Apr
19
Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave–a review
Filed Under Books, Christian Living, Justification, Reading, Resources
Lynard Skynard sang That Smell. You remember that one, don’t you?
Whiskey bottles, and brand new cars, oak tree you’re in my way
There’s too much coke and too much smoke
Look what’s going on inside you.
Ooooh that smell, can’t you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell–the smell of death surrounds you.
I should have read or sung that when I preached on Proverbs 9 last Sunday night (available at fpckosciusko.org). I owe Eddie Thomas thanks for bringing the Skynard song back to the forefront of my mind. A lot of what I said in the sermon about temptation and the voluntary slavery of sin was drawn from an excellent book by Dr. Edward T. Welch, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave–Finding Hope in the Power of the Gospel (Presbyterian and Reformed, 2001).
Welch exposes the addict’s condition: a worship disorder that leads him/her to heed to the call of the ’strange woman’ (to use the language of the early chapters of Proverbs) and begin a slowly developing courtship. Going into her house leads to a horrific discovery: ‘the dead are there…her guests are in the depths of Sheol’ (Proverbs 9:18). Her feast of pleasure is a banquet in the grave.
This book is a valuable resource, even if you are not an addict of some kind or ministering to an addict. Addicts are not a category to themselves when it comes to sin. Rather, Welch reminds us, ‘there is no “us” and “them” with addictions. The descent should feel familiar to us all…Having known something of the voluntary slavery [to sin] ourselves, we are more patient with those who are ensnared. We are also more eager to partner with them and lead them to Jesus Christ, the One who liberates them and carries us out of the pit’ [66].
Since my initial read of the book last fall, I find myself coming back again and again to this book in both my preaching and one-to-one ministry. Welch is straightforward in his assessment of the 12-step model that governs most treatment programs, acknowledging the model’s strengths and also unsparingly critiquing the self-reliance and self-righteousness that the 12-step model fosters. He provides a number of helpful ways to confront, listen, and bring our thoughts back again and again to the gospel, giving special emphasis to the vital role the Church plays in being a place of healing and ministry through the ordinary means of grace. Welch is especially skillful in bringing the reader to consider the addictions in his/her own life, widening the scope far beyond drug and alcohol dependence. He writes in the preface:
Theology makes a difference. It is the infrastructure of our lives. Build it poorly and the building will eventually collapse in ruins. Build it well and you will be prepared for anything. The basic theology for addictions is that the root of the problem goes deeper than our genetic makeup. Addictions are ultimately a disorder of worship. Will we worship ourselves and our own desires or will we worship the true God? Through this lens, all Scripture comes alive for the addict. No longer are there just a few proof texts about drunkenness. Instead, since all Scripture addresses our fundamental disorder of worship, all Scripture is rich with application for the addict. [xvi]
In his commentary on Galatians 5:4, Luther asks, ‘What do you do when you are caught in some sin? If your answer is, “I’ll do better next time,” then you have no need of Christ…Instead, despair of your own righteousness and trust boldly in Christ.’ Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave echoes Luther’s answer and equips us to engage into the fierce and painful battles against sin that all of us face.
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