Discerning Readertag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://12008-07-31T07:22:54ZMovable Type 3.35New Reviews: Warts and Alltag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.832008-07-31T05:59:52Z2008-07-31T07:22:54ZOne of Discerning Reader's faithful reviewers, currently an itinerant Toronto-area preacher who goes by the name of Ian Clary, observantly pointed out that both he and I had used the phrase "warts and all" in our respective reviews posted this...Mark Tubbs
itinerant Toronto-area preacher who goes by the name of Ian Clary, observantly pointed out that both he and I had used the phrase "warts and all" in our respective reviews posted this week. That's enough to make me use it as a post title.
Ian reviewed a recent biography of one of the Reformed movement's major twentieth century figures, Cornelius Van Til of Westminster Theological Seminary. Entitled Cornelius Van Til: Reformed Apologist and Churchman, author John Muether seeks to portray Van Til as the Christ-follower he was as well as the legendary controversialist he was.
Meanwhile, I (Mark Tubbs) also reviewed a twentieth century church history volume on the opposite side of the denominational spectrum: The Shepherding Movement: Controversy and Charismatic Ecclesiology. Number 27 in the esteemed publisher T & T Clark's Pentecostal Theology Supplement series, it is the first complete and evenhanded history of the controversial charismatic movement.
Speaking of controversy, controversy, and more controversy, Trevin Wax recently reviewed George Barna's reworked BarnaBooks edition of Frank Viola's (not the pitcher of Minnesota Twins fame) book Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices. Barna and Viola do more exploding than exploring, taking aim at virtually every aspect of the institutional Church. Trevin thinks they overstate their case and greatly exaggerate the demise of the Church as we know it - much like I viewed Barna's 2005 book Revolution.
Believing he may be among the few young, evangelical church leaders not to have read a book by Erwin McManus, Trevin also read and reviewed McManus' brand-new book Wide Awake: The Future Is Waiting Within You. Apart from featuring a somewhat creepy, New Age, Science Fiction sounding title, Trevin is concerned about the dearth of sound theology and careful thinking in this book.
Always the history maven (blame it on his bachelor's degree), founding editor Tim Challies offers two reviews of books revolving around the events of September 11, 2001. Two unique, illuminating, and riveting must-reads are journalist Michael Yon's Moment of Truth in Iraq, and airline pilot Lynn Spencer's Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11.
A less riveting read, but still worth a perusal nonetheless, is Esquire editor A.J. Jacobs' novelty title The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. Tim finds the author's quest to live a loosely biblical year to be amusing and tiresome by turns.
Finally, Tim ingested the informative contents of Al Mohler's sophomore release, Atheism Remix: A Christian Confronts the New Atheists. With its critique of the so-called 'New Atheists' who are merely trotting out age-old anti-God arguments, Tim bills it as a useful and accessible book.
Ainsi, more summer reading for you. Enjoy!
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New Reviews: Church, Bible, and Culturetag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.822008-07-16T18:53:57Z2008-07-17T17:02:29ZToday we present an exciting lineup of fairly influential books. You may disagree with some of them, but their impact - or that of their authors - on the Christian Church in America (and in one case, in the United...Mark TubbsMore Than Kindness: A Compassionate Approach to Crisis Childbearing by Marvin and Susan Olasky suggests that although much headway has been made in the arena since 1990, there is still far to go. She suggests an updated reprint is in order (hint hint, Crossway).
We post three Tim Challies reviews:
Derek and Rosemary Thomas' introduction to the Song of Solomon, entitled A Biblical Guide to Love, Sex, and Marriage. I always appreciate it when these types of books are written by husband and wife teams.
Thabiti Anyabwile's 9 Marks book What Is A Healthy Church Member? breaks no new ground but is a solid reminder of what constitutes a contributing member in the life of the Church.
Christian justice advocate Shane Claiborne's book The Irresistible Revolution does not fulfill its titular mandate for Tim, who suggests we would be well served to resist reading it.
Finally, new Discerning Reader reviewer - not new to book reviewing, however - Trevin Wax contributes two reviews:
N.T. Wright's popular adaption of his massive book The Resurrection of the Son of God is entitled Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church and contains much that is good, but is still too problematic for the casual reader, according to Trevin.
Trevin cannot praise Stephen Nichols' cultural history Jesus Made in America too highly. He commends it for its Christ-centeredness and calls it one of the best books he has read all year.
Yet more summer reading awaits as we will be back next week with a new batch of reviews.
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"I Took My Lamp" by E. Stanley Jonestag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.812008-07-12T20:48:19Z2008-07-12T21:07:20Z"I Took My Lamp" is not the title of a long-lost book by twentieth-century missionary E. Stanley Jones, but the title of a poem found in one of his books, Christ of the Indian Road. As I have been preparing...Mark Tubbs
E. Stanley Jones, but the title of a poem found in one of his books, Christ of the Indian Road. As I have been preparing the high school English courses I teach for the start of the coming school year, I came across this poem in my files. It never ceases to affect me. I've taken the liberty of titling it according to its opening line.
I took my lamp and went and sat
Where men of another creed and custom
Dwelt together in bonds of common search.
I pressed my lamp close to my bosom,
Lest adverse winds of thought and criticism,
And the damp of unsympathy should snuff it out.
And many a trembling prayer hung upon my lips.
But I determined that I would love – just love.
I loved and listened and learned, and now and then
Threw in a thought or word or observation.
I heard their gentle speech, saw their mild ways;
Felt the Hand of Peace rest gently on my soul.
Here was not the tearing of the flesh,
Nor the fierce agony of the spirit, in its quest for God.
They gently searched and, through the crevices of their thought,
The light of the Father’s Face streamed in.
They caught the footfalls of the Mighty Spirit,
As he moved each moment through palpitating Nature.
And I heard them tune their heart-strings to catch the music
Of God, as he hummed and sang through things.
But when, in sympathetic talk and mutual quest,
I asked the learned pundit whether he had found
A “jiwan mukta,” one who knew deliverance here and now;
He sadly shook his head and said, “I have not seen.”
In his voice spoke an aching world: “I have not seen.”
Then there stole within my heart a quiet joy;
For I saw, amid the search of peoples and race,
One standing, who, with Chalice in hand, offered here and now
To thirsty souls a crystal draught of life eternal,
Which, if a man drink, he shall never thirst again.
Had I not drunk? Had he not put the Chalice
To my parched lips and, with thirst assuaged,
Had not my happy soul gone singing down the years?
A child had thus revealed to him, through prayer and
Surrender of the mind and will, that for which
The wise and prudent had vainly searched
And caught but glimpses; while I, unworthy,
Stood face to Face.
As I pondered thus, I glanced, with trembling, at my lamp –
And lo, it burned up brighter than before!
Many elements of this poem reveal a master wordsmith. The two that stick out to me the most are 1) the use of 'and' in this line: I loved and listened and learned, and now and then, and 2) the capitalization of the word face when referring to the Father. I could go on - Jones' poem recalls Francis Thompson's poem "The Hound of Heaven", but that's a topic for another poetry post...]]>
New Reviews: a Puritan, a Pastor, and a Professortag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.802008-07-04T04:03:28Z2008-07-04T04:25:37Z...and they're up. Tim Challies' contribution this week is a 4-in-1 special from Mark Driscoll. Driscoll's church, Mars Hill in Seattle, is heavily composed of new Christians, so Driscoll began to release a series of booklets addressing issues of theology...Mark TubbsOn the Old Testament, On the New Testament, On Church Leadership and On Who Is God? are the four titles released by Crossway Books thus far, with more on the way.
Jacob Hantla, a new father, provides two reviews this week.
Peter R. Jones, a presbyterian churchman with a few years on Driscoll, has written many books, The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: An Old Heresy for the New Age among them. Via Jones, Jacob reminds us that the gnostic heresy has not gone away; it is simply wearing new names.
Jacob also reviews Keeping the Heart by John Flavel, a puritan pastor with centuries on both Jones and Driscoll. One of the easier Puritans to read, Jacob recommends the Soli Deo Gloria edition, which includes a helpful outline of the book for the sake of navigation.
Finally, Happy Fourth of July tomorrow to our American readers. It's a sure bet that we'll be back next week with more reviews, many of whom are bound to be fine American churchmen and women. Please consider it our tip of the hat to the fine nation to the south of Canada.]]>
Tuesdays are for Reviewstag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.792008-06-24T17:10:11Z2008-06-24T17:51:58ZThe stack of books that Discerning Reader's reviewers have read in the past couple of weeks is so eclectic that I suspect anyone will be able to find suitable summer reading amongst them. We have read theology, Christian living, biography,...Mark Tubbs
Reformation Theology website) is James Anderson's masterful review of the venerable Robert Reymond's new apologetics book entitled Faith's Reasons for Believing. Set aside plenty of time if you intend to take on this meaty volume this summer.
Also in the theological vein are reviews of 1) Arthur Pink's classic Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross (please note the Canadian spelling!) summatively reviewed by Tim Challies at the end of his most recent "Reading Classics Together" effort over at Challies Dot Com; 2) my reviews of Vaughan Roberts' excellent little primer on the nature of true Christian worship, suitably entitled True Worship; and 3) Larry Dyer's slim credobaptist manual entitled Baptism: The Believer's First Obedience. We recommend all of the above.
For history and/or biography buffs, one or two or all of the following books may intrigue. From one of many suggested reading lists produced by Al Mohler, Tim read and reviewed the thrilling sunken submarine account Escape from the Deep by Alex Kershaw, and the singular scientific biography The Snake Charmer, which Tim calls a book unlike any other he has ever read. If snakes aren't really up your alley, perhaps Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer is: Tim has favorably reviewed the newest Schaeffer biography, An Authentic Life by Colin Duriez. Or you might want to attempt a book Tim almost didn't review, but is glad he did: Heaven Without Her: A Desperate Daughter's Search for the Heart of Her Mother's Faith. Just the subtitle is heartrending!
Ladies last, but certainly not least: Leslie Wiggins reviewed Elyse Fitzpatrick's latest book, Because He Loves Me, and heartily recommends it. Beneath its unassuming title lies a potentially life-transforming message, Leslie warns.
Next week we'll be back with some more great summer reading. Now, have at'em!]]>
New Reviews: Almost Too Much To Telltag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.782008-06-05T21:59:39Z2008-06-05T23:12:52ZTo make up for last week's silence, today I am reporting on the last two week's worth of reviews. In honor of the Banner of Truth Minister's Conference, we posted three reviews of Banner books: God's Righteous Kingdom by Walter...Mark TubbsGod's Righteous Kingdom by Walter Chantry, The Doctrine of Repentance, a Puritan Paperback by Thomas Watson, and Sinclair Ferguson's meaty volume on the thought of John Owen in John Owen and the Christian Life. We unhesitatingly recommended all three books.
As promised, Leslie Wiggins supplied the second installment of reviews of Lydia Brownback's new On-The-Go Devotionals from Crossway. She ranks Contentment: A Godly Woman's Adornment just as high as she did the first devotional, Trust.
In the past two weeks, Tim Challies posted five reviews of five disparate books.
23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese is a companion volume for Don Piper's 90 Minutes in Heaven, and presents similar theological problems.
Next Tim reviewed Why Good People Do Bad Things by self-help guru Debbie Ford. He critiques it for many reasons, one of which is Ford's propensity to appeal to herself as highest possible authority.
The Soloist, by journalist Steve Lopez, is a human interest story about the friendship between Lopez and a homeless mental illness sufferer named Nathaniel Ayers, who happens to be a violin prodigy. It will be made into a movie this fall and will star Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. The book can be gritty - Tim attaches a language advisory to his review.
This week Tim returns to one of his favorite themes - how boys become men, and how they often fail to do so. Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax identifies five factors driving this growing male epidemic.
Also this week, Tim reviews Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, an autobiographical account of a Navy SEAL's adventure in Afghanistan, and his perspective on the the ways in which the US government and media fail its soldiers.
Finally, I (Mark Tubbs) have submitted two reviews of books that providentially go cheek-by-jowl. I wouldn't recommend you read Unbinding the Gospel, a book encouraging mainline churches to evangelize, without R.C. Sproul's little book Saved From What? at your elbow. In Unbinding the Gospel, author Martha Grace Reese asks the very important question, "From what are we saved?" just two pages from the end of the book, and leaves the answer dangling. Sproul, on the other hand, spends 123 pages providing a conclusive and biblical answer to Reese's question. Both Sproul's book and Reese's book excited and encouraged me for very different reasons.
Enough already - eleven books for you to read about, and at least nine of them worth a read through. We'll be back next week with a few more reviews.
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The Son's Daytag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.772008-05-25T20:32:00Z2008-05-25T20:41:26ZTo what end do we meet on Sundays? To what end do we lift up our hearts and voices in corporate celebration of the triune God? To what end do we separate this day out from the others, declaring by...Mark Tubbs
Romans 14:5), Sundays are conventionally the day of the week on which Christ's body comes together as one holy people.
Even as we celebrate, we also commemorate. The point is this: Christ's incarnation does not occur once a year at Christmastime, nor his crucifixion and resurrection once a year at Easter. Christ's incarnation continues.
Every day belongs to God. But Sunday is the Lord's day in a special way. Jesus has owned it uniquely ever since that first Easter when He stepped out of the empty tomb. Think of it. On that morning, for the first time, He had conquered death. He had atoned for our sin. He had made a way for us to come boldly into the presence of the Father. And every Sunday since has been an anniversary of that amazing morning. The Savior has risen - and everything has changed. From Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris, 104.
Let us never, ever neglect to meet together (Hebrews 10:25), for celebration and commemoration of the incarnated, living Christ.]]>
New Reviews: 2 Booklets, 2 Devotionals, 1 Bishoptag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.762008-05-20T22:37:22Z2008-05-20T23:21:55ZIf you've done the math in the title of this update, you will already know we are posting five reviews this week. I will also mention a notable external book review of a runaway bestseller, so you'd best keep on...Mark Tubbs
Steve Burlew at Banner of Truth, we have posted three reviews of Banner books...and booklets. One of these days I'm going to have to post on the benefit of booklets, especially in light of Banner's brand new series of booklets called "Pocket Puritans", currently featuring four titles. Next week is Banner's stateside Minister's Conference, which Tim Challies will be attending and liveblogging.
Jacob Hantla, whose wife just gave birth to their firstborn, exists online at hantla.com and joins Discerning Reader as our newest reviewer. We nicked a review of Iain Murray's booklet about the atonement entitled The Cross: The Pulpit of God's Love while Jacob was at the hospital. We're glad to have him on board.
I (Mark Tubbs) have reviewed two fairly recent Banner efforts. I went to town on John Benton's book Evangelistic Calvinism: Why the Doctrines of Grace are Good News, which applies the Reformation acronym of TULIP to evangelism, and was very affected by a compilation of puritan Samuel Rutherford excerpts published under the title The Loveliness of Christ. As I note in my review, these excerpts help equip the reader to take ten looks at Christ for every look at themselves.
Leslie Wiggins offers the first of two reviews of brand new On-the-Go Devotionals for women from Crossway Books and written by Lydia Brownback. The first is entitled Trust: A Godly Woman's Adornment. Leslie, who is usually wary of feel-good, content-challenged women's devotionals, admires both the content and the format of this devotional. Come back next week, ladies, to find out the topic of Lydia's other On-the-Go Devotional - and one that I will be buying for myself.
Tim Challies has posted his review of Bishop V. Gene Robinson's semi-autobiographical book In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God. Tim points out the various traps the book falls into but locates the epicenter of the problem in Robinson's liberal brand of hermeneutics.
Please also take time to check out Tim's expanded and reformatted theological critique of William P. Young's bestselling novel The Shack, another book that purports to reveal new truth about God outside the divinely set boundaries of Scripture. Tim has produced an attractively designed, downloadable review of The Shack ideal for printing off and passing on to friends, family, and coworkers who may come across this little book that does more harm than it does good.
And that's a wrap for this week. We're bound to have at least one or two more reviews of Banner books to mark the kickoff of the Minister's Conference next Tuesday, and other reviews besides.
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On Selecting Books and Managing Reading Timetag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.752008-05-19T20:37:03Z2008-05-20T02:15:45ZA few days ago on a comment thread, Tim Challies was queried about his methods of selecting books and managing his reading time. His response was a fairly normal self-deprecating, “I don’t know. I just read.” Well, as one who...Mark Tubbs
here. His comment about topical reading is particularly insightful. It boils down to this: ingesting all you can on a topic enables you to read increasingly faster and more discerningly on that topic. True to form, Tim practices this mainly with books about discernment.
In a Together for the Gospel blog entry reposted on his own site due to popular demand, Al Mohler fleshes out six points regarding his personal reading habits, a few of which bear commenting on here.
Maintain regular reading projects, Mohler first advises. He reads across six disciplines: Theology, Biblical Studies, Church Life, History, Cultural Studies, and Literature. Your areas, or mine, may number more or less than six, and may span different categories. I would subsume Theology and Biblical Studies under the same heading, for example. Literature comprises a large part of my reading by virtue of my employment as an English teacher.
Work through major sections of Scripture, Mohler then recommends. It goes without saying that we should be reading quantitatively and qualitatively more Bible than other literary works combined. There was a time not so long ago that I did not hunger for the Word as much as I do now, and my resultant Scripture to non-inspired texts time-spent ratio was not pretty. Choosing books carefully can help guide your reading in a more scriptural direction. Late in 2007, Baker Academic kindly sent me the Carson/Beale Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament for review. At that time I resolved to read through the New Testament in preparation for reviewing this massive commentary, which has had the wonderful byproduct of immersing me in Scripture more than I would have otherwise.
Mohler’s final point worth mentioning in this context is to read all the titles written by some authors. Granted, for some authors, namely D.A. Carson, John MacArthur and John Piper, this will take you some time. A side benefit of this is that by dedicating yourself to reading, say, Carson, you will be exposing yourself to an erudite voice that you may not be used to. And Piper’s use of hyphenated adjectives will either inspire you or irritate you (I’m in the first group).
As C.J. Mahaney says, God is the only one who always crosses every item off his to-do list. This goes for reading plans as well; they are subject to change, like anything else. Let God have a hand in your reading, and you will grow in ways you never thought possible. Tolle lege!
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New Reviews: Angels, Demons, Letters, and Lecturestag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.742008-05-15T00:07:37Z2008-05-15T01:01:28ZI couldn't come up with a pithy blog title indicating that while we usually post new reviews on Tuesdays, this week we are posting on Wednesday. But I did see some common thematic threads in the reviews we posted this...Mark Tubbs
Basics Conference, Tim Challies posted just one review, of Roger Ellsworth's What the Bible Teaches About Angels. That title should explain itself!
On the flip side of the, er, cosmos, I (Mark Tubbs) supply a review of the C.S. Lewis classic The Screwtape Letters. Classics are always easy to recommend and hard to review.
Moving on from letters to lectures, Leslie Wiggins provides a review of a current bestseller, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. While Leslie has every sympathy for Pausch's circumstances, she feels he failed in drawing readers to the ultimate reason for living.
The always prolific Scott Lamb played the role of mom last week at home but still managed to eke out three reviews:
Porn Nation: Conquering America's #1 Addiction is a good book for what it is - a report about the prevalence of pornography in North America - but falls short of its subtitle, Scott finds.
Eighteenth century British minister and hymn writer Benjamin Beddome assembled a guide to the Baptist Catechism, recently reprinted by Solid Ground books as A Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism.
Finally, Scott reviews a new biography of 20th century preaching icon A.W. Tozer entitled A Passion for God, and written by Lyle Dorsett. As a pastor, father, and husband, Scott took many lessons and warnings from this introduction to Tozer's life.
Join us next week for what I hope will be a 'Banner week.' Drop by and find out what that means...
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Tuesdays are for Reviewstag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.732008-05-06T21:23:28Z2008-05-06T23:15:06ZAlthough we're not as review-heavy this week as we were last week, we're still tipping the scales at six reviews. In advance of the upcoming release of Prince Caspian on the big screen, Tim Challies and I (Mark Tubbs) have...Mark Tubbs
Prince Caspian on the big screen, Tim Challies and I (Mark Tubbs) have reviewed two similar but different guides to C.S. Lewis' Narnian stories, by the same author, Christin Ditchfield. Whereas A Family Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia provides a chapter-by-chapter overview of all seven Narnia books, detailing their biblical congruence, A Family Guide to Prince Caspian takes the same chapter-by-chapter approach but is enhanced with activities and trivia absent from the larger book. We both recommend the respective books for active parent-child study in the Narnia books.
Now that the all-important plug is done, ladies first. Leslie Wiggins reviews Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone by Elyse Fitzpatrick, a book that seems to end up on the must-read list of every woman I know.
Tim also posted a review on Joel Osteen's Become A Better You that had been missing in action on Discerning Reader for awhile. Tim compares this book to white bread: form without substance. Much more substantial is Francis Chan's first effort, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God. Tim calls it "a book that is meant to change the way Christians live their lives" from a young pastor who loves Christ and His Church.
Besides the Narnia book, I have reviewed an evangelism book by an octogenarian evangelist (Unashamed: A Burning Passion to Share the Gospel) that puts us younger folks to shame. More than mere pep rallying for Jesus, this little book has stoked the fire to share Christ just a little bit brighter in yours truly. Right now you can find it for $1.99 US at CBD.com.
The list of books being reviewed for next week is already taking shape, and as always, we will be excited to post new reviews next Tuesday.
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On Being a Seeing-Eye Parenttag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.722008-05-02T19:18:02Z2008-05-03T01:02:34ZPoor James Dobson doesn't get much play on Discerning Reader, and that may not change anytime soon. But one passage from the first edition of The Strong-Willed Child affected me greatly when I first read it as a brand new...Mark Tubbs
The Strong-Willed Child affected me greatly when I first read it as a brand new parent, and still affects me today as a parent of two toddlers:
Ultimately, the key to competent parenthood is in being able to get behind the eyes of your child, seeing what he sees and feeling what he feels. When he is lonely, he needs your company. When he is defiant, he needs your help in controlling his impulses. When he is afraid, he needs the security of your embrace. When he is curious, he needs your patient instruction. When he is happy, he needs to share his laughter and joy with those he loves.
Thus, the parent who intuitively comprehends his child's feelings is in a position to respond appropriately and meet the needs that are apparent. And at this point, raising healthy children becomes a highly developed art, requiring the greatest wisdom, patience, devotion and love that God has given to us. The Apostle Paul called the Christian life 'a reasonable service.' We parents would do well to apply that same standard to the behavior of our children.
Lord, help me to be a seeing-eye parent.
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Tuesdays are for Reviewstag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.712008-04-29T20:30:05Z2008-04-29T21:30:36ZIt has finally happened - we've increased the amount of reviews viewable on the splash page because we produced too many to post. And that's with me (Mark Tubbs) sitting out this week! Even in midst of Together for the...Mark Tubbs
rain in the dining room, Tim Challies managed to produce four reviews. Here they are, in no particular order.
Rapture Ready: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture by Daniel Radosh is a book written by a secular liberal outsider who immerses himself in the weirdness of North American evangelical pop culture.
Gum, Geckos and God: A Family's Adventure in Space, Time and Faith, by philosophy professor James Spiegel, narrates Spiegel's attempts to explain cosmic ideas simply but not simplistically. Personally, I would read the book on the strength of this quote alone, supplied by Tim in the review: “If you can probe the sticky topics of faith and life’s meaning with a kid while he probes the sticky recesses of his nasal cavity, then you can discuss theology with anyone.”
I Don't Believe in Atheists by Chris Hedges is pure drivel, says Tim, and should be avoided along with its sister, American Fascists, another Hedges effort panned by Tim last month.
Out of the Black Shadows by Stephen Lungu is the autobiography of a typical Zimbabwean boy who joined a gang of streets thugs early in his young life and was forever changed when he heard the gospel message at an evangelistic tent meeting which he and his gang were about to firebomb. You'll have to read the book to hear the rest of the story!
Meanwhile, Scott Lamb has matched Tim review for review this week.
The Atonement Debate, a series of papers edited and compiled by British theologian Derek Tidball, emerged out of a symposium held in London designed to allow both the pro and con sides of penal substitutionary atonement to present their cases. Scott also recommends some supplementary resources on the subject.
The Baptist Way, a book by Southern Baptist university administrator Stanton Norman, looks at Southern Baptist distinctives as practiced in a healthy Baptist church context. How about an alternate title suggestion: "8 Marks of Healthy Baptist Church"? Scott recommends this three-year old title and wonders why he missed it before.
Speaking of 9 Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark Dever's newest release, Twelve Challenges Churches Face, identifies twelves areas churches invariably struggle with to some degree or another. You'll want to check out the various uses Scott recommends for this 'brief' book (180-ish pages).
Finally, Scott reviews Scenes From The Bible, a biblically sequential visual portrayal of many scenes created by French artist Gustave Dore. Scott comments on the artistry as well as the practicality of this collection.
Thank you kindly for your continued patronage of Discerning Reader. We hope to serve up eight more reviews next week, if time permits and God allows.
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Tuesdays are Still for Reviewstag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.702008-04-22T20:40:42Z2008-04-22T21:18:57Z...and we're back. Think of last week's T4G hiatus in baseball terms: a rain delay. Or something like that. This week we're batting 1.000 again with six reviews. Half of the books we reviewed were giveaways at the T4G conference....Mark TubbsThe Courage To Be Protestant, a summation, recasting, and update of Wells' quartet on the current state of evangelicalism: No Place for Truth, God in the Wasteland, Losing Our Virtue and Above All Earthly Pow’rs. Closely related to this theme is Thomas Howard's Evangelical Is Not Enough, which likewise takes aim at evangelicalism from the inside - in a very gentle way, I should add - even after the author's conversion to Roman Catholicism. Howard may be better known as missionary paragon Elisabeth Elliot's brother. Last but not least in this vein is Bob Kauflin's expansive but digestible work Worship Matters. While it only touches on the tension between liturgics and spontaneous service styles, it is a model of evenhanded writing on a subject fraught with tension. The subtitle is worth iterating here: "Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God." It is a book for every pastor, worship leader, wannabe worship leader, and worshiper. In case you are interested, I (Mark Tubbs) reviewed the latter two books.
Scott Lamb weighs in with a heavy-hitter from IVP Academic entitled Faith Comes By Hearing: A Response to Inclusivism, which features many prominent theologians and seeks to answer whether explicit faith in Christ is necessary for eternal salvation. He also provides a review of the animatedly illustrated and sensationally titled The Incredible Shrinking Church. But be warned - it deals with serious subject matter: the call to the gospel ministry and the faith which must fuel it.
Rounding out our six this week is Tim's review of the first book by Joshua Harris' twin brothers, Alex and Brett Harris of the Rebelution Blog. The Harris brothers have written Do Hard Things, a book designed to coax teens (and anyone else who reads it) out of the slumber of mediocrity in order to live life for the glory of God.
I am full of faith that next Tuesday we will be back with another full slate of six reviews.
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This Week is for T4Gtag:www.discerningreader.com,2008://1.692008-04-15T17:52:02Z2008-04-15T18:49:49ZIf you follow our Founding Editor's blog, you will know that this week is Together for the Gospel week in Louisville, Kentucky. Much of the Reformed blogosphere will be buzzing this week with comments, feedback, and resources emanating from Louisville....Mark Tubbs
our Founding Editor's blog, you will know that this week is Together for the Gospel week in Louisville, Kentucky. Much of the Reformed blogosphere will be buzzing this week with comments, feedback, and resources emanating from Louisville.
Tim's T4G week kicked off with a Band of Bloggers meeting at which he was due to speak. While Tim hasn't updated his site about the BoB meetings yet (his Internet connection is intermittent), you can find a schedule and a list of the books they will be giving out to participants at the meeting via the BoB link provided above.
Tim has promised to keep all of us (especially those of us who really wanted to attend T4G but couldn't for one reason or another) in the loop regarding meetings, messages, and especially what he calls the 'conference swag.' In other words, the freebies - books, t-shirts, albums, replica Mahaney head razors (just kidding).
All that to say, between Tim's intermittent Internet and his liveblogging duties, DR's weekly post is bound to be postponed and entries may appear in dribs and drabs. Thank you for faithfully visiting Discerning Reader.]]>