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Letters to a Young Calvinist

Re

My Reflection Page

Writing a review on this book was a great way for me to engage with the material and

understand my faith in a deeper way.

Rylie Brown
KSP 151
Professor Dengler
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Rylie Brown

KSP 151

Professor Dengler

September 24, 2017

Letters to a Young Calvinist Book Review

In James K. A. Smith’s Letters to a Young Calvinist, he introduces the Reformed faith,

history, and practices through a series of letters. The reader explores the Reformed doctrines to

learn about Smith’s own life, the history of the Reformed church, and the Christian faith in

general. Smith wants to inform new Calvinists about the progression of the faith as well as the

all-encompassing aspects of the religion. He seeks to do this through engaging in a series of

letters written to a fictional Jesse discussing questions and concerns that apply to all young

Calvinists. The book outlines the details of the Reformed faith and history quite well, although it

does leave the reader with questions regarding the fundamentals of the Reformed faith like

TULIP and election.

Smith opens with an introduction explaining that this book is an attempt to “mentor

someone beginning to tread water in a deep river” (xiii). He wants to guide the reader through

the “ornate mansion” (xii) that is the Reformed tradition. However, Smith says the end goal

should not be to become Reformed but rather to develop a personal and lasting relationship with

the Lord Jesus Christ. The rest of the book divulges the specifics of the Reformed faith as Smith

becomes a mentor to the reader through his letters to Jesse.

The first few chapters discuss the idea of grace “going all the way down” (16). This

phrase refers to God’s grace encompassing all aspects of our life. In fact, our “very existence” is

by grace because he gave us the gift of life (16). God had to choose humans because in our sinful
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nature there was no way we could choose him. In the same way that “grace goes all the way

down”, sin goes all the way down. People are physically or spiritually unable to choose God

because sin has misdirected our desires to love creation over creator. Therefore, God made the

first step and chose to save certain members of humanity from sin.

In the next chapters, Smith takes the reader on a historical tour of the Reformation. He

explains how figures like Calvin, Augustine, and Luther fit into the picture of the Reformed

church today. He also details the confessions and catechisms, breaking them into groups of what

he calls the “Continental confessions” and the “Anglo confessions” (50). Creeds are the

“historical documents of the church that were forged in the centuries by the church fathers (54),

including the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed. He explains that these

creeds are a necessary part of the tradition of the church because they give insight into how to

read the Scriptures and interpret them. Overall, the church is an important factor in giving

doctrine and community to its believers.

Because of his stance on the church, Smith reacts quite strongly when Jesse wants to

leave his church. Smith argues that although the church may be flawed, it is what brings people

to the faith. The author shares his experience of conversion through “being loved” into the

church by his girlfriend’s family (11). Most conversion stories happen through love and

repetitive engagement with the individual, not a lengthy discussion of doctrine. Therefore, Jesse

should focus on the good parts of the church and not leave it just because it has some flaws.

Interestingly, the Reformed church started by leaving the Catholic Church. Apparently, the

Reformed faith would say the Catholic Church had more than a few flaws.

Another reason church is necessary is the role it plays in redeeming creation. Smith

explains salvation as more than saving the individual soul; God has come to save “a people”
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(72). He wants to redeem the entirety of creation, not just have “personal relationships with

individuals” (72). He calls this cultural engagement “rolling back the curse” (94). Through the

things we do as humans to glorify God, we can redeem creation. Smith says living up to our

potential and creating good things out the creation is glorifying to God. People who engage in

“cancer research, sustainable agriculture, and literacy training” are in fact “rolling back the

curse” (94).

If we as humans enjoy rolling back the curse, we can glorify God through this action of

“enjoying” his creation (118). This is ultimately the chief end of man. Once we ultimately love

the Triune God and therefore his creation because of it, we can revert to the “right order of love”

(122) again. This order will cause us to relate to God’s creation in the way we were meant to and

use the gift He has given us properly, according to Smith.

One thing that really stood out to me was Smith’s definition of creation versus the world.

He claims that these two things are different. Creation is the original “stuff” that God intended to

be good. The world is our perversion of this good creation. When I reread John 3:16, “For God

so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes should not perish,

but have everlasting life,” I was struck by new meaning I found in the word “world.” In my

experience, the world has meant all the people in the world. Often, my friends will use this to say

that God wants everyone to be saved as an argument against election. However, the way Smith

frames the use of the word world causes me to rethink this assumption and realize God is talking

about the creation. When God says he loves the world, he means the creation. He isn’t just

talking about humans, but rather the entirety of what he has made! Therefore, when God is

redeeming us from our sins, he is also redeeming all the creation.

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In general, Letters to a Young Calvinist was formatted in such a way that it gave the

reader a clear picture of the Reformed faith. The letters were laid out nicely, and the chapters

were not too long. However, the vocabulary was a little higher than an average reader might be

able to comprehend and could cause certain people to not continue reading the book. If readers

have trouble understanding the book, they may attribute Smith’s use of higher level vocabulary

to spiritual hubris and feel uncomfortable or inferior for not understanding. For example, he

starts off the book with vocabulary like “austere”, “engendered”, “erudition”, “hubris” (x). Many

people could immediately be put off by these words if they are unfamiliar. Unfortunately, this is

the exact opposite of what Smith would intend the reader to feel. Also, it wasn’t always clear

what “Jesse” had discussed in his letters; that lack of clarity made the answers slightly confusing.

Lastly, it assumed that the reader had a basic grasp on Calvinism, which may not have been the

case. For those who are not Reformed, the concepts he avoided talking about like TULIP and

election were important to comprehend. He scratched the surface in Ch 4 and 5 but for those who

are not reformed, this felt incomplete and confusing. However, it was an interesting book diving

deeper into the Reformed faith and would be a good resource after one learns about the basics of

Calvinism or the Reformed belief structure.

Overall, Letters to a Young Calvinist by James K.A. Smith was an interesting read that

sparked an interest to learn more about the Reformed faith. Although I still had questions after

reading the book, I understood better what the Reformed tradition is about and the background

behind it. Smith presents the information in a unique way through his use of letters to a young

guy named Jesse. This person represents all new young Calvinists but also the younger version

of himself. He can mentor and guide the reader without sounding too harsh, as it is directed at a

third party – Jesse. In the end, Smith convinces the reader that the Reformed faith is ultimately
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about grace because he does not even begin to touch the other subjects of the religion, like

TULIP and election.

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Works Cited

Smith, James K. A. Letters to a Young Calvinist: An Invitation to the Reformed Tradition. N.p.:

Brazos, 2010. Print.