Stopping to Think

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Enjoyable, horrifying, fun. Neil Gaiman is a top notch writer, and his narration of the audiobook was excellent as well. I had very little knowledge of Norse Mythology, but my sense is that this is how you should experience it - as if being told the tales of the gods, rather than reading about them in a textbook form. The stories themselves are both fascinating, entertaining, and atrocious. The gods of the North, though superhuman in certain ways, are utterly human in all the ways that matter most. Which, I suppose, is what we should expect from gods made in man’s image. View all my reviews

                                                                           Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash    Introduction Inerrancy is the belief that the Bible is entirely inspired by God, such that each and every word proceeds from his mouth and is as truthful as God himself is truthful. ‘While the technical term inerrancy is of recent origin, the conviction that the Bible is “without error” is not.’ So state Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy in their essay on inerrancy in Across the Spectrum. The argument of this paper will be that such a view is not of recent origin because the Scriptures themselves teach that they are without error. And as Wayne Grudem writes, “ to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God. ” To put it provocatively, to disbelieve inerrancy is to question the truthfulness of God. Old Testament Use The Old Testament reveals God as a speaking God. God’s word is powerful and authoritative, and is the means by which the earth and the heaven

Reforming Joy: A Conversation Between Paul, the Reformers, and the Church Today by Tim Chester My rating: 5 of 5 stars This really is a marvelous little book. Chester manages in 100 pages to give a clear taste of Pauline theology, some core tenants of the reformation, and practical application for your 21st century life. Though I’m not sure this was Chester’s goal, he’s really written a first-rate introduction to Christianity. I plan to buy more copies to give away to believers whose faith could use strengthening, unbelievers to introduce them to the heart of Christianity, and anyone who needs more joy in their life. This book is that good. View all my reviews

  Christian Ethics: Contemporary Issues and Options by Norman L. Geisler My rating: 3 of 5 stars The first section, laying out various ethical systems, is helpful and clear. The second section, less so. The appendices on drugs and birth control were virtually worthless in terms of argumentation and intellectual rigor. But I'll probably keep the book as a reference for that first section. The prose is accessible and clear. View all my reviews

  Ernest Hemingway on Writing by Larry W. Phillips My rating: 4 of 5 stars Lucid, clear, if somewhat idiosyncratic, advice. As it is drawn from his work and letters across his career, it's interesting to see how his opinions develop or stiffen in certain areas. It was fun and easy to read. I also have a feeling that Hemingway would have hated it. View all my reviews

  Anxious People by Fredrik Backman My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5ish. Backman's writing is worth five stars, his ability to take you inside the skin of each of the characters and laugh and cry and feel queasy under the skin right with each of them is simply brilliant. This story wasn't as strong as the others I've read from him, which is why I bring it back down to a four. That said, I couldn't put it down (almost literally) for the final 120 pages. "It just hurts so much at times, being human." (98) "Limes seemed to be such a popular adornment at apartment viewings that it's tempting to think that if real estate agents were banned, the surface of the earth would become covered with such a thick layer of limes that only young people with very small knives and an inexplicable fondness for Mexican beer would survive." (129) "When snow arrives autumn has already done all the work, taking care of all the leaves and carefully sweeping summer awa

Ploductivity: A Practical Theology of Tools & Wealth by Douglas Wilson My rating: 5 of 5 stars “My optimism about tools and technology is, at bottom, an optimism about the future history of the world. And that, in its turn, is an optimism that is grounded on the fact that at the darkest point of human history, God in the flesh was crucified by arrogant sinners, by all the important people. Three days after that, the Lord came back from the dead. That means the old world has been overthrown. How could that world not be overthrown? That world is dead because its only power was death, and we serve a Lord who went into death’s maw, and then came out again. That is the ultimate plot turn. That is the central fact of all human history.” (Pg 103) I’m exceedingly inclined toward the technophobia that Wilson rails against in this book. This was a helpful counterweight to my inclinations, and I’m thankful for it. It’s Wilson, so the style is breezy and a blast to read. It was written in a

The Drop Box: How 500 Abandoned Babies, an Act of Compassion, and a Movie Changed My Life Forever by Brian Ivie My rating: 3 of 5 stars The first half is the sort of navel gazing self-importance dressed up in Christian language that you'd kind of expect from a 20 something writing a memoir. The back end, especially the reflections on the ministry in South Korea and the pastor there who spearheaded it, his relationship with the gospel, and the need for grace was all quite good. View all my reviews

  Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome by R. Kent Hughes My rating: 5 of 5 stars Good, wise, helpful, sane. The biblical measures of success point us back to faithfulness, rather than looking at business metrics (budgets, butts, buildings, etc.). View all my reviews

 

                                                                                                                                                 Photo by Hannah Wright on Unsplash                                                                          An Exegetical Paper on 2 Samuel 3:1-6 Introduction The first four chapters of 2 Samuel prepare the way for the introduction of David as king over the whole nation of Israel, an event which takes place in chapter five. At this point, the arc of David’s life is still very much ascendant. The ascendancy of David is very much driven home by the opening verses of chapter three, which are the chiastic center of chapters one through four. However, while David’s ascendance is the keynote, there are literary hints that the foundation may have its cracks. Text: 2 Samuel 3:1-6 (ESV) There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. 

Photo by Gioele Fazzeri on Unsplash Glory Slain An Exegetical Paper on 2 Samuel 1:17-27 Introduction In the opening chapters of 2 Samuel, we meet David in an awkward place. Having been anointed king in 1 Samuel 16, and then defeating Goliath (1 Samuel 17) and becoming a great man in King Saul’s house, the tables had turned and he spent the next several years on the run (1 Samuel 19-31). But at the end of the 1st installment of the Samuel narratives, we find out that Saul has died (1 Samuel 31:6). Suddenly relieved of the burden of being hunted, we might expect to find David rejoicing. Instead, David, upon receiving news of Saul’s death, rends his garments. The structural center of 2 Samuel 1:1-16 is David mourning. In the words of commentator Dale Ralph Davis, “[the narrator] thinks the most important item in his story is the grief and wailing of David and his men over Israel - her fallen leaders and troops.” So far from finding this to be good news is David, he has the Amalekite who

  A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Simply stunning. The character development, use of language, and the plot all left me wanting the book to keep going. There were a few details that annoyed me as a reader, some relational dynamics toward the end that felt out of place and forced, but ultimately they're not enough to detract from what a master class in fiction Backman puts on in A Man Called Ove. View all my reviews

  The 5 Masculine Instincts: A Guide to Becoming a Better Man by Chase Replogle My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a really good book. Chapter four alone is worth the price of the book. I appreciated Replogle's discussion of manhood through the lens of these 5 instincts, with the understanding that the instincts simply are . The question is not whether these instincts exist in our lives, the question is: will we master them, or be mastered by them? Replogle points us - through a skillful mix of question asking, and drawing from narratives both inside and outside of Scripture - to the source of true character and manhood: Jesus, the man who died for us. As I said, the chapter on Adventure, focusing on Samson, was particularly good. The only chapter I struggled with was the Ambition chapter, as I'm not sure that shoe quite fits on Moses' foot. Lots of what Replogle says in that chapter about ambition is really helpful, I just kept getting hung up on the use of Moses which doe

  Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners by Dane C. Ortlund My rating: 5 of 5 stars Deeper does just what the title promises, pushing you down into the heart of Christ, helping the reader to see that real change and growth in grace are possible. But not by looking to yourself or by depending upon your own white-knuckled effort. Rather, we grow in Christ and are energized to pursue holiness as we believe ever more deeply in the wonderful work of Christ which he has already accomplished, and which we receive by faith alone. "I have one thing to say. Look to Christ. You will grow in Christ as you direct your gaze to Christ. If you take your eyes off of Jesus Christ and direct your gaze to your own growth, you will prevent the very growth you desire." (pg 171) I'd love to see this book in the hands of every Christian. View all my reviews

  Photo by Savvas Kalimeris on Unsplash Text Number 11:26-30: 26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. Introduction: Synopsis and Questions This story is set within the framework of Numbers chapter 11. After spending the entire book of Leviticus camped out at Mt. Sinah , the people of Israel are now on the move, headed (for a while) toward the promised land. However, in Numbers 11, the people have already descended i

  Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport My rating: 5 of 5 stars Did you enjoy Deep Work , but weren't sure how to implement the ideas, because the pull of distraction still seemed constant and hard to silence? Looking for more practical advice on how to break up with your constant need for distraction? Digital Minimalism is probably for you. That's not to say you need to have read any of Newport's work before to benefit from this book. He spends the first section of the book, 80 pages or so, laying the groundwork for what he's arguing. The attention-based economy has the best minds and attention science on their side, and by unthinkingly using every new tool, toy, and app that comes along we are volunteering to give them our most precious resource - time - in exchange for what they're mainly after - money. This is not only a bad trade-off, it's also bad for our mental health and quality of life. The remainder of the book

  Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash When you read the opening chapters of Genesis, one of the things you notice is the incredibly long lives of humanity’s first generations. Adam, 930 years ( Genesis 5:5 ). Seth, 912 years (5:8). Jared, 962 years (5:20). And Methuselah takes the cake at 969 (5:27).  But by the time you get to chapter 11 of Genesis, a change is taking shape. Shem, Noah’s son, lived 600 years ( 11:11 ). Eber lived to 464 (11:17). And by the time you get to Terah, the father of Abram, he lives only 205 years (11:32). That’s still amazing by our reckoning, but it’s also a far cry from Adam’s 930 years. If you move forward in time another 500 years to the days of Moses, we read his words in Psalm 90:10 that, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty.” This resonates far more closely with our experience.  What do we see in this? The unwinding nature of sin. God created the world, and in the first chapter of Genesis we read of him bringing

This post is in regard to some of the misinformation spread by the recent film, "Enemies Within the Church." Rather than giving a thorough point-by-point rebuttal, what I want to do is point out this fact: what truth there was in the film was so mixed with error and misinformation as to make it of little value, and dangerous. Below I have compiled some resources which will be useful for finding out what some of those who were slandered in the film actually teach  with their own words, in context. Sam Alberry & Russell Moore & Jackie Hill Perry This is a super helpful conversation: Albert Mohler: The Modern Self- https://albertmohler.com/2020/12/10/carl-trueman   Critical Theory- https://albertmohler.com/2020/09/02/james-lindsay   Marriage- https://albertmohler.com/2021/03/10/mark-regnerus   The Battle for Ideas- https://albertmohler.com/2021/05/12/ryan-anderson-2021   Socialism- https://albertmohler.com/2021/02/01/iain-murray   Abortion- https://albertmohler.com/2022/