Review of "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer

I am always trying to find new authors that I enjoy reading. Recently I've discovered Timothy Keller, Kevin DeYoung, and Jonathan Edwards. Obviously, most people have heard of all of these authors before-- they come highly recommended. A.W. Tozer was an author that I was directed towards in pretty much every class I took at Moody Bible Institute. I finally caught up with one of his books and can honestly say that I'm ready to read anything this man has written.

What I liked: Tozer has such a heart for the Lord, it comes out in every line of this book. There is no question left to the reader about what Tozer's intentions were in writing this volume. I found myself challenged, impassioned, and encouraged time and time again.

Tozer writes beautifully. He has a way of stating basic principles of Scripture and Christian life in the most profoundly simplistic way. Nearly this entire book is quotable. He writing is clear, concise, stretching, and exciting. It was truly a pleasure to read. On a more formatting level, each chapter is short enough to easily read along with Scripture for daily devotions.

What I Didn't Like: The only problem I had with The Pursuit of God is some of Tozer's theology. This really doesn't get in the way of most of the message of the book. Simply, he mentions God's prevenient grace a couple of times in regards to the salvation process. Having moderate calvinistic leanings, I personally don't believe Scripture teaches prevenient grace; however, it was only mentioned a few times, and again did not distort or confuse the message of the book.

Favorite Quotations: 
- "Everything is made to center upon the initial act of 'accepting' Christ... and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him."
- "We read our chapter, have our short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar."
- "Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God."
- "One  of the greatest hindrances to internal peace which the Christian encounters is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas - the sacred and the secular."




Recommendation: I highly recommend this for all Christians. It is fairly accessible to all readers (there is a bit of Old English flare, but still quite comprehensible), and I believe any believer would be greatly challenged and encouraged by reading the heart of this great man of God.