Customer Reviews

The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God: Their Meaning in the Christian Life

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This book, first published in 1961, two years before the author's death, is, in my opinion, the most compact, and power packed vision of God ever to be put to paper in the last 50 years. In the edition I own, Tozer wrote a foreword in which he makes the statement that he wrote the book on his knees in prayer -- He needn't have told us this; the aware reader will sense the fact as soon as he or she reads the first four pages!

Although this is a fairly small (and short) book, it is not one that can be read quickly. Each chapter, though less than 10 pages long apiece, must be savored, read slowly and meditated upon. (I should know. I received this book as a Christmas present in 1992 and did not finish it until October 1993.) There are several reasons for this. One is that the book, though written in fairly contemporary English, is written in a highly academic style which most modern readers find difficult to read easily. Modern American readers should be careful on this point.

The primary reason for the book's difficultly however, is the sheer Presence of God which the reader encounters on every page. Beware -- to open the covers of this book and search its pages is to tread upon holy ground. It is to walk in the cloud at Sinai with Moses; it is to be standing at Horeb in the mouth of the cave with Elijah as the Lord passes by in a gentle breeze; it is to be with Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, and it is to feel the earth shake beneath your feet with the guards at the Garden Tomb as the stone is rolled away.

Each chapter begins with a prayer for a divinely imparted understanding of that which cannot be conceived by the human mind. It then goes on to discuss a specific attribute of God, attempting to define what each is, what each is not, and the application and impact these have on our daily lives.

If you are ready for a devotional experience that will change your life, GET THIS BOOK ... but only if you have some time free to really absorb its awesome truths.

This book changed my life and my perspective of God forever, and if you read it slowly and prayerfully, it will change yours as well.

"The Knowledge of the Holy" is another in a series of astonishingly insightful books by Aiden Wilson Tozer, a contemporary of Christian author C. S. Lewis. As much as the latter has been a favorite of many, the lesser-known Tozer is - for me - an even better expositor of the nature of Christian reality in a dying world. Tozer's remarkable adherence to the Bible, his knowledge of ancient Christian texts (and their authors), and his unique blend of modern evangelical thought and Middle Ages mysticism make him a 20th Century writer without peer.

In this work, Tozer concentrates on the attributes of God. So deep are the words here that despite the text's slim 117 pages, it is difficult to digest the sage wisdom. I'm a fast reader, but three hours of reading only got me to page 70.

The twenty-three chapters include:
* The Holy Trinity
* The Self-existence of God
* The Divine Omniscience
* The Faithfulness of God
* The Justice of God
* The Sovereignty of God
and so on. Each section opens with a prayer, then moves into keen analysis, pulling in the Bible, old hymns, the writings of the Church fathers, and more. And each chapter is better than the next; I have never read a more quotable work, nor one more filled with sources for meditation.

Books like this belong in every serious Christian's library. Tozer's penetrating observations cross all denomination lines and conflict with no Christian doctrinal position I know of. There is no controversy here with the sole exception that 1961's "The Knowledge of the Holy" shows the paucity of genuine Christian thought among today's writers. By looking back, looking at the present, and gazing into the future, Tozer gives us a view of God for the ages.

One of the finest Christian books ever written and possibly the best on the nature of God.

This book is like an oasis in the middle of our busy lives. Here we get closer to God because we learn to know Him and thus, to love Him.

This book reminds us that we are not to mistake God for a nice fellow whose job is to help us out. No, this one is an earth-shaking book. It inspires awe in the hearts of the fainted, it awakes you from your self-deluding day-dreams. By describing His attributes (holiness, immutability, divine omniscience, wisdom, omnipotence, transcendence, omnipresence, faithfulness, goodness, justice, mercy, grace, love, sovereignty...) is describes Him, and it produces a humbling experience in us so great that we feel embarrassed to spend so much time thinking of ourselves and so little of Him.

It is a shame that we only remember Him to ask favors or to thank Him mechanically for blessings; if we only took some time to really focus on Him, to contemplate all His attributes, what He is and does in the world and in our lives. If we could only appreciate Him more completely, and not so narrowly... it would be humbling and awe-inspiring.

This book really helps those who have a mechanical faith: a faith that has stopped growing because the focus has narrowed into attitudes like: "business as usual", or "it's all about me", or "what should I do". And we don't think about Him (the Trinity) actually; we think about things, whether spiritual or worldy, but things anyhow. Well, stop or you'll extenuate yourself. Focus of Him: Father, Son & Holy Spirit. How? Here are His attributes explained. It gives a completely new meaning to the words 'praise and worship' because, when you finish the book, you'll really know Who you are praising and worshipping. It won't be mechanical any longer.

Then we can truly say that knowing Him is loving Him. Amen.

Before reading the book, it is recommended that one puts all of one's stereotypes about God aside and carefully read through what Tozer has written.

For myself, it has thus far been a slightly frightening experience (but I mean this positively) in that I was lead to encounter God in a way that I was not expecting, and also was forced to confront those areas within my heart that I foolishly thought I could hide. I find myself wishing that the message of this book be pondered by more invidiuals (Christian or not Christian).

I have not yet finished reading the book, but I have to HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is serious about seeking a closer relationship with God and sincerely has a desire to know Him more intimately.

This book is desperately needed by Christians in this day and age. Tozer takes us to the very feet of God for 31 chapters (each brief and vibrant) and instructs us from his many visits there.

This book will challenge and change you in a very profound way. Rather than give you "10-steps" to this or "6-keys" to that, Tozer rebuilds your foundation into a biblical view of God Almighty. He strips away misconsceptions and provides insightful perspectives on God's character and characteristics.
This is not an *easy* book. I'd label it's style "read a sentence, take a nap," but wrestling with these ideas will grow you like it's grown me.

Warning: your "god" is way too small! Read Tozer's book to see and celebrate the grandeur and goodness of God.

A.W. Tozer was known as a man of God, even to those who were not religious. His concern was that the Church was loosing her once "lofty view of God." So he set out to write a book that devotionally considered the attributes of God. That he did, and did it well. His small but powerful book offers a precise and thoughtful account of who the God of the Bible is, and what he is like. Tozer accuately descrides God without limiting Him to the Human understanding. Tozer considers every attribute taught in the Bible and lays them out in plain language. The concepts expounded may be above the common man's understanding, but the language that Tozer uses is not. He puts the "cookies on the bottom shelf so the kids can get them." His thoughts about God helped me tremendously. The language is understandable, the subject is thoroughly covered and the concepts are thought provoking. This is a must read.

This book has to be one of the best A.W. Tozer ever wrote. His knowledge of the Holy has certainly put us to shame. We might have all the conveninces of life, better equipment, faster this and faster that, but we LACK the silent time, the place to be along to get to KNOW this Holy One. I highly recommend that you get a copy of this book and READ IT, and REREAD IT and let it soak in!

This book brings the reader to holy ground indeed. To dare to know the all-powerful, all-knowing, infinite, eternal God is beyond human capacity. Yet Tozer, in appropriate awe of God, tells us that our heart can lead us where our intellect cannot. "That God can be known by the soul in tender personal experience while remaining infinitely aloof from the curious eyes of reason constitutes a paradox best described as Darkness to the intellect But sunshine to the heart." says Tozer quoting a Faber poem/saying.

It is easy to say terms like life-changing in our glib spin-oriented world. But the challenge of this book got at me in a way few books (outside the Bible) have. Tozer's statement about the church "Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God." touched me on a personal level too.

If you get one Christian book this year - make it "Knowledge of the Holy"

Often our spiritual growth can be described in terms of something new we are learning about the character of God. Although information alone will not transform us, true information which we seek to integrate into our lives can be an excellent starting point for growth. Pound for pound no other book contains such powerful descriptions of the attributes of God. The "Insights per Square Inch" rating is off the charts on this one!

The first chapter "Why We Must Think Rightly About God" is absolutely amazing. Tozer writes "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." The rest of the book is an application of that principle.

Each chapter begins with a profound prayer and ends with an appropriate hymn or poem, making this book abundantly readable. I've used this book on dozens of occasions in my own ministry, and have encouraged (or assigned) many people to read it for themselves.

There are many books that try to tell us how we can be more holy. Tozer's profound book takes a slightly different approach. Chapter by chapter we are re-introduced to the attributes of God. The subsequent chapters each build on the preceding chapters. By coming to grips with the whole nature of God as revealed in Scripture, the Bible becomes even illuminating, our faith is strengthened and our worship of God is deepened. This book will challenge some of our weak perceptions, but the reader will emerge like gold from the furnace, the better and purer for the experience. This is a perfect book for an adult Sunday School class, or Bible Study.