The Way - E Stanley Jones

Published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.: London, 1956 (1947).

Some books are quick reads. Some are not. Some only take me a day or two. Some take a lot longer...

I can estimate almost to the day how long this book took me to read, because I started it a day or two after I put up my post about finishing my previous 'devotional' book, The One Year Worship the King Devotional, posting on September 25th last year. So, about 214 days (including February 29th).

This might imply that I didn't enjoy The Way, but that is definitely not the case. E Stanley Jones is a very interesting writer, but is just not a quick read. He was widely travelled, and spent a large amount of time in India, where he set up Christian 'ashrams.' This is important to note, because at times Jones sees things in a very non-Western way, pulling out gems of truth from scripture I had never considered before, or life-lessons that are very applicable while being quite 'foreign.' Two examples from early on in the book are: "In giving up things for Christ I gave up nothing but what subtracted from me, and when I got Him, I got everything that added to me" (page 37), and in a similar vein: "It is a simple, literal fact that the more I belong to Him, the more I belong to myself. The more I am bound to Him, the freer I am. Your code of morals can then be summed up in a sentence: "Love Christ, and do as you like." For then you will do what is right and what is good for you. And more, you will do what you really like." (page 41)

Even the way the book is structured is a little outside the norm for this style of writing. Devotionals are usually arranged to give you a thought a day, and sometimes that is the case with The Way. However, Jones has a far bigger goal in mind with this book: arguing that the Christian Way of Life is the best form of life imaginable, and doing so theme by theme, with each theme taking a week to unpack. This begins with "The inner confusion. Is there such a thing as the Way? Is the Way written in us?" (page xiii). There are sections on alcoholism, boredom, fatigue, and even a week-long section on why, in Jones' opinion, we should have a "world federal union" in order to prevent war from ever happening again (particularly relevant for someone writing in 1947). So, the Christian reader might find certain parts less 'encouragement' and more 'wow, interesting apologetics.' 

Considering I was really more after the day-by-day devotional style writing when I first picked this up, it took me a little while to get a handle on how I was going to read this book. One page a day didn't seem to fit the theme for me, so I ended up reading multiple days at a time and then having a breather. And read that way, I really enjoyed it.

A really different thinker, but a good one.

Completed, after 214 days, on 26 April 2024.

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