Plain Christianity (by JB Phillips)

(Amazon UK link)

The author JB Phillips was a fairly well-known Christian speaker back in the 1950s. He was also an early translator of the New Testament into modern English.  His books, which are mostly quite small volumes, seem to appear on almost every Christian bookshelf. I have read his classic ‘Your God is too Small’, more than once, but don’t think I had ever read ‘Plain Chrisitanity’; I don’t even know how - or when - we acquired it.

I decided to read it about ten days ago, having seen it mentioned on someone else’s blog, or perhaps in a Facebook link. I had no idea what to expect. It turns out that this little book contains the transcripts of some radio talks the author made on the topic of Christianity, for the general public. So there are ten chapters, each one a comfortable length to read at one sitting.

Right at the beginning, the author acknowledges that the style is quite informal rather than being literary. As such I found them quite engaging; I don’t think I ever heard JB Phillips speak, but I could almost imagine his voice coming through. He seems, from his writing, like a friendly person, one who could quite understand why people might not be interested in God, or have rejected the church.

Each chapter focuses on a slightly different aspect of faith, some of them intended to be listened to as part of a short series. The first two chapters are both entitled ‘Plain Christianity’; the first one talks about characteristics that the author has observed, over many years as a minister, in people who claim a living faith.

He fully acknowledges that Christians, like unbelievers, have a wide range of personalities and attitudes, that some individual Christians behave far worse than some individual atheists or agnostics. But in general, he claims, in those who are committed in their beliefs, and who attempt to follow Jesus, there’s evidence of an inner tranquillity, a tendency to remaining good-humoured even in adversity, and an ability to feel compassion for even the most unlovable folk around them. Or, in reverse order, what is usually summed up as ‘love, joy and peace’.

It would be easy to take issue with this, as everyone knows of particular Christians who don’t seem to display these things, and plenty of unbelievers who do. But it’s the author’s perspective, taken over many years of experience, and I found it quite encouraging.

The second chapter, with the same heading, talks about what it means to live without acknowledging God in any way, and what differences happen when people do acknowledge him. It’s all quite basic, not assuming any prior understanding, and as far as is possible entirely non-judgemental. The author looks at what he has observed, while quite accepting people’s reasons for ignoring or denying God, and weighs up the pros and cons.

Later chapters cover subjects such as sin, worship, Bible translation and understanding, and other broad topics that are sometimes the focus of debate. I don’t know that I learned anything new from them, but it was good to read something so basic and yet so very well expressed (albeit informally).

All in all, I very much appreciated this little book, and would recommend it to anyone interested in the Christian faith, or wondering what it’s all about in the most basic terms.

First published in 1954, 'Plain Christianity' is not currently in print but is widely available second-hand (and in many church libraries too).

Review copyright 2021 Sue's Book Reviews