March 24, 2014

• book reviews

  Here are some book reviews from the past ~4 years.  For previous reviews, click the "book reviews" category link on the left.

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  The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good, by Peter Greer (director of Hope International, a microfinance charity) - good summary of the spiritual dangers associated with ministry of all sorts, charity work, etc.  For example, one can drift away from God, focus on ministry success rather than on Jesus, etc.

  Every Good Endeavor, by Tim Keller - he delves into the concept of work & vocation - he reminds that these things were given by God (BEFORE the Fall) and are designed to be good and fulfilling.  It is a great book, full of good quotes and philosophy, and would reward 2 or 3 read-throughs, not because any of it is too hard to comprehend, but because there is a lot of various disparate related topics packed into the book.  As in most of his books, his rhetorical approach is "let's take the middle road between extreme 1 and extreme 2" (between laziness vs workaholism), but grounds it in Scripture fairly well.

  Darwin's Doubt, by Stephen Meyer - This is the 2nd book in his series about intelligent design (followup to Signature in the Cell).  This one looks at the Cambrian Explosion, and the fact that no transitional fossils have been found... and the problem of coming up with additional genetic information to provide the new body plans and new proteins.  He summarizes Douglas Axe's experiments about protein formation, and makes a very strong case (if a little long-winded) that evolution has NO viable explanation for how this genetic increase occurred.  Includes nice pictures.  Suitable for laymen.

  Unbroken - the true story of Louie Zamperini (former Olympic runner) as he became a pilot in World War II, then was shot down and became a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp.  He had a very difficult time there, but ultimately survived.  One of the most interesting things to me was the fact that some of the Japanese guards were secretly kind to the prisoners, and would help them and sneak them extra food.  There are many tales of heroism which we will probably never know until we get to heaven.

  The Red Sea Rules - short book of principles gleaned from the Israelites wandering by the Red Sea.  Not too bad.

  Unto Death, by Dalton Thomas - Good little book reminding about various principles regarding persecution and martyrdom.  Martyrdom is not to be sought, but neither is it to be feared.

  In the land of blue burqas, by "Kate McCord" - Great true stories of her time in Afghanistan working for a NGO charity... spending time with women and families inside their tents, etc.  She draws out various insights about God and the Bible, contrasting the Afghans' hopelessness with the hope we have.

  Holy books have a history, by Keith Small - great short summary of the textual variants in the Bible manuscripts and the Quran manuscripts, with a few photos, and the differences between the two books' textual history.

  Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S.Lewis, again...   One of the few stories that I can read over and over, every couple years, and enjoy anew each time.

  The Divorce Myth, by Carl Laney - Excellent summary of what the Bible says about divorce and remarriage.  He takes the 'no remarriage except if spouse has died' position, with which I agree.

  various Alistair MacLean novels - fun reading, but not tremendously praiseworthy, edifying, or recommended.  His heroes are typically quiet, intelligent, super-skillful assassins/spies, who "reluctantly kill", whereas the bad guys "gleefully kill".  While this has a certain authenticity (to some degree) and interest, at some point it begins to read hollow, because the real world has more 3d characters.

  various Jane Austen books - Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, etc.  These are fun reads, and are somewhat realistic (relationships), but also somewhat unrealistic (the characters are all nobility who can spend their time just talking and taking walks all day!.. and, the main point of every book is a love story!).

  The Lordship Salvation Controversy, by Richard Belcher - Excellent summary of the controversy between Zane Hodges and John MacArthur.  Although that controversy was a while ago, it is still relevant today.

  By Design, by Jonathan Safarti - Unlike most of Safarti's other polemical works, this one makes a positive case for design by looking at many different examples of amazing design in the natural world.  This is an excellent and beautiful book, which includes a lot of nice scientific information.

  Evolution: a theory in crisis, by Michael Denton - I only read part of this book, but it politely critiques the theory of Evolution, especially the problem of increasing information and deriving new body plans in going from species to species.  However, the book is rather old and doesn't take into account the biological revolutionary genetic information from the past decade.

  Arkansas Wilderness, by Tim Ernst - BEAUTIFUL pictures... highly recommended.  Thanks to Ross for showing me this author.

  One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp - She relates her own life story in semi-poetic form, and how she has now come to emphasize giving thanks to God for all the little blessings throughout the day.  She catalogs one thousand of them, especially in connection with her own family.

  Faith that Endures, by Ronald Boyd-MacMillan - This is an excellent book about the persecuted church.  He says that 'they need us, and we need them' - they need our support, and we need their example.  They are not 'better than us', nor we than them, but just each called to follow Christ in different circumstances, and support each other.  He has examples of the different types of persecution throughout the world (not only physical).  Excellent.

  Dangerous Calling, by Paul Tripp - This is a book about those who go into Christian ministry, and the heart challenges that arise there - e.g. to pride, to self-sufficiency, to drifting away from God, or on the other side, to despair.  Excellent, pastoral book from a pastor.

  Nefarious (DVD) - in the genre of 'extremely gut-wrenchingly heartbreaking' documentaries about huge terrible real-world problems that we ought to be made aware of / we ought to be heartbroken over, (like ones about Sudan's children, Joseph Kony, Holocaust, "The Killing Fields", etc).  Nefarious is a "well-done" documentary which exposes the problem of sex trafficking and enslavement of children around the world (with emphasis on "around the world" - it shows the different types of problems in different countries, including the USA). The film is very wrenching (one drawback of the film are its wierd "artistic reenactments" and slightly over-the-top emotional unfoldings of individual girls' true-story plights) and it is graphic, but given the subject, this is probably necessary. But it's not the type of film you'd want to watch more than once, if even once (it might be better to listen to the film in audio, rather than watch it in video).  It also appropriately goes broader than mere sex trafficking of children, to the psychological problems associated with "professional prostitutes"... how and why they start, why it is hard for them to leave (yet dangerous to continue), etc.  The many interviews are great. Most importantly, Nefarious presents the true stories of many who have left the sex trade, been rescued, are in the process of rescuing, have repented of their trafficking dealings, or have otherwise escaped... and especially the ones who have truly been set free, by Jesus Christ. The film points out that even in areas where (e.g. the Netherlands) the society has allowed substantial "voluntary" prostitution, it has generally resulted in much damage to many people's lives, both men and women. The film also points out that those who merely escape slavery physically (or enter secular counseling) are often not fully healed or end up going back into slavery, whereas those who find Jesus are often more deeply and permanently healed.  The other really good thing about this film is that it highlights "action items" in which we can help directly, like supporting certain laws and legal approaches that can help eliminate these problems, for example by criminalizing pimps rather than prostitutes.  But in the vast systemic problems of certain countries, mere legal changes would NOT fix this problem... it is deeply culturally engrained.  What is needed is more knowledge of Jesus Christ in those areas...  and thus, more people to go to those areas to share the news.

  Homosexuality and the Christian, by Mark Yarhouse - great book!  He carefully and gently distinguishes between (1) experiencing same-sex attractions, (2) experiencing same-sex attractions strongly and regularly ("orientation"), and (3) considering one's identity to be "gay".  He suggests that (1) and (2) are not voluntary, but (3) is...  A Bible-believing Christian, he says, can choose to locate one's "identity" (significance, sense of self-worth, self-understanding, self-labeling, the most fundamental tenet/substance of who one thinks one is) in Christ, rather than locating it in allegedly "being gay".  He presents examples and survey results regarding many Christians who experience (1) and (2) but reject the gay lifestyle of homosexual actions, choosing instead to live in celibacy and pursue Christ and the purity that He gives.

  The World-Tilting Gospel, by Dan Phillips - great book!  Highly recommended.  It clearly describes the whole gospel, from a reformed (but not hypercalvinist) perspective, with careful explanation of justification and sanctification, including strong warnings against non-Lordship salvation teaching, watered-down evangelicalism teaching, perfectionism teaching, and especially the "stop trying to live the Christian life in your own strength" teaching.  Dan doesn't simply describe, but passionately (and using very informal/idiomatic language) explains/exults/delights-in the gospel.  This book is full of energy and passion... very contagious and delightful.  This is how books about God's gospel ought to be!

  Walking from East to West by Ravi Zacharias - great autobiography... honest, insightful... starts out spending a lot of time describing his Indian childhood, then speeds up at the end of the book... lots of meetings, etc.  Very interesting man.

  The Tentmaker Trap - great book... how to avoid burnout... different models... what to expect...

  The Privilege of Persecution, by Carl Moeller (yuck.. a rant.. early church=socialism, americachristianchurch=bad,  I'd suggest reading Ronald Boyd-MacMillan's book instead)

  Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, by Richard Bauckham - Great explanation of why the gospels are very trustworthy as historical records.  Extremely scholarly and deep... this book is not written at the lay level, and it will take some slow patient reading.  But it's worth it... the information and ideas and scholarship about memory, named eyewitnesses, early 'church fathers', formal controlled oral tradition, and many such things are valuable and hard to find anywhere else.

  The Cross Centered Life, by C.J.Mahaney - short, good summary of why Jesus Christ (and specifically His death and resurrection) must not be forgotten, and must permeate all my thinking all day long.

  Counterfeit Gods, by Tim Keller - great examination of Scripture passages in which other "idols" like money, popularity, success, sex, relationships, etc tripped people up in the past, and how it's still extremely relevant to today.  We must put God first... both because it is right, and because we will become extremely unhappy if we do not...

  Three cups of tea, by Greg Mortenson - nice interesting story about his exploits building schools for girls in Afghanistan... unfortunately, there are news reports these days saying that these stories were greatly exaggerated.

  Redeeming Singleness, by Barry Danyiak - "a theology of singleness" - good book, explaining why although in the Old Testament getting married and having children was extremely important (it allowed participation in the covenant blessings of God's promises to Israel), now in the New Testament, it's totally irrelevant - one can directly enjoy God's blessings whether single or married.

  Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, by Michael Brown, volumes 2-4 - great series!  See the previous review.

  Starlight, time, and the New Physics by John Hartnett - Great book, though it could use some editing to make it a little easier to read.  It explains how Moshe Carmeli's relativistic approach (using a universe with a center, like Humphreys) can account for all the red-shifted light (by space dilation, more than time dilation, I think... I.e. God stretched out the heavens) and also explain the time necessary for starlight to come to earth within 1 day, without dark matter, dark energy, etc.

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