Christianity,  Nonfiction

The Helper

I read The Helper, by Catherine Marshall, when I was in college. Recently I picked it up again, and my husband decided to read it at the same time. Both of us are interested in a life of faith that’s more than talk, and I remembered liking this book about the Holy Spirit.

I liked the book every bit as much this time. It’s arranged as a series of devotionals, each with a related Scripture reading. The book began in Ms. Marshall’s personal investigation of the topic of the Holy Spirit one summer in 1944. In 1945, she, along with her husband Peter Marshall, co-authored a series of articles for a Presbyterian magazine that quickly became the most popular and sought-after issues ever. They’re reprinted and expanded here in this book. Here are some of my observations:

1. This is a great introduction to the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. It’s divided into six sections, each of which explores some aspect of his character and work in 5-8 short (2-3 page) studies. The overall effect is of a subject held up to the light and examined one facet at a time.

2. This is a practical book. I appreciated that, since my natural inclination is merely to go for the pleasure of grasping a concept, or to veer toward mysticism. There’s plenty of mystery involved any time we explore the nature and purposes of God, but ultimately we live out our faith in a practical world. Ms. Marshall doesn’t oversimplify the person of God, or strip him of mystery. She simply sidesteps peripheral matters to keep her focus on who the Helper reveals himself to be, rather than what doctrines can be constructed about Him.

3. Related to this is the book’s timelessness. Long before “the emergent church” awoke in ecclesiological thought, Catherine Marshall practiced some of its main tenets: avoiding a preoccupation with divisive theology, understanding the Bible as a book full of revealing stories, and acknowledging disillusionment with the Church while at the same time exhorting it to fulfill its glorious purpose spelled out in Scripture. If you’re looking for a doctrinal argument about speaking in tongues or healing, look elsewhere. Those topics are included here, but without any axe to grind.

4. Lastly, this book is infused with the quiet integrity of a person whose life of faith was the real thing. Years ago, sometime before I originally read The Helper, I also read Ms. Marshall’s autobiographical Meeting God at Every Turn and remember thinking, “So this is what it means to be a Christian.” I’d grown up in the church, but in these pages I saw something fresh and real.

This was a timely and productive book for me, and I recommend it for anyone looking for a sustained discussion of the Holy Spirit — often spoken of as an “it,” but restored in these pages to his rightful role as a very present Helper in time of need.

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