Book Review – Hallowed Be Thy Name


By Violet Nesdoly

Email: vnesdoly@hotmail.com



Title: Hallowed Be Thy Name

Author: Terry L. Brown

Publisher: Author House, Paperback, 223 pages

ISBN: 1-4208-2054-0



In his book Hallowed Be Thy Name, Terry L. Brown sets out to unpack the many and varied implications found in this well-known line from the Lord’s Prayer, which also serves as the title of his book. He begins, in chapter one, by exploring the significance of names. In chapter two he probes how weighty a thing it is to take another’s name. Chapters three through twelve deal with Bible characters, one per chapter, with the character’s name as the chapter title (Barabbas, Bartemaeus, Demas, Diotrephes, Elkanah, Jeroboam, Cain, Achan, Judas and Elijah.)



The book could have benefited from several things:



1. I felt a clear statement of purpose or explanation by Brown, of what he was setting out to do and how he would do it, was needed at the beginning of the book. As it was, because the book started out by examining the statement “Hallowed be Thy Name,” I thought, as far along as the end of Chapter two, it would be about the Lord’s Prayer. Thus I was confused when I came to Chapter 3 and began reading about Barabbas. Here, there was no explanation from the author about why he had introduced character studies and what he hoped to accomplish through them.



As I read on, I assumed that because most of the names and characters were negative, he was using them as personifications of attitudes and actions which work against hallowing God’s name (although there were positive models used as well). A brief statement, perhaps in the introduction, of his thesis and how he would prove it, would have been most helpful in dispelling the confusion.



2. I felt the text within the chapters should have been broken up and organized under headings. This would have helped me, the reader by: a] clarifying the idea structure of each chapter; and b] making the text look less formidable to read. As it was, the chapters were long (15+ pages), many paragraphs were long (one page had no paragraph breaks in it at all) and many sentences were long. It was easy to get bogged down in pages of solid text.



Those items aside, if you enjoy Bible symbolism and find your study of Scripture is enhanced by looking at the meanings of names, places and numbers, this book is for you. And Brown is thorough. He goes to great pains to leave no symbolic stone unturned in his attempt to get at each character’s essence.



Though I am not a student of Bible symbolism myself, I felt there were times he went a little overboard in this area, tossing out unproven assertions as if they were incontestable fact (e.g. “We stress the masculine and feminine aspect of this relationship [Christ and the church] because it bears out an important truth in Scripture. Masculine corresponds to the spirit and feminine corresponds to the soul.” - emphasis mine). I, personally, have never heard this before, and hesitate to take one man’s word for it. Most of the time, though, when Scripture proof was needed for a point made, Brown quoted the text in full and gave the reference.



Brown’s passion to see holiness in individuals and in the church is unmistakable. He speaks boldly and without apology, pointing out places where 21st century Christians and the church have defamed Christ’s name – by their attitudes and actions – rather than hallowing it. The voice that comes through passages such as this remind one of the Old Testament prophets: (after quoting the list of evils from 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “Men will be lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revelers, disobedient to parents, etc.”)



These verses so very aptly describe Cain and all the “Cains” who have taken the name of the Lord in vain today. Every adjective Paul uses to describe these men we find to be a reality among those who call themselves Christians. As bad as it is for unbelievers to fit these descriptions, it is infinitely worse for those who have taken the name of our Lord to fit them. Truly, they have taken the name of the Lord in vain. (p. 128,129)



This book would be a good addition to the library of Bible students. It could also serve as a valuable source book in the study of holiness – and the forces that oppose it.