Excuses in In the Shadow of Plenty by George Grant

In this book, there were no characters so I chose to write about the most interesting topic in chapter one called “excuses, excuses.” The author here explains about the very first fight between husband and wife and the excuses Adam and Eve gave to cover up their sin in the Garden of Eden. When God asked them of their crime, they tried to put the blame on each other. In all fairness neither of them lied but they did try to cover up the truth, literally. (Genesis 3) Both of their excuses were true but they were very lame. They both refused to take responsibility for their actions and lied straight to God’s face.

I cannot exactly say what happened, as a theme, in this book because the theme keeps changing, but what I think the author was trying to do was simplify the important facts in the bible so people who don’t understand all of the “thee’s” and “thou’s” will be able to have a better understanding of what it has to offer. In chapter ten, there’s a section called “change the world.” One thing in this section that stuck out in my mind was this, “Charity is like a lever. You can move a large heavy abject with a lever. But you also need a fulcrum. That’s the gospel. The foundation. You need them both. With both, you can move the hearts of men, If the Holy Spirit blesses your efforts. You can move even the world. You can usher in peace that surpasses all understanding.” Faith is the evidence of things unseen. (Hebrews 11:1) this verse was used in a section called “faith and victory.” It brings to mind words said by a man named Billy Grahm. He said, “Have you ever seen God? I’ve never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind but I’ve never seen the wind.” Our faith is in a constant battle with the world. Neither winning nor losing. Some may fall, others may become martyrs but we are constantly getting “reinforcements” from the side we’re fighting against. They are the people who realize that our faith in God is stronger than anything the world can throw at us.

The overall theme of this book is to simplify the bibles most important principles so they are easier to understand but people like me who get confused with all of the “begats,” “thee’s” and “thou’s.