Wisdom from the East

Wisdom of the Sadhu (Complied by Kim Comer) Plough Publishing House I first heard of Sundar Singh when I was in college but I heard more about him then I did from him until this book arrived. I vaguely remember a hint of suspicion hanging over Sundar in my very conservative, western thinking school so I was reluctant to go further. That was my loss. On one hand though I can see why he was viewed with suspicion in some circles. He wrote from an Eastern perspective that emphasizes narrative while those of us in the United States often give more weight to facts and propositions. Many Western readers are uncomfortable with narrative and stories. We prefer propositions. For example I was listening this morning to a well known pastor give an outline and several points for a story in the Old Testament. I am driving my car yelling at the radio, “Tell the story. Tell the story” Sundar Singh knew how to tell a story. I appreciated his allusions to nature. For example to talk about prayer he pictures the crane standing in the water waiting for lunch to swim by not noticing the water but just looking to get something. That is how many of us see prayer, “Seated on the shore of the boundless ocean of God's love, they actually give no thought to his majesty...Instead they are consumed with the thought of receiving something for themselves.” pp 112-113. I gained much insight into the Christian life from my brother, Sundar and wish I had met him sooner. Another area in which some may have been critical of Sundar is in the area of verbal plenary inspiration. Sundar may have placed more emphasis on the spoken word of God then the written word of God. He says on page 65 that Master never wrote anything down nor did he ask his followers to record his teaching. However it is clear from Revelation 1 that Jesus in fact asked John to write down his words to the church. Sundar Singh wrote at a time when the inspiration of the Bible was under attack and he may have been a victim of the battle for the Bible taking place then. If so is unfortunate because we have much to learn from our Eastern brother and the Eastern Church today. I received a copy of Wisdom of the Sadhu from Handlebar Publishing with the only expectation that I would write a review.