This is a fascinating and thought-provoking article...

http://www.dioceseofraleigh.org/content/raleigh-seminarian-terminal-brain-cancer-responds-brittany-maynard

Here's a letter from Saeed Abedini, from an Iranian prison, this past week, after 2 years of imprisonment (having done nothing wrong).  He writes to his 8-year old daughter.  His words are worth reading for all of us.

“I know that you question why you have prayed so many times for my return and yet I am not home yet. Now there is a big why in your mind you are asking: why Jesus isn’t answering your prayers and the prayers of all of the people around the world praying for my release and for me to be home with you and our family?”

”The answer to the why is who. Who is control? Lord Jesus Christ is in control. I desire for you to learn important lessons during these trying times. Lessons that you carry now and for the rest of your life.”

“I  pray God will bring me back home soon. But if not, we will still sing together…’Hallelujah,’ either separated by prison walls or together at home. So, let Daddy hear you sing a loud ‘Hallelujah’ that I can hear all the way here in the prison!”

Here are some more book reviews from recently-read (or not-so-recently-read) books. For my previous reviews, look at here or here or the "book reviews" category on this blog.

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Evolution's Achilles Heels - edited by Robert Carter - Nine creationist PhD's discuss the latest (2014) scientific and philosophical case against evolution. It is technical, but also well-written and clear. It has chapters about the fossil record, the origin of life, natural selection, the geologic record, cosmology, genetics, radiometric dating, and morality. I would compare this book as a rough equivalent to Stephen Meyer's "Signature in the Cell" and "Darwin's Doubt", with the following differences: (1) EAH is written by 9 people rather than 1, so it is slightly less coherently written (but still good), (2) EAH is much shorter (260 pages rather than 1100 pages for Meyers' books combined) so it's easier to read quickly, but it's also a little more concise/dense than Meyer's books (he's a bit more verbose), (3) EAH is written from a young-earth creationist perspective, which is farther outside the mainstream than Meyer's age-agnostic or old-earth Intelligent Design perspective (but of course I fully agree with EAH's perspective), and (4) EAH is even more up-to-date scientifically than Stephen Meyers' books. For the best up-to-date perspective on the paucity of evolution and the strength of the ID (and/or creationist) view, one should read BOTH EAH and Meyers' books.

The Insanity of God, by Nik Ripken - Great book... he begins by telling about his own humanitarian/mission work in Somalia several years ago immediately after the war finished, and how things got more and more difficult for Christian work there. Then their son died. At that point, stricken with grief and somewhat disillusioned with missions work (where was the fruit, the conversions, that they were hoping/laboring for?), they went home. But then Nik decided to travel around the world and interview Christians in other nations who had faced persecution, to learn how they had come through it. His secondhand recorded stories from these interviews (Russia, Ukraine, China, Middle-eastern countries, etc) are very powerful and encouraging. Many persecuted Christians around the world consider persecution a matter of course, not anything unusual. This encouraged Nik, and he published this book. He next started writing The Insanity of Obedience, which is also good (I just started reading it). By "insanity", Nik means that God's ways are not our ways... and God uses our weakness to display His strength, and grow His church despite/through suffering.

Footprints in the Ash, by John Morris and Steven Austin - this is a book about the 1980 Mt St Helens eruption, and all the geological lessons learned from it, and the implications of those lessons for dating other features (such as the Grand Canyon). It is a great book, with clear illustrations and many amazing photos. It points out that many rocks from historic volcanic eruptions are dated by radiometric techniques to be hundreds of thousands or millions of years old, illustrating that the radiometric techniques are quite inaccurate. It has a brief application / sermon-type section at the end where it applies the lessons to our spiritual lives. Highly recommended.

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi - Powerful, gentle, authentic, sincere, well-written, well-paced autobiographical account of a devout young Muslim (from the Ahmadiyya sect) who eventually came to believe in Jesus Christ (of the Bible, not the Quran) in his 20's. Along the way he has a lot of explanation of Muslim culture and terminology to help other culture understand Islam better. Nabeel chronicles the very painful and arduous journey he traveled, most of the time thinking he was 'refuting' and 'disproving' Christianity, but eventually he could no longer deny the truth. He described the heartbreak that came between him and his family when he left Islam and followed Jesus. But the way he writes about them, you can sense how much he loves them. Nabeel is now a speaker with Ravi Zacharias' organization. Highly recommended.

In Six Days, by John Ashton
On the Seventh Day, by John Ashton - both of these books are great reads. Each book has short articles from 40 or 50 scientists about why they believe in God and/or God's creation of the world (not evolution). Even though not every article is as 'powerful' as the others, it is a very 'genuine' book that gives a snapshot of the thought patterns of many different people - some more scientific, others more intuitive. Many of them were previously evolutionists and sometimes atheists. It is an encouraging book, and demonstrates that it is easily possible to be a scientist who believes in God and in the Biblical young-earth creation.

Dear Muslim Friend - by Jerry Mattix - Short, 120-page booklet, "explaining Christianity to a Muslim". Very excellent. It is gentle, yet firm, answering objections Muslims have to the Bible ("was it 'corrupted'?") and "Christianity"/Crusades/politics/etc, and showing clearly the Jesus of the Bible.

Money, Greed, and God by Jay Richards - He writes about how capitalism has roots in the Biblical worldview (but of course it is not the perfect solution)... and he writes as a former socialist! So he deeply empathizes with socialism, but shows how capitalism is a 'less bad' solution out of all imperfect approaches. Well written.

Follow Me, by David Platt - This is an intentionally "challenge"-oriented book, like Francis Chan's books. It's an exhortation to follow Jesus into the uncomfortable obedience, wherever/whatever that is.

The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence - This is a collection of letters by a monk from the middle ages. He went into a monastery when a young man, anxious about his soul. After many years, he came to know God well, and became an example to other people of the peace of God. As the title implies, Lawrence continued to live in close fellowship with God, in constant prayer, etc. His main duties were in dishwashing and gardening, and he gradually came to understand that he could be just as close to God while dishwashing and cooking as in a prayer service.  I don't agree with everything in the book, but it does sound like Lawrence was a true believer in God, and we can learn some things from him.

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, volume 3, Michael Brown - More excellent work.. this volume focuses on the messianic prophecies, and deftly demonstrates that Jesus fulfills them marvelously. It is a great read, because it cuts through the simplistic 'foretelling' approach which skeptics like to skewer. For example, "the virgin shall be with child" in Isaiah 7:14- some people simplistically claim that this was a prophecy of a virgin birth, which Matthew then quotes. The skeptics point out that the Hebrew word 'almah' does not necessarily mean virgin, so Matthew was (according to them) misquoting. However, serious scholars have always known that there are deeper aspects to Matthew's usage, and in fact he was not just focusing on the virgin-birth aspect, but using the prophecy in typological ways which are more in-line with the Jewish mindset regarding prophecies. If you like the articles at www.christianthinktank.com , you will like Brown's book too.

Mission Drift, Peter Greer - A great short book examining certain ministries that stayed true to their original Christian mission, and many others that gradually drifted away, and summarizing principles that help to stay "mission-true".

Divided by Faith, by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith - The authors summarize some history of evangelical attitudes toward race (and slavery) in America, and then try to make the point that white evangelicals in America tend to focus only on restoring personal relationships between races but ignore the "larger, systemic issues of injustice" like police profiling and enforced neighborhood segregation. They base much of their book on interviews conducted with evangelicals. Some points they make are correct, like the fact that many cities today are still quite segregated, and many churches are too. Other points they make are suspect. I took a lot of notes on this book, and I may publish a longer review later if I have time. One big critique of this book is that they spend 170 pages describing the problems as they see it, and then less than 1/2 page describing the solutions, and their solutions are extremely vague. I do not necessarily recommend this book.

Walking with God through Pain and Suffering - Tim Keller - TOP QUALITY, He does a good job explaining how to handle suffering, and why God allows it.  He shares many stories from people in his church who have been through extreme suffering.  Well worth reading multiple times.

Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees, by Thomas Hale - EXCELLENT fun-to-read account of his time working as a missionary surgeon in Nepal with his family. He mixes in informative and funny stories with info about Nepal and insights about walking with God in missions work. The only problem is that this book is a little old (~30 years ago), so the info about Nepal/etc is dated. Well worth reading.

The Pineapple Story, by Otto Konig - Actually, it's better to listen to the audio sermons by Konig rather than to read the abridged book. He has an amazing ability as a humorist, and also a lot of good insights about walking with God (basically - surrender everything to God, don't hold anything back - it's the best way to live). The one caveat is that he sometimes falls into an oversimplified theology, in which if I have a problem in my life it is because I'm withholding something from God... simply surrender it (or start praising God) and *presto*, God will remove the problem. But overall his insights and experiences are worth listening to.

The Great Divorce, by C.S.Lewis - I finally got around to reading the whole of this wonderful book. It tells of a man who (in a dream) visits Hell and Heaven, and came to understand that those in Hell really WANT to be in Hell... they do not want to admit that they are sinners and that God is good and right and loving. It has a lot of good thoughts. A drawback is that C.S.Lewis leaves the door open to universalism, but at least he doesn't push it. Highly recommended story. One of several famous quotes from the book:
"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened."

counting down the years before I can leave this city and move far away...

I read an interesting story in the book "Faith that Endures" (about the persecuted church) - actually two related stories.  One about a pastor who spent some 10 or 20 years in prison.  After coming out, he said that he had preached about many Bible verses beforehand, but while in prison he had nothing better to do than to just meditate on them, and apply them to his life... he was very appreciative of the whole experience, because it helped him get to know God much more deeply.  The second story about a man who wished to get the Bible out to persecuted christians in a certain country.  So he took small stones, and wrote one Bible verse on each one, and began distributing them to peasants, one stone per person.  The person would take the stone and meditate on that verse all week, and apply it.   One persecuted pastor made the statement: "it is dangerous to learn more and more truth without applying the truth one already knows."

I think that is quite true...

The ten books currently in my main reading pile besides the Bible are: "Love and Respect", "For Men Only", "Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church", "Don't Waste Your Life", "The Young Man in the Mirror", "The Reason for God", "Philosophy and the Christian Faith", "The Reliability of the Gospels", "George Mueller", and the Book of Mormon.  Just because they're in my pile doesn't mean I read them frequently (ha! far from it actually), but some of the ideas on this blog are obviously stimulated by the things I read when I get a chance.  The Bible is by far the most important book though... I recommend it more than all the others... the Bible is food, the others are condiments, or even silverware.

I have realized just tonight why I value my journal and my blog so much, and why I desire my closest friends to read them and to get to know my friends from previous places - it is because of two facts: I have changed a lot during the years of my life, and I have lived in several very different environments in my life - a version of 'rootlessness'.  My journals and blogs (and photos and letters and other forms of history) form a sort of thread that ties together 'the real me' and help me (and potentially others) understand who I am in view of the entire collection of experiences and friends... I tend to believe (rightly or wrongly) that unless I or someone else grasp 'who I was', it is essentially impossible to understand 'who I am' right now, and 'who I am becoming'... and likewise I think the more one gets to know my true friends, the more one can understand me.  If someone would view my journals and blogs and friends as 'secondary/accessories' and decides they're not worth the time to digest or get to know, I would feel that the person is not truly interested in getting to know me. That ought not change how I view/treat them, of course, in general...

Tonight reading "Love and Respect" - powerful and highly recommended... it's based on Ephesians 5:33, with thesis that husbands need respect and wives need love.  I think I strongly agree, based on what I've seen.  I don't know if I'll ever get to apply it.   But what about singles?  Does it not seem that single Christian men cannot / ought-not to direct the natural flow of their love / romantic feelings toward their single Christian sisters? (unless God is leading them to pursue marriage, of course) ...because that would easily tend to stir up feelings in the girls that would be difficult to repress... feelings that would risk 'leading them on' even accidentally, without meaning to.  As the african proverb says, "If you are not interested in giving money to the beggar widow, do not ask her too many questions."  What then to do with these?  How ought single men to 'practice' loving their wives, as it were?  Certainly not to direct this toward married women, that would be very foolish.  It seems to me that these feelings and impulses must simply be buried, dumped, wasted.  Not to say that God overlooks it, of course... all of our tears are saved in His bottle, and likewise with all of our romantic love.  It's like a garden hose which has no 'off' valve, but has no garden to water.  All it can do is pour onto the asphalt and down into the drain.  But that's better than prematurely soaking the paper packets of seeds which are meant for other gardens.  The energy of single people can of course be turned toward positive 'projects', as it is well known that churches benefit from the extra time and resources and energy of single men and women... and missionary endeavors to far lands, etc.  To a limited degree the longing of single Christian men to lead and provide and the longing of single Christian women to care for and nurture others can be 'redirected' into small groups, others' families, etc. Yet somehow it doesn't seem that simple.  If Christian single men need respect/significance and Christian single women need love/security, who can they legitimately get it from?  From God, I suppose.  Whom do they practice on?  Ultimately no one, I suppose.  Yet 'friendships' are obviously important.

There's the example of Jesus... single all his thirty-odd years on earth, yet somehow building a DEEP friendship with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and others... especially Mary (John 11, etc)... while staying perfectly pure and sinless.  How could he intentionally build/allow such a deep friendship, while somehow making it clear to her that he had no romantic intentions toward her?  I wish I could watch His life in person.  E.g. Paul with the many women friends he mentions, Dorcas (great name for an American girl), etc.  May God give us all wisdom.  As the Quran says, "May God lead us to the straight path."

One more thing - I heard this awesome analogy from Piper's lecture on John Newton the other day - Newton used it in one of his sermons.

Imagine if there was a man who had just been told (and verified with official documents) that he had inherited a HUGE fortune [think billions or trillions].  All of his financial needs and wants would basically be solved for the rest of his life.  All he had to do was travel to a particular distant city to receive his inheritance.  He traveled and traveled, and finally, just when he was getting within five miles of the city, a wheel on his carriage broke [or his car broke an axle or something].

Imagine how utterly ridiculous it would be if we saw that man cursing and muttering darkly to himself as he walked the rest of the way, upset at the fact that he had to walk to the city and get all hot and sweaty and tired.  Or how utterly moronic we would think he was if he decided not to complete his trip because of the inconvenience!

Thus it is [says Newton] with our own situation (for those who are believers/disciples of Christ) - on our way to HEAVEN to live with GOD, FOREVER, joint heirs with Christ, bride of Christ, children of God, etc - when we encounter difficulties and sorrows and trials here...

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us... Romans 8:18

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials... 1 Peter 1:6

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison... 2 Corinthians 4:17

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."
But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
...
So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;
and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.
Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.
Martha then said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
"Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world."
When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."
And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him.
Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.
Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."
Jesus wept.
So the Jews were saying, "See how He loved him!"
But some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?"
So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days."
Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"
So they removed the stone Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. "I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me."
When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth."
The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."   (John 11)

... a day to gratefully remember those who have given their lives in service to our country and who are currently serving.  I am thankful.  Yet I can't help thinking that our country needs hardship more than it needs peace, to straighten out many of its problems (i.e. by pointing it back to God).  May God's will be done (in the coming election and beyond).

... a day also to remember one's own life.  God has been so good to me.  Loving and God-focused family, physical provision, many friends and especially a few very close friends, but most of all, The Gift of Jesus Christ coming to earth and dying for me / to pay for my sins, so that I could live with Him and the rest of the redeemed people in heaven forever.   Wow.

... one year ago today, life was extremely exciting, and also confusing and stressful.  Today, life is still confusing and stressful, but it is rather more 'bleak' than 'exciting'...  except for heaven, which is hopefully coming soon.  God lovingly removes the (relatively) cheap treasures of our lives so we can better see the value of the genuine treasure He has already given to us (those of us who are believers in Christ)....

"...God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

One of the hardest things I've ever faced is the condition of being repeatedly and massively misunderstood by someone whose opinion I care about, while being constrained by certain factors that I am not allowed to even try to clear up the misunderstandings.  I long to help this person understand me, but I am not permitted to try.  I must trust that God has good plans in mind, and continue to seek to delight myself in Him alone.

I suppose many others have faced this type of thing too, before me.    Sigh.    All pain here is only temporary (for those of us who believe in Jesus).

Recall Paul and Barnabas, great friends and missionary partners, and their major disagreement which caused them to part ways rather than traveling together for the rest of their lives?

'How sad', might be the first reaction.  Yet God used their separate efforts for even greater good than if they had been joined together.  'How wonderfully God worked it out for good,' might be a better summary.

And so it may turn out for many of us as well.  Especially in these 'last days'.

--

Also, I heard this quote today from a visiting scientist:

"I'm from Scotland.  I believe that it's actually important to know what's going on.  If I was from England, the only important thing would be knowing who's in charge, and making sure I'm friends with him."

He he he.

There's something to be said for both approaches...   Especially and fundamentally, in our relationship with God the Creator, we can stop worrying and leave the 'outcomes' to Him, as our Father in heaven.  Ponder this statement that Jesus made in John 18:11-

Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus.  So Jesus said to Peter, "Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?"

One might think that if ever Jesus had a reason to balk and refuse to obey His Father, this would be the time...  He knew exactly what torment the Father was guiding Him toward, unlike his disciples who were in denial and refused to listen to His predictions.   But so deep was His trust, that Jesus figured whatever the Father was asking Him to do, even death and Hell, was ultimately the best and most desirable thing to do.   A "Though He slay me, still I will hope in Him" attitude...   Trust...  Hope...

"...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

...and love.