Given some of the really poorly-written and -researched religious books I've read and reviewed lately, the fact that Jeff Lowe studied at a university and could read Greek and Aramaic made me very hopeful that "The Kingdom of God and your place in the Kingdom" would be a high-quality study. Thus I opened it and eagerly began reading. The question is: Was I disappointed?
The book begins with a truth: Jesus is indeed credited with talking about or mentioning the "Kingdom of God" many, many times. Therefore, I thought this book was going to focus on these passages. I wasn't surprised that it used only the traditionally accepted Biblical texts, though I would have been very pleased to see the full range of possible ancient texts used. However, Lowe spends a good deal of time using the Old Testament as well as New Testament books other than the Gospels, drawing attention away from Jesus and his words.
There were two errors that stood out for me when I read this book. The first was the mention of a woman named Martha meeting Jesus after his "first ascension" (Lowe 54) without a direct reference to which passage he is getting this information from, so I had to do a bit of research, because the name Martha struck this Christian as incorrect. Matthew (I used the New Revised Standard Version) says that two Marys went to his tomb and found it empty. In Mark, there are multiple endings; the first mentions the two Marys, while another mentions Mary Magdalene. Luke names three women: Joanna, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of two disciples, but not a Martha. Finally, at the end of John we see Mary Magdalene again, and she goes to touch Jesus but is stopped. I think Lowe has made a simple error here in crediting the correct character, but if I can spot that error years out of Bible school and college theology courses, it is amazing that a scholar of the Bible claiming to have a prophetic vision of the Kingdom of God that he wants to share would make this error.
The second error is crediting Psalm 90 to Moses without comment (Lowe 69). The fact is that the Psalms were first labeled in the Hellenistic period, long after Moses's time. I'd need some sort of scholarly reference here to understand why Lowe cites this Psalm as Moses's, but that still doesn't explain why he uses it at all. I don't see one mention of the Kingdom of God here, and they certainly aren't the words of Jesus. The attempt is to connect long life with living in the Kingdom, but since there has been no clear definition of the "kingdom" to this point, it does nothing but add to the "preachy" nature of the book.
These minor errors would be easy to overlook if the book didn't claim such great authority to help people see the truth and develop the deep spirituality needed to find their places in the Kingdom of God. However, no Biblical scholar should ever be afraid to cite things properly and put any quotations into their full context. Instead of a well-argued book, I find this to be very reminiscent of those TV evangelical preachers who ask you to send them money. If you feel the need to use statistics (Lowe 97-101), please cite your sources if you wish to be taken seriously.
There is no solid definition or description of this Kingdom of God anywhere in the book, and frankly, given the book's title, that should have been one of the very first chapters. Is it a place? A state of spirituality? An emotional bond with God? An existence on another plane or after death? Without a clear definition of the Kingdom, the notion of Lowe's describing anyone's place within it seems silly at best.
I think Lowe believes it to be a place here and now. He claims repeatedly that when one has enough faith, then one is in the Kingdom, where amazing things happen. All death is ended, all disease cured, and wealth becomes abundant, and he doesn't mean spiritual but financial wealth. This "doctrine of wealth" is unfortunately all too common in some so-called evangelical churches and organizations, and its spiritual validity is questionable given its materialism, but it is not without its benefits.
First, it allows one to dismiss anyone who has problems as simply lacking faith, and that frees one to ignore the world around oneself, something I do not believe the Jesus of the Bible did. Second, it frees those who preach this "doctrine of wealth" from any guilt about accepting money and making money from their followers. Third, those who do not have the miracles in their lives and do not reap the rewards of financial gain can feel guilty and allow themselves to continue being fooled by those claiming to speak for Jesus. If you doubt that the "doctrine of wealth" is really what is being preached here, consider that chapter 12 is titled "The Finances of the Kingdom" and repeatedly argues that faith equals monetary gain.
Sadly, I was deeply disappointed by this book. Some of the simple errors in the book are basically inexcusable for anyone claiming any religious authority. The "doctrine of wealth" honestly sickened me as a Christian; of course, preachers of this doctrine will simply dismiss me as liberal or anti-Christ or some such thing. The lack of straightforward answers for the reader made me doubt this was a book looking to educate people instead of preaching. Finally, if something is to be judged as truly prophetic or not, it needs to give us clear information, and clarity is lacking in this book.
