Content tagged with "faith"

Basic Christianity
Book Review
April 24, 2022
87

A bit of a mixed bag. I feel like the book is geared towards people who know what Christianity is, but need to be convinced of it? It’s not the introduction of Christianity to the completely unknowing that I thought was going to be. The book clearly make some good arguments and some good framing ,…

The Bible Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 11, 2020
155

This a lovely, coffee table-ish book about the Bible. It’s a sequential tour through the Bible, story by story. Every story you’ve ever heard from the Bible – they’re all in here. The chapter header explains the characters in the story, the themes, the timeframe of the events, and the verse…

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Deane’s Library
Book Review
June 13, 2021
294

Meticulously-researched biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who became an outspoken resistor of the Nazis, and an eventual plotter in Hitler’s assassination, for which he was executed just before the Allies would have reached him. The book really doubles as a history of the rise…

The Boniface Option: A Strategy For Christian Counteroffensive in a Post-Christian Nation
Deane’s Library
Book Review
September 22, 2023
1021

This book is a rebuttal to a prior book called The Benedict Option. I haven’t read that book yet. Apparently, The Benedict Option claimed that the world was so fundamentally broken that Christians should just retreat to our own spaces and wait for the end of the world . This book rejects that. It…

A Book of Uncommon Prayer: 100 Celebrations of the Miracle & Muddle of the Ordinary
Deane’s Library
Book Review
February 13, 2021
242

I read a longer book of Doyle’s essays, and I’ve become sort of obsessed with him. Doyle has a remarkable ability to notice the spiritual and the most mundane things. This is a book about 100 prayers about seemingly boring things. Doyle makes you understand how amazing they really are. Examples A…

The Case for Christ
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 3, 2019
321

Stroebel was a Chicago crime reporter, and he approaches his investigation to the divinity of Jesus with an analytical bent. Each chapter is an examination of one aspect of doubt, and to resolve it, he interviews one noted scholar in that field. Here are the questions, which are a good dissemination…

Chair Time
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 5, 2021
79

A very short book that basically boils down to having some period of God-centered quiet time. Giving it a higher rating because I appreciated that it was short – it had a simple, concise point, and it was just long enough to handle that. Someone else might have tried to pad this out to trade length,…

The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 5, 2014
142

this is a solid book with a simple message: make sure your Christian organization is serving God rather than more earthly metrics. he basic premise is that you trust in God, and produce qualitative rather than quantitative results. It gets a bit repetitive, but then there’s a big chapter at the end…

Christian Nationalism: A Biblical Guide For Taking Dominion And Discipling Nations
Deane’s Library
Book Review
September 21, 2023
1181

This is a book that would offend and anger a lot of people. I get that. I read it so I could understand a friend’s point-of-view a little better. I read it at the same time as The Boniface Option which is even more extreme, but I’m calling out the chance of offense here just because of the title….

Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 3, 2019
69

A pleasant book about overcoming negative self-talk through Christian faith. There’s a lot of evangelism in here, and some of it is repetitive. The book is at its best when it offers a few “lifehack-ish” things you can do to re-direct your thoughts when they turn dark.

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 24, 2019
66

It’s hard to categorize this one, but I enjoyed reading it. It’s not a book for new believers – more for existing believers who want/need to take the next step. It’s about pushing the sliders to 11. I don’t know where that fits in, genre-wise. A motivational?

Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 19, 2023
478

This is a book in favor of intelligent design – of the idea of creationism – which I’ve historically been very skeptical of. The promise is right there in the title: Darwinism, or naturalistic evolution, is at odds with Christianity and must be “defeated.” The author is a law professor at at UC…

Destiny: Step into Your Purpose
Deane’s Library
Book Review
September 14, 2016
233

My wife bought me this at the Global Leadership Summit. It was one of the top three selling books there . The book is…awful? I almost don’t want to call it that, because I don’t think I was the target audience. I think the target audience is someone who needs spiritual motivation; someone who is…

Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It’s Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind…
Deane’s Library
Book
38

Here are some notes I took on the acquisition of this book:

It belonged to Isabella.

Don’t Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned
Deane’s Library
Book Review
April 30, 2017
85

I love Davis’s “don’t know much about” books. He takes BIG subjects and writes about them in interesting ways. Kind of a frequently-asked-questions mode. He starts nowhere in particular, and meanders around, in a good way. His writing style is engaging and interesting. He can make any subject…

Eggs are Expensive, Sperm is Cheap: 50 Politically Incorrect Thoughts for Men
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 9, 2022
849

This book was recommended by a friend. This friend is a social, religious, and political conservative, with very specific opinions on the separation of genders. I did not want to like this book. But, in the end, I agreed with far more than I disagreed with. The book is very well-written. The first…

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
Deane’s Library
Book Review
April 12, 2018
136

This book makes the case that the world is better now on almost every quantifiable dimension than at any other time in its history, and this is because of the decline of religion. Pinker’s main point is that religion is bad and makes the world a worse place, and the improvement in life over the last…

Even in Our Darkness: A Story of Beauty in a Broken Life
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 24, 2019
94

A memoir of a broken life. Jack Deere is a world-renowned theologian, but he hasn’t talked much about how his own life often spiraled out of control behind the scenes. His son took his own life, his wife struggled deeply with alcoholism, and Deere himself often alienated other people and made…

Every Body Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul
Deane’s Library
Book Review
August 18, 2020
98

A good look at the Christian/Biblical teachings behind physical fitness and a health diet. Turns out, sloth and gluttony are the two deadly sins we tend to cast a blind eye to, because they’re considered socially acceptable sins. Not an Earth-shattering book. If you’re looking for practical diet and…

Find Your Place: Locating Your Calling Through Your Gifts, Passions, and Story
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 4, 2022
130

I read this chapter-by-chapter for a men’s Bible study. I don’t quite remember all of it, but the basic idea was to help the reader find some spiritual service position in their church or some other ministry. It took three things into account: Those three things together would help you find an…

The Formation of the Christian Biblical Canon
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 16, 2017
116

I’ll freely admit that a lot of this went over my head. This is not an approachable book. It’s very academic and more appropriate to seminary students. However, it does make clear the critical point that the modern Christian bible was formed through curation and the actions of mortals combing…

Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human
Deane’s Library
Book Review
August 4, 2024
78

I didn’t review this book right away, and in the meantime, I read The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by the same author. Because of this, it’s hard for me to separate the two books in my head – they’re about very similar themes. Maybe go read that review? A lot of it applies to this as well.

God’s Not Dead: Evidence for God in An Age of Uncertainty
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 21, 2022
279

This is a solid introduction to Christian apologetics. When I started it, I was tempted to dismiss it as lightweight, but then I conceded that I’ve read a lot of apologetics. If you haven’t, this is a really good one to start on. The chapters cover. It’s a solid introduction. Certainly, other books…

God’s Secretaries : The Making of the King James Bible
Deane’s Library
Book Review
January 12, 2019
322

What’s interesting about this book is that there’s just very little information about the actual process of creating the King James Bible. Not much of the historical record of the actual translation process remains. So, what the book does is concentrate on the societal, political, and religious…

Heart Not Hype
Deane’s Library
Book Review
June 12, 2014
210

I wasn’t the target market for this book, so my 5-star review is more intended at how I think it would be needed and used by the reader for which it’s intended. This is book meant to be given to new Christians. The idea is that you need move from the “hype” of the Christian festival or event where…

Heart of the Matter
Deane’s Library
Book
30

Here are some notes I took on the acquisition of this book:

This was printed for Central. Neil gave me a copy.

The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? the Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 10, 2015
179

I don’t know if I actually finished this. I might have, or I might have abandoned it. It’s tough to tell, because the book is just so repetitive. The author makes a central point: as Christians, it is our responsibility to make the world a better place, and to help our fellow humans in real ways,…

Holy Roar: 7 Words That Will Change The Way You Worship
Deane’s Library
Book Review
August 31, 2021
188

A short book that combines evangelism with etymology. The basic premise is that the English word “praise” has seven separate meanings in Hebrew. The Hands of Praise The Fools of Praise The Music of Praise The Expectation of Praise The Posture of Praise The Songs of Praise The Shout of Praise The…

How Jesus Changed the World: An Illustrated Guide to the Undeniable Influence of Christ
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 2, 2019
75

Wonderful book about the influence of the Christian church in the years since the death of Jesus, up until current times. Covers art, charity, education, politics, etc. Full-color illustrated, and easy to digest. Regardless of your faith situation, it’s a great look at the history of the common era.

How Now Shall We Live?
Deane’s Library
Book Review
September 9, 2014
83

Much better than I expected. As a Democrat, I read this as a counterpoint to my inherent views and found that I liked it quite a bit. Colson is a very good writer, and the book is engaging. While I didn’t agree with everything he said, he makes some very good arguments in places, and the book should…

How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour
Deane’s Library
Book Review
March 27, 2017
25
The Humanity of God
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 11, 2019
78

Read this on the recommendation of a friend … who happens to be a former seminary professor. 99% of this went way, way over my head. It’s dense. The book is actually three essays transcribed from lectures Barth gave in the 50s. Man, it’s a lot. Not rating this because I was not even close to the…

Is God anti-gay?: And other questions about homosexuality, the Bible and same-sex attraction
Deane’s Library
Book Review
April 18, 2021
347

Let me first say this: my review here is not necessarily an endorsement of Sam Allberry’s specific views. But I am saying that this is a very well-written book, from an objective stance. Allberry is an English pastor who “experiences same-sex attraction” . Those are his words. He doesn’t refer to…

It’s Good to Be a Man: A Handbook for Godly Masculinity
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 30, 2023
24
Jesus: A Pilgrimage
Deane’s Library
Book
8
Just Courage: God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian
Deane’s Library
Book Review
September 5, 2017
114

Less of a book and more of a promo for the IJM ministry. Short; read it in 45 minutes. Reminded me of “The Hole in the Gospel” in that he picks an obvious point and just hammers away at it for 150 pages. It was a big argument in service of a point that I don’t think anyone is debating. Again, I…

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 20, 2019
87

This is a re-read for me. I originally read it 10 years ago, and it’s still amazing. Frances Collins was the head of the genome project. He led the team that mapped the human genome. He is also a Christian. He discusses the reconciliation of science and faith, and makes a compelling case that the…

Lead Small: Five Big Ideas Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know
Deane’s Library
Book Review
September 28, 2022
268

I didn’t “read” this so much as I skimmed it, then gave a presentation on it. The book was given to me by the middle school youth leader at Central Church. I’m a coach for the youth group leaders there, and she wanted me to do a training on it. It’s a short book – the 167 pages is even deceptive,…

Let the World See You: How to Be Real in a World Full of Fakes
Deane’s Library
Book Review
April 30, 2022
215

So, it’s tough not to like this book, because Sam Acho is an engaging writer and seems like a lovely person. But the book is unfocused, and doesn’t seem to go anywhere. The title hint that’s it about letting the world see “the real you.” But the result is really just a bunch of stories about Acho’s…

Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 8, 2019
129

This is a re-read from 25 years ago. It should probably go down as one of the great “new apologetics.” Greg Boyd was a seminary professor, and his father was agnostic. The book is a series of letters they exchanged about faith over three years. The father raised virtually every single complaint and…

The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor
Deane’s Library
Book
44

Here are some notes I took on the acquisition of this book:

Bells picked it up for free at USF. Gave it to me for my birthday.

Mere Christianity
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 1, 2016
15
Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus
Deane’s Library
Book Review
July 6, 2015
149

A book about the need to devote oneself completely to the Christian faith – to be a “follower, not a fan.” The book is well-written, fun to read, but I don’t know if I was the right audience. The target appears to be the already committed Christian who might be at a crossroads, trying to determine…

Not in It to Win It: Why Choosing Sides Sidelines The Church
Deane’s Library
Book Review
April 16, 2024
239

This is another one of those books that should be a blog post. The basic idea is this: lately – and especially during COVID – people are putting their political affiliation first, and their faith second. They’re Democrats or Republicans first, then maybe Americans second, and then Christians third….

One Year Book of Psalms
Deane’s Library
Book Review
September 17, 2020
17
Orthodoxy
Deane’s Library
Book
5
The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
Deane’s Library
Book Review
June 24, 2022
400

This book was written 1910. R.A. Torrey was a traveling evangelist. I gather he was one of Dwight Moody’s ministry partners. The book is a treatise on all aspects of the Holy Spirit . Example chapters: The chapters are generally quite short . Every chapter includes the phrase “Holy Spirit” in its…

Ploductivity: A Practical Theology of Tools & Wealth
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 22, 2021
281

This book is an attempt by Douglas Wilson to convey a “theology of work,” and explain how any work is blessed and sacred. The book is promoted as more of a celebration of working slowly – plodding away at something, rather than trying to rush through it. Wilson is a theologian. He’s very prominent…

The Problem of War in the Old Testament
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 5, 2017
98

I think I need to read this again. It’s complicated. The author is attempted to explain why war is so prevalent and violent in the Old Testament, but I – on first reading – it sounds like a very delicate skirting of the issue. If there was a central point or excuse, I missed it on the first…

The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 18, 2022
142

This is a short book that examines the parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15. I read this chapter-by-chapter for a men’s Bible study group. Unfortunately, I lost the main point of it. I remember it being quite good and interesting, but I can’t recall what it was. Weirdly, I’m still recommending…

The Pursuit of Holiness
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 5, 2022
152

I didn’t read this all at once – I read it bit by bit, for a men’s Bible study class. So it’s a bit harder to review than normal. The book is a discussion of “holiness,” and how and why should pursue it by reducing the amount of sin in our lives. It explains why we should seek holiness, why that’s…

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World
Deane’s Library
Book Review
August 27, 2024
261

This is the second of John Mark Comer’s books I’ve read in the last month. They were both recommended by my daughter. This is what I would call an “inspirational title.” Meaning, Comer isn’t telling us anything that we don’t already know, he’s just trying to prompt is to do something about it. We do…

Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 24, 2019
217

Wonderful book examining the conflict between evolution and creationism. The author is a professor at a Christian college. To be fair, I am tempted to rate this book lower, primarily because it was lazy about it’s subtitle – and I’m a stickler for titles and subtitles. You either support them or you…

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
Deane’s Library
Book Review
October 4, 2023
203

This book caused quite a stir when it was published in 1994. This is the quote that upset a lot of people: The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there isn’t one. The author was basically saying that evangelical Christians have stopped thinking rationally about anything. Unfortunately, it was a…

The Screwtape Letters
Deane’s Library
Book Review
July 11, 2018
16
A Shot of Faith to the Head: Be a Confident Believer in an Age of Cranky Atheists
Deane’s Library
Book Review
July 22, 2022
297

I’m going to have to read this book again. Slower, maybe in a group. This is a book of philosophy that attempts to prove, logically, that belief in God is rational, and that atheistic arguments to the contrary are not valid. It’s roughly divided into three parts: This book is…complicated. It gets…

A Skeptic’s Guide to Faith: What It Takes to Make the Leap
Deane’s Library
Book Review
October 10, 2019
100

A lovely, contemplative book about the idea of a higher power and all the imprints that has left on humans and the human condition. The point is not laser-focused. It doesn’t build to a larger point or big conclusion. Each chapter is a meditation on some aspect of how the human world intersects with…

Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution
Deane’s Library
Book Review
August 9, 2023
310

This was written by the guy who played Dwight from The Office. I’ve never seen that show, but I gather he was funny in it. He’s a practitioner of the Bahá'í faith. He was born into it – his parents were Bahá'í converts. That faith is a lot like universalism – it roughly believes in monotheism, and…

The Standard: Discovering Jesus as the Standard for Masculinity
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 1, 2023
259

About halfway through this book, it became obvious that it wasn’t a traditional book. I think this is a book clearly designed for a Bible study group. Either that, or it’s a promotional tool. It’s published by an organization called Standard 59 , which appears to be a Christian men’s ministry. I…

The Third Conversion
Deane’s Library
Book Review
March 12, 2014
113

A short, excellent book about fundraising for faith-based causes. It presents a new paradigm of fund-raising, more focused on the giver than the gift. It runs the risk of perhaps being too idealized, and it’s business fiction, which comes with all the risks of being stilted and awkward . To carry…

Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 28, 2014
143

This book traces the history of Christianity by defining 12 “turning points,” which are pivotal moments in its development. These range from the Council of Niceo, to the Reformation , to the Edinburgh Mission conference in 1910. It was a good book, and certainly well-researched, but quite a bit of…

Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses
Deane’s Library
Book Review
March 13, 2022
128

I didn’t like this. But what bothers me is that I don’t know why I didn’t like it. I am very interested in the subject matter. This should absolutely be a book I like. I have no idea why I couldn’t connect with it, but dreaded picking it up. It’s about a journalist who wanders around the Holy Land,…

What Christians Believe: The Foundation Series Volume One
Deane’s Library
Book Review
July 12, 2015
82

I quite enjoyed this. It approaches the subject of Christian belief through a deconstruction of the Apostles and Nicene creeds, taking them apart, sentence by sentence, and examining what each part means. Understand that this is not an apologetic – there’s not much justification or proof offered for…

What If Jesus Was Serious?: A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore
Deane’s Library
Book Review
February 13, 2021
172

This is a lovely book of short essay chapters which explain teachings of the New Testament that we clearly often forget. Each one starts “If Jesus was serious…” Examples: then we will trust God more and politics less then we will recognize the illusion of control that money creates then we will…

What’s In The Bible: The Story Of God Through Time And Eternity
Deane’s Library
Book Review
July 26, 2018
36

A summary and commentary on the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself
Deane’s Library
Book Review
June 3, 2018
137

Excellent book about the inadvertent damage we do when trying to help. It discusses how to help other communities and countries without accidentally making things worse – how to help in such a way that you build the community itself up, instead of just throwing money and volunteer hours at something…

Who Are You Following?: Pursuing Jesus in a Social-Media Obsessed World
Deane’s Library
Book
31

Here are some notes I took on the acquisition of this book:

It belonged to Isabella

Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus
Deane’s Library
Book Review
January 3, 2016
203

A wonderful look at the historic figure of Jesus Christ and his continuing impact on the world. The book is not necessarily evangelical – it’s more historical than anything. It discusses the changes Jesus and Christianity brought about to the treatment of women, our relationship to government, and…

Why I Left, Why I Stayed: Conversations on Christianity Between an Evangelical Father and His Humanist Son
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 4, 2019
199

Wonderfully unique book written by a father and son, both of whom were Christian pastors and leaders. The son lost his faith and became a secular humanist and “humanist chaplain.” This book was written a few years later by both of them, which explains why the son left the faith, and rebutted by…

With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 24, 2020
156

This book scratched an itch I’ve had for a long time. A friend referred to it as “activity over intimacy,” and Jethani captures this by identifying four ways of relating to god, and why they’re flawed: Life From God: Wanting the benefits that come from God without the work. Life Over God:…