Week 12: Introduction by Dr. Samuel M. Zwemer — A Note on the Man Behind the Book

1.Zwemer opens with a kind of wonder: this book was written by a busy pastor in Chicago, on South Halsted Street, amid "haunts of wretchedness and need." What does it say about the nature of the pursuit of God that it was possible — indeed, was practiced intensely — in such an un-monastic setting?

2.Zwemer describes Tozer as "a self-made scholar, an omnivorous reader with a remarkable library" who "seemed to burn the midnight oil in pursuit of God." The book, he says, "is the result of long meditation and much prayer." What is the relationship between intellectual seriousness and spiritual depth? Can one substitute for the other?

3.Zwemer notes that Tozer is familiar with "the saints and mystics of the centuries — Augustine, Nicholas of Cusa, Thomas à Kempis, von Huegel, Finney, Wesley and many more" and says this gives the book "catholicity of outlook." Having now read the book, how did Tozer's engagement with this broader tradition enrich his argument?