Be Transformed
by John Murray Robinson
Rock House Way Press
PO Box 187
Brentwood, TN 37024
©2007 181pp Soft Cover
Today, entire sections of libraries and bookstores are devoted to self-help books. Such books deal with a wide variety of personal problems and unhappy readers consume them like the chocolate, liquor, and brunettes they are currently trying to be free of. The net result is that now self-help books are almost as much of a problem as drugs and the authors are little more than dealers. Be Transformed is one self-help book that tries to be different.
The back cover states that the author was a fanatical atheist until age 26. At this point he found God and discovered that many of his personal problems were just symptoms of his lack of spiritual fulfillment. In short he learned that girls and candy are good but not the whole point of existence. God and His love are the point, no matter what your old philosophy professors taught you.
Over the course of 11 chapters Murphy explains his own journey into Christianity and even touches on the subject that dare not speak its name. That subject being new Christian syndrome. An almost euphoric state of joy that comes from a superficial conversion that does not actually help with the root problems and makes the sufferer hard to be around.
Be Transformed provides honest testimony from a man who went through the entire process of living as an atheist, realizing he had a problem, finding God, realizing the he had not found God yet, and finally growing into a true and happy believer and worshipper.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The Flames of Rome
The Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607
Grand Rapids, MI 49501
©1981 445pp Soft Cover
Who likes historical novels? You know, novels that are like history books except they are novels and therefore do not involve homework. Well if you do not like these books go away. For the rest of the readers Paul Maier wrote a book, back in 81, about the Emperor Nero and his relationship with Christians and fire. The book is called The Flames of Rome.
The setting is Rome, naturally. We learn from the back cover, and the book if we read it, that the main character in the story is the mayor of Rome, a Christian convert named Flavius Sabinus. The name Sabinus reminds us of the Sabines, and the Roman conquest of them. Was this man descended from the Sabines, or their conquerors? Will he help the Christians conquer Rome, or will the Roman way conquer him? Is there any relevance to his name at all? Will Nero continue acting like a nutty brat who burns people to light parties? Did you retain anything from all of those Latin classes you took? Read The Flames of Rome and find out!
The book is divided in five smaller books and even has some historical notes at the end. Paul Maier has written several other books on the history of the early church. If you read this review than you should read them as well. After all, what is the point of reading book reviews if you never look into them?
by Paul L. Maier
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607
Grand Rapids, MI 49501
©1981 445pp Soft Cover
Who likes historical novels? You know, novels that are like history books except they are novels and therefore do not involve homework. Well if you do not like these books go away. For the rest of the readers Paul Maier wrote a book, back in 81, about the Emperor Nero and his relationship with Christians and fire. The book is called The Flames of Rome.
The setting is Rome, naturally. We learn from the back cover, and the book if we read it, that the main character in the story is the mayor of Rome, a Christian convert named Flavius Sabinus. The name Sabinus reminds us of the Sabines, and the Roman conquest of them. Was this man descended from the Sabines, or their conquerors? Will he help the Christians conquer Rome, or will the Roman way conquer him? Is there any relevance to his name at all? Will Nero continue acting like a nutty brat who burns people to light parties? Did you retain anything from all of those Latin classes you took? Read The Flames of Rome and find out!
The book is divided in five smaller books and even has some historical notes at the end. Paul Maier has written several other books on the history of the early church. If you read this review than you should read them as well. After all, what is the point of reading book reviews if you never look into them?
A Charmed Life: The Spirituality of Potterworld
A Charmed Life: The Spirituality of Potterworld
by Francis Bridger
Doubleday
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
©2002 164pp Soft Cover
Doubtless anyone reading this review is aware of and currently using the Internet. If you are that hip than you must also be aware of HARRY POTTER! Yep the little wizard that made an English woman into a really rich English woman. The stories have gotten enough attention over the years that they were doubtless going to be attacked and worshipped. Many Christians have said that the books encourage witchcraft, while many of the fans, known as Potheads, have violently disagreed. As the debate became more heated and civil wars were threatened the world over, one man stepped into the fray. That man was Francis Bridger.
Bridger wrote the book A Charmed Life: the Spirituality of Potterworld from an unusual perspective. He believed that whether J.K. Rowling intended it or not the Potter books are filled with good Christian values, and that the magic is mostly there as a sales gimmick. Now many Christians like the Harry Potter books but not too many of them were going to bother writing a book about the subject. It is for this reason that A Charmed Life becomes interesting. In a world where the number of books is increasing and the quality decreasing a nice fluffy book about a harmless topic is a welcome change. A Charmed Life is divided into six chapters on the subject of Christian symbolism in Harry Potter.
by Francis Bridger
Doubleday
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
©2002 164pp Soft Cover
Doubtless anyone reading this review is aware of and currently using the Internet. If you are that hip than you must also be aware of HARRY POTTER! Yep the little wizard that made an English woman into a really rich English woman. The stories have gotten enough attention over the years that they were doubtless going to be attacked and worshipped. Many Christians have said that the books encourage witchcraft, while many of the fans, known as Potheads, have violently disagreed. As the debate became more heated and civil wars were threatened the world over, one man stepped into the fray. That man was Francis Bridger.
Bridger wrote the book A Charmed Life: the Spirituality of Potterworld from an unusual perspective. He believed that whether J.K. Rowling intended it or not the Potter books are filled with good Christian values, and that the magic is mostly there as a sales gimmick. Now many Christians like the Harry Potter books but not too many of them were going to bother writing a book about the subject. It is for this reason that A Charmed Life becomes interesting. In a world where the number of books is increasing and the quality decreasing a nice fluffy book about a harmless topic is a welcome change. A Charmed Life is divided into six chapters on the subject of Christian symbolism in Harry Potter.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Praying at Burger King
Praying at Burger King
by Richard J. Mouw
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
©2007 134pp Soft Cover
Does being a Christian upset you? Do you wish you were cool like all the other heathens? Well too bad. God has you and there’s nothing you can do about it. However, He can make your life miserable as He drags you into heaven. Yet our modern culture demands secularism at all times. Richard Mouw looks into this odd conundrum of giving God His due in public and trying to fit in with your fellow men in the book Praying at Burger King. The book is a series of vignettes about various situations in which Christians wonder if they are acting too Christian to be cool.
Praying at Burger King provides light reading and will probably be most appreciated by teenagers. This is because, ironically, Mouw chooses to wuss out very early on in the book on the same subject he claims to be trying to defend. Mouw writes that he does not complain too much about the secularization of the Christmas and Easter holidays because Christians “abused” other people with their loud celebrations of them. This guy wants God to drag him kicking and screaming into heaven. Mouw also writes that he will sometimes not pray over a meal if it makes the other people at the table nervous. I personally have never found anyone who got nervous when I prayed over a meal. It is for these two reasons that the book will appeal to teenagers. It involves cheating on the topic, light reading, and trying to look cool. This is not to say that Praying at Burger King is a bad book, far from it, but it is to say that Mouw does not stick to his guns as well as he should. Hence give it to the misunderstood 14 year old in your life.
by Richard J. Mouw
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
©2007 134pp Soft Cover
Does being a Christian upset you? Do you wish you were cool like all the other heathens? Well too bad. God has you and there’s nothing you can do about it. However, He can make your life miserable as He drags you into heaven. Yet our modern culture demands secularism at all times. Richard Mouw looks into this odd conundrum of giving God His due in public and trying to fit in with your fellow men in the book Praying at Burger King. The book is a series of vignettes about various situations in which Christians wonder if they are acting too Christian to be cool.
Praying at Burger King provides light reading and will probably be most appreciated by teenagers. This is because, ironically, Mouw chooses to wuss out very early on in the book on the same subject he claims to be trying to defend. Mouw writes that he does not complain too much about the secularization of the Christmas and Easter holidays because Christians “abused” other people with their loud celebrations of them. This guy wants God to drag him kicking and screaming into heaven. Mouw also writes that he will sometimes not pray over a meal if it makes the other people at the table nervous. I personally have never found anyone who got nervous when I prayed over a meal. It is for these two reasons that the book will appeal to teenagers. It involves cheating on the topic, light reading, and trying to look cool. This is not to say that Praying at Burger King is a bad book, far from it, but it is to say that Mouw does not stick to his guns as well as he should. Hence give it to the misunderstood 14 year old in your life.
Friday, March 14, 2008
The Son Rises: Resurrecting the Resurrection
The Son Rises: Resurrecting the Resurrection
by Robert L. Wise
Regal Books
1957 Eastman Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
©2008 234pp Hard Cover
Robert L. Wise was having a thought one day. Wise thought that much of Christianity was being compromised to try and fit in with the modern world. Such things just are not kosher.
Therefore to help stem the tideway of heresy sweeping the land he wrote some books to help explain things to people. One of these books is The Son Rises: Resurrecting the Resurrection. In this book Wise talks about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and how it is the central point of the Christian religion. After all without it no one has had sins atoned for. That would be bad. Hell burns.
Wise’s book is written to remind us that while chocolate bunnies are awesome Jesus is better, and His death for our sins is the whole point of our faith, let alone Sunday morning as the Sabbath or Easter Sunday as a holiday.
The Son Rises Is divided into four parts and 17 chapters. Part I is The Situation. Part II is The Story. Part III is The Results. Part IV is The Discovery. Each section is designed to help guide the reader through the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
A word of warning though, different Christian denominations are different.
If you are unfamiliar with the stations of the cross, which Wise brings up at the end of the book, just remember it’s a Catholic thing. All is well.
by Robert L. Wise
Regal Books
1957 Eastman Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
©2008 234pp Hard Cover
Robert L. Wise was having a thought one day. Wise thought that much of Christianity was being compromised to try and fit in with the modern world. Such things just are not kosher.
Therefore to help stem the tideway of heresy sweeping the land he wrote some books to help explain things to people. One of these books is The Son Rises: Resurrecting the Resurrection. In this book Wise talks about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and how it is the central point of the Christian religion. After all without it no one has had sins atoned for. That would be bad. Hell burns.
Wise’s book is written to remind us that while chocolate bunnies are awesome Jesus is better, and His death for our sins is the whole point of our faith, let alone Sunday morning as the Sabbath or Easter Sunday as a holiday.
The Son Rises Is divided into four parts and 17 chapters. Part I is The Situation. Part II is The Story. Part III is The Results. Part IV is The Discovery. Each section is designed to help guide the reader through the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
A word of warning though, different Christian denominations are different.
If you are unfamiliar with the stations of the cross, which Wise brings up at the end of the book, just remember it’s a Catholic thing. All is well.
Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology
Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology
by John S. Hammett
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607
Grand Rapids, MI 49501
©2005 368pp Soft Cover
Is your Baptist church just not what it used to be? Have Mega-churches and heresy got you down? Well have no fear little brothers and sisters because John S. Hammet is here. In his book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology he explains how to deal with ecclesiological problems in our modern seemingly ecclesiology free land. Yes that last sentence makes sense if you know what ecclesiology means.
Biblical Foundations is divided in five sections that explain what the church is, who the church is, how the church is governed, what the church does, and where it is going. These sections are composed of a total of 12 chapters. Proper use and understanding of these chapters may be of help to church leaders.
Biblical Foundations should be read by confused, new, Baptist preachers who are trying to figure out the framework for their jobs. After all, the religion is the key element but if you do not understand the structure of your organization then you have no way to efficiently impart that religion or deal with church problems now do you? So raise your hands to the sky! Shout Halleluiah! Run to your car! Go to the bookstore and save your congregation today! It is easier to be a Presbyterian though. With us there is no check-list so if you screw up it is fixable because God fixes stuff.
by John S. Hammett
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607
Grand Rapids, MI 49501
©2005 368pp Soft Cover
Is your Baptist church just not what it used to be? Have Mega-churches and heresy got you down? Well have no fear little brothers and sisters because John S. Hammet is here. In his book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology he explains how to deal with ecclesiological problems in our modern seemingly ecclesiology free land. Yes that last sentence makes sense if you know what ecclesiology means.
Biblical Foundations is divided in five sections that explain what the church is, who the church is, how the church is governed, what the church does, and where it is going. These sections are composed of a total of 12 chapters. Proper use and understanding of these chapters may be of help to church leaders.
Biblical Foundations should be read by confused, new, Baptist preachers who are trying to figure out the framework for their jobs. After all, the religion is the key element but if you do not understand the structure of your organization then you have no way to efficiently impart that religion or deal with church problems now do you? So raise your hands to the sky! Shout Halleluiah! Run to your car! Go to the bookstore and save your congregation today! It is easier to be a Presbyterian though. With us there is no check-list so if you screw up it is fixable because God fixes stuff.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Black Rood
The Black Rood
by Stephen R. Lawhead
EOS Publishing
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
©2000 437pp Hard Cover
Who likes historical fiction that focuses on fiction more than history? You do not! Then stop reading. For the rest of you, book II of the Celtic Crusades should make you want to storm castles, reconquer the Holy Land, and demand an explanation from a terrified Israeli museum curator who insists that he is not hiding holy relics. Stephen Lawhead’s The Black Rood is about a knight who does just that. This Crusader discovers that part of the true cross is somewhere in the Holy Land and it is up to him to kill people to get it and get revenge on other people for various other reasons. Sword swinging awesomeness is about to commence.
Historical fiction usually involves taking real people and events and adding fictional characters to serve as the reader’s eyes and ears during the adventure. In this book it is Duncan, Son of Murdo who the reader will be questing with.
This is the middle book in a trilogy so it is probably a good idea to read book one before you get this one. Are you done reading book one yet? Good. Read The Black Rood and learn random facts about the Crusades today! But leave the poor curators alone. They probably have not read any historical fiction themselves and will no doubt be upset if you start to hurt them for information that they cannot possibly know.
by Stephen R. Lawhead
EOS Publishing
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
©2000 437pp Hard Cover
Who likes historical fiction that focuses on fiction more than history? You do not! Then stop reading. For the rest of you, book II of the Celtic Crusades should make you want to storm castles, reconquer the Holy Land, and demand an explanation from a terrified Israeli museum curator who insists that he is not hiding holy relics. Stephen Lawhead’s The Black Rood is about a knight who does just that. This Crusader discovers that part of the true cross is somewhere in the Holy Land and it is up to him to kill people to get it and get revenge on other people for various other reasons. Sword swinging awesomeness is about to commence.
Historical fiction usually involves taking real people and events and adding fictional characters to serve as the reader’s eyes and ears during the adventure. In this book it is Duncan, Son of Murdo who the reader will be questing with.
This is the middle book in a trilogy so it is probably a good idea to read book one before you get this one. Are you done reading book one yet? Good. Read The Black Rood and learn random facts about the Crusades today! But leave the poor curators alone. They probably have not read any historical fiction themselves and will no doubt be upset if you start to hurt them for information that they cannot possibly know.
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