A review of In Search of a Perfect Father. The Beauty of the Doctrine of God by Aled Seago, Latimer Trust, 2024
In Search of a Perfect Father is a fantastic addition to Latimer Trust’s Christian Doctrine series. The series aims to guide readers through the doctrine of the Anglican church “in a format that is user friendly and that does not assume any prior knowledge of the subject” (1).
Aled Seago has written a brief doctrine of God book that could be given to nearly everyone in your church family and each person would benefit. We long to know God, and Aled, through his book, has given us a wide and accessible gateway to not only know about the Anglican doctrine of God, but he has also opened a way to make “this doctrine real in our hearts and lives” (8).
Sadly, there are books on the doctrine of God that are dry, abstract, and light on Scripture. In Search of a Perfect Father is none of those things. Aled thrills us with the classical doctrine, he makes it personal and applied, and he draws our attention to Scripture throughout.
The book is split in two parts: “God as Creator” and “God as Father.” In the first part, Aled uses the phrase “God is God, I am not” (11) as the foundation for the human distinction from our creator-God. He then clearly and simply explains seven attributes of God (14-46). Each attribute he links logically to others and most importantly he shows why it is good news that God is these attributes. A particular highlight is the section on the impassibility of God (38-46) - with a light touch, Aled counters objections and misconceptions of impassibility, while showing the reader why we really want an impassible God who can and has saved us.
In the second part, Aled focuses on John 14:1-14. He provides the reader with great comfort in the knowledge that the creator-God (of part one) is not only distinct from us but is also our Father! I greatly appreciate Aled’s thoughtfulness and openness in applying the reality of our relationship with God both to Aled’s own life and to the reader’s.
I can imagine this book being used in a bunch of ways: as personal encouragement, in a church book group, to help prepare a seminar series, for a theology student starting a doctrine of God module, and so on.
I pray that the Lord would use the book to further reveal who He is and to grow many in their delight in knowing Him.
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Tim is a CofE ordinand in his final year at Oak Hill College. He is married to Kat and has two children, Josh and Livvy. He is looking forward to getting ordained in September and starting his curacy in Burford.
Views expressed in blogs published by the Latimer Trust are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Latimer Trust.