Excerpts from "Holiness," chapter 1:

"I say, then, in the first place, that a scriptural view of sin is one of the best antidotes to that vague, dim, misty, hazy kind of theology which is so current in the present age. It is vain to shut our eyes to the fact that there is a vast quantity of so-called Christianity nowadays which you cannot declare positively unsound, but which, nevertheless, is not full measure, good weight and sixteen ounces to the pound."

"[...] a scriptural view of sin is one of the best antidotes to the extravagantly broad and liberal theology that is so much in vogue at the present time. The tendency of modern thought is to reject dogma, creeds and every kind of bounds in religion. It is thought grand and wise to condemn no opinion whatsoever, and to pronounce all ernest and clever teachers to be trustworthy, however heterogenous and mutually destructive their opinions may be."

~ From chapter 1 of Holiness, by J.C. Ryle

J.C. Ryle

Well, I am finally embarking on a first-time read of Holiness, by J.C. Ryle.  I'm excited - I have heard from a few friends over the years about what a great influence this book has been on them, and I have meant to read it for a while.  

To begin with, Ryle's whole premise is that modern "Christendom" has gone and lost a great deal of what it means for a person who has been born-again to fight for holiness and for his/her sanctification. 

Ryle also states that he has purposefully left out names of contemporary preachers, and contemporary works of literature that have influenced his skeptical opinions of much of modern Christianity.  By doing this, his voice seems all the more contemporary as he speaks to common problems going on within the Church.  I am surprised how current the work seems, considering the second edition was published in 1879.  

I am going to go read - I'll be posting some thoughts here and there as I go.

Adios.