All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment by Hannah Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is set to be a book on discernment. Anderson takes a slightly different approach. She unpacks Philippians 4 and sifting your thoughts through this filter. Instead of an academic approach to a transformed mind this book is a more conversational, relatable call to discernment. Anderson defines discernment as “. . . , discernment is the ability to sort between a host of options and pick what is good.”
I appreciate her goal to “lead you away from our common disposition to fear-based thinking toward a place of hope and abundance.” She seeks to tackle the common “How can I know who and what to believe? How can I make choices that lead to a successful life? How can I avoid mistakes? How can I know what is good?”
To her credit the author does not offer up a simple 3 steps or 7 keys of what to think.
Along with a solid breakdown of Philippians 4 Anderson provides plenty of down to earth anecdotal and personal examples to make discernment practical and realistic. For me personally the chapter on purity and the chapter on what is commendable are fitting for today’s climate of the me too movement and the world of fake news.
We are reminded that the digital age information and knowledge are not the same thing. “Because we are literally creating data in real time, we must exercise greater care in what we choose to add to the conversation and how we react to what others contribute. More than ever, we must develop the discernment that recognizes that not every shared idea is a good idea, nor is every idea worth sharing”
We are encouraged to acknowledge that discernment is a spiritual exercise AND there is objective truth to pursue while also clinging to faith. “Basing truth in objective reality—making sure that we check our facts, do our research, and confirm the truthfulness of something before we accept it—does not minimize the importance of the unseen realm. But it does safeguard us from letting our private, personal experience of the world dominate.”
My one concern was I wish there had been more emphasis on the falleness infecting our world and how easily we are deceived. At times it felt like the world was painted as a good place with some issues instead of a world infected with the curse that needs to be broken and redeemed. Anderson does not paint a picture of a world full of unicorns and rainbows. She explains that the qualities of Philippians 4 describe the character of God. Again that is just my one minor concern and in no way should detract from the practical usefulness of this work
Thinking About Theology 