Randy C. Alcorn

Dominion

Bethany s. 

2.5 stars. It's hard to summarize the depths of this book. It builds on the first in a weird way; and heavily explores some of its own issues. It is eye-opening in some ways; but I do believe there are much better resources to educate oneself on the complexities of inequality and spirituality.

Celeste Richardson

This marks my second time reading this particular book. In my opinion, it doesn’t pack quite the same punch as its predecessor. While still a good story, it feels bloated with repetitive information, and I believe it would have been a better story if a couple hundred pages had been trimmed out. If I were to recommend Alcorn’s work to a friend, I would recommend Deadline without hesitation. I don’t know that I would do the same with this book. While I still loved the theological elements and the beautiful presentation of heaven, I found the plot and characters stiffer and harder to engage with than those in Deadline. And even as someone who shares a worldview with the author, I found this book to be very preachy.

Dominion is the story of Clarence Abernathy, a coworker of Jake Woods, the main character of Deadline. Clarence is a sports writer transitioning into a general columnist. Four things make Clarence stand out in the newsroom. First, he’s a big man. He’s physically very imposing and is built like a linebacker. Secondly, he’s an incredibly sharp dresser. While most journalists favor casual or even sloppy attire, Clarence is always impeccably dressed in expensive suits. Thirdly, he’s a conservative in a newsroom full of outspoken liberals, which means most everyone working at the paper disagrees vehemently with almost everything he writes. Fourthly, Clarence is African American, which makes his conservatism all the more unusual in the eyes of his fellow writers.

One of my issues with this book is that Clarence is just not as likable or empathetic as his main character counterpart in the first book. Clarence was a fun side character in Deadline, but he was so abrasive and defensive as a main character that it hindered my enjoyment of the book. Also, watching Jake come to faith in Deadline was a wonderful experience. We don’t get that here. Clarence is already a Christian, who thinks he is living a model Christian life because he follows a list of do and don’ts. In actuality, he is lukewarm at best and has stepped away from a true relationship with God. He is a believer in the “prosperity gospel,” which is an element of some segments of Christianity that I disagree with strongly. Obviously, so does Alcorn, and Clarence’s “name it and claim it” belief system is put to the test and found to be false. When God fails to live up to Clarence’s misguided expectations, Clarence turns his back on God because he feels betrayed. 

Christians were never promised prosperity upon accepting Christ. In fact, we were promised the opposite in the form of troubles and persecution. God is not a genie, waiting on wishes to grant. He is not to be bartered and bargained with. We shouldn’t expect to find a new car in our garage just because we prayed really hard. That just isn’t how God works. He blesses us richly, but often not in the ways we demand. I could write a book on all of the issues I have with the prosperity gospel mentality, but suffice it to say that I disagree with it completely and have never found a single verse of Scripture that supports that view.

This is a book that I don’t believe would be published today. It’s the story of a black man and his family and neighborhood, and it deals heavily with racism and the past that still haunts every African American. So why do I think it wouldn’t have been published if written last year instead of over ten years ago? It was written by a white man. Though every element was handled with tremendous grace, I fear that this book would be viewed as appropriation in today’s political climate. However, it’s a very good book, and I think that Alcorn handled every single element of the story with great consideration and finesse.

Dominion and Deadline are both staunchly Christian books. I view them as apologetics with plot. I thoroughly love both (though I prefer Deadline), and my worldview lines up completely with that which Alcorn presents, as I myself am a conservative Christian. I just want to make people aware of the point of view being presented in these books. If you’re a Christian or are interested in learning more about what Christians believe, these are definitely the books for you. If neither of these describe you, I fear that you will likely find these books offensive, though I could be wrong. I suggest going into these books knowing that they are largely apologetic (explaining and defending a particular faith) in natural, and that knowledge will make the books more enjoyable.

Dominion

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