A Perilous Time
Keeping Faith During Periods of Adversity
Written in the face of divine judgment and grief, A Perilous Time is a searching religious text.
N. E. Kurz’s religious self-help book A Perilous Time is about dealing with grief, social upheaval, and violence by understanding the nature of God.
Beginning with several tales about grief and shock, in particular related to the loss of Kurz’s children and the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995, with the latter event also framed as a pivotal moment for Kurz, the book asserts that people need to strengthen their faith and save themselves from further spiritual decay. Terrorism, social change, and other shifts are presented as a sign that judgment is at hand; the book asserts that faith will help in surviving change and emotional blows as well as aligning with conservative viewpoints. Theological arguments follow on questions like God’s existence, creation, the power of the divine, and whether God cares about human affairs.
The book’s self-help elements are limited, though, despite this being one of the goals laid out in the introduction. Instead, significant space is devoted to biblical citations and explanations of subjects like the Holy Trinity; how these discussions might help individuals overcome grief, prevent social chaos, or embody faith is not explored in depth. However, individual topics are handled in a straightforward manner, with each chapter breaking a large question into a series of smaller questions and answering each.
The prose varies, sometimes adopting a lofty tone to preach about spiritual decline and elsewhere engaging in detailed breakdowns of topics full of biblical citations. Casual moments further interrupt its flow. The result is a rather disjointed text, particularly early on, though the book’s variations even out as the book continues. When it comes to its external references, the text is at its most clear and detailed.
However, credulity-straining claims appear in the book’s discussions of contemporary US politics and American history, as with the assertion that the founders sought to create a country based on conservative principles that would favor “those who believe in Jesus Christ” that is undersupported. Further, such arguments muddy the book’s focus on the importance of faith, framing religion as an almost political endeavor. This, taken with the book’s minimal focus on proffering clear advice, limits the book’s ultimate reach to those who agree with its viewpoints already.
Still, A Perilous Time is an passionate theological text, reflective of conservative ideals, that asks direct questions about maintaining faith in the face of great challenges.
Reviewed by
M. W. Merritt
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
