Tag Archives: Reading

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Book Review – Strange Glory by Charles Marsh

Strange GlorySeveral years ago, I read Eric Metaxas’ biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I absolutely loved that book. It introduced me to the details of the life of one of my favorite authors and theologians.

So when Charles Marsh’s biography, Strange Glory: A Life Of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was released, I was excited to read it, to see what else I could add to my knowledge of Bonhoeffer’s life and times.

Right off the bat, I noticed that Metaxas and Marsh examined Bonhoeffer’s life differently. Where Metaxas looked at the events and circumstances of his life, Marsh dug into the theological and philosophical aspects of Bonhoeffer’s thinking. There were several interesting insights that I gathered from this different perspective.

But that’s the only positive I took from this biography. The more I read it, the more I sensed that Marsh wrote, imposing his twenty-first century views and thoughts on a life and time from nearly a hundred years ago. Marsh is unable to see Bonhoeffer in light of his own era and culture, and he interprets Bonhoeffer’s life in light of current American culture, particularly in light of Bonhoeffer’s sexuality.

Though Marsh never come out and explicitly states that Bonhoeffer experienced same sex attraction, he implies heavily that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was romantically in love with his friend, Eberhard Bethge.

This idea is absolutely ridiculous.

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Top 5 Reading & Study Apps

I use my mobile devices for a lot of different things. Perhaps the biggest use comes in the form of reading and study. My usage in this area spreads across both my iPhone 5s and my iPad, almost interchangeably, although there are some things I do almost exclusively on one or the other.

Reading And Study Apps

I also own an Amazon Kindle Touch, but I find that it doesn’t really play into this discussion much. I only use it for reading, and only then for reading fiction. For most of the rest of my reading, I prefer to use other methods, primarily in book form.

On the other hand, I really like the mobile versions of my Bible study software, which tops off this list.

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Book Review – Critical Condition by Richard Mabry

Critical Condition Most of what I read is material that I find useful for my life, from my work in ministry to fatherhood, and every topic in between. Every once in a while, though, I like to grab a good fiction novel and enjoy some lighter reading for a change.

Last week, I picked up a new novel by Richard Mabry, called Critical Condition. I managed to digest the entire book in just a couple of evenings, and enjoyed it.

I’ve read several other books by Mabry in the past, and thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. This one just didn’t seem to be as good as the rest that I’ve read.

The premise of the story is based around Dr. Shannon Frasier. During a dinner party, a man is shot in her front yard, and dies in her arms. Add to that Dr. Frasier’s younger sister moving in after a fight with her boyfriend, and with drug trouble a possibility, Dr. Frasier is suddenly overwhelmed.

That’s when the questions and threats start coming. And they are coming from both the police and a mysterious caller. Dr. Frasier’s life becomes a nightmare, and just staying alive seems an impossibility.

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Book Review – Titus For You by Tim Chester

Titus For YouThe Pastoral Epistles, which include 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus, are by far some of the most practical letters in the New Testament when it come to ministry. In these short epistles, Paul writes to two young men who are leading churches: Timothy, in Ephesus, and Titus, in Crete.

These letters are full of incredible advice and spiritual insights for growth, both as a Christian and as a leader and minister. One of my personal goals over the past year and a half has been to study and memorize both of the letters to Timothy, and Titus is next on the list for this fall.

I think these are pretty important letters for us to examine in detail.

I’ve read several other books from The Good Book Company in this series, covering Galatians, Romans 1-7, and Judges. I’ve enjoyed each one of them immensely. So, when I saw an opportunity to read this one on Titus, I was pretty excited. At first, I wasn’t sure how it would compare with the others, since all of the ones I have read were written by Timothy Keller, and this one is by Tim Chester.

My fears were ungrounded. Chester hit a home run with this look at Titus. I feel like he did a great job dividing the letter up into sections to examine in detail. The chapters he writes here follow the natural breaks in the text itself, lending itself well to easy reading, or even to fit a preaching schedule.

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Book Review: Be The Dad She Needs You To Be by Dr. Kevin Leman

Be The Dad She Needs You To BeOne of the most important relationships a daughter will ever have is the relationship with her father. This relationship is critical, and as a result, many dads fall short in this area. It’s not for a lack of willingness as much as it is a lack of understanding. Many dads simply don’t understand their daughters, and they don’t know how to build that connection.

Dr. Kevin Leman inspires dads to be the dads that their daughters need them to be in his newest book, Be The Dad She Needs You To Be. As a father to three daughters, I can relate to the struggles many dads face trying to relate to their daughters. Leman addresses most of those fears in this book, and leaves dads with the knowledge that they can make an impact in their daughters’ lives. And that it’s not as hard as it seems.

Covering almost every topic under the sun, including discipline, encouragement, the “talk,” being present, and more, Be The Dad She Needs You To Be is a pretty comprehensive manual for dads to keep handy. Each topic is approached in a manner that is easy to read and understand, but leaves dads with the ideas, tools and resources to make strides in that area.

Leman gives great pointers on how to be a great dad to your daughters. But he also includes some incredible insights in how to partner with you wife to be the most effective dad that you can be. So moms can read this as well, and gain a lot of practical advice on how to make a lasting mark in their daughters lives.

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Book Review – The Israeli Solution by Caroline B. Glick

Affiliate Link: The Israeli SolutionI’m not one to read books that are politically based examinations on current events. That’s not my thing. But recently, I’ve been reading a lot concerning the nation of Israel. From Israel’s role in prophecy to even a Messianic Jewish examination of Christ, Israel has been frequently on my reading list as of late.

The Israeli Solution, however, is different.

This book takes a deeper look at the nation of Israel and the Middle Eastern conflict, in which Israel plays a prominent role.

The author, Caroline B. Glick, takes a deep look at what may be the solution for peace in the Middle East. The major source of conflict seems to revolve around the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians.

Most of the solutions offered over the past couple of decades involve a two state plan, establishing an official state for Palestine. The track record for this shows that it really won’t work. It hasn’t, and it shows no signs of working in the near future.

This is mostly due to the fact that Palestine is committed to the destruction of Israel, along with much of the Muslim world.

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Book Review – The Return Of The Kosher Pig by Rabbi Itzhak Shapira

The Return Of The Kosher PigYou’ve heard the phrase, “Never judge a book by its cover.” But that is exactly what we do. We see a cover that we find intriguing, and we pick it up. In this case, it wasn’t so much the cover as it was the title, The Return Of The Kosher Pig.

While I’m not sure what I expected to find, this book surprised me. What I discovered was a Jew, a rabbi, who has diligently searched the Hebrew Scriptures, the additional commentaries by centuries of Jewish scholars,and even the New Testament, and concluded that he found the Messiah. And he is Yeshua (Jesus).

First of all, allow me to briefly explain the title. The pig represents everything that is unclean to a Jew. It is unkosher. It is threatening to the Jewish mindset. In the eyes of orthodox Judaism, those who have accepted Jesus as the Messiah, both Christians and Messianic Jews, represent the ultimate uncleanness. The fact that God would take the form of a man is found to be ridiculous and scandalous. Since Jesus claimed that very identity, Judaism has labeled him as the unkosher pig, deviating from the truth of the Scriptures.

I have to admit, following all of this was very difficult for me. And I’d only made it as far as the introduction! It became very clear to me, very quickly, that Jewish though and Western thought are radically different. Western thought tends to be linear in fashion, straight and precise, based on a Greek and Latin foundation. Jewish thought, however tends more to be circular, or organic, in nature, and Hebrew reasoning is as different from Western thought as day and night. That’s a foreign way of thinking for me, and I had to take this very slow in order to understand many of the concepts that are presented in The Return Of The Kosher Pig. And I’m sure I missed much more than I captured, simply because this is so unfamiliar to me.