Towering Truths for Troubled Times

Brian Burch is a teacher, writer and poet and author of Still Under the
Thumb.

Harry Denning’s book Towering Truths for Troubled Times is a depressing book. Denning looks at a world filled with greed, violence, competition, fear, and poverty, and offers competition, denial of pain, strategic planning, and determination as personal solutions for the problems facing the world. What I find depressing about his book is that his ideas will work on the individual level but contribute to the greater problems in the world at large.

In a world filled with distrust, hatred, and competition, one would hope that inspirational writings would encourage individuals to learn trust, to build up community, and to avoid seeking the domination that comes with competition. Denning’s work is a guide to accepting the system the way it is and finding how to live within it, and does not offer suggestions on how to transcend on transform the world around the individual. Denning’s book is very well written and persuasive in the effort to justify accepting the status quo; it is a sign of the strength of the book that he can make a guide book for self-acceptance sound like a guide book for personal growth.

Denning writes in a strong, straightforward manner, avoiding complex statements and effectively simplifying his language usage to ensure that his ideas can have a readership outside the small circle of those interested in theological disputes. He does not deal with poisoned water or the threat of global annihilation but with daily life, from the death of a loved one to feeling powerless.

Towering Truths for Troubled Times deals with simple solutions to problems that have been with us throughout human existence. We are reminded of the need to make choices, to live with imperfections and doubts, and we are encouraged to find a way to stand with the side that will win. The book does not deal with such towering truths as the destruction of the ozone layer because of human greed or troubles like the growing threat of an “accidental” nuclear war constantly hanging over our present time.

Denning is a powerful writer, but his conservative theology does seem to prevent him from dealing with social evils.