Reenchanting Humanity by Owen Strachan: A Book Review

I'll be honest. I had no clue what I was getting into when I picked up Reenchanting Humanity. I just had seen it highly recommended on various channels I follow so I thought, "Hey, I should really read that." Little did I know I would be entering into a massive, 383 page treatise on mankind. Quite frankly, I'm so glad I did.

Owen Strachan is associate professor of Christian theology, director of the Center for Public Theology, and director of the Residency PhD program at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Strachan takes the reader on an exploration of the doctrine of man examining nine different things in relation to mankind. He says that the major issue of our time is anthropology and asks, "Does the human person live in an ordered cosmos and have an appointed identity, or does he make his own identity in a world without God?" (3). These are pressing questions when even Christians within the church want to argue for complete autonomy. We need to understand ourselves and Christ in light of Scripture and Strachan helps us in this work.

Covering the topics of image, depravity, work, sexuality, race and ethnicity, technology, justice, contingency, and Christ, Strachan delves deep into anthropology exploring many facets of each topic. I found each chapter to be excellently written and easy to read. My two favorites were the chapters covering race and ethnicity and Christ.

Strachan takes a much different approach to exploring race and ethnicity than many do in our time. Strachan says, "It is important to note that the God of the Bible loves diversity, difference, and the many-splendored beauty of a world that operates in perfect harmony yet contains too many creatures and living beings to count" (211). Strachan, while speaking to race and ethnicity in our current time, explores the these topics in light of Israel as God's chosen people and the Gentiles who were outside of the old covenant. 

He then expands our view by showing us God's always-existing love for every ethnicity as outsiders were brought in in the old covenant. This always-existing love is magnified in the work of the cross. Strachan says, "The cross is so powerful it is effectively a second work of creation by God. There is a new race, a new humanity, a new people of God. Jew and Gentile are one in Jesus" (238). Later he says, "Reconciliation simply is not something we do. It is something that God has done" (243).

Strachan's chapter on Christ is the great crescendo of this book. "Jesus shows us what true humanity was intended to be" (355). We cannot have a true anthropology without looking to Christ. Adam was a type; Jesus is the archetype. Strachan says, "Even if Adam had not sinned against the Lord, the Father would still have the Son as the perfect image of humanity" (359). For the Christian, Christ is everything. He shows us what true humanity looks like in his kingdom. "In Adam we are fully human, but we are not truly human. In Christ we become truly human, for we are remade in the image of the true man" (378). 

In summary, this book was incredible. When people see the word "theology", they get scared or intimidated by what may be inside. This book was not a hard read, but takes some time. I promise if you'll give Reenchanting Humanity a chance, you'll be glad you did.

You can pick up your copy of Reenchanting Humanity on Amazon. (affiliate)

​Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Reenchanting Humanity from Christian Focus Publications in exchange for a fair and honest review.