Against Nothingness

We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing , by Lieutenant James C. Whittaker. 1943, Public Domain. This is the tale of eight men lost in the pacific in 1942. Stranded on rafts with four oranges, no water, one watch, life jackets, a Bible, and a few flares, they hope for rescue and struggle to survive. In the end, seven make it. On the way some find more than just hope of rescue; some find faith in God. I came across this book because Helmut Thielicke referred to it in one of his sermons. It sounded like an interesting story so I looked it up. I was pleased to find it free online and I read it. This was the right choice. It is an excellent story, worth reading. In reading that recommendation you should know that this is a book which fits into two genres I quite enjoy: Survival and Conversion. One of the first fiction books I fell in love with was The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. I read it multiple times and then read everything else I could find by Paulsen. It is th...

McIntosh, Gary L. Arn, Charles. What Every Pastor Should Know: 101 Indispensable Rules of Thumb for Leading Your Church. Baker Books, 2013. What Every Pastor Should Know is just the reference book it sounds like. 101 rules of thumb divided into 15 sections covering such topics as evangelism, small groups, revitalization, and more. These rules of thumb, which McIntosh and Arn are very careful to offer with appropriate cautions in the introduction (all churches are different, these are just guidelines, etc.), are each given in four parts: the rule itself, a brief introduction, a longer explanation, and a set of practical suggestions.  Though the subtitle of this book indicates that the rules are about "leading" a church, it really should have read "growing" a church. This is not a criticism, merely a clarification. The rules offered here are very much a product of the church growth movement. Thus, the underlying assumption that leading church is really a...

Ed. Bart R. Leib. Subversion: Science Fiction & Fantasy tales of challenging the norm . Crossed Genres Publishing, 2011. 172 pgs.  Traitor or Revolutionary? Hero or Villain? Don't these titles mean the same thing, just from a different side? History, as they say, is written by the victors, but what would it be like to get a look before those histories were written? Here, you will find stories which explore these themes and more.  Subversion is a collection of short stories around the theme of, you guessed it, subversion. Each author has his or her own take, and each story holds forth a different facet of dealing with change.  As a book of short stories, I can't tell you everything about this book. It was a very enjoyable collection, with stories ranging from 3 to 5 stars. Some of the authors were indeed very creative in dealing with the idea of subversion, others merely wrote a good yarn. Of course, that isn't really an easy thing to do, and so merely is...

Dr. Emerson Eggerichs.  The Love & Respect Experience: A Husband-Friendly Devotional That Wives Truly Love . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 320 pgs. Reviewing a book such as this can be difficult. Devotionals and prayer books are designed to be ready slowly, one day at a time, over weeks, months, or even years. As a reviewer I am rarely given the time to take such an approach to a book. Add to that the fact that this devotional in particular is designed to be done as a couple and the difficulty doubles. The result is that I often feel obliged to begin my review with a caveat about how I did not read the book as intended and that this may have skewed my review. In this case, however, I am able to review with confidence despite these difficulties. You may have heard of Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. He is the author of  the book  this devotional is based on, as well as a companion  workbook  , both of which have done very well. One of the pastors at my church rece...

Carl E. Begley.  Afraid to Believe in Free Will: The Human Tendency to Avoid Responsibility for Free Choices . Westbow Press, 2010. 176 pgs.  Don't you wish that there was someone else to blame for all of your mistakes? Of course you do. So do I. In the world of my self-deception I am to be praised for all the good in my life, able to take credit for my success, but all of my failures and bad decisions are the result of some form of determinism; I was raised that way, the social structures I inhabit left me no choice, or the devil made me do it.  In this book Begley argues, from the point of view of psychology, that we are indeed afraid of free will and the responsibility it thrusts upon us. Begley knows that we cannot prove, or disprove, the existence of free will. However, he take son some of the modern trends in science and psychology towards determinism and points out their flaws. He then argues that free will is central to what it is to be human and that we...

Greg Paul.   Close Enough to Hear God Breathe: The Great Story of Divine Intimacy . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 224 pgs.  Greg Paul believes that the 'heart of the matter', the important center as we consider our relationship to God, is that we are His beloved children and we need to be in a close, loving, relationship with Him. Paul also believes that the best way to do this is to listen to the story of God. In his own words: "Listening to the Story ought to be like lying on my Father's chest, a vulnerable, beloved infant, rich with potential, the focus of his dreams for a great and noble future."  Close Enough to Hear God Breathe is Paul's attempt to draw the reader closer to God by retelling that great story in four acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation.  I find both the premise and method of this book to be extremely laudable. I agree with Paul on the 'heart of the matter.' I also agree that one of the best ways to grow closer an...

Stephen R. Lawhead.  The Bone House (Bright Empires) . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 416 pgs.  One year ago, less one week, I posted my review of Stephen Lawheads  The Skin Map , which is the first book in the "Bright Empires" series. Here, then, is the second book in that series. The Bone House  continues the story of Kit Livingston in his quest for the skin map. One piece has been found, but the stakes have been raised. Kit has inherited this quest from his grandfather, Cosimo, but Kit is now on the run, and, except for the help of his surprisingly resourceful girlfriend Mina, on his own.  This book was a pleasant surprise. It is an incredibly rare series which gets better in the second book, but Lawhead has done just that. He has maintained the depth of character development, excellent descriptions of the scenes, and at the same time upped the pace and removed my one qualm with the first book in this series: the confusion of jumping from time to time. ...

Mark Horne. J.R.R. Tolkien (Christian Encounters Series) . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 160 pgs. Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church.This particular book is, obviously, a highlight of the life of J.R.R. Tolkien. It is not a full biography, rather it is the outline of his life and a chance for you to 'meet' this famous author. The book is organized chronologically, with heavier emphasis on the early parts of Tolkien's life. It concludes with a brief look at his legacy. As a 'Christian Encounter' this is a decent book. Horne writes well, and one feels as if one gets to know Tolkien a little bit by the end of the book. As far as I know, though I am no expert, this is an accurate look at Tolkien's life, and it was certainly interesting. My only complaint was that I felt as if Horne worked a little bit too hard to relate nearly all of Tolkien's life to Th...

Vishal Mangalwadi .  The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 464 pgs.  Though many people seek wisdom, in recent times the bible has become one of the last places search. Vishal Mangalwadi seeks to reverse that trend by examining how the bible has impacted western civilization. The Book That Made Your World is a breathtaking tour of history looked at through the thesis that it was the bible which turned the west into the unique civilization it is: technical and tolerant, scientific and free, just and prosperous. Mangalwadi pursues this thesis through a dazzling, and perhaps overwhelming, array of topics; from rationality to heroism, technology to morality, and much else besides. Though this is a long book of history, I found it quite interesting coming from the perspective of an Indian philosopher who mixed in stories of his home with the history of western civilization. The perspective off...

Greg Wright . Daddy Dates: Four Daughters, One Clueless Dad, and His Quest to Win Their Hearts . Thomas Nelson, 2011, 224 pgs.  Greg Wright is the father of four daughters. Faced with a house full of women he loved, Greg knew he needed to do some work to live out that love in a way his family would appreciate. So he took a retreat, did some thinking, and came up with the idea of spending time one-on-one with the women of his home. That time had to be focused on them, he had to listen, he had to put thought and effort and creativity into it, and he had to make it special. In other words, he would date all five women, not just his wife.  Now, you might read that and say 'duh.' But, for some reason, there is a disconnect for many fathers in exactly this area. We understand, or understood, the necessity of these actions when courting our wives (or faked understanding well enough to get by) but then we get married and forget it all. So, while the advice Wright offers is simple,...

Paul Copan,  Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God . Baker Books, 2011. 252 Pgs.  As I said in my last review of a book on this topic , wading through certain Old Testament passages can be quite troubling and difficult. For Seibert, this seems to have been made especially so by the struggles of his students (or so one gathers from the stories he shares in his introduction). Copan, on the other hand, is mainly responding to the accusations of the 'New Atheists.' People such as Dawkins, Dennet, and Hitchens who delight in caricaturing God as He is presented in the Old Testament so that He more easily falls to their ridicule and condescension.  In response to these arguments, Copan offers a careful and detailed reading of several parts of the Old Testament, paying particular attention to cultural context and genre, as well as the language and details of scripture itself. His book is divided into four sections. Section one introduces the ...

Constantine R. Campbell, Keep Your Greek: Strategies for Busy People . Zondervan, 2010, 96 pages.  Thanks to Koinonia for providing this book on the blog tour. This handy little volume is a book full of tips on how to keep up your skills in the Greek language after you leave college/seminary for a busy life of (insert any job/life description here). It includes 10 short chapters, 9 of which contain tips (or a set of tips) on how to maintain you abilities in Greek (or any other language that you only care about reading and not speaking). These tips range from the simple ("Read Every Day") to the unique ("Burn your Interlinear") to the interesting ("Use Your Sense"). The motive behind this book is the belief that being able to read and understand the Greek of the New Testament will aid you in understanding, teaching, and preaching it.  Short book, short review. This was a great little book. Well written, to the point, funny, and practical. Speaking as ...

Scott McKnight, Fasting . Thomas Nelson, 2009.  176 pages.  Thanks to BookSneeze® for providing a free copy of this book for me to review.  In this, the fourth book in "The Ancient Practices Series", McKnight explores and explains the discipline of fasting.  According to him  "fasting is the natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment in life." Within this definition McKnight seeks to avoid the instrumentalism which plagues many individuals practices of spiritual disciplines in modern times and instead affirm that fasting is about responding to God and any results we get from it are secondary.  With this in mind, McKnight explores nine different facets of, or reasons for, fasting: Body Talk (an expression of us as whole beings), Body Turning (repentance over sin), Body Plea (a cry out to God), Body Grief (response to loss), Body Discipline (part of spiritual growth), Body Calendar (keeping the  rhythm  of our...

Carl McColman, The Lion, the Mouse and the Dawn Treader: Spiritual Lessons from C.S. Lewis's Narnia. Paraclete Press, 2011.  144 pages.  Provided for review.   #SpeakEasyNarnia  Special thanks for providing this in electronic format; so much easier that way.  Sometimes the title, and subtitle, just says it all.  You don't even need to read the back of this book to know what it is about.  It is a book outlining some of the spiritual lessons we can learn form Narnia and, more specifically, from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader .  After all, C.S. Lewis himself wrote that The Voyage  was about the spiritual life and journey of the Christian (though, it is not an allegory, a fact both Lewis and McColman are very clear about).  With this beginning, McColman explores just what lessons we can learn from this book, including such things as: the choice to walk with God is not always our own, mysticism does not make saints, everyone is at risk o...

Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters . Penguin Books, 2009. 240 pages.  In this book Keller explores our societies common idols: money, sex, power, and success.  That fourth one didn't make it into the title, but thankfully it is in the book. The human heart, says Keller (as many have said before him), is an idol factories.  We continually enshrine things other than God.  But, because of recent events, Keller believes we are in a moment of cultural disillusionment which will allow us to see our idols for the dead things they are.  Thus, he goes on in chapter one to talk about how getting everything we want is actually terrible, if what we want is determined by our idols.  The next four chapters expose the seductive and destructive power of each of the idols mentioned above and how easy it is to fall for them in our society.  He concludes with one chapter on rooting out the...

Chris Seay, The Gospel According to Jesus: A Faith That Restores All Things . Thomas Nelson, 2010. 211 pgs.  Thanks again to Thomas Nelson for providing this book for review.   So, I requested this book months ago but, because of some kind of warehouse glitch, I got this book first...  Anyway, I was very happy to recieve Chris Seay's book this week.  Not only that, but here is another book on what the gospel is really all about.  Before opening this book I wondered if I was a sucker for punishment. If you have read my other reviews, I think this is about my sixth book on the subject and the vast majority of them have been terrible.  The Gospel According to Jesus was a blessed exception.  In this book Seay takes the reader through his definition of the gospel and the various consequences of it, as well as some of the foundations of Christian life and belief.  The gospel is the full-orbed story of Jesus Christ, from creation to final judgeme...

John Sowers, Fatherless Generation: Redeeming the Story . Zondervan, 2010. 138 pgs.  Thank you once again to engagingchurchblog.com for hosting this blog tour and providing the book for me to review.   In this book Sowers tells the story of burgeoning fatherlessness in America and the results of this ongoing tragedy.  He tells this story through a mix of personal stories, both his own and those from others, information on what is happening and the consequences of it, and biblical passages which reveal the heart of God on this matter.  In short, being fatherless is having massive negative consequences on the lives of young men and women and we, as God's people, need to step up to be fathers to the fatherless, just as God himself proclaims that He is a father to the fatherless.    The book is divided into two sections.  The first examines the problem and the second examines the solution.  Sowers paradigm for helping is that of redeeming the st...

Dick Staub,  About You: Fully Human, Fully Alive . Jossey-Bass, 2010. 194 pgs.  About You is, not surprisingly, about you.  It is about you in the sense that it is about all human beings.  Staub's thesis, a quote from Hans Rookmaaker, is on the cover: Jesus didn't come to make us Christian, Jesus came to make us fully human.  Staub, then, offers a theological anthropology of what it means to be fully human and that Jesus has called us to this.  He begins with several chapters exploring the idea that we all long for something better, that we know we were made to be more.  He then has three sections: one explores the fall of mankind and resulting death, the next the path to becoming alive, and the third how we can be made new. Lately there seems to have been a spate of new books published which attempt to redefine and re-explore the gospel.  I have reviewed several of them, and another is on the way.  Mostly, they are disappoi...

Ed Cyzewski, Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life.  NavPress, 2008. 233 pgs.  Disclosure: This book was provided by  TheOoze  for the purpose of review.  @viralbloggers Coffeehouse Theology  may best be described as an introduction to, and argument for, doing theology. More specifically, for doing 'contextual theology.' In it Ed argues that we need to understand our culture in order to understand, teach, or practice theology.  We are ourselves culturally conditioned and, consequently, need to understand our culture in order to understand our own biases.  The same goes for living it or spreading it.   In order to take this position Ed spends five chapters exploring our culture; how it has changed, how it affects us, and so on.  He then goes on to place the center of theology in God, and the central practices of theology as prayer and reflection.  Next come three chapters examining theology in light of the bibl...

Stephen R. Lawhead, The Skin Map: A Bright Empires Novel . Thomas Nelson, 2010. 403pgs. Disclosure: This book was provided by Thomas Nelson for review purposes. The Skin Map begins the story of Kit Livingstone's odd travels.  His great-grandfather appears to him and tells him that all throughout Britian are 'ley-lines' which allow individuals to travel through both time and space.  Kit is then invited to join in the quest to find the skin map, a parchment made from the skin of a man who learned much about these ley-lines, mapped them, and tatooed that information onto his body.  Naturally, Kit and his great-grandfather are not the only ones looking for this map, so the race is on. I have read Lawhead before and enjoyed his work.  This book was no different.  It was suspenseful and engaging, and with Lawhead's typical ability to write characters that are human and easy to relate to.  The idea behind this story is interesting, and I found Lawhead...