Designed for Dignity: What God Has Made It Possible for You to Be

Richard Pratt's Designed for Dignity is deceptively deep. Reading it feels like a stroll through the park, yet really the reader is being guided through the deepest of woods. Pratt teaches us about human nature, the image of God, the covenants of Scripture, the progress of redemptive history, and the kingdom of God -- all subjects one would find in a biblical or systematic theology. Yet learning these topics from Pratt feels as easy and refreshing as opening up a can of soda in the summertime. I've skimmed another one of Pratt's books in the past, Every Thought Captive, and I found the pictorial illustrations in that book helpful. Here, however, the illustrations seemed far too simplistic. Usually pictorial illustrations are useful in helping us visualize a truth that text itself doesn't communicate so well. Yet the diagrams in Designed for Dignity don't seem to add much to the already-clear content. By far the feature I appreciated the most in Designed for Dignity were the analogical illustrations Pratt used. Indeed, whereas the pictorial illustrations didn't assist much in helping the reader understand the concepts more, the stories, anecdotes, hypotheticals, and scenarios were all fantastic teaching tools. It seemed like on every other page there was an outstanding analogy that Pratt used to show the truth of what he had just presented. I've listened to countless "applicational" sermons and never heard an array of simple and clear analogies and illustrations as Pratt's in Designed for Dignity. Truly first class. There is no doubt that Pratt himself would agree that a theological treatise on anthropology would be more appropriate for the theologian looking to study the issue in-depth. But to compare such a book with Designed for Dignity is to miss the point of why this volume by Pratt was written. To the person wondering what the Bible says about mankind, about God's plan for mankind, and about God's plan for individuals -- I haven't heard of a better book. But to the theologian this book can also be of use for it presents the topic in a light most theological books don't explore. Again, there is a refreshing quality to a presentation of this sort. It feels like learning this stuff for the first time. In this sense the book has wide appeal. I concur with Steve Brown's assessment on the back cover: "a return to the unbelievably refreshing and ever new truths of the Bible."

Some wonder sometimes if we are in God's image how we can be wholly evil. This book is a great book to help us stay within the confines of good theology but also recognize that there is a sense of dignity in our lives. Although we are corrupted by sin, God has still made us beautiful and Pratt explains it in a way that helps to give answers as to what our purpose is here...give glory to God.

Richard Pratt has a wonderful grasp of the bigger picture of Scripture, and he does a fantastic job here of relating some great truths in very clear, interesting, and applicable ways. Questions at the end of each chapter make it ideal for personal devotions or for study/discussion by small groups.