How does God speak? What's so significant about Jesus being both human and divine? Who is the Holy Spirit? Whether you're just exploring Christianity or a veteran believer, Harris will help you unearth the timeless truths of Scripture; discover that theology isn't just for scholars; and deepen your relationship with Christ. Approx. 240 pages, hardcover from Multnomah.
"In Dug Down Deep my old friend Joshua Harris explains the basics of Christian theology in a way all of us can understand. He is a humble man, and teaches humbly. If you are tired of hype promises, and want essential truth, this book is for you. The truths in this book will last as religious fads come and go." - Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz
“More than forty years of quadriplegia has underscored to me the matchless value of knowing—really knowing—the doctrines of the Christian faith. Dug Down Deep reveals how biblical doctrine provides a pathway to understanding the heart and mind of God. If you’re looking for ‘that one book’ that will push you farther down the road to faith than you’ve ever journeyed before, Dug Down Deep is it. I highly recommend it!” — Joni Eareckson Tada, author; founder and CEO, International Disability Center, Agoura Hills, CA
“When the apostle Peter says, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…casting all your anxiety on Him,” he implies that humble people are fearless. They have the courage to stand up for truth humbly. I love the term “humble orthodoxy.” And I love Josh Harris. When they come together (Josh and humble orthodoxy), as they do in this book, you get a humble, helpful, courageous testimony to biblical truth. Thank you, Josh, for following through so well on the conversation in Al Mohler’s study.” — John Piper, author of Desiring God; Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis
“Via vivid autobiography, Pastor Harris takes readers on a personal journey into the biblical theology that, belatedly, he found he could not manage without. A humbling, compelling, invigorating read.” — J. I. Packer, author of Knowing God
“Josh says that this book is his ‘reveling in theology in my own simple way.’ Having read it, I can say that it is also a popular defense of the importance of theology and, at the same time, an introduction to it. I enjoyed reading it. And my mind immediately began to go to how I could use this book. Josh has given me a new tool! It is interesting, well written, and excellently illustrated. Josh has succeeded again in giving us a book that is clear, engaging, direct, solid, easy to read, sound, God centered, balanced, humorous—and it even has pictures!” — Mark Dever, author; Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC
“Dug Down Deep is an incredible book! It’s a tangible and incarnate look at theology. I would give it to any young Christian who wants to understand their faith.” — Lecrae, hip-hop artist
“As two young guys who have been deeply blessed and influenced by Josh’s books and example, we couldn’t be more excited about Dug Down Deep and how God is going to use it to transform a generation. It’s a gripping and honest read. In it we learned things about our older brother that we had never, in twenty-one years, been told before! But more importantly, we learned things about our Savior that caused us to fall more deeply in love with him and his Word. Get this book. Read it. And join us on a journey to rediscover what has always been true.” —Alex and Brett Harris, authors of Do Hard Things
“At Boundless, we’ve enjoyed watching young adults cultivate a fresh desire to go ‘further up and further in’ as followers of Christ. Few writers fuel that desire quite like Joshua Harris. With humility, humor, and honesty, Dug Down Deep shows the difference that a foundation can make—how vulnerable you can be when it’s weak and how transformed you can be when you’re willing to go deep.”
— Ted Slater, editor, Boundless.org; Focus on the Family
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
8 of 21 Reviews Showing:(View All Reviews)
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Angela (NC), January 27, 2010
Talk about a book needed by all, Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris is one that every christian needs to read. Especially ones who feel indifferent, cold, or just unmoved by the state of the world today.
Coming from a Christian home, accepting Christ at a young age, I relied on what I was told and taught for my religion. I didn't know what I believed or why I believed it. At some point, I realized that I didn't have a relationship with Christ, I had a relationship with other's view of Christ. I needed this book 15 years ago, when I was on my own journey to what I actually believed to be true and real.
Joshua goes where many fear to go, to admit his doubts, to chronicle his journey to a honest relationship with God.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by becky (San Diego, CA), January 22, 2010
As someone who was raised in church without really being sure I knew what I believed or why, I identified with Joshua Harris. I’ve questioned whether I believed because I’d been in church all my life, because it was all I knew, or because it was just expected of me.
And as an adult I’ve gone a long way from my church roots. So Harris’ book was a nice refresher for me. In it, he explains how orthodoxy and theology and doctrine aren’t just for scholars. They are for everyone who believes. If you don’t have a good foundation, where are you then?
Harris’ writing is very approachable – it’s a conversational style that’s easy to read and understand. His book is by no means a deep theological study, but he does give reference to many scholars he has read and learned from, which gives me many more things to add to my reading list.
This book gave me a lot to think about. If you’re returning to the church or want to delve deeper into what theology and doctrine mean to your spiritual journey, I think this is a good place to start.
I received a copy of the book for review from the publisher.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Jolene (Waynesboro, PA), January 22, 2010
Dug Down Deep has all the elements of a great Joshua Harris book. I can’t tell you all about it because I have failed to finish reading it. I can only say that what I’ve read so far has been thought-provoking, eye-opening, and, might I even say, compelling. Whether you’ve ever read a Joshua Harris book before or not, I would say that this book is worth the reading.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Gretchen Acheson (USA), January 21, 2010
As I read the final pages of Dug Down Deep, I concluded that the book I was just finishing was much like the letters my pen pals and I wrote to each other in years past. Each chapter, like our letters, was a personal explanation—peppered with stories from our lives and references to our favorite authors—of why we believed what we believed and how we’d come to that point. The only difference is that, unlike the rest of Josh’s books and my pen pal’s letters, Dug Down Deep has nothing to do with dating and courtship. Or rather, it does, just not in the way you’d think.
Dug Down Deep shows why courtship and homeschooling are only the surface issues—they are the product of our theology, and not our theology itself. Dug Down Deep encourages us to dig below the surface of appearances and words to explore what we really believe about God himself, and why that is what really matters.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Erika Chapman (Florence, SC), January 21, 2010
It is not a hard read but it does need thought behind it. He wrote Kissed Dating Goodbye back in the day. I read that and liked it (although, alas, I did not kiss dating goodbye:). But this book is a much more mature, spiritually insightful Harris.
It discusses the importance of doctrine and why we need to know what we believe and why as Christ followers. He also shares a lot of his journey toward really understanding what he believes. Some of it is deep weeds but it doesn't bog you down. I am really enjoying it. It would be great for a newer believer or someone that is really wanting to "dig deep" and figure out the foundations of the faith.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Bern (United States), January 21, 2010
I was extremely excited to be reading and reviewing Joshua Harris' new book and I wasn't disappointed. Using his own testimony as the backdrop interwoven throughout the book, he candidly shares what he believes, how he came to believe it, and why it's important.
Without being preachy and overly cerebral, he explains why theology is important and his very own awakening despite having being raised in church his whole life. He shares in the beginning of the book, "My soul had been craving good, solid, undiluted truth about God and the good news of his Son's life, death and resurrection. I didn't need to be entertained. I didn't primarily need to fall over at a prayer meeting. And I didn't need lifeless information. I needed to know God."
And in this knowing of God, he reminds us that correct doctrine is essential to knowing the truth about the God we profess to believe, "Doctrine can never take the place of Jesus himself, but we can't know Hie and relate to him in the right way without doctrine. This is because doctrine tells us not only what God has done but also what his actions mean to us."
As you read the book, in his easy manner, Harris is able to walk the reader through the person of Christ, justification, sanctification and working of the the Holy Spirit in and through us. He ends with a chapter entitled Humble Orthodoxy and a challenge to study the doctrines that he's introduced throughout the book and live out the truth of each one since, "It's not enough to get our doctrine straight. Life and doctrine can't be separated. Our lives either put the beauty of God's truth on display, or they obscure it."
This book was encouraging and convicting and did what I believe he hoped to do. It made me want to dig deeper into God's word and understand more fully who this God is that I profess!
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Rob Edwards (Norfolk, VA), January 21, 2010
Joshua Harris' new book Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters arrived in bookstores this week.
At first, I was a bit put off by the thought of wading through a tome of Reformed theology. I expected there to be more footnotes than original content, with every other sentence being a quote from a renowned Reformed theologian. So...I added it to my pile of "books to be reviewed." I finally sat down last weekend and began to read.
Boy, was I surprised! Rather than reading some dusty, doctrinaire systematic theology, I felt like I was sitting across from Joshua as he laid open his heart about the core beliefs he holds dear. I felt like I was having a conversation with an old friend--comfortable but not overly familiar, well thought-out but not sodden with quotes from others simply to impress me he had drunk from their wells. Harris thinks well. He writes well. And he reads well (and I'm sure he's well-read, too).
Don't misunderestimate what I've said: Dug Down Deep is not fluff. Harris starts of with the core epistemological question of whether what we know about God is true. He then excavates down to the bedrock question of what one should build their life on. Then, like a skilled builder he lays out clear and understandable discussion of the nature of God, the nature of Scripture, the person and work of Jesus, atonement, salvation, sanctification, the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom of God. And he does in 230 pages what most theologians take far more pages to cover far less material.
Perhaps the most appealing contribution that Harris makes with his new work is that he presents a conservative (yes, even Reformed) theological system accessible. Partly because of his youth (most men wait until they are much older to attempt such a work), and partly because he is a gifted communicator who connects with a new generation, Joshua Harris has given us a great resource to pass along to a younger generation.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Urailak (Oregon), January 20, 2010
This is the first book by Joshua Harris that I have read. I enjoyed the book , appreciated his honesty and humility, and loved his drawing. He shares about his experiences along his faith journey...the good, the bad, and the ugly. He comes to the conclusion that what we know about God is truly essential in our Christian walk. The author tries to help readers understand and realize the importance and practicality of theology, doctrine, and orthodoxy. He proceeds to dig into various Christian doctrines such as the doctrine of God (theology proper), the doctrine of Scripture, the doctrine of the person and work of Christ, the doctrine of atonement and propitiation, the doctrine of salvation, the doctine of sanctification, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and the doctrine of the church. In the last chapter, he reminds us to boldly (not arrogantly or pridefully) stand up for God's truth and at the same time, to remain humble, gentle, and gracious. This is a down-to-earth book that digs deep into what we believe and why we believe it.
~This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.
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