Gary DeMar. Thinking Straight in a Crooked World: A Christian Defense Manual. Power Springs, Ga.: American Vision, 2001.

Reviewed by John B. Wong

First off, the characterization of this book as a manual presents something of a problem. Well-documented endnotes following each chapter notwithstanding, it would be helpful if this book included an index, which to me is a hallmark of a user-friendly manual.

When a reader wants to know something about defending the Bible as the Word of God or Jesus’ resurrection, where will she turn? If she looks at Chapter 16, entitled "The Bible, the Devil and God," she finds biblical descriptions of the devil and his doings, the magicians of Egypt, mediums raising dead spirits, popular interest in spiritual frauds, but nothing about the defense of the authority of the Bible.

Without a subject index, one cannot easily locate a discussion on the defense of Christ’s resurrection. This is not to say that DeMar in scattered places does not repeatedly emphasize the importance of the biblical worldview based on the Word of God or touch upon the resurrection.

This book begins with a battle cry. The line is drawn between straight-thinking Christian worldviews, presuppositions, and ideology, and the so-called "crooked" non-Christian ideas, philosophies, and secularistic worldviews. There is no neutrality. The mandate behind the battle call is

the Bible tells us as Christians that we are responsible to defend the faith. Defending the faith—giving an answer to those who ask what our hope is—is part of what it means to be a Christian. It’s not an option . . . the best defence is a good offence. . . . Keep in mind that the Bible is like a loaded 45. . . . A cogently presented, comprehensive, and consistent Christian worldview can stand up to and answer any hostile belief system. But it takes work to understand how skeptics think, believe, and behave. Your job is not finished until you are always "ready to make a defense to every one who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15). This is what thinking straight in a crooked world is all about.

The first eight chapters are mostly about Christian versus non-Christian worldviews, presuppositions, perspectives, and conflicts arising therefrom. DeMar discusses the limitations of reason to judge truths that are beyond its capacity. He decries the contemporary advocacy of diversity, religious pluralism, cultural relativism, inclusionism, humanism, secularism, and the watering down of the law of non-contradiction (acceptance of "one set of religious beliefs which contradicts another set of religious beliefs"). Nothing is said about religious paradoxes and mystery as a possible counterargument.

Beginning with Chapter 9, DeMar describes many of the false, "crooked" non-Christian, naturalistic worldviews with their backlashes. Eastern mysticism, New Age religions, and the drug culture fill the spiritual vacuum, and DeMar is quick to point out their defects and attractive deception in the Christian context. Commitment to materialism and materialistic worldviews, religious charlatans, irrational beliefs, and practices all confront the Christians today.

DeMar gives explanations and counterchallenges to biblical claims of miracles that are seemingly explained away as magic. Media’s depiction of alien encounters and semi-demonic beings, Hollywood’s portrayals of Satan and his power and havoc all come under his review. DeMar stresses the biblical descriptive version of the devil and makes references to witchcraft, necromancy, astrology, divination and other occult phenomena.

In Chapter 17, DeMar delves into false prophets of our times against the background of true Bible prophecies that point to the birth, life, and death of Jesus and his resurrection. The fulfillment of these Messianic prophecies furnishes a powerful defense for the Christian faith.

The author ends the book with a chapter entitled "Living in a Postmodern World." DeMar discusses the premodern, modern, and postmodern characteristics. He points out the pitfalls of postmodernity—its rejection of absolute truth, its subscription to relativism, the subjective language interpretation, multiculturalism, the rewriting of history to bring the marginal to the center, its trumpeting of power for the human, the overall worldview shift away from that of the Christian.

To his credit, DeMar reserves a few good words for postmodernism. He describes it as challenging the all-sufficiency of human reason and science in modernism, thus allowing the supernatural, which is not empirical, to be included once again in scholarly debates and cultural consideration. Postmodernism restores the relevance and intellectual respectability of the Christian faith, he adds. It also points us toward the futility of our autonomy, and gently reminds us of our finitude.

In all, I applaud DeMar for forcefully speaking out against the humanistic secularism whose closed system of materialistic atheism precludes a supernatural God. Evil and the Evil One are indeed active in our midst. DeMar does not mince words in calling the devil by his name. The conflict between the Kingdom of God and the Regime of Evil, our spiritual destiny of resurrected life, and one’s higher meaning and purpose of existence need precisely such reemphasis in postmodern culture.

DeMar’s clearly demarcated presuppositions, worldviews, and other views on abortion and gun lobby, however, might cause residual concern for some. Might he place on the other side of the battle line those Christian groups whose Christian beliefs are not in line with his own understanding as to what constitutes a true Christian social and political worldview? Would he be just as intolerant toward these fellow Christians as he is toward those religious pluralists, diversity advocates, and secularists?

I do not recall that DeMar has discussed the positive apologetic elements of the Christian faith, which among other things entail a humble, Spirit-filled, Christian walk and a powerful witness to the non-Christian world. Is not a Christian life with love and humility in action, after all, the most powerful defense of the Christian faith? Absent such genuine Christian love and tolerance, it occurs to me, all the intellectual argument and highfalutin apologetics probably avail us little.

The editors welcome reviews of books, music, or movies of interest to other Spectrum readers. Please contact us with your ideas.

© 2002 Spectrum/AAF