Review – Faith Confirmed

Do you know how some books are just visually, well, what’s the words, how do I put it?

Gorgeous.

That’s it. Gorgeous. Do you know how some books are just visually gorgeous? Do you know how with some books from the moment you turn the cover you are immediately brought into a brilliant world of carefully balanced text and imagery, a multimedia (as much as a book can be multimedia) smorgasbord of informative and instructive content?

Welcome to the second edition of the best-selling “Faith Confirmed” by Peter Jackson and Chris Wright. This popular decade old preparation book for Confirmation (clue’s in the title folks) has been brought bang smack up-to-date for the 21st Century with some great styling and picture content, as well as a gentle editing of the text to enhance the already superb copy.

It is gorgeous.

But enough of the superlatives.

Jackson and Wright have produced a useful instruction book for Confirmation candidates to work through as they prepare for a public declaration of their baptismal faith. The book is neatly divided into two halves, the first concentrating on basic doctrinal issues (Christology, Soteriology, Pneumatology etc) and the second looking at the sacramental life of the Church. It’s at this point that the more conservative of you might draw breath through clenched teeth – Jackson and Wright refer to seven sacraments and are very clearly coming from a particular camp in the Church’s broad spectrum. That said, there’s nothing in discussion of the “other five” that most evangelicals would have much complaint with. Indeed, Jackson and Wright try to explore some more thorny issues with a balanced and careful approach – the small discussion on gay marriage includes quotes from both Roman Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and the new Anglican Dean of St Paul’s London, David Ison. In some senses Jackson and Wright’s approach provides a useful framework for many across the different spectrums of churchmanship to discuss their views on the way the church and individual Christians live out their unique and corporate faith.

Indeed, one of the other strengths of this book is the way that Jackson and Wright provide great instruction for response to each of the topics covered. Every chapter ends with some group discussion points, Bible study ideas and prayer pointers. That makes this volume a useful resource for a Confirmation class, but to do the job properly one would need to have almost twenty separate classes to go over all the ground covered!

I would have no problem using this as a course book, not just for a confirmation class but as a great tool for a post-Alpha group in a middle of the road Anglican Church.

Do Buy if… you want a really friendly and accessible Confirmation Course
Don’t Buy if… even the very thought of your Presbyter contemplating putting on a stole brings you out in palpitations

9 out of 10

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