BOOK REVIEW: Not what I thought it would be …

John Michael Talbot writing about the church fathers?

How could I pass up a book like that?

After all, I enjoy reading the works of the early church fathers, and Talbot, a pioneer in contemporary Christian music, might bring some interesting perspective to their writings.

Unfortunately, his latest book, “The Ancient Path” (with Mike Aquilina, published by Image), wasn’t what I thought it would be. As it turns out, this book is all about the influence the church fathers had on Talbot’s life as he journeyed from his early Christian experience into Catholicism.

Talbot’s writing is thick with a Catholic view of the church fathers, which tends to be more elevated than that held by Protestants. There are numerous mentions of the various church fathers, but not a diving into their writings or any plumbing of their teachings. Instead, most of the mention of the church fathers was incorporated in a nearly chronological telling of Talbot’s life. While I appreciate that his study of the church fathers had a positive impact on his life, and especially influenced him toward a desire for a more monastic lifestyle, I found the content of the book to actually become fairly boring less than midway through my reading.

If you’re a Catholic who is a Talbot fan, you may enjoy this book; if you aren’t, I haven’t found any other value in it to be able to recommend it.

Scotty

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”