"Into His Presence" (Tim L. Anderson)

TITLE: Into His Presence: A Theology of Intimacy with God
AUTHOR: Tim L. Anderson
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2019, (280 pages).

How do I grow closer to God? What does intimacy with God means? What do I do if I don't feel close to God? These are some common questions and confessions from Christians yearning for a deeper relationship with God. As society becomes more feeling-oriented, many are asking questions about how to cultivate divine intimacy. Recognizing this need, author Timothy L Anderson helps us on this journey with a focus on the theology of intimacy. He qualifies his effort by saying that it is not a book meant for devotional reading. Neither is it a book to make one feel closer to God directly. Instead, the book serves two purposes: to affirm the reality of the Holy Spirit in our lives; and to intercede for a deeper relationship. Before one embarks on the journey to intimacy, it is helpful to know the different windows to pursue God. "Catholic Mystical" writers such as Thomas Merton, St John of the Cross, and Augustine seek God in a two-way relationship, with the sole objective being union with God. The "Pentecostal Experiential" finds intimacy in signs, visions, and wonders. The "Evangelical Devotional" focuses on the pedagogy of discipleship and spiritual practices. Anderson cautions us from adopting either extreme absolutism or extreme liberalism on any of them. The way toward intimacy needs to begin with a theological framework. Anderson paints this framework using a hub and spokes metaphor. He defines intimacy with God as "the movement of God and Christians toward a place of true knowledge and close contact." With this hub as the object, Anderson goes on to describe the various spokes of intimacy. Before that, he describes the four biblical elements of intimacy:

1. Movement toward intimacy
2. Intimate knowledge
3. Intimate place/location
4. Intimate contact/touch

These movements are toward greater and deeper levels of intimacy. Our starting point is of course our existence. For God had created us in the first pace. God has equipped us with the consciousness to be intimate. Due to sin and the dualism of the sacred/secular, many in our society have been deceived into thinking that we live without the need for God. Even some believers behave like deists, thinking that God exists but is distant and uncaring. Anderson takes us through several theological assumptions to work from, that God is not only ultimate but intimate. He is All-Knowing and invites us to know Him. Many of our frustrations with spiritual closeness have to do with sin and the effects of the Fall. Here, Anderson identifies the barriers such as wickedness, worldliness,  arrogance, fear, etc. In the Bible, there are many symbols of God's desire to establish intimacy with us. One such symbol is "anthropomorphism" where God reveals to us through human symbols.  Other "spokes" of intimacy addressed deals with specific contexts such as:

• What intimacy means for the "shamed?"
• Understanding intimacy through biblical images of marriage and Christ
• The intimate relationship as with the Holy Spirit
• Intimacy in the light of suffering and pain
• Songs of intimacy

My Thoughts
In any work on intimacy, one cannot avoid the subject of knowing God. For may laypersons, theology theology may seem to be something too "ivory-tower" or academic. This is understandable but I would urge readers to be patient. Dismissing any theological discussion outright leads to ignorance. Trying to engage theology without guidance may seem too lofty. That is why this book is a helpful guide to enable us to learn intimacy from the guiding framework of theology. After all, theology is essentially about the study of God. God has revealed Himself to us and for any intimate relationship to grow, we need to know God through all means available to us. I find the use of the Wesleyan quadrilateral a helpful guide: Scripture, Reason, Experience, and Tradition.

Anderson has adopted a lot of Scripture in this book. Even when the points are not specifically referenced, they are anchored on the truths revealed in Scripture. Every page are well-reasoned, with a keen awareness about the importance of experience. Anderson is also well-versed with the tradition, which was why he started the book with the three main thrusts of intimacy: Catholic Mystical, Pentecostal Experiential; and Evangelical Devotional. There are merits in all of them. While Anderson did not expound on each of them in the later part of the book, he develops his own approach with a respectful acknowledgment of the merits of these traditional spiritual practices.

What I appreciate is how the author approaches the topic of intimacy from various cultural and personal angles. Culturally, there are aspects of barriers which he tackled well in the chapter on the Fall and the effects of sin. Personally, he deals with the difficulty of intimacy from the standpoint of brokenness. This reminds me that intimacy is for all occasions, regardless of our emotional ups and downs. Maybe we sense a deeper need for God in times of struggle. This is where the last chapter really hits home. Through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, we look at another dimension of intimacy. I would say that might arguably be the most powerful application of the theology of intimacy in this book.

Tim L. Anderson is professor of theology at Corban University in Salem, Oregon.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

---

This book has been provided courtesy of Kregel Academic without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.