The title implies that there was a time when there was wonder, and somehow we lost it. But is that true? There is certainly wonder in the Incarnation, when God was ‘incomprehensibly made man’. The author writes about what happened 2,000 years ago and the theology around it very clearly with many Scriptures.
The book consists of 21 brief chapters, some relating to the Incarnation and some the cultural celebration of Christmas. The ‘wonder’ that has been lost has been from the cultural side, which has moved further and further away from Christ and biblical morality.
Unfortunately the cover – showing a girl in front of an opened present, looking wonderingly above – will convey to many the impression that wonder is found in the cultural celebration of Christmas: presents, etc. That was probably not the intention of the author, who says that such things ‘have no real connection to the Christ of the Bible’ (p.43).
The author makes a number of evangelistic applications. But if his aim was to reach unbelievers or nominal Christians with the gospel, he might have considered a shorter tract or leaflet. An unbeliever would have to be very motivated to read 96 pages.
If the book is intended to address Christians, it would have been helpful to address the fact that our celebration of Christmas has a complicated history, including the origins of Christmas, the view of the Puritans, and the influence of Dickens.
So while this book contains some good things, it’s hard to identify the target audience.
Dennis Hill
Hull
