July 18, 2007

OUTSIDE SOURCE Book Review: "John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides"

Here you go; dont take just MY word for it!
Steve
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BOOK REVIEWED: "John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides"
AUTHOR:
John G. Paton (Banner of Truth, $24, 534 pages).
SOURCE OF THE REVIEW: "Wisdom of the Pages" blog
THE REVIEW:
"What would compel a Presbyterian Evangelical Calvinist Scotsman to travel across the globe to live in a land of cannibals? After all, the first time missionaries came to the islands of the New Hebrides they were clubbed to death within minutes of landing.
The compulsion was the gospel. John Paton could not get “the wail of the perishing heathen in the South Seas” out of his conscience. Having grown up in poverty, Paton had worked through a program of self-education, and in 1858 he left for the islands. Among various trials, he soon felt the pain of losing his wife and child to death. However, he kept his post, persevered under trial, and witnessed the gospel penetrate into the hearts of the lost islanders.
This autobiography is a compelling account of his missionary experiences. It sold widely upon first publication, and has continued to be well-loved ever since."
To read the review, right from the source, click HERE.
For more information or to buy the book, click HERE.
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ADDENDUM TO THIS POST - Given the comment to this post, here are the links to read and listen for yourself to John Piper's thoughts on this book, and this man.
To LISTEN to John Piper's Pastor's Conference message on John G. Paton, click HERE.
To READ a transcript of John Piper's Pastor's Conference message on John G. Paton, click HERE.
To read a brief article by John Piper, referencing the portion of this book dealing with John Paton's relationship to his father, click HERE.
Here's an excerpt: "John G. Paton was a missionary to the New Hebrides, today called Vanuatu, in the South Seas. He was born in Scotland in 1824. I gave my Pastors' Conference message about him because of the courage he showed throughout his 82 years of life. When I dug for the reasons he was so courageous, one reason I found was the deep love he had for his father.
The tribute Paton pays to his godly father is, by itself, worth the price of his Autobiography, which is still in print. Maybe it's because I have four sons (and Talitha), but I wept as I read this section. It filled me with such longing to be a father like this." -- John Piper

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

John Piper's biographical address on Paton is awesome! He quotes at length from the Banner edition of the biography.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the links to the Piper material. I listened to one of the mp3s and I was hooked into buying the book, plus Maggie Paton's letters. Mission accomplished for you I guess, huh? ;)

BTW, I find your blog very useful, so I hope you keep it up. It's a great way for me to get to know what is available from Banner.