Elisabeth Elliot: A Life. Lucy S.R. Austen. 2023. Crossway. 624 pages. [Source: Review copy] [adult nonfiction; biography]
First sentence (from the prologue) On Monday January 9, 1956, listeners to HCJB, "the Voice of the Andes," tuning in for the "Off the Record" radio program heard a disturbing news bulletin: five young American missionaries were missing--captured or killed in the jungles of Ecuador.
Is this the only Elisabeth Elliot biography released in 2023? NO. Will I be reviewing both of them? Probably. I have every intention of reading both. This is an all-in-one volume biography of Elisabeth Elliot. The other is the second of two volumes covering her life.
What should you know about this one going in? Chapters are long, long, long, super-long. If you are the type of reader who wants to finish whole chapters in one sitting, expect to sit still for at least an hour per chapter. (I'm a fast reader, so it took me anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half per chapter. The author, I suppose, wants to keep things together. There are three sections or parts. Part one covers 1926-1952. This covers from birth to the time she heads off SINGLE to Ecuador. Part two covers 1952-1963. These years are her Ecuador years, mainly. Part three covers 1963-2015. This section covers everything after her return to the United States. Three little chapters. Or not so little chapters as the case may be. The last chapter, for example, covers her third marriage--which I believe was in the late 70s--maybe 77? 78?--through her death in 2015.
I was reminded that theology/spirituality is not stagnant or static. Her views of EVERYTHING relating to faith changed--radically, dramatically, often. Her world view was in a state of constant change. For better or worse. At first, I thought she might be a forerunner of a deconstructionist. But the more I read, the more I realized it might be more of a dis-entangling. She definitely unpacked EVERY doctrine she was raised with and thoroughly questioned everything minutely. I would call the doctrines she was raised with (including home, boarding school, undergraduate and graduate) had fundamentalist leanings mixed with Victory/Holiness leanings. Definitely some strict, harsh, legalistic, judgmental patterns. A tinge of prosperity as well. If you do x, y, and z, then God will bless you with a, b, c.
Elliot had STRONG feelings at all times--in particular about the evangelical church, about missions, about the structures and organizations of world missions. She came to question a lot of what she'd been taught about missionary life, about missions, about how to do missions, what that looks like, feels like, works. She thought that there was a lot of double-speaking or lies by omission. Remove the sentimentality and flowery inspiration. Be honest about it's incredibly draining and depressing.
This one does not seek to idolize Elliot. She's not presented as a super-extraordinary-amazing-sinless saint who had all the answers. She's not held up as a model to imitate--not really. I think the goal is to fully flesh out her ENTIRE life. I think it's an honest examination. It doesn't condemn Elliot for being raised in a different--much, much, much--different generation. It doesn't seek to cancel Elliot for being who she was, for having different views.
I struggled to find Elisabeth Elliot likeable. I know that sounds horrible--horrendous. Everyone is supposed to love Elliot, right????? I mean she's one of the most famous Christian authors from the twentieth century. But the more I read about her, the more I struggled to like her. Perhaps in part because I found Jim Elliot insufferable. (He wasn't the only husband I found insufferable).
What the book excels at is honest examination and evaluation. She looks at both Elliot's life and works. She keeps things big picture in some ways, but, also does go into greater detail. I was reminded that some things do change, but others tend to stay the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment