David Wells’ second book in his four-part series picks up where he left off in No Place for Truth in describing, dissecting, and diagnosing the church’s problem. In this book, he points his remarks towards a proposed solution. In documenting the problem, God in the Wasteland furthers these arguments launched in the first book: we’ve been corrupted by modernism; technology has had a transforming effect on us; the heart of the matter is what prior generations called "worldliness;" and pastors, in particular, shoulder a significant part of the blame.

Much of this kind of critique can be found elsewhere (e.g. Neil Postman’s excellent works Amusing Ourselves to Death and Technopoly). However, Wells’ unique contribution is his worshipful reflection on theology as the antidote to the church’s shallowness. He will emphasize different aspects of God’s nature in future books in this series. For Wasteland, it is God’s "otherness" or holiness that receives thoughtful treatment.

The fact that God is holy and had to reveal Himself for us to know Him (and the fact that He did so!) is celebrated in the core chapters of this book. Close on the heels of this lofty reflection comes a stinging rebuke that we have failed to study, preach, read, and meditate on the Scripture – the place to find this revelation.

He chides us with these words, "It is entirely possible for those who have sworn to defend the concept of biblical inerrancy to function as if they had no such Word in their hands. Indeed, it happens all the time. And the sad fact is that while the nature of the Bible was being debated, the Bible itself was quietly falling into disuse in the church." (p. 150)

Academicians should read Wells’ works because they have the capacity to grasp his arguments (indeed they exercise this level of thought in their disciplines all the time, whether they do so with theology or not). Christian intellectuals need to express these and similar warnings in their churches and within campus fellowships, lest we continue to watch the spiritual landscape continue to be a wasteland.

Reviewed by: Randy Newman