hardcover

Length:

130 pages

OVERVIEW

German theologian Eberhard Arnold (1883-1935) accomplished some remarkable things in his life. He founded the Bruderhof, a Christian community still going strong today in multiple countries. He also wrote Inner Land, a series of reflections on the Christian life that apposed nationalism and violence. In 1933, Arnold’s writings angered Nazi authorities so much that soldiers attacked the Bruderhof community and rifled his study. Arnold and his associates hid the writings and later moved them overseas, and they were finally published in book form in 1936. Experiencing God, the third volume of Inner Land, focuses on what it means to have faith and on how God transforms believers.

Since Experiencing God is volume three in a larger book, at first one would think it must be hard to get into. In fact, readers can easily jump into the book without reading the previous volumes and (at least in this translation) Arnold’s writing is very readable. His ideas don’t seem to have aged at all, feeling just as applicable today as when the book first came out. Arnold cuts to the heart of how strange and beautiful it is to find we cannot compare to God, yet God cares for us and offers to transform us. He argues for Christian communities which seek peace in all areas, an idea which would have been controversial in 1930s Germany and is certainly applicable today in our polarized culture. Some readers may not agree with Arnold that Christians should take peace-loving all the way to being anti-war. However, they will still find plenty of things to admire here. Even just war theorists can agree Christians should always seek peace first and that our world sorely needs more peace-loving communities.

A perennial classic for Christians the world over.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5 stars)

5 stars

Suggested Audience

Readers trying to understand the ways being a Christian changes their relationships with others and with God, particularly readers interested in philosophy.

Christian Impact

This book will help understand the richness of what it means to be made new in Christ and to have their perspective on the world transformed.