I love books. I heartily agree with C.S. Lewis when he said, “Your book bill should be your biggest extravagance.”1 A book review was the logical choice for my contribution to this issue of our newsletter. And Glory, Duty and the Gold Dome by Nathaniel Darnell was the perfect book for this issue because it deals with the sanctity of life for both injured and unborn people (in addition to being one of my favorite fictional books).
After a serious car crash, a young woman named Angela Bauer falls into a coma. Her estranged husband is eager to remove her life support, but a godly State Representative named John Richards, with aspirations to a U.S. Congress seat, steps in. Rep. Richards and his son Thomas fight against her husband and the courts to save her life—and that of her unborn baby. The Representative passes a bill (which the courts strike down) and calls on the Governor to intervene. His worst foes, however, come not from the courts, but the leader of his own party, Bill Wells, who calls himself pro-life, saying, “I go to church every Sunday. And we’re all pro-life, every one of us.”2 But Rep. Wells has no scruples as to shedding blood for the sake of re-election.
“Look, John, I don’t care about the Bauers. That’s not the point. They’re a lost cause anyway. Nothing we could do would ultimately help them. What matters now is that we put out a resolution supporting them, and the other party makes a fuss opposing them. The voters see that and we ultimately get re-elected. What we’ve got to do is help ourselves.”3
Rep. Wells threatens to cut spending for many of Rep. Richards’ supporters in the House, who desert justice for the green dollars. But the most crushing blow comes from his son Thomas. He gives away their strategy plans to political foes. It is not a malicious act, but rather a well-intentioned unwise one done with the firm promise that this would seal his father’s election to Congress. After all, a seat in the U.S. Congress to uphold righteousness is more important than fighting for someone who’ll die anyway, right? But he did not realize that this would cause Rep. Richards—his loving father—to be arrested. Will Angela and her baby survive now that their foremost defender is behind bars? And will Rep. Richards get his U.S. Congress seat?
The main message of the book could be summed up in Representative Richards’ own words. Are you “willing to take the ball to the goal line?”4 , that is, will you stand firm on your convictions and see them through to the finish? A “conservative” or “pro-life” stand is not enough. Rep. Wells was both conservative and pro-life, but he was pragmatic, that is, to him, the end justified the means. “Do evil that good may come,” he might have said. Don’t waste time on some woman and her baby who’ll die anyway. What matters is that we get re-elected to keep the House conservative. Romans 3:8 speaks out against this:
“And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil that good may come? whose damnation is just.” (KJV)
We must rise above this cowardice. We must stick to Biblical principles, though the world ridicules us, and though our friends betray us. The Lord does see us, and He will ultimately reward a faithful stand for Biblical principles, if not here on this earth, then in heaven.
I freely admit that I cannot do this wonderful book justice, so I heartily recommend that you purchase it from Vision Forum—phone number 1-800-440-0022, website www.visionforum.com. It is also available at Mr. Darnell’s website, www.siresandsons.com
1 Terry W. Glaspey, Not A Tame Lion: The Spiritual Legacy of C.S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia, (Nashville: Cumberland House Publishing, 2005)—p. 120
2 Nathaniel Darnell, Glory, Duty, and the Gold Dome, (San Antonio: Vision Forum, 2009)— p. 162
3 Ibid.—p. 163
4 Ibid.– p. 120
