Dr. Strandness points to a 2016
Gallup poll showing 90% of Americans still believe in “God.” Turns out, the greater threat to Christianity in the U.S. is not atheism, but polytheism: the postmodern
notion that any god will do, and one god is just as valid as another. This is ancient Greece all over again.
“We all have the same God-shaped hole,” writes Dr. Strandness, “but the odd ways in which we
try to fill it create religious differences. Our postmodern culture [is]
telling us that all paths lead to the same divine mountaintop, but that illusory
unity is shattered once we reach the summit and look around to see that each
religious victory flag has been struck on a completely different peak.”
The “spiritual hole” Dr. Strandness alludes to is the same spiritual
hole Paul found in the marketplace of Athens. Paul congratulated them
on their religious nature, but challenged them to get specific about who their ‘unknown
god’ really was. Strandness takes a similar tack, using brilliant 21st
century imagery.
This is a beautifully written apologetic for people who
are wondering about who the ‘unknown god’ really is. It reflects the journey of
the author himself, who practiced neonatal medicine for twenty years before his
life was radically transformed by a passion to thoroughly understand his faith.
Temporarily setting aside his medical practice, Dr. Strandness went
back to school and earned a degree in theology. It’s a rare thing to find a medical doctor with a theology degree! Erik has since resumed practicing
medicine in Spokane, Washington, and serves as a Christian worldview educator
during his off-hours.
I met Erik while he was participating in the Colson Fellows Program of the Colson
Center for Christian Worldview. I can vouch for his character. He is the “real
deal.” What’s more, he is a great writer, with the most unusual way with words I've seen.
God Spoke: Bridging
the Sacred-Secular Divide with Divine Discourse is Erik’s 3rd book. Prior
to this, he wrote The Director’s Cut:
Finding God’s Screenplay on the Cutting Room Floor, and, Cry of the Elephant Man: Listening for Man’s
Voice above the Herd.