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Book Review: Interesting but Problematic

July 18th, 2010 at 02:43pm Albert McIlhenny

Winston Churchill (Christian Encounters Series) – John Perry Thomas Nelson (March 2010) Topic: Biography Summary: Biography of Winston Churchill with an emphasis on the influence of Christianity in his life Rating:

Thomas Nelson Publishers’ Christian Encounters series has thus far produced interesting biographies offering a quick glimpse into the lives of well known figures in various fields from the perspective of their religious beliefs – particularly their Christian faith. All have been interesting reading but the overall accuracy seems to vary according to the amount of “spin” necessary to reach the desired conclusion. With well known religious figures (Bunyon, St. Patrick), they have been more successful since their religion was the reason for their notoriety. But when their personal faith is secondary to other achievements (Newton, Eyre), there needs to be some separation of public and private images.

The religious beliefs of Winston Churchill would be a fascinating topic of a full length investigation by an academic historian. In the “Christian Encounters,” version authored by John Perry (less than 200 pages), pronouncements on religious themes, no matter how incidental, are seized upon to present the subject as devout – an assumption that is then just assumed throughout the book to anchor various elements of his life. The problems with this approach are obvious: How serious should we take references to God in poltical speeches and events meant to motivate Britain in a time of crisis? Do these reflect serious belief or just an appeal to British tradition? Politicians often make appeals to Christian values when they haven’t attended church regularly in decades.

This is not to say Churchill had no religious feeling but that he kept his beliefs close to the vest and would hardly fall into the expressive form of many contemporary Christians – particularly in America. Part of this is no doubt cultural: understatement was a virtue for British gentlemen of his time. His private statements on religion seem often full of contradictions but with someone who experienced such highs and lows in both his private and public life, one might expect such changes of heart with respect to divine providence.

Despite these misgivings about the book, it is worth reading – but with a cautious eye. More interesting than the insights it presents on his personal faith are those reflecting the battle within himself between two facets of his personality: his desire for stability and love of tradition with his own inherent rebellious and questioning nature. It might be asked if his attachments to relgion were because of personal faith or seeing it as reflective of the best in British tradition.

Overall, it remains an open question whether the Christian faith had a deep hold on Churchill or was mere convetion. I suspect both have elements of truth mixed with the wishes of identifying a great man with their cause by both sides of the question. This liitle booklet is a very interesting read but, given the reasons noted above, remains problematic.

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