Book Review: “George MacDonald in the Age of Miracles” by Timothy Larsen

George MacDonald in the Age of Miracles is a series of lectures and responses on the Scottish poet/author/pastor and his legacy for our time.

The book is a publication of part of the Hansen Lectureship series, a series of lectures dedicated to the legacies of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dorothy L. Sayers, George MacDonald, Charles Williams, G.K. Chesterton, and Owen Barfield. Essentially, it is to provide a “means of escape for prisoners”–speaking theologically, the lectureship is to provide ways to escape from our narrow-minded self-centeredness and “be equipped for practical deeds in real life” (5).

Larsen’s contribution to this series focuses on George MacDonald, and he does so in three lectures that emphasize MacDonald’s look at the incarnation, his discussion of the crisis of doubt, and the re-enchantment of the world. Each lecture has several highlights. I was particularly struck by the second lecture about the crisis of doubt, which related through MacDonald’s characters and poetry the struggle of the Victorian era’s own awakening to new challenges to traditional theology and thought. MacDonald used his characters to show that doubting was not something to be attacked or undermined, but rather was a part of faith formation, particularly in an era with new challenges.

George MacDonald in the Age of Miracles is a brief but fascinating look at the works of MacDonald and how his legacy can impact us to this day. Recommended.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of the book for review by the publisher. I was not required to give any specific kind of feedback whatsoever.

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SDG.

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