Thought-provoking comments from an African American official about the Milwaukee riots.

https://world.wng.org/2016/08/milwaukee_sheriff_speaks_the_truth

This is a fascinating article.

http://theweek.com/articles/631927/inside-japans-booming-rentafriend-industry

Here are some recent book reviews.  For older reviews, see http://tim223.xanga.com/category/book-reviews/

What does the Bible really teach about homosexuality?  by Kevin DeYoung
This is a great book! ... for two reasons.  First, the tone is wonderfully gentle.  Second, it accurately exegetes all the relevant Bible passages about homosexuality (Genesis 1-2, 19, Leviticus 18,20, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Timothy 1, etc), and shows that the traditional interpretation is the one that most accurately fits the Bible in its textual and cultural context.
Regarding the tone, the author is EXTREMELY respectful, irenic, gentle, and welcoming toward homosexuals, while carefully presenting accurate doctrine.  It briefly answers all the revisionist claims, such as that the prohibitions against homosexual behavior might be directed only against violence (not so, in context), or that the ancients didn't know about 'orientation' and loving monogamous same-sex relationships (on the contrary, they did know about it, even from the time of Plato, hundreds of years before the New Testament.
The book also has a great section answering objections, very gently but thoroughly.  Such as: "The Bible hardly ever mentions homosexuality", "Not that kind of homosexuality", "What about gluttony and divorce?", "The Church is supposed to be a place for broken people", "You're on the wrong side of history", "It's not fair", "The God I worship is a God of love", and "What about same-sex marriage?".
The book also helpfully differentiates between experiencing feelings of same-sex attraction, versus acting on those feelings by engaging in same-sex activity.
This is a good reference book or a good book to give to a homosexual person who is sincerely seeking the truth about what the Bible says.  It is short, and to-the-point.  Excellent.

 
Justification Reconsidered, by Stephen Westerholm
The author critiques the "New Perspective on Paul" (NPP), which over the past 50 years or so has claimed that Paul (author of much of the New Testament of the Bible) when speaking of being "justified by faith" was not concerned with how people could find gr huace and mercy individually for their sins and acquire individual forgiveness, but instead how people (such as Gentiles) could be enter into the "covenant family of God" and acquire the covenant blessings. NPP claims that Paul's Pharisaical and Judaizer colleagues were not teaching 'salvation-by-works' but rather were teaching 'Gentiles-cannot-participate'... and NPP claims that justification is not the immediate announcement that we have been given "righteous"(innocent,holy) legal status before God, but instead NPP claims there is a temporary justification based on our faith which allows participation in the "covenant", then a final "eschatological justification" based on our works which determines whether we enter heaven or hell.  Thus NPP muddies the difference between justification and sanctification, and ends up basically teaching that we are justified by our works.
Westerholm step-by-step and very politely demolishes the NPP claims, going through 1 Thessalonians, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, and then Romans, and showing that Paul was indeed concerned about "righteous" as referring to the moral quality opposed to sinfulness (not just the legal status of being "vindicated in court")... Westerholm goes through all the relevant passages, especially Romans, and shows that the NPP claims don't fit the text and context.   Westerholm is gracious to the NPP scholars (N.T.Wright, James Dunn, E.P.Sanders, Krister Stendahl, Douglas Campbell, etc) and points out that many of their applications are still useful and correct (such as the fact that Paul's "salvation by faith" teaching breaks down racial and ethnic barriers to the gospel) despite their doctrine being so wrong. It's a little dense sometimes, but worth reading to the end.

 
The Tyranny of Experts, by Willaim Easterly
In this book the author makes the case that most "development" efforts (aid, relief, etc to poor countries) impose plans made by a small group of 'experts', which end up trampling the actual rights of the poor.  For example, some UN or World Bank group decided that some grand project should be enacted in order to receive aid... the local autocratic dictator of the poor country enforces this by driving out the locals at gunpoint (as actually happened in 2010 in Mubende district in Uganda, for a World Bank-sponsored forestry project - 20000 farmers were evicted).
The author makes the further case that true economic improvement of a nation, or a region, or a city, happens by individuals seeking to improve their own family's situation, by having the freedom to jump into whatever business opportunity they see around them.
This is an excellent, powerful, book... somewhat depressing and somewhat pedantic at times, but with a powerful case.  This would be excellent reading for a discussion group for people who work in development environments in western nations.
The book is generally secular.  Thus it misses out on the fact that the concepts of the rights of the poor only makes sense if they are in fact 'endowed by their creator with' those rights.  The spread of the Gospel would (I think) be the most effective way to help a poor country in a long-term sense.  However, Easterly's points are also well-made.

 
Competent to Counsel, by Jay Adams
The thesis of this book is that you don't need specialized academic training in counseling (i.e. studying Freudian and Rogerian counseling techniques) to be a good counselor.  (Indeed, these approaches typically don't help people,dingfrom what he said.)  Instead, anyone (especially a pastor) who knows the Bible well and is willing to speak the (sometimes hard) truth in love to people can be 'competent to counsel'.  He tells of his own and other pastors' experiences, and shares a lot of techniques.  The main point is getting people to admit their problems, take responsibility, and really want to change (instead of merely considering that they are 'mentally ill', as in, under the influence of something they have no control over).  Then, they can take steps to change the bad habits in their lives.  He speaks of "nouthetic" counseling, which comes from the Greek word "to warn, to admonish".
Nouthetic counselors can counsel both Christian and nonChristian people,... but if I remember correctly, the author correctly implies that counseling of Christians has a special extra success factor. It is important for people to realize how God sees them, and agree with God's perspective (sinners in need of a Savior)... once they see this and come to believe in Jesus Christ they can seek to overcome sinful habits with the power of God's spirit.
This book is filled with practical advice, and is highly recommended to read and consider.  However, it is EXTREMELY politically-incorrect, in many ways, both in the discussion of certain maladies (gender dysphoria and homosexuality are no longer considered undesirable deviations by secular mainstream psychologists/counselors), and in the method of counseling (he advocates a little bit of listening and asking probing questions, then advancing practical steps to solve the relationship or other problems, beginning even as soon as the first session, in sending home "homework" / practice steps for the client to do before the next session).  If a client cannot be helped in 8 sessions or so (often even less), there is likely something that they are hiding or unwilling to let go of, which means that they cannot overcome their symptomatic problems.
This book is 30 or 40 years old.  One thing I would wish for is a modern edition, updated with knowledge as of 2016, especially for today's hot issues (including research and anecdotes from Mark Yarhouse, Sam Allberry, Wesley Hill, Rosaria Butterfield, etc).

Here are four recent book reviews.  (Visit this link for all my book reviews http://tim223.xanga.com/category/book-reviews/ )

The Art of Neighboring, by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon
This is a great book, about reaching out to build friendships with neighbors, and ultimately show not only the love of Christ to them, but possibly also eventually share the specific message (gospel) of Christ with them too.  The book points out that we often don't know our neighbors.  It shares the importance of knowing them, and provides practical ideas for getting to know them.  It talks a lot about our attitude... loving, respectful, not arrogant (willing to ask/receive help from neighbors)...  How to overcome fear... etc.  It has a lot of stories from their own experiences in Denver. It also has good advice for relationships in general, such as their chapters on establishing boundaries, and forgiveness, and focusing on specific 'people of peace', etc.  Interesting ideas for group neighborhood fellowship: outdoor movie nights, picnics, block parties.  Recommended book!

True Love Dates, by Debra Fileta
This is a fairly typical Christian dating advice book.  It gives all the standard and common-sense (if sometimes cliche) Christian dating & relationships advice.  She organizes her points as follows: 1. Date inward (get to know yourself), 2. Date outward (get to know other people), and 3. Date upward (cultivate your relationship with Jesus Christ).  Point #1 was the most unusual... she recommends spending plenty of time, money, energy, effort, etc in getting to know oneself.  She has a section in chapter 12 called "Jesus can't be your boyfriend" in which she inveighs against the commonly-given Christian advice that Jesus ought to satisfy all romantic longings.  However, she tends to get very close to doling out that same advice herself, in many places.  It is a hard line to walk correctly, because she's right - God did design most people for marriage relationships, but marriage will never ultimately satisfy.  Overall I partially recommend this book... it is fairly good and might be helpful to some people, especially those who have not read other Christian relationship books.

Rid of My Disgrace, by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb
This book is about sexual assault, and in particular a Christian counseling response to it.  It starts by giving stats/etc about sexual assault (and helping victims to name/recognize it for what it was), then spends several chapters talking about the shame, guilt, disgrace, etc that victims usually feel, including real life stories.  Then there are some chapters at the end about God's grace as shown in the Old Testament and New Testament.  Overall this is a good, balanced, book (including both the psychological/counseling perspective and the Biblical perspective).  I think this might be worth using as a discussion starter in counseling someone who has been hurt.  Here's an excerpt from the chapter called "Mandy's Story."  " [7 years afterward]....I began to see the fullness of the evil done against me.  Progressively, as the magnitude of the evil grew in my awareness, it was amazing for me to realize that God is even bigger. .... Following Him through that dark valley and resting in His real promises rather than my own ideas became the true healing that I needed.  I came to know the true God, sovereign over all, who is ultimately good.  And I was his daughter, cherished and loved by him even in the midst of being raped.  When I reached that point, my heart was soft toward God, and I asked him what else he had for me.  I remember driving to work saying, "Is there more, here?" And that's when it hit me.  I saw their faces.  I saw the men who raped me and felt a surprising compassion towards them.  I began to cry out for them, "God save them." Just as I was an enemy of God in need of reconciliation, so they need to be reconciled by the blood of Christ.  I wept for them for quite a while and still often find myself tearing up on their behalf, wishing that I could see them face-to-face and tell them of a great God who is bigger than their harmful acts of violence, who loves them to the point of crushing his own Son to deliver them from death.  This forgiveness was a miracle.  I have found freedom in loving them with the love of Christ.  My anger, bitterness, resentment, escape, numbness, denial, self-pity, or any other response is not capable of removing their sin.  Nothing but the blood of Christ will pay their debt.  And so I can look back on that night, recognizing the fullness of the pain God counted me worthy to suffer, and also to look on it with the joy of knowing my God in a more intimate and magnificent way.  It has become a mark of God's help in my life, a place where he ordained healing for me ......."

Shame Interrupted, by Edward Welch
This is a fascinating book.  It is a thorough, 300-page, study of shame (and honor & healing).  What is shame?  (there are several types... due to our sin or due to our weakness/inadequacy... foisted upon us by others or imposed upon ourselves... etc)  Why do we feel it?  What are the sources?  And especially, how did/does God address and 'interrupt' and heal our shame, in various different ways, throughout the Bible?  Very unusual book in terms of writing style, but worth reading, perhaps even studying in a group together.  It is not just for counselors or counselees... I think everyone could benefit.
Quote: (p. 151-2)
"You have known fractures and enmity in relationships, and sometimes you feel helpless to do anything about them.  At other times you don't want to do anything about them.  But if you have known God's power in such a way that you, an outcast, have been accepted, you will want to invite others to peace with God and peace with other people.
"Peacemakers renounce violence and vigilante strategies. They renounce them even at the level of their imaginations. They don't wish evil on others in private but play nice in public.  It sounds impossible, especially if you have had an enemy.  But it makes complete sense when you remember that you were an outsider and an enemy when Jesus brought you in and said, "Peace to you."
"How you actually function as a peacemaker is not always easy to determine.  But we know this: shamed people feel powerless, and what could be more powerful than being an agent of peace in the midst of war?  What could be more powerful than disarming someone with love?  Peacemaking is, indeed, an honorable profession.
"If anyone knows shame, it is the wife of a cocaine addict. Her husband chose a drug over her. A drug - not even another human being. Now add the accessories of betrayal- the lies, empty promises, lost jobs, mysterious disappearances of her jewelry, all done in full view of family and friends. Peace seemed impossible, but she knew God's peace and she always looked for opportunities to express it.
"After a few months of his sobriety, she had a sense that he had gotten high, so she asked him about it.  Apparently, he had made some changes because this time he told her the truth, even though he knew it might cost him what was left of his marriage. 
"He could never have predicted her response: 'What will we do about this?'
"'We!' Peacemakers pursue unity in relationships. They think in terms of 'we', not only 'you.'
"It was the last time he got high, and that was ten years ago.
"Peacemaking is a powerful and honorable profession, indeed.
"Yet peacemakers are not always successful. Neither peacemaking in general nor a kingdom lifestyle in general will always win you points with others. In other words, the way of honor is not by expert peacemaking but by being connected to the King.  ......."

(Visit this link for all my book reviews http://tim223.xanga.com/category/book-reviews/ )

Why God Calls Us To Dangerous Places, by Kate McCord
This is a beautiful, thought-provoking book, interwoven with stories from her experiences of 9 years in Afghanistan.  Why do we go (or support those who go)?  Primarily, because God loves those people, and His love begins to transform us so that we begin to love them too.  She has great insights about loss, PTSD, ministry burnout, etc... great insights on how to rest in God and be at peace when all around you comes crashing down, when your friends die (or are murdered), when you are threatened, etc.  When terrorists plot to attack us and do attack us, may our heart be that described in this book.  So far opposite from "let's nuke them all", let our heart instead be, "Who will go to tell them about the love of Jesus?"  See also my previous review of her (excellent) book "In the Land of Blue Burqas".

The 5 Love Languages, by Gary Chapman
You've probably heard of this book, even if you haven't read it.  I finally got around to reading it.  I was afraid that it was going to be oversimplistic... but it was not.  His main point is that people experience 'feeling loved' in very different ways (words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch), and that husbands and wives need to learn how to speak the other's love language.  He explains how he 'discovered' each one by various conversations with his clients (he is a professional counselor).  He includes lots of stories, including about those whose marriages were falling apart.  He is a Christian, but keeps most of the book 'generic' and secular... until the last chapter or so, when he explains about Christ's love.  Excellent, worth reading, overall.

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
This is the true story of how a very liberal and atheistic woman found Christ.  She explains her journey into identifying as a lesbian, and her journey to become an English professor at Syracuse University, teaching Gay and Lesbian Studies.  She happened to become connected with a caring Christian, who took the time to invite her to dialog regularly about matters of faith over dinner with himself and his wife.  Through this friendship, she reevaluated Christ and the Bible, and eventually came to believe in Christ.  This began to massively change her lifestyle, as she chronicles.  Later in her life, she became married, became an adoptive/foster mom, and homeschooled her children.  This is a beautiful, well-written, testimony... well worth reading.

The Verbally Abusive Relationship, by Patricia Evans
This book discusses relationships (primarily husband-wife) where one person (typically, but not always, the husband) verbally abuses the other person.  Most of the book is focused on description (and true stories).  She categories all people as holding to either a "Power-over" mindset or a "Personal power" mindset, which is rather simplistic, but there is some value in the distinction.  (The "Power-over" mindset perfectly describe the consequences of the Fall that the Bible discusses in Genesis 3:16.)  Chapter 11 and 12 have some great, helpful, advice on how to respond to abuse in a way that will hopefully cause the abuser to notice the problem and begin to change.  Basically, 'set limits'/'boundaries' in your own mind before the abuse happens (for example, 'I will not allow him to yell at me', or 'I will not allow him to demean me'), and then if it happens, respond forcefully 'Cut it out', or 'I will not accept that sort of speech', or, walk away.  In cases of physical abuse, of course, flee.  Chapter 13 on recovery is also good.  Convicting for all to read, and helpful if (/when) we have friends going through this type of marital stress, to be able to provide support and counsel.  Worth reading (or at least skimming, chapters 1, 11, 12, 13).  However, sadly, it is completely secular... so unable to discuss the powerful wisdom from Ephesians, etc.  Eggerichs' "Love and Respect" is more helpful in this area, and also even "For Men Only"/"For Women Only" by the Feldhahns (even though the latter mostly restrains itself to secular points).

And the Word Came With Power, by Joanne Shetler and Patricia Purvis
Powerful true story(ies) of how the Bible was translated for the Balangao people in the Philippines.  She shares many stories from her life there.  Especially powerful were all the times when God brought about events that she thought were catastrophic, but actually turned out for the best.  She prayed for the salvation of her host family for a LONG time, and nothing happened.  But eventually, they became believers in Jesus, and became powerful proponents of the gospel.  Also fascinating to hear about the confrontations between the evil spirits and the Spirit of God in the Christians.  Highly recommended book.

The Post-Church Christian: dealing with the generational baggage of our faith, by J. Paul Nyquist and Carson Nyquist
This book very well exposes and airs the reactionary complaints that millenials have against the 'institutionalized', 'tradition-bound', 'organized-religion', 'overprotective', 'cultural-christianity', 'anti-homosexual', 'judgmental', 'overly-political', 'hypocritical', Church (as they consider it).
Unfortunately, the response that J.Paul Nyquist tries to give to his son is rather weak.  He basically says 'try to be understanding to us (the older Christians), give us the benefit of the doubt, cut us some slack, understand our historical context'.  But our response should be to go back to Jesus, that iconoclastic, 'have you never read the scriptures' Man.
Typical paragraph from the book: "Thirty years ago, the American evangelical church member would never dream of being caught in a bar. Today, churches are being planted there. Amid the social environment found in pubs, we see opportunities to express the hope of Christ to those who enjoy a pint as they talk about life."
Their main takeaway points: don't give up on the church.  Increase authenticity, yes, sure, fine.  Remove excessive linkages between "God and country", sure.  Remove unbiblical legalism, yes by all means.  But don't throw out the Church - it has an important God-given function.   With this point, I agree.

You and Me Forever, by Francis and Lisa Chan
The Chans discuss marriage in this book, but first, they discuss putting Jesus at the center and top priority of one's life.  That is their main point... to stop focusing so much on marriage or singleness, and focus more on the kingdom of God in whatever station of life.  Since they are themselves married, it comes across as slightly tone-deaf to the struggles singles have, however, their bracing 'focus on Jesus'/'put His kingdom first' message is important and needed and overall Biblical.  They make much of Paul's instructions in 1 Cor. 7, and other passages.  They also generally live out what they preach, enhancing their message's impact.  Good book, a little strident at times, but worth reading and pondering.

Seven Marks of a New Testament Church, by David Alan Black
Excellent short book (only 50 pages).  He talks about these "7 marks"- Evangelistic preaching, Christian baptism, apostolic teaching, genuine relationships, Christ-centered gatherings, fervent prayer, sacrificial living, based on Acts 2.

Tactics, by Gregory Koukl
Excellent book.  When people hear of 'tactics' in the context of apologetics, most millenials are turned off because they assume it's about manipulation and argumentation, which they want to avoid.  Instead, Koukl presents ways of using questions to turn around conversations that start out with someone asking you a hostile question related to your faith, so that you can expose the deeper beliefs underlying the question, and move into a respectful, healthy, dialog.  This book is worth reading over and over, and practicing its contents, not for the purpose of manipulation, but for the sake of truly loving our neighbors, and helping them find out the awesome truth about Jesus.

From Heaven He Came and Sought Her
This book is a collection of essays about Particular Atonement ("Limited Atonement").  It thoroughly covers the historical views of the Church in the past centuries, and then gets into the Scriptural/theological discussion.  It's a tough, slow, closely-reasoned read, but worth slogging through.

The Genesis Account, by Jonathan Safarti
This is a scientific and theological commentary on Genesis 1-11.  It is a very thorough, even, solid, well-documented, well-reasoned, and objective commentary.  As a reference book, it's not for light reading (some of Sarfati's other books like "Refuting Evolution" or "Refuting Compromise" are easier to read), but it's well worth slowly reading.  It covers all the major scientific evidences for/against various age theories of the earth and evolution, and all the current and past hermeneutical interpretations of Genesis 1-11.  Excellent.

Cold Case Christianity, A Homicide Detective Investigates The Claims of the Gospels, by J. Warner Wallace
This is an awesome book.  It focuses on whether the gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) about Jesus are accurate or not.  The author was an atheist until his thirties, and a homicide detective who specialized in solving cold cases (unsolved crimes from decades past).  When he began to investigate the gospel accounts, he realized that they have all the marks of true eyewitness accounts.  This book covers the same historical facts as many other apologetics books (Josh McDowell, etc), but is extremely well-written, and with a fresh perspective.

Debating Darwin's Doubt, edited by David Klinghoffer
This book is basically a collection of online articles written as back-and-forth debate followup to Steven Meyer's "Darwin's Doubt".  It discusses the major objections of all the critics, and offers rebuttal.  It is a little hard to read, and a little repetitive, but overall a good, very solid and thorough, rebuttal of the critics' arguments and confirmation that Meyer's basic point was correct: the sudden appearance of Cambrian animals in the fossil layer cannot be explained through Darwinian/neoDarwinian evolution, nor through any other non-intelligent materialistic causes.  An Intelligent Designer is the proper inference to the Cambrian fossil record.

This is fascinating - this university president wanted to eliminate struggling freshmen students out of his university after one month of classes, before the deadline to report them as 'enrolled' - in this way, he planned to increase the "retention" rate of his university.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/09/the-controversy-at-mount-st-marys-goes-national-after-professors-are-fired/

It was a 'clever' plan, though perhaps not very compassionate. Perhaps this approach stems from a Darwinist 'survival-of-the-fittest' view?  Wouldn't a better way be to provide help for the struggling students?  That's what we seek to do at the university where I teach...

The students were planned to be "helped out the door" based on their survey responses to questions like this: "How often were each of the following things true in the last week?:  I felt depressed.  I felt that I could not shake the blues, even with the help of family and friends.  I thought my life had been a failure.  I felt that people disliked me."

It seems to me that students like this need a friend... someone to come alongside them and tell them about Jesus... about the fact that God loves them... that they are valuable in His sight... that they are precious, and worthwhile, and that God cares so much about them that "every hair on [their] head is numbered".

This is a great article... http://www.kendrabroekhuis.com/blog/i-dont-know-what-to-say

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.

Today I read this interesting article ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/04/04/tech-titans-latest-project-defy-death/  ), about how lots of rich philanthropists are trying to invest in medical technologies to expand their lifespans to 150 years or so.

It's a thought-provoking article, but it basically highlights the fact that most people are afraid of death.  In fact, most people try not to think about it.

In contrast, those of us who know Jesus Christ and are aware of the evidence that He actually rose from the dead are able to be unafraid of death.  It's not that we are naturally more peace-filled people, but instead that we have heard the good news report (and believed it). We know that while death is indeed an enemy, it is only temporary for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ.  Soon we too will be resurrected to eternal life, never to die, and will live in happiness forever.  As the Bible says in Hebrews 2:14-15:

"Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

Happy Resurrection Day!