Saving Belief by Austin Farrer

by Austin Farrer

Saving Belief is based on a set of lectures given by Austin Farrer to undergraduates and the style is deceptively simple and chatty. Yet in the end it is a unified account of Christian belief which never side-steps the painful and complex themes at the heart of his subject.

Genres: Theology

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Austin Marsden Farrer was a theologian and philosopher whom many consider to be an outstanding figure of 20th century Anglicanism. He served as Fellow and Chaplain of Trinity College, Oxford, 1935–1960.

He was the progenitor of the eponymous "Farrer hypothesis" suggesting that the Gospel of Mark was written prior to, and influenced, those of Matthew and Luke, in contradistinction to the "Q" theory of textual analysis more widely held outside Britain.

Reviews

[Chad D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Farrer's sermons more than his theological works. Their reasoning (appeals to other than Scripture) has dated. But this book is still worth reading--a lecture series to undergraduates, five lectures, each with at least one quotation or paragraph worth reading the whole chapter. You just have to do some sifting, and be patient.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Austin Farrar, who was C. S. Lewis' priest for a time, has written a fine book on basic Christian beliefs. He has the usual Anglican balance between extremes, noting the necessity of affirming that Christ died for all without taking the imagery of substitutionary atonement literally. He also emphasizes the need for both correct thought and action in the Christian life. His chapter on "Heaven and Hell" offers a welcome balance against views of Heaven that seem to absorb the human being into God, while still insisting that Heaven is chiefly focused on God. One criticism is that Farrar's style is not as smooth as C. S. Lewis, but that is a minor point. This book is well worth reading.