This Civil War novel is an excellent book for both young people and adults to read. Its Christian perspective from a first-person point-of-view reminds us again how the Christian life is not always easy. Spiritual dangers attack the elect on every side, no matter what time period they live in. Yet God continually gives us strength by His Holy Spirit to persevere until the end.
I think that reading this book is a great reminder and in-depth proof of what our doctrine of salvation is and why it is true based on Scripture. To know our doctrine of salvation is not only important for our daily Christian life, but knowing about the false interpretation of "whosoever will may come" that is easily found in the world opens us up to opportunities to witness to those around us about the truth of salvation and encourage them to come to the pure preaching of the gospel!
Kashvi meets the Christian owners of the orphanage and begins to have a relationship with the one true God. The contrast between the "religion" of her childhood and the true godly faith of her new life at Karunai House really shows how the gospel can change your life.
Reading this book is a fantastic way to refresh and sharpen our minds on what we believe, and why we actually believe it. Rev. Hoeksema really emphasizes the importance of knowing what is right and wrong on topics like church order and governance, common and particular grace, and being spiritually resilient and steadfast in our faith through controversy and schism. Knowledge of how men handled these things in the past and where they went wrong is a very valuable tool for us today as we strive to uphold God's truth in the church.
The following is a review by Marc Daniel Rivera of Herman Hanko and Dan Van...
It is helpful to keep in mind, when reading this section, that defending the truth of God against errors that are maintained about Him has never been something optional for God’s church, or merely an academic exercise. The Lord has willed that false doctrine always threatens the church. One of His purposes in this is to spur the church to uncover and develop more of the truth about Him. So, a generation or two removed from this history, we can recognize that what we are learning, He specifically brought to pass for our growth in knowing and loving Him.
