Book Review: The God Who Is There (D.A. Carson)
Today, the Bible is often thought of as verses, short stories, and famous sayings, often causing Christians to lose the bigger picture. In The God Who Is There, D. A. Carson addresses one of the struggles facing modern-day Christians: reading the Bible as a unified story. In this book, Carson details the entire biblical narrative from beginning to end, showcasing how it is one unified story revolving around its main character: the God who is there.
Carson writes The God Who Is There to inform a post-Christian culture that has twisted and distorted many concepts that were once widely accepted, such as truth, sin, and authority. As a result, the Gospel is often interpreted through the lens of culture rather than Scripture itself. In response, Carson brings his readers on a journey back to the Bible, walking alongside them to see it as one complete and perfect story. Carson emphasizes that God is the main character constantly working throughout the entirety of the story. From Adam to Jesus, God was and is there, revealing himself through his actions, his people, and his words. He shows how the whole Bible is one unified narrative, breaking down biblical perspectives on sin and judgment and showing how they are connected to grace and the cross. Ultimately, Carson contrasts the claims of the Western culture we live in with the truth God reveals to us through Scripture.
Carson’s biblical focus in The God Who Is There is its utmost strength. It is an intellectual deep dive into the unified nature of the Bible, explaining how it is one story comprising many smaller ones. The book is also deeply evangelistic, in the sense that it lays out the Bible as if the reader had no knowledge of it, teaching the Gospel to those who may not know. The book can at times feel overly dense and analytical, yet this is needed to equip readers to think biblically about both culture, the Gospel, and their own lives. This book is best suited for those seeking to understand the Bible more clearly in the context of living within a post-Christian culture. But it is just as useful to anyone who is not a Christian, as it perfectly lays out how God is truly there throughout the entire biblical narrative.