July 9, 2015
-
book reviews
Here are some books read over the past year or so... For more of my reviews, see here http://tim223.xanga.com/category/book-reviews/
Courtship in Crisis: the case for traditional dating, by Thomas Umstattd, Jr. - (The following is written about a pre-publication copy that I had the privilege of reading) - This is a fascinating book. He explains that he was excited by "courtship" when Joshua Harris' book "I kissed dating goodbye" came out in the 1990s (weren't we all), but explains some problems he encountered in his life with the courtship approach. By contrast, his grandmother explained that in her generation, she was encouraged to date many guys in a casual (no sex) way, and this method apparently worked well for her generation. In our generation, Umstaddt says, our "Modern Dating" approach has not worked well (marriage rates are falling and divorce rates are high). Umstattd has some great thoughts in this book. I think it's well worth reading, for everyone... supporters of courtship/betrothal, nonChristians who date for hookups only, and especially Christians who are desiring to follow Jesus in purity but who are confused about how to go about finding a spouse.
A Relentless Hope: Surviving the storm of teen depression, by Gary Nelson. - He shares the story of how his own son went through years of severe depression, anxiety, and anger (all the while while Gary was pastoring and counseling others). He shares honestly about how tough it was, and some things he learned regarding how to parent a depressed child ("just keep loving them"), and some things that were helpful (Prozac, and also, focusing on fighting together with the child against "it" (depression)). I don't necessarily agree with all of his parenting actions (I definitely disagree with the idea of letting your son sleep with his girlfriend), but who am I to judge?... and Nelson has definitely been through a lot bigger struggle in his situation than I have. Some things can definitely be learned from this true story of his family's situation. This story also resonates with me as some of my friends have faced the heartache of having a family member commit suicide. How do you respond? As a friend, quiet support and prayer would seem to be the best (not 'advice'). As a griever, (as Job in the Bible and as Tim Keller's book "Walking with God through pain and suffering" well discusses), at first we struggle with God and ask 'why', but eventually we are able to trust Him, even though we may never 'understand' (on this side of heaven).
Yawning at Tigers: You can't tame God, so stop trying, by Drew Dyck. - This is basically a book about God (in the same genre as "Knowing God" or "Crazy Love" or other books)... it makes the point that God is big and powerful and owes an apology for his actions to none of us (God is "transcendent")... and at the same time God cares about us and knows us individually (God is "immanent"). He shares about things he has learned from seminary and from time overseas in various countries (e.g. Albania). His main point, that we should not underestimate God, is good, but the book itself is such a piecemeal, scattershot, postmodern-style, 10-different stories/anecdotes-per-page collection that it's hard to keep his main point in mind. I suppose he would be a fascinating person to have a conversation with, but his book seems a bit disorganized.
Ordinary: sustainable faith in a radical, restless world, by Michael Horton - the theme of this book is that American Christians have tended to focus on "extraordinary", "novel", "transformative", "high-intensity", "experiential" aspects of the Christian life, whereas the life God wants us to live is stable, peaceful, and 'ordinary'... going to church regularly, building relationships with neighbors/coworkers/friends, reading our Bible every day, etc. Horton complains that there is too much focus on "the one thing that you're missing in your Christian life", and not enough of the standard things, especially Christ himself. The book is good, and that one point is well taken, although the book can get a bit repetitive and cliche and arguing against straw-men arguments sometimes. It is, perhaps, a reaction against books by many authors (such as David Platt and Francis Chan) which are themselves reactions against the 'american dream' version of Christianity.. the prosperous life. Horton emphasizes that discipleship is long-haul, line-upon-line, and that the Christian life should be one of contentment and walking with God daily.
United: Captured by God's Vision for Diversity, by Trillia J. Newbell - A personal account of how she (a black woman) grew up amid the pressures of racism in America, and came to Christ, and has since grown in her understanding of the ideal goal for which we Christians should be aiming in the area of racial diversity. She explains that there were some personal friendships/relationships (with a Christian caucasian woman and a Christian chinese woman) that really helped her in many ways, so she makes the point that it is these individual relationships that are what is most helpful in overcoming racism in America. It is a great read overall. She cites John Piper and his book "Bloodlines", and Thabeti Anyabwhile in his insistence that 'there is no such thing as race'. It is a bit redundant... the latter half of Newbell's book is a bit repetitive from the former half of the book. It is fascinating to me that she basically takes the exact opposite perspective as Michael Emerson (I previously reviewed his book, "Divided by Faith")... he says that although white evangelicals think that personal relationships will eventually fix the problems, he claims that NO, there are "systemic injustices" which must be fixed politically, and relationships won't fix that. I think Newbell would say that the relationships would fix the systemic injustices, in time... and I agree with her... Newbell also writes about "finding her identity in Christ rather than in her race," and overcoming certain feminist ideas... which I think are some of the best parts of her book. Good book overall, worth reading.
The Myth of Junk DNA, by Jonathan Wells - A short book showing how the evolutionary myth of "junk DNA" has hindered biology. A bit technical occasionally, but overall written at a nice level for everyone, and worth reading!
The Mysterious Epigenome - Thomas Woodward and James Gills - This book attempts to convey the great discoveries of the past decade in the area of epigenetics (how acquired traits can be passed down directly from parents to children without going into the genome). The book attempts to reach both young people and adults by using a "let's tour the cell in a submarine" analogy/story. Unfortunately, it misses both demographics... the story is too advanced for children to understand, and the detail sidebars are too corny and surfacy for adults. I hope this same material can be given a different treatment in a different book some day, to put the same content into a different, more readable style. For example, the readable style of Stephen Meyer ("Darwin's Doubt", "Signature in the Cell") is much more accessible for all levels, although it is very wordy/verbose/lengthy. But the book might be worth reading once, just because the epigenetics info is so fascinating.
The Spirit of the Disciplines, Richard Foster - This book discusses various spiritual disciplines (and the importance of them). It's a good book, and it briefly touches on the big danger of spiritual disciplines (they can make people trust in the disciplines rather than in Christ for their justification!)... I wish it hit that message much harder and more repeatedly... that would make it a "safer" book for people to read. There is a balance... between those who emphasize "free grace" and those who emphasize "spiritual disciplines"... I wish they would read each other's books...
The Finish Line, by D. Creson - a short book with stories and vignettes surrounding the acceleration of Bible translation, and the fact that within a few decades all the ethnic groups of the world might have the Bible in their own language... Jesus said "the gospel will be preached to all the nations (ethnic groups), and then the end will come", so this underscores that the end of the world is getting close. It is an interesting, quick read. Unfortunately, Wycliffe (who D. Creson works for) has capitulated in the area of creating Muslim-friendly Bible translations which replace "son of God" with other inaccurate terms, due to pressure from certain linguistic consultants. I hope they change their ways so that we can support them again in the future.
The Insanity of Obedience, by Nik Ripken - a continuation of the story from his first book "The Insanity of God", but this book was not nearly as good because it often sounded so harsh, strident, and judgmental... i.e. the message seemed to be one of anger toward American Christians because they are living too-comfortable lives... rather than understanding that God calls different people to different ministries and our job is not to judge.
The Live Dead Journal, edited by Dick Brogden - a powerful collection of devotional readings and meditations, mostly by people who are missionaries to muslim areas of Africa. Each devotional is powerful and challenging and thought provoking. The title summarizes the message - we should live "dead" to our own desires, focused on Christ's kingdom. Well worth reading multiple times. It can get a little preachy sometimes though, in a postmodern 'reactionary' kind of way. It's worth reading at least once, and probably would be good for a discussion with other people.
God's Double Agent, by Bob Fu and Nancy French - Bob tells the fascinating story of how he grew up in communist China. He was a very strong communist in college, organizing other students. Then some events caused him to shift somewhat in his beliefs. His girlfriend who became his wife was a strong influence on him over the years. He happened to meet some Christians, and over a long time of studying, eventually came to Christ. His life after that was much more difficult. He escaped to the USA in 1997. This is a great true story. It has many moments of heartbreak. It helped me understand Chinese struggles better... especially two aspects: the pressure to not disappoint one's parents (Bob's interaction with his amazing, loving, disabled, father is a thread of heartbreak throughout this book and similarly throughout many Chinese people's lives), and the pressures of Asian marriage (in particular, the tension between Bob's desire to help persecuted Christians, and the need to take care of and protect his own family... such as the pressure of having the phone often ring in the middle of the night with info about persecuted Christians needing help). The good news is that the story is not finished... he is still alive and walking with Jesus, in Texas.
Babylon, by Peter Herder and Benji Nolot - This book examines what Revelation says about the wicked city, "Babylon"... it is not just a city, it is a world system... that started back in the Garden of Eden at the fall of man, and continues to break forth throughout history... in the modern days, as Revelation predicts, it is tied in with human trafficking and slavery. This is a very unusual book in its style, but the basic points seem to be valid. They make an interesting speculation at the end about whether the 'final Babylon' might be an actual physical city as a representative (they even suggest one city), or whether it refers to the whole anti-God world system. Worth reading.
Recent Comments