Book Review: From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola
For a couple of years I have wondered, “There has to be more to the Christian faith then showing up at church every Sunday for a hour to hour and a half and reading little biblical snipits throughout the week”. That statement is one of the main reasons why, as of the beginning of 2009, I no longer attend a traditional Sunday morning church service. And so began my journey.
I read a couple of Frank Viola’s books, “Pagan Christianity” and “Reimagining Church“, which are awesome books in their own right and serve a very important purpose. Then he came out with “From Eternity to Here“. His claim was that this is his most important piece of material he has ever written. I loved the other two books so this naturally piqued my interest. Once it was available I purchased it.
The first couple of pages contain numerous endorsements of some well-known individuals. Then came the page. It only had one sentence on it, yet, this sentence contained the thoughts that have permeated my brain for years and forefront on my journey. It states:
To every follower of Jesus who knows within their deepest parts that there must be more to the Christian faith
What Viola does in this book is bring to the forefront God’s ultimate desire, passion, and mission for the church (the bride of Christ). He splits this book into three sections; A Forgotten Woman: The Bride of Christ, An Eternal Quest: The House of God, and A New Species: The Body of Christ and the Family of God. He intricately weaves Old Testament Scripture into New Testament Scripture; tying the first two chapters of Genesis with the last two chapters of Revelation. Each chapter of this book unfolds beautifully where you can truly understand that there is more to Christianity than Sunday mornings and daily biblical snipits.
In this book he states,
When we discover that our relationship to the Father is actually Christ’s relationship to His father, it changes everything.
No longer are we saying I have to do this to be a better Christian, I’m working on that to be a better Christian, I, I, I. All about my abilities. Who is at the center of those statements, I. Instead, God is inviting you into the same relationship he has with Christ; not a separate relationship, but the same one!
This really is a must have book. This is one of those books thatI will read numerous times.
In fact, I think so highly of this book that I have decided to use it as a starting point with other believers that I have begun to gather together in community to discuss. Even before “Pagan Christianity” and “Reimagining Church“. I consider this book that important.
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