This is Steve Maltz’s thirty first book and the thirteenth – and, by his own admission, probably final – book in his series looking at the Hebraic understandings of our faith – the theme he has been writing about for many years. Steve states:
“I feel that Icebreaker provides a fitting conclusion to the series, building upon the journey and providing signposts for the future. It has been written for the wider church and it is hoped that the design and blurb would be enticing enough to draw them in, rather than signposting the Hebraic underpinning of its narratives (which sadly has always been a put-off for many Christians!).”
How to reach the lost
At Prophecy Today we have followed his work and reviewed many of Maltz’s books, and it is interesting to see how he has pulled it all together as he explores once more how Christians can reach the lost when our culture “has us by throat with the collective madness of victim mentality, the stretching of truth to fit dubious agendas and the fear of being cancelled through ‘unacceptable’ speech”.
Maltz concludes that the solution is simple, so simple we can miss it: we must preach the resurrection. This is what makes Christianity distinctive, and it is only through proclaiming the risen Christ that we really have anything to offer. Moreover it is the answer to all the nonsense swirling around us. We don’t need different solutions to different problems. That Christ has been raised from the dead is the key to everything.
Pushing through the ice
The Four Parts of the book are entitled Rivers, Mountains, Fields and Ice. It is not entirely clear why these headings are chosen, except for the last one, which sets up the analogy of the true Church, with its message of resurrection, as an icebreaker, not in the sense of a fun item to get things going, but as an icebreaker ship.
the solution is simple, so simple we can miss it: we must preach the resurrection. This is what makes Christianity distinctive ...
Such a vessel has three features that most ‘normal’ ships lack: a strengthened hull, an ice-clearing shape and the power to push through sea ice. It has to be fit for this purpose. It has to have a design 100 per cent suited for this one job, otherwise it meets disaster itself. Does the Church meet the necessary criteria for pushing through the thick ice of an unbelieving and idolatrous nation with the gospel of redemption?
Building his case
In this book Maltz quotes extensively from many of his previous books, in his own words he has ‘pillaged’ his earlier work. For some this might seem tedious – but it does show how he has been building his case over many years. As usual the author provides many astute observations and finely tuned analyses of our current social and spiritual woes within the woke culture, as well as explaining how the loss of a Hebraic understanding of the biblical message contributes to our own weaknesses.
As we have come to expect from this author, the book is easy to read with many well-turned phrases and apt analogies, though it could be better punctuated in places, with some grammatical errors standing out.
As usual the author provides many astute observations and finely tuned analyses of our current social and spiritual woes within the woke culture
A creative turn
Steve’s gift for fictional scenarios comes to the fore in the final section, in which he skilfully weaves together a day in the life of four different characters, leading us to the conclusion he is aiming for.
Perhaps it is in this area of creative writing that Maltz will find a new level of output in the future. We thank him for all he has brought to us through his writing so far, and wish him well in whatever he turns his hand to next.
Icebreaker (200 pp) is published by Saffron Planet, and is available from SP Publishing for £10 (+ p&p).