This timely and thoughtful book from a former senior minister at All Souls, Langham Place, stands out in a Christian book market saturated with books which are a triumph of marketing over substance. In contrast to many other popular books, Wilderness of Mirrors has matured over years of reading, reflection, and painful self-analysis.
Mark Meynell invites readers to explore the historical and cultural reasons for the breakdown in trust that is one of the most striking features of contemporary society. Meynell considers the nature of totalitarian regimes which flourished in the last century, and traces the impact of the ‘masters of suspicion’ such as Freud and Nietzsche. The gaze into the abuses of power and atomisation of people endemic in secular contexts continues as Mark exposes the ease with which churches embrace the same cynical postures.
The goal of exposing darker aspects of culture, philosophy, and Christianity is not to wallow in fear or depression; it is so that the gospel be seen as the only message which explains the problems that have caused a collapse in trust, and enables us to ‘trust again.’
Part 1 ‘Fracturing Trust’ examines key areas where our culture has experienced a loss of trust—Leaders, the media, and care givers. Fascinating anecdotes and quotes are utilised to expose the damage done to trust in these areas. Leaders are exposed in the military and espionage worlds. Abuse scandals in the Church of England at a diocesan level are admitted, alongside comment on the more widely publicised scandals of the Roman Catholic church.
Part 2 ‘Mourning Trust’ examines what it is like trying to live in a culture that has been so often betrayed by those who should be trustworthy. It opens with a section entitled ‘Disoriented Fury: A Personal Coda.’ In this we are privileged to read of the author’s personal experiences of betrayal and disillusionment. He begins by considering his ‘profound reluctance to trust’ which was fostered by his experience of boarding schools between the age of 8 and 18. Mark continues his narrative of mission work in Uganda, where his efforts to help believers suffering police brutality often went unsupported. The brief but powerful memoir concludes with the author admitting that he reached a point in life dominated by ‘fury’ at institutions and people which had betrayed trust invested in them. It is to readers’ benefit that Mark did not merely accept the psychological view that his loss of trust in others caused a form of ‘post-traumatic stress’ and ‘depression’—he had the spiritual maturity to analyse his experiences and realised that he was ‘furious with God.’ He concludes, ‘I witnessed and experienced the shattering betrayal of abused power. This was not just a psychological problem for me; it was a profoundly spiritual problem.’
The rest of Part 2 shows that Mark’s experiences are far from unusual. Our culture and churches are full of the walking wounded—people confused about why they find relationships and trust so difficult.
Part 3 is entitled ‘Rebuilding Trust’. It invites us to consider Jesus. As Mark puts it, ‘There has simply never been a leader like him. I want to suggest that one of the many characteristics that drew people to him is precisely the way he subverted human power.’ The place that Jesus rebuilds trust is the local church—which we are encouraged to embrace despite its many weaknesses and challenges.
Sanlon, Peter. Review of Mark Meynell, A Wilderness of Mirrors: Trusting Again in a Cynical World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015). Churchman 129/4 (2015): 380–382.
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