Reviewing Anarchy and Apocalypse, the managing editor of Commonweal magazine writes:
Commonweal readers will be familiar with Osborn’s clear-eyed, well-honed analysis (most recently in “Still Counting: How Many Iraqis Have Died?” February 11). This book reveals the foundation of his analysis of headline events. While neither anarchistic (in the colloquial sense of advocating violence or extreme libertarianism) nor apocalyptic (in tenor or proclamation), there is a stringency in Osborn’s thinking that is prophetic and liberating.
...The chapters vary in length and theme and are, without exception, personal—that is, never mere academic exercises. We learn that Osborn is a Seventh-day Adventist who is deeply committed to his community’s historic pacifism—and to restoring it—and that in 1999 he spent part of the year ministering in war-ravaged Kosovo.... [E]ach of the essays in this book deals with how a contemporary Christian might hope to respond to a situation of raw evil. Osborn’s treatment of Bonhoeffer’s pacifism is worthy of the complexity the German theologian/resister faced in the apocalyptic days of the Third Reich. There are no easy answers to this or any of the issues Osborn raises concerning faith, war, and the mind of God—and no easy answers are offered. Rather, he faces these issues with such candor the reader will be challenged to attempt to do likewise.
Here's a link to the lead-in of the review by Patrick Jordan, which appeared in the 22 April 2011 issue, at the Commonweal web site. However, a subscription is needed to get it all. Ron may be willing to share a copy with you -- his email: ronaldosborn@gmail.com.
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