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The Gravedigger File: Papers on the Subversion of the Modern Church
Book by Guinness, Os
245 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1983
3 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Os Guinness
77 books345 followersOs Guinness (D.Phil., Oxford) is the author or editor of more than twenty-five books, including The American Hour, Time for Truth and The Case for Civility. A frequent speaker and prominent social critic, he was the founder of the Trinity Forum and has been a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies. He lives near Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 25, 2009
Interesting novel in the vein of the "Screwtape Letters". This book purports to be a series of memos from the devil on how to subvert the modern Church in the West. Guinness has a number of good insights into the problems with contemporary Christian culture, and he tells his story with wit, but he isn't as good at presenting a positive model of what a Christian should be in modern culture. Whereas "The Screwtape Letters" presented both the positive and the negative of modern Christian life, this book is focused almost exclusively on the negative.
On the other hand, the concluding postscript was brilliant. It was a call to get back to the church's roots and to renew our faith there. I just wish that this section had lasted more than 10 pages after 230 pages of what is wrong with the Church. This is one of my general pet peeves about contemporary Christian writing of the last 30 years. It seems so focused on the problems and pitfalls, that the reader comes away without a clear message of what he or she should be like as a Christian.
On the other hand, the concluding postscript was brilliant. It was a call to get back to the church's roots and to renew our faith there. I just wish that this section had lasted more than 10 pages after 230 pages of what is wrong with the Church. This is one of my general pet peeves about contemporary Christian writing of the last 30 years. It seems so focused on the problems and pitfalls, that the reader comes away without a clear message of what he or she should be like as a Christian.
June 14, 2009
The Gravedigger File is a list of theologically informed cultural observations woven into a creative narrative. Based in Los Angeles, a global conspiracy is moving forward to destroy the church in the United States. Rather than posture itself in direct opposition, the conspirators aim to bring it down by working within the Church. They believe that American expressions of secularization, privitazation, and pluralization can be used to create a post-Christian worldview.
The book was written in 1983. Much of what Guiness hypothesized has unfolded in my lifetime just as he predicted. I would commend this book to anyone who likes CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters or interested in thinking more about how Christians should interact with their neighbors.
A challenging read with lots of good questions to consider.
The book was written in 1983. Much of what Guiness hypothesized has unfolded in my lifetime just as he predicted. I would commend this book to anyone who likes CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters or interested in thinking more about how Christians should interact with their neighbors.
A challenging read with lots of good questions to consider.
June 17, 2007
Os Guinness was 20 years ahead of all the Brian MacLarens, Donald Millers, and Rob Bells. He is hardly a postmodernist; he just predicted the postmodern dialogue of contemporary Western Christianity decades before we arrived here. Not only that but The Gravedigger Files is far more brilliant discourse than any of the books published recently. If you are a Christian and you have any inkling to question church culture you must read this book. In fact dont bother reading another page of MacLaren until you finish this book first.
February 24, 2021
I’m pretty happy I finally got around to reading this. The style is charming and I was interested throughout. Guinness is pretty strong on diagnosis, could have used some clearer examples at times, but for a book published before the fall of the Berlin Wall, it’s pretty interesting that many of what he said would be issues are still issues. Categorically, this book helps structure your thinking. Combined with wit. It’s something that is fun to read.
August 26, 2011
A classic looking at the threats to orthodox Christianity... Written against the background of pst 1960s liberalism and secularisation, it is a little dated, but much of what it foretold has come true...
October 17, 2010
This is superb. Taking CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters as a model, this is correspondence between the devils 'on the field' and their HQ. Very amusing but extremely perceptive.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews