Christ Crucified (ISBN 185792813X)

A Puritan's View of the Atonement:
Here we have a dandy little volume of just under 200 pages published in Scotland by Christian Heritage (Christian Focus Publications). The writing is deep, painstaking, and littered with Scriptural references - as is common among most puritan writers. But when I say deep, I mean really deep. This book is difficult to read in some sections due to Charnock's depth of focus and intentional building from one point to the next, sewing, as it were, a tapestry of the puritan theology of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Although it takes some stamina for the present day USAmerican mind to make it through, perseverance is well worth the effort. Charnock is a no-nonsense kind of guy. Though instructive and gentle, his swift quill is oft times sharp enough to draw blood. Consider this quote from page 110, "Those who lay claim to a relation to God without imitation of him are not children but bastards. They may be of his family by instruction but not by descent. There is no implantation in Christ without an imitation both of the Creator and Redeemer." Ouch. What I did NOT find helpful was the attempted "modernizing" of some of the phrases and terms used by Charnock. The publisher tried to make the book more understandable by inserting short definitions and alternate wordings in parenthesis in the text. All this did was irritate me. The text should be left alone, and if I need help on a 17th century term, I'll look it up. Overall, I give it three stars out of five. Charnock's massive work, "The Existence and Attributes of God," though nearly 1,200 pages long is a better read and a more comprehensive theology. But if you are looking for a quick study into the puritan mind of Stephen Charnock, this book will keep you busy for an evening or two. Dr. Mike Kear