| Title | : | Fools Rush in Where Monkeys Fear to Tread |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1596384050 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781596384057 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published February 1, 2012 |
Like Luther before him, Trueman understands the power of humor because he understands the absurdity of human self-regard in the context of the fallen world. And like Luther, Trueman shows no mercy, either to his enemies or to himself. His writings are an oasis of welcome wit in what can so often seem like a desert of Protestant pomposity.
Fools Rush in Where Monkeys Fear to Tread Reviews
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This was pure gold. Many of these rants left me laughing and included the frequent uttering of an "amen." The bottom line is I couldn't get enough of the combination of humor and insightful criticism offered toward postmodernism and its many colors.
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What a great title for a book! In the Forward, “Rev. Rodney Trotter” addresses the difficulty in marketing a book filled with various, unrelated essays. But this is Trueman’s second time at bat with such a book, and I devoured both. And there really are several themes running throughout the essays–mainly hypocrisy, especially in American evangelical Christianity. It is certainly convicting, while at the same time hilarious. I really was laughing out loud as I was all alone reading. And Trueman is a stellar writer. Nerds like me who actually have journals to copy good words, phrases, and ideas they read will find treasures in Fools Rush In. You know it’s good when the book provides a Glossary at the end for all of his humorous British slang. And come to think of it, I have previously recorded in my notebook the word Bullsgeschichte that I read on a blog of his once. Never did get that definition, but it’s obviously German, sounds a lot like an American phrase I know, and I don’t think it’s very nice.
Lets face it, Carl Trueman isn’t nice. Have you seen the Geico commercial where the middle-aged, overweight man hires three teenage girls to follow him around so that he will stick to his diet? Every time he’s about to sink his teeth into a tasty doughnut or fast food indulgence, they are right behind him saying, “Ew. Seriously? So gross.” In some ways Trueman is our conscience bringing us back to reality when we begin to think too highly of ourselves. Some are offended by his humor. But I think I’ll take my licks and move on, as he so aptly puts it.
I agree with much of his criticism. And when I don’t, I’m glad to have him fire me up to further seek the truth. He doesn’t seem to have a problem poking a little fun at himself as well. “Trotter” affectionately refers to Trueman as his verbal sparring partner. Although I am nowhere close to his intellectual weight class, I do have a little push back. Given the fact that much of his writings are about hypocrisy, I have to point out two areas where he falls a little short himself. First of all, Trueman seems to have no respect for social networking and especially bloggers. Much of his depictions on the state of the blogosphere are valid. I get it, he finds this method of communication and mediation to be far inferior to actual physical relationships—very true. But he also gives off the insinuation that all bloggers are self-proclaimed experts who shouldn’t be published. We could say the same about much of our verbal communication, couldn’t we? The thing is (sticking to my sparring metaphor), you might be a Hapkido purist. But the world has now invited the Martial Artists to test their skills with one another. You must be careful not to let a punch linger too long, or a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert is going to have you in a rear-naked-choke before you know it. It’s time for Trueman to admit that he’s on the internet plenty, maybe more than he likes. Much of his interaction in the book is with blog posts that a fellow colleague has “brought to his attention.” Well I stopped counting how many times that was. Trueman needs to thank these colleagues for graciously spending the time to investigate what others are saying in the blogosphere and giving him so much writing material. Right? And I know I have been enlightened by the blog posts that Trueman posts over at Reformation21. Trueman, you are a blogger. And you do read blogs. As much as I think Reality TV has exploited people to atrocious levels, I am thankful for Bob and Jillian’s workouts. It is what it is. You can critique it better when you admit that.
Secondly, in his essay, Welcome to Wherever You Are, Trueman claims that he never responds to personal criticism. But you will find that he does in fact respond in the form of another essay, or two, as we are provided in brilliant form at the end of the book (Is Hurt Mail the New Hate Mail & Am I Bovvered?). Interesting.
I feel kind of funny reviewing this book because Trueman is just leagues above me in intelligence, education, writing skills, and talent in general. Anyone who wants to be sharpened should read this book. While you may not agree with everything he says, you will be challenged by the gospel’s implications. Your sense of humor will be challenged as well. And your vocabulary. Basically, this book boils down to the question: who do you think you are? -
Laughter and conviction are both good for the soul, and this book provides for both in spades. Trueman has revived the largely lost protestant art of well-aimed wit in the service of truth. Luther would be proud I'm sure.
The chapters/essays are short enough to keep you wanting to read 'just one more' while covering topics that range from understanding Rome and the foolishness often associated with facebook. It was hard to put down but easy to enjoy. Its the kind of book you would want to read with a friend so you can laugh together as you go.
Though it wasn't my first Trueman book, having read this one I don't think it will be my last. I know of no one who writes like him. -
I’m not usually someone who enjoys reading cultural commentary, but Trueman is different. These essays on everything from American Evangelicalism to social media are incredibly wise, refreshingly honest, oftentimes hilarious, and surprisingly convicting. I loved reading this.
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This book was one of those pleasant surprises that occasionally springs from picking up a book that you're unsure about at the outset for whatever reason. My reason was simply that I'd never heard of Trueman before. While my political and celebrity knowledge is severely lacking and this made some parts of the book a little more incomprehensible, the general gist of the whole thing was brilliant. Trueman makes some very clear statements about the state of the western church, which is so influenced by the garbage of the world. He picks up on things such as the regular Christian generally being more interested in learning about "how to see the gospel in movies" (i.e. an excuse to watch things that really shouldn't be appealing to Christians) rather than learning about the core truths of our faith. He also provides an amusing discussion about how "Christian freedom" (which he calls "Christian Freudem" is so far from how Paul discusses a Christian's freedom to serve and suffer for the gospel. I really appreciated the book, and highly recommend it to all Christians - since we all need a bit of a kick up the backside now and then.
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"To celebrate life at a Funeral is nonsense...if life has meaning, then death is an outrage; if death is not an outrage than life has no meaning...Let's keep funerals for grieving and lamentation at the outrage that sin has perpetrated on the world!" #20 "Celebrating the death of meaning"
These are full throttle down collection of pithy articles of a first class historian and Christian intellect. These short essays take aim at everyone and delivers the blows quite effectively. There are going to be some hurt feelings while reading this book, Christians who are self-absorbed, will probably cry foul, because feelings matter more than truth. We must as the title says rush in, find out what's ailing us according to Dr. Trueman and perhaps get some perspective.
These articles deal with the changing ways of the modern culture and how these actions affect the church and its people. The Church is supposed to change the culture but Dr. Trueman points to ways the culture has changed the church and how a shallow grasp of Theology and History allows you to be shuttled off into something hardly orthodox and quite possibly dangerous to our survival.
With wit, logic, satire and brilliance he uses the pen in a mighty way to hopefully set the church on a new course to wake up and plant seeds of reformation. Is it obvious in today's church that, Repentance, Reading and meditating on the Bible, Prayer and fellowship should be a staple in the life of a believer? How many people will read this with genuine reflection? Or instead dismiss it as grumpy white guy syndrome. I hope we let the insight seep into our soul and ask God to reveal our blind spots. Great book highly recommended.
As a side note to how gifted Dr. Trueman is: I was at small talk with Dr. Trueman, Peter Leithart and Fred Sanders and this Biola Seminary student who sat in front of me had scribbled on his pad: "Check into transferring to Westminster Seminary to study under Dr. Trueman." I hope this book and his others create some like minded brothers and sisters. -
Trueman never ceases to surprise - even if the essays are a bit old, there are still nuggets to be mined; the "proving the test of time" is also resembled in the 'prophetic' insights of his critiques (you can easily read some of the 2008-2009 essays and say: 'yep, you're pretty much right').
One more thing that makes him highly readable is the resort to irony and humour, interwined with historical and cultural references and all nicely packed up with his britishness wit and theological sobriety. -
A great "bathroom book." These are short articles that Trueman has written over the course of a decade or so, compiled sort of haphazardly into a book. Particularly helpful, I think, are his commentaries on social media and the general self-indulgence that seems to characterize much of modern America in general, and modern American Christianity in particular. He's typically British in his humor and wit, and typically Reformed in his curmudgeonness.
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A collection of 26 essays reflecting on the church and culture. Trueman has a knack for identifying some of the most absurd elements of American and Western culture, and showing how the church has sadly mimicked many of these very traits. Yet somehow he does it in a way that is entertaining and funny. This was an enjoyable weekend read.
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I enjoyed this book! Great reading especially in the atmosphere of this current world crisis. It was nice to hear someone else blow off some steam at the obvious paradoxes of Christian life in this fallen and declining world. I enjoy Mr Trueman's wit and humor, and his writing is almost on par with his lecturing ability.
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Enjoyable but not memorable...
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Trueman is gold
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Some essays were 5 stars others were 2-3. On the whole a great read.
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4.5 stars. Thought-provoking and hilarious. The definition of "pikestaff" alone was worth reading the book for.
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Even the Glossary was enjoyable to read.
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I think anything by Dr. Trueman automatically deserves 5 stars. He's such a great writer and this collection of articles prove that point yet again without any doubt.
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Taking Aim at Everyone
Although having some familiarity with Carl Trueman and appreciating his take on the church and culture, I had never read one of his books. Shame on me. Fools Rush In was delightful and if you read his blog it’s exactly what you might expect a Trueman book to read like. The subtitle to the subtitle sums up the books best Taking Aim at Everyone. He critiques many of the church’s foibles with a wit and clarity that is rare today. And lest you think he plays favorite, Trueman frequently takes aim at the Reformed crowd as well as broader evangelicals, Catholics, and pop culture. From the forward of the book Rodney Trotter warns that these essays “a book without a theme, without a constituency, and thus without a market” (Kindle Location 41 of 2549). There’s some truth in there’s no discernible flow from one chapter to the next and it would be almost impossible to provide a concise summary based on the structure of the book (see table of contents here). But there are some broader themes which frequently take stage. I will focus the remainder of the review on those.
Culture
The knot that kept the rope from slipping was the examination of culture. What was most ironic to me is that it is in vogue in evangelicalism to fancy yourself a student of the culture and to use words like contextualization, etc. Many of the issues addressed by Trueman are a result of poor interpretation of the culture. On the flip side, Trueman as a self-professed middle-aged, balding white male whose culture relevance extends to his fancy for The Who’s is able to see trends in modern American culture and rightly apply the truth of Scripture to these fads.
First, I have said here multiple times that what the church lacks most of all is pastors, leaders, and people who are familiar with church history and theology. It’s a familiarity with the past that makes picking out the modern knock offs so easy. And this is what Trueman excels at. Last, Trueman handles the Scriptures honestly. For example, if some random guy came up to me and told me, “Your wife wanted me to tell you that for your anniversary she doesn’t want to go see the latest Nicholas Sparks novel turned movie, she wants to spend the night on the couch watching the Celtics match up against the Miami Heat.” I would just laugh. It wouldn’t be credible in the least. So it is with Scripture, when you have soaked yourself in God’s Word and are intimately familiar with him someone telling you, “God just wants to do better and try harder to have your best life now” should just make you laugh.
Eating Irish Babies
Trueman also demonstrates his skill with turning a phrase and poking the sleeping giant in the exact right spot. My copy of Fools Rush In is littered with highlights, scribbles, and notes. He had provided me with verbal cud that I can re-digest for months to come. I can’t help providing this brief example. I read it. Stopped. Read it again. Then had a good chuckle for a few minutes.
Indeed, I suspect one would have to go back to Jonathan Swift to find a broadly orthodox Protestant churchman who was able to write sustained, elegant prose that still proves capable of provoking laughter. And he wanted to eat Irish babies, didn’t he? Now, I love Irish babies, but I could never eat a whole one. (Kindle Location 1975 of 2549)
Dragon Skin
If for no other reason, it would do good for most evangelical pastors to read Trueman to develop thick skin. Chances are you will not pass these pages with out having your scab picked off. Trueman argues, and I agree for whatever that’s worth, that developing thicker skin is a positive virtue. Even more so, realizing the difference between a personal attack and an argument against a system of belief will save you a lot of “pain” and “hurt feelings.”
A free copy of this book was provided by P&R Publishing. -
A fine bit of cultural punditry - collection of essays - from 5-6 years ago.
Trueman writes well, though rather snarky and brash at times. He is well read, and some of his literary references went over my head. He even-handedly critiques our zany secular culture as its inconsistent worldview shows itself in current events, and also the church for rushing in after it, many times.
Here are some zingers worth passing on to you.
On Alcohol
"The way that Christian freedom seems to be judged in some Reformed quarters by the ability to consume alcohol and tobacco is quite bizarre. Now, don't misunderstand me here. I enjoy cheap wine, British beer, fine brandy, and good Scoth; and I do not even regard smoking as a sin - stupid, yes; sinful, no. But to judge the vitality of one's Christian faith by the consumption of these things is as silly as to judge it by abstention."
On reverence for the text of Scripture
"If you attend a classroom lecture on the biblical text, or read a book on the same, and come away without feeling awe in your heart at the amazing nature of God's gracious revelation in and through His perfect Word, then either the lecturer or author has failed to treat the text with appropriate reverence, or your heat is so hardened that you failed to sense what they were doing."
On craving the world's respect
"Evangelicals typically make the fatal mistake of assuming that the wider world cares about what they think. It does not: it increasingly regards us as fringe lunatics, rather as it did in the first century."
On taking OURSELVES too seriously
"Po-faced piety: that form of godliness that roots sanctification in the steady mortification of one's sense of humor and zest for life. Often manifested by a failure to see the lighter side of oneself, or of anything else for that matter." -
Carl Trueman is an author published by my friend, Aimee Byrd's publisher. He also has a podcast called the Mortification of Spin, which he interviewed her on. His podcast interviews are funny and kind of a roasting...so I needed to read this guy who was gonna pick on my friend!:) Turns out that I really enjoyed his short essays and got a lot out of it. He is not shy about pointing out bad theology "like a hot knife through butter." So many challenging thoughts...sometimes convicting, sometimes humorous. He approaches the gospel with the seriousness it deserves and uses the example of a doctor visit in which the doctor enters a room in a clown suit with "Take my breath away" from Top Gun playing in the background. Taking aim at the churches who fill a "worship" service with entertainment rather than the ordinary mundane means ordained by Christ himself. "You can tell a lot about people's theology by what they do in church." I really loved chapter 14. An Unmessianic Sense of Nondestiny. He challenges the Cultural American way of individualism within Christianity. Feeling as though, "God has a plan for me." Insead, he reminds us that "With the church, the destiny of the whole is greater than the sum of the destinies of the individual Christian...My special destiny as a believer is to be part of the church." He is right in saying that "American Evangelism lacks history, beauty...and class" and goes on to say that "Today, more people in church are less familiar with the basics of the bible and Christian theology than ever before..." As a professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary, I would say that came right from the horses mouth! I can't wait to hear his podcast roast of my friend and new author, Aimee Byrd!
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I loved this book. Trueman is an amazing writer; humorous and wise.
"I should have known, as a goodish Protestant, that all humor in theology serves a wicked purpose. After all, it is the papists who produce the funniest writers, from Newman to Chesterton to Waugh, with even Walker Percy having his moments. Need I say more? Can I rest my case at this point? To put it in logical form: Catholicism is bad; Catholicism has produced funny people; therefore, funny people are bad. Thus, given the religious provenance of its best exemplars, humor must therefore be intrinsically evil: if they make you laugh today, then, by good and necessary consequence, we know they'll be forcing you to kneel down and kiss the pope's ring tomorrow." -page 184
"Everywhere I look, I find people "processing their pain," "feeling the hurt," or reacting to comments from others that are variously described as "hurtful," "insensitive," or "cruel." It would seem that the world is being overrun by the evil spawn of Christopher Walken, to whom the "hurting" and the "pained" are now responding en masse. I might even propose a new law, to go alongside that of Godwin's. Let's call it "Trueman's Second Law" (Trueman's First Law is known only to a few close friends, but, trust me, it has never been broken). Trueman's Second Law would be formulated something like this: in any exchange of views, sooner or later one or more of the participants will describe themselves as hurt or in pain as a result of somebody else's comment: and at that point it is clear that they have lost the real debate." -page 200 -
I have to say this is a hard book to review, not because it is not well written nor was it was a bad book, but the topics discussed was so well spread it's hard to find a phrase to describe it other than the one that Trueman has provided: "Taking Aim at Everyone".
This is really what the book is meant to do, take aim at everyone.
Trueman writes in a wholesome manner, being able to be sensitive to the culture that we're in and also critical of what is happening, don't get me wrong, Trueman is not some cynical critic, but one that really does brings out pointers that we really ought to think about.
What's included in this book:
What's wrong with (Mark) Driscoll?
Why aren't evangelical more humorous (and why they should be)
Why we can't take criticism (and what's wrong with it)
And many more....
You have to read to find out, it will be well worth your time and money. Read not to be more informative, but rather read to be able to think more carefully about what is happening about Christendom and how our brothers in the past can help guide us on to the future.
Rating: 4.5/5 -
The Christian church needs someone in the back of the class who always raises their hand and says, "Yeah, but what about..." Carl Trueman does that. All those things we take for granted and assume to be fine he challenges. Several things stuck out to me as read.
First, he is an excellent writer. His essays vary in both tone and content, but all of them are witty, sharp, and force you to think.
Second, he loves the local church. In an age where so many Christians find their identity on the web, Trueman encourages us to find our identity where sit our rears on Sunday morning.
Third, he understands the big picture and how various trends in our culture reflect underlying assumptions about reality and the world we live in.
Fourth, he has more references per chapter to pop music and classic rock than any other writer I know.
My favorite chapter was one on leadership called "Pro-choice Not Pro-Options." I have read it several times and it was very convicting concerning my fear of man. There were numerous other essays that struck home. I left the book edified, encouraged, and rebuked, though I did not agree with all he said. -
Got and finished Fools Rush in in literally just a little over 24 hrs... IMHO Carl Trueman is one of the truly unique and important voices in Christianity today. Trained in the Classics at Oxford and with a PhD in Reformation History Carl is the Chair of CHurch History and Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary.
Fools Rush in is a collection of Essays from his Reformation21 BLOG - A funny and witty Brit, Trueman's normative bashing of the easy targets of "Celebrity and 'Hipster' Christianity and Christians" are expected, but totally surprising are some deep reflections on the trivialization of death in our society by "celebrating life" at funerals and his loving description of his Grandfather.
If you have not read Trueman before this is a great start... If I was a young man contemplating Seminary particularly if Historical Theology was a passion I wouldn't think twice but would study under this humble servant! -
In my recent review of "The Creedal Imperative" by Carl Trueman, I somewhat off-handily mentioned what fun it would be to go to a comedy hour with a Presbyterian in a niche denomination. Well, I found the literary version of that: this book.
As the cover indicates, Trueman really does take aim at everyone in the most refreshing way possible: tosh Emergents, po-faced pietist Reformed seniors, follicly challenged baldies, and even crypto-papists like John Owen.
However, Trueman also has incredible insight and wisdom into all sorts of issues that are compressed into bite sized, satisfying prose. I was every bit encouraged, as I was humored.
My friends are probably thrilled that I'm done with this book because I will no longer be text messaging them uproarious quotations from Dr. Trueman. And I'm sad it's over. This is easily one of the top 3 books I've read this year. -
A nice collection of essays, although I believe I had read a few of this online before. They are also all about 7 or 8 years old, and while they are not entirely temporally bound, a number of them do address contemporary issues that have progressed in the interim. For instance, I have followed Trueman's ongoing criticism of evangelical celebrity culture for several years. In this book, I find that he was saying substantially similar things a few years before that, just with fewer high-profile scandals to make reference to.
The best part of the book in my opinion were the 3 essays on Rome, offering reflections from a visit to the Vatican, as well as an even-handed Protestant account of the disagreements that continue to separate evangelicals and Roman Catholics. -
Carl Trueman has become my favorite author of the year. Fools Rush In does indeed poke fun at everyone, and that is just what makes it so, so delightful (and truthful). The average person isn't going to pick up this book and read it, but they should. The essays are about everyday life and human nature. I just bought three more of his books and have decided to collect all of his books. Rarely do you find a contemporary author who can entertain and write well at the same time -- intelligently, I might add. This one is a gem.
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Trueman is always inciteful and thought provoking, but this book doesn't deserve five stars. The book is what it is--a collection of blog articles. About halfway through the book it starts to feel more curmudgeonly and less declarative, though the last chapter is better. The book could stand to be specific more often, but Trueman usually pulls his punches short of doing real damage to foolishness.
