loaned to me by Julie Abbott, paperback, 446 pages
genre: Christian fiction, spiritual warfare
This is going to be another very long post! Julie loaned this to me in March 2013. It sat for a long time on my book shelf! (Partly because 2013 was a rough time in my life and partly because I kept procrastinating on reading it. Spiritual warfare - like in Peretti's This Present Darkness - is not my favorite topic.) This book blew me away! I almost want to buy my own copy to re-read it. My overwhelming take-away is that believers absolutely must be in prayer. We cannot slack off on bringing our own lives and our loved ones' lives (and our neighbors, co-workers, etc.) before the Lord!
"A heavenly battle is raging for the heart and mind of a young co-ed, a college, and a nation. In this work of fiction, Harvard University is a centuries-old battleground in the struggle between good and evil, and one student has no idea she's about to be thrust onto the front lines. Claire Rivers arrives at Harvard an enthusiastic freshman but is ill prepared for the challenges she encounters to her Christian faith. Students and professors who proclaim 'tolerance' and revel in alternative lifestyles greet her beliefs with disdain - even hostility." (from the cover blurb)
This book was not at all what I expected and I loved the nuance and love that flowed throughout the story. Feldhahn went to Harvard and dealt with some of the challenges she gave to Claire in her story. Here are some of the many passages I post-it noted:
Page 23 - From a letter written by Cleon Grindley in the olden days after the school shield was changed to just "Veritas" (truth) from "Veritas pro Christo et Ecclesiae" (Truth for Christ and Church) - "We can already see a change - subtle, but real. Those who do not know Christ feel much more comfortable with the university now, and those who are devout are beginning to feel as if they are somehow keeping their fingers in the hole of a dam." This sense of how confident, strong, or comfortable we are interests me. I completely understand the Bible's command that we GO and SHARE the Good News (as opposed to just hanging out in our churches with other believers), but there are times it is so very nice to share and celebrate with people who also love the Lord! The idea that when we dis-invite God from our lives, He obliges . . . and then we are bereft of His power, presence, and love as we try to make progress without Him . . . this passage just really caught my attention.
Page 51 - Claire's dad talking to friends - "We've always said that we were raising the kids to be salt and light in a decaying world, right? Well, at some point we have to let them go out into the darkness and trust God to care for them. After all, He's had the harder job trusting us with them all these years. Us trusting Him should be a piece of cake." This makes me laugh at myself! As I deal with the challenges of parenting adult children (who don't necessarily want any parenting from me), I realize that I need to trust God to guide them. I can't go back in the past and give them a more firm foundation of faith. I need to trust God, love my kids, and pray for them.
Page 62 - I like how Mansfield communicates with Sharon, even when she's hostile. "Sharon took a big swig of her coffee and set the cup down. 'I have a hard time being friends with people like you.' 'Well, at least you're honest about it.' Mansfield raised his glass to her." There were so many really challenging concepts in this book. I love how Feldhahn handled them all!
Page 81 - "Harvard makes such a thing about tolerance and the freedom to express all viewpoints. Gays, communists, humanists, Buddhists - all are invited to participate in the 'marketplace of ideas.' But get some conservative Christian in here, and the marketplace of ideas is curiously closed." This is another truism in the current age and push for diversity. Too often, a Christian worldview is rejected as "hateful" or "narrow-minded" and not even listened to or respected.
Page 125 -"She has become wrapped in confusion and fear. But she must gain the knowledge to win the fight for her mind. She must develop the courage to take a public stand. God has not given His people a spirit of timidity or fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind! God has given her all those things, but she must learn how to walk in them and how to stand on them." One of the angels watching over Claire . . . and 2 Timothy 1:7 is one of my absolute favorite verses! Even though this is in reference to a young woman (less than half my current age), I too feel as though I need to learn how to "walk in" the things God has given me in the spirit.
Page 157 - "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning." - from Harvard's College Laws dated six years after the founding in 1636! I didn't know that Harvard was founded as a Christian college!
Page 200 - This passage made me think of Financial Peace University and Dave Ramsey! "See, my dad had gotten hooked on credit cards. It sounds stupid, but it seems a lot like Teresa's mom and her gambling addiction. These credit card companies were throwing themselves at him, sending preapproved cards with limits of thousands of dollars. He started using the cards for convenience but ended up spending way more than we made. I don't know all the details, you know, but it became a stretch just to pay the minimums each month, and eventually we couldn't even afford those. And the more he got himself in debt, the more the card companies seemed to like him." Claire is confiding in Brad. The friendship and trust between these two characters was another part of the book I really liked.
Page 247 - '"How do you react when you're busy with your daily life and come across someone's urgent, now-or-never sort of need? Do you tell the oppressed prisoner of the dark world that you're busy now but you'll come back to your underground espionage job at two o'clock next Tuesday? Or do you prayerfully rearrange your daily life to fit the calling of your true job? I have news for you, dear saints." He leaned forward on the podium. "Ministry is always inconvenient."' The pastor in a church Claire was visiting . . . so very true! I loved the sermon he gave.
Page 253 - " . . . have the courage to speak the truth in love. It takes guts, Claire. Guts to publicly defend an unpopular position, especially when you're defending yourself to a professor. But 'always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within you.' And when you speak for the Truth, pray for those you're talking with and trust the Holy Spirit to give you the words to say. But always, always speak in love. If they're abusive - and trust me, Claire, they sometimes will be - -respond with the grace that Christ showed, and you will be blameless before God and man." Ian giving advice to Claire. There were so many passages that resonated for me in this book.
Page 282-3 - This letter to Claire from Miss Gana from Nigeria who had been her camp counselor. What a powerful impact godly believers can have on the people in their lives!
I especially like where she wrote "You must cling to Him. If in your future there is a fight against what GOd has for you, you must cling even more strongly to Him. Psalm 91 says that He will send His angels to protect you, but it also says that protection is for 'he who dwells in the shadow of the Most High.' So dwell there."
Page 325 - A conversation between Claire and Bethany:
"You know how you thought Christianity was so exclusive and intolerant? Well, I just realized . . . it's actually the most inclusive religion in the world!"
"How's that?" Bethany's voice was flat.
"Every other belief system requires you to meet some standard in order to go to heaven, or achieve nirvana, or whatever their equivalent is. But with Christ --" she leaned toward Bethany, her eyes intent -- "anyone can go to heaven. Not just the good people! Every other faith is so much more exclusive that it is actually mean. They say you have to be good to go to heaven, but who knows how good you really have to be? What they're saying is that you might die and find out, 'Oh, sorry! You're only allowed two hundred lies in a lifetime, and you told two hundred and one. Too bad.'" She jerked her thumb downward.
"Do you see? In Christianity there is one -- only one -- step, and everyone knows what it is: Give your life to Jesus. The good, the bad, the rich, the poor -- they're all God's children. He knows that none of us is going to be as good as He requires -- which is perfect -- so He made a way for anyone to be saved!"
I loved the interactions between Claire and Bethany and the love of Christ that Claire was able to share, even when Bethany was hostile.
Page 448 - I found the author's notes very interesting and worth reading. "One reason I wrote this book is that when I was at Harvard, I had no idea how to defend what I believed, and I got hammered in my classes, as did many of my friends. My prayer is that the 'relationship apologetics' in this book will help others learn how to defend their faith in a welcome and effective manner, while still building relationships with those they actively disagree with."
Wow! It has taken me about two weeks to get this entry done! What an amazing book. I love how Feldhahn has written an interesting story filled with spiritual lessons.
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