Customer Reviews

A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life

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I read this book when I heard Jack Hayford mention it during one of his sermons. Given the title and era in which it was written, I expected it to contain some pretty weighty material about Christian living. I was not disappointed.

In this book, Law challenges the reader to respond to his "serious call" (and he was very serious when he wrote it) to devout living. The author makes a very solid case for this approach to Christian living for two main reasons. First, he is dead right about most topics he covers. His main point is that many Christians (I fall into this category) take for granted what God has done for us. There is no higher call than to love and serve Him. Yet we do not place as much value on spending time in devotion (prayer, reading scripture, praising, worshiping, serving) to God as we should. Instead we lived unbalanced lives in which God has a secondary role, instead being the primary focus of our existence.

Secondly, as another reviewer mentioned, his message is as relevant today, if not more so, than when it was written. We live in a day were modesty and pious living are completely ignored. It was refreshing to read a book which calls Christians to a much higher standard - we should not crave the things of this world. It is something I have struggled with, and continue to struggle with everyday that I live in overly abundant America. This book has helped me regain a more proper perspective on the importance of living for God (and what that means) versus living for the world.

I highly recommend this book to any Christian looking for a well written resource about living a life devoted to God. Law provides a lot of deep thought about the subject, and practical ways to try and live it out. At times, he goes a little bit too much into legalism for my taste, but overall he is on the mark with his approach and logic for his "serious call".

I read this book because Hannah Hurnard, author of Hind's Feet on High Places and other allegorical and devotional works, credits it with revolutionizing her spiritual life. Law exhorts Christians to offer all aspects of one's life and work as holy to God - work, finances, relationships, worship, prayer, etc. He reminds us of the Christian virtues of love, humility, peace, simplicity and conforming ourselves to God's will. This is a work which should not be forgotten or neglected by modern Christians.

This "edited" version is a great disappointment. William Law's elegant prose has been dumbed down for "reading comprehension," and is dull as a junior high civics textbook. In Chapter VII, which talks about Miranda and Flavia, Flavia has been omitted. Presumably to keep everything "positive." The very spirit of truth so eloquently championed by Law in HIS book has been made a mockery of, because there are no warning labels to tell us that some anonymous hack has tampered with his text. O tempora, o mores! This book doesn't even deserve one star.

William Law was one of the great mystics, clerics, and educators of the Church of England. Born in 1686, he was educated at Cambridge, eventually taking a teaching position there in addition to being ordained in the Church of England. He lost his position at Cambridge for being a Non-Juror (the Church of England being a state religion, clerics and others are required to swear oaths of allegiance to the monarch, and this Law could not do with regard to George I). He wrote the first work, `A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life', one of his best-known works, while in retirement as tutor in the Gibbon household (he was tutor to the father of the historian noted for the work on the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) in the 1720s.. He wrote the second, much shorter work, `The Spirit of Love,' in 1750s.

The first is a major work of spiritual practice, rightly deserving the description as a `classic' or `masterpiece'. For a course we teach at my seminary, this book is on the list of spiritual classics one may choose to use for inspiration and spiritual reflection, and for good reason. Influenced by Law's readings from other mystics such as Thomas a Kempis, Johann Tauler and others, this book is full of mystic insight and practical wisdom. It was popular from the start, and remains an enduring classic of post-Reformation spirituality.

Law has a fairly ecumenical audience, though he is not without controversy. Law is very much a man of the church, and of a high-liturgy and sacramental church at that, thus some Protestants may find difficulty with some of his unstated but very present assumptions. Law resists bibliolatry, does not accept the doctrine of Calvin of a complete corrupt humanity, and never assumes to try to prove the existence of God, taking that for granted. It is interesting, in our post-Christendom world, that Law is more widely read than ever before, given that it would seem there is much concern about whether or not there is a God, and often those of a more mystical mindset shy away from mysticism so firmly influenced by ecclesial structures.

Law's work in `The Serious Call' takes the form of 24 chapters, each one beginning with a simple spiritual rule, observation or proposition. Sometimes these can take a directive form as a spiritual practice - some chapters, for example, recommend prayer at certain times of day (chapter 16 recommends 9 a.m., chapter 20 recommends 12 noon, etc.) and prescribes the content and the manner of the prayers. Some work from a proposition (chapter 13 - that any life, full of vanity or even more humble, will ultimately show misery and emptiness) and some work from proclamation and argument (chapter 24, of the excellency and greatness of a devout spirit). `Devotion signifies a life given or devoted to God,' Law writes in the beginning. This devotion is not just church work (although it involves that), and not just prayer (although it involves that, too), but is an entire life given over to God, and as such can be something all can do, not just clerics, mystics and monastics.

Unlike `A Serious Call', the second work contained here, `The Spirit of Love', can be very difficult reading, as there is no organising principle similar to the logical progression of the earlier work. It is done in a dialogue form, in the shape of letters, and better known according to the editors in piece-meal collections of highlights or selected passages, given Law's general lack of method and organisation of texts later in his life. However, there are those who love `The Spirit of Love' and proclaim it to be Law's best work, particularly for his identification of the wrath of God as something that separates us from God, but is in fact not to be found in God, but in us. Our redemption and reconciliation with God requires our removing this wrath and embracing the divine love always freely offered.

The editions here are fairly standard, authoritative ones. The history of Law's work in print is laid out, and selection reasoning is given in the introductory material, which also includes (as do all of the Paulist Press editions of this wonderful series) biographical information (not just simple historical, but also spiritual biographical information), textual notes, and other information of interest.

With so many light weight devotional books flooding the market these days, it is good to sink one's teeth into a great spiritual classic. Law was an 18th century Anglican. As he grew, his theology also grew. Near the end of his life, his writings began to lean toward gnosticism. "Serious Call" was penned while Law was in his prime. It was on John Wesley's personal book shelf and greatly influenced the father of Methodism. This book will challenge the reader. It speaks as strongly to the 21st century reader as to the 18th century reader.

This is the most challenging book I have ever read on following the teachings of Christ practically in every day living. The conviction was so fierce that it was hard to get through the first chapter. His words bear so much truth it motivates you to want to be more like Christ himself.

To find a man like William Law in 17th century England is as unexpected as finding a violet blooming in the Arctic. It's almost beyond anyone's powers to fully describe the beauty, benevolence, and wisdom--and good solid sense--of his spiritual advice. Consider instead the character of those who have praised him: there's Samuel Johnson, who took up Law in a frivolous mood in his youth and found himself nearly bowled over; or closer to our own age, C. S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley. The most memorable parts of the _Serious_Call_ are those where Law (following the model of Theophrastus's _Characters_) describes several spiritual types and how their natures relate to the pursuit of the devout life. The _Spirit_of_Love_ is a later work, written after Law had been influenced by the German mystic Behmen; if you're not acquainted with Christian mysticism, it might be hard to follow. But do not miss Law's account of the Atonement, particularly if you're one who has always felt scandalized by the "blood sacrifice" theology emphasized in traditional Protestantism.

I was given a very old copy of this book by a friend. After getting a little way into it, I decided to buy a paperback edition, so as not to damage the old book - which I was enjoying very much. This edition (2008 by Bridge-Logos) is incomplete and worse yet, they changed the text in many places. It is more of a paraphrase that the actual book written by Law. I was very disappointed since it doesn't state anywhere in the book or the reviews that it is not an exact copy of William Law's book. The book, in its entirety is very good, just buy another version.

William Law was one of the great mystics, clerics, and educators of the Church of England. Born in 1686, he was educated at Cambridge, eventually taking a teaching position there in addition to being ordained in the Church of England. He lost his position at Cambridge for being a Non-Juror (the Church of England being a state religion, clerics and others are required to swear oaths of allegiance to the monarch, and this Law could not do with regard to George I). He wrote the first work, 'A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life', one of his best-known works, while in retirement as tutor in the Gibbon household (he was tutor to the father of the historian noted for the work on the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) in the 1720s. He wrote a second, much shorter work, 'The Spirit of Love,' in 1750s. These were of discernable influence on John and Charles Wesley.

The work of 'Serious Call' is a major work of spiritual practice, rightly deserving the description as a 'classic' or 'masterpiece'. For a course we teach at my seminary, this book is on the list of spiritual classics one may choose to use for inspiration and spiritual reflection, and for good reason. Influenced by Law's readings from other mystics such as Thomas a Kempis, Johann Tauler and others, this book is full of mystic insight and practical wisdom. It was popular from the start, and remains an enduring classic of post-Reformation spirituality.

Law has a fairly ecumenical audience, though he is not without controversy. Law is very much a man of the church, and of a high-liturgy and sacramental church at that, thus some Protestants may find difficulty with some of his unstated but very present assumptions. Law resists bibliolatry, does not accept the doctrine of Calvin of a complete corrupt humanity, and never assumes to try to prove the existence of God, taking that for granted. It is interesting, in our post-Christendom world, that Law is more widely read than ever before, given that it would seem there is much concern about whether or not there is a God, and often those of a more mystical mindset shy away from mysticism so firmly influenced by ecclesial structures.

Law's work in 'The Serious Call' takes the form of 24 chapters, each one beginning with a simple spiritual rule, observation or proposition. Sometimes these can take a directive form as a spiritual practice - some chapters, for example, recommend prayer at certain times of day (chapter 16 recommends 9 a.m., chapter 20 recommends 12 noon, etc.) and prescribes the content and the manner of the prayers. Some work from a proposition (chapter 13 - that any life, full of vanity or even more humble, will ultimately show misery and emptiness) and some work from proclamation and argument (chapter 24, of the excellency and greatness of a devout spirit). 'Devotion signifies a life given or devoted to God,' Law writes in the beginning. This devotion is not just church work (although it involves that), and not just prayer (although it involves that, too), but is an entire life given over to God, and as such can be something all can do, not just clerics, mystics and monastics.

The edition here is a fairly standard, authoritative one. The history of Law's work in print is laid out, and selection reasoning is given in the introductory material, which also includes biographical information, textual notes, and other information of interest.

This is what mainstream Christianity is missing! We need to get back to the basics of a holier and pious life. The late Mr. Law emphasizes the need for volitional poverty and the freedom one receives once a person has committed to this form of lifestyle and how it allows for greater ability for service. Not only that, but he focuses in on the heart beat of what every Christian needs and that being time with God. He lays the foundation for prayer and how this is the life blood and the highest form of worship and adoration. This book speaks to the hearts of those who deeply yearn for a closer relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I have implemented changes in how I do things now and I can honestly say that I felt a difference and a deeper abiding love for God. If you don't want to be absolutely love sick for our heavenly Father, then go somewhere else, I'm sure they have more self help books that need to be bought.