Caribbean L 48 ife, May 10–16, 2019 BQ
Book cover of “The Code of the Righteous Warrior.”
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“The Code of the Righteous
Warrior” by Rev. Dr. Alyn E.
Waller
c.2019, Atria
$27.00 / $36.00 Canada
290 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
These days, you just don’t
know what to expect.
Things used to be laid out
nice and easy: a real man took
care of business, he settled disagreements
with his fists, and
he was head of his household.
But it’s a new world now with
new expectations, and in “The
Code of the Righteous Warrior”
by Rev. Dr. Alyn E. Waller, you’ll
know how to get through it.
Even when he was a small
boy, Alyn Waller “really, really”
loved to fight but, alas, he was
the smallest boy in his class
and was bullied. That changed
when he was in fifth grade and
his cousin came to live with
Waller’s family. Lonnie taught
Waller how to fight.
That was largely forgotten
by the time Waller got to college;
alcohol and parties were
more important and he lost
his way until an older man in
his church trained Waller and
some of his friends in the martial
arts. Waller took his training
further himself, and earned
“advanced ranking” in four
additional disciplines, including
one that teaches “leadership,
spiritual development,
fiscal responsibility, a positive
mental attitude” and more.
A Righteous Warrior, as
Waller calls a man who wants to
live life with a “Christian Warrior’s
code,” has three choices
when “he is under any type of
attack”: he can run, which is
a valid option. He can fight, as
Jesus did in the temple. Or he
can “take one for the team,”
knowing that “everything will
be okay in the end – and if it
ain’t okay, it ain’t the end.”
There are 10 principles of a
Righteous Warrior.
Keep life simple and ask
yourself what’s essential and
what’s merely interesting.
Know the difference between
true and True. “Develop a
mindset that prepares you to
play whatever cards life deals”
and be judicious with your
assets. “Expect the unexpected.”
Fight for your family, no
matter what it looks like. When
things get bad, “keep your head
in the game…” Remember that
a “righteous man learns…
earns… and then he returns
to others” and finally, don’t
quit, but know when it’s time
to stop.
Considering that this book
was written by a minister, it’s
quite a surprise: “The Code of
the Righteous Warrior” doesn’t
completely advocate nonviolence.
And yet, that may be why it
works. Author Rev. Dr. Alyn E.
Waller offers advice for today’s
Christian man, but in a way
that reaches back centuries,
as though he’s mixed the Bible
with Zen teachings and inserted
his own experiences to make
things even more relatable. It
has the feel of lightheartedness,
rather than lecture, but
readers will surely know that
Waller is serious in his advice.
Ten principles of a
‘Righteous Warrior’