Reading Guinness will allow you to reflect deeply on the Christian faith. His book Renaissance is a reflection of the thought of Andamio Impossible People>>. He invites us to be honest in the face of an unstable, liquid, and elusive society that is in process of disintegration.
Guinness defines impossible people as those who “receive strength from an unimaginable God who is greater then all, whom can be trusted in all circumstances, and who strengthens his people against even death” (p. 291).
It uses the “impossible man”, which was used to Pedro Damian (a 11th-century Benedictine reformer) who is known for his reforming fervor. He earned the reputation for being “unmanageable”, insubordinate, unstoppable, and inappropriate for a club. (P. 46).
This book is about people who have been called into a qualitatively new level of life that authenticates them as Christians. The author’s argumentation is so logical, that one can’t help but wonder where he is in the Christian life.
There are many moments that Guinness can be praised:
The Samuel moment is when the Church must present to society a clear prophetic and denouncing message in the purest form of Samuel or other prophets like Ravenhill or Schaeffer. When the Church denounces that the choices made by society are voluntarily chosen, it is imbued with courage.
-The Moses moment refers to something personal. It has to do my life of experimental holyness, the glory of God as my main purpose and “the essence of God’s impossible persons” (p 298).
Guinness, in seven chapters and an epilogue challenges us to reflect on where and how we are because we are the Church of Jesus Christ. Modernist and postmodern conditions change over time, but the challenge of remaining faithful is constant and present in this century. Semper Fideles seems like the motto the Church should raise today. The Church, as a resident foreigner, must pay the price for its fidelity (p. 103); This will be valued in rejection, contempt, contempt…on the part of society. But, even if it means death, the Christian follower stands firm in his fidelity to Christ.
It decries the loss of perception of supernatural beings in our lives (ch. 2), that is the existence of evil spirits and powers as philosophies, morals etc. They creep into our minds, and into the doctrinal structures of our churches. This is the topic he will devote Chapter 3. He will defend the existence principalities and powers at the cosmic level that are evil. “The spirit and spirit of this age is not metaphorical and cannot be overcome by actions and arguments In the titanic power, such as human ideologies and empires, but also behind and above them, there are tenebrous supernatural forces that act against the kingdom of our Lord” (p. 133). The Christian must remember that Heaven is the boss when faced with such a situation. The whole world is in the hands of Our Lord, and the final outcome will not be determined by the ‘invisible hand’ of modern markets or the ‘leviathan’ of the modern states. But, it will be decided by the divine administration we call provisionence.
In Chapter 5, he describes atheism (p. 197) as a “competitor or rival of faith”, which seeks to undermine historical Christianity’s fundamental foundations. He does however attribute this social crisis (which he refers to as de-Christianization) to the “product the infidelity Christians to their faith” (p. 213). I believe that reason is not lacking.
It is, in short, a book that makes you shiver at the enormity of living and being the Church of Jesus Christ amid an evil and perverse world. Semper fideles, regardless of the cost. Impossible people.
