A Review: Sword of the Lord:The Roots of Fundamentalism In An American Family

The Sword of the Lord:
The Roots Of Fundamentalism In An American Family

A Review

I do not consider myself a Fundamentalist. But in the late 1970’s I did become acquainted with Dr. John R. Rice while at seminary. My on campus job was as the serials librarian at Rolfing Library at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. One of the periodicals we received regularly was John R. Rice’s periodical The Sword of the Lord. I appreciated scanning each issue as it arrived in the library before adding it to the library holdings.

This past month, I discovered that John R. Rice’s grandson had written a history - of the church in America, of fundamentalism, of the Rice family, of his grandfather, and of his own faith. The author has woven together a tale of spiritual growth across generations. It was instructive to see the Christian faith move across America. Like most of church history, it was a spotted history - with times to celebrate as it took off and changed the nation and times to cry as it brought blight upon the church. The book was a pleasure to read - a better history book than most that have crossed my path.

Whether you are familiar with the core character, John R. Rice, or not, I would recommend this look at church history by an author who grew up in a family that defined much of that history.

This review is based on a copy of the book provide free of charge by the publisher.