Content tagged with “faith”

There are 132 item(s) tagged with “faith” on this site.

Other tags used by these items: bible, apologetics, society, politics, jesus, history, evolution, definition, biography, christianity, reading, race, judaism, religion, self-help, science, islam, lgbt, fiction, biblical-formation, non-profits, media, entertainment, ethnicity, idiom, morality, world-war-two, health, apologetic, conservative, information-theory, devotional, sports, architecture, philosophy, catholicism, productivity, relationships, books, evangelism, living, critical-thinking, geography, iran, middle-east

(83)-FOR-TRUTH
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
December 29, 2023
Words
84

“ The ubiquitous roadside billboards promoting Christianity are sponsored by a group called – appropriately – Gospel Billboards , which is a subsidiary of Christian Aid Ministries . They have been erecting these billboards since 2006. Here’s a map showing all the billboard locations. ”

A Skeptic’s Guide to Faith: What It Takes to Make the Leap
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
October 10, 2019
Words
75

“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…”

Adam vs Danny
Section
Personal Blog
Type
Blog Post
Date
April 11, 2009
Words
309

“A showdown is looming on American Idol which I think is going to be pretty interesting to watch. The top two contenders – the two I firmly believe will fight it out in the last episode – could not be more opposed in terms of lifestyle. We have… Danny Gokey , a widowed church music director from…”

Anointing With Oil
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
September 8, 2021
Words
251

“A Biblical practice meaning someone is sanctified or set apart. There’s a great deal of information about what the practice signifies and symbolizes, but very little about any original reason for the practice. Things that are symbolic are usually rooted it some practical purpose, but I could find…”

Asceticism
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
May 11, 2024
Words
100

“This is the practice of voluntarily denying pleasure or even basic human needs, usually in order to achieve some higher spiritual awareness. This is not confined to a single religion. Ascetic practices such as fasting are common in many belief systems. A practitioner is called an ‘ascetic.’ The…”

Ashkenazi Jew
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
October 12, 2022
Words
166

“This refers to the largest ethnic groups of Jews. (Note: there are a lot of different ethnic/racial divisions among Jews .) The Ashkenazi was a group of Jewish people who migrated North from the Middle East to Eastern Europe about 1000 BC. In turn, this group immigrated heavily to the United…”

Atonement Theory
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
April 29, 2023
Words
236

“There are lots of theories for why Christians believe Jesus had to die on the cross – called ‘the atonement’ – many of which have been around for over a thousand years. Why Jesus went to his death is generally accepted in Christianity – to save Mankind from their sins and to give Mankind eternal…”

Auto-da-fé
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
September 20, 2023
Words
134

“It’s Portuguese for ‘act of faith.’ In most cases, it refers to a series of events during the Inquisitions of the 1500s through the 1800s. These were public punishments and executions of those believed to be heathens or witches. Prisoners were whipped, hanged, or burned at the stake in front of…”

Baal
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Words
71

“ This was a specific pagan god in antiquity – likely the storm and fertility god Hadad. The word means ‘owner’ or ‘lord’ in ancient languages of Asia. More generally, Baal is used Biblically to refer to any pagan god, or any icon or object of worship outside of the recognized Christian God. ”

Basic Christianity
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
April 24, 2022
Words
73

“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…”

Bible Church
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
August 21, 2022
Words
181

“There doesn’t seem to be a consistent definition for this. It’s not an organized denomination. From Got Questions: Bible churches are those which profess to adhere to the Bible as their standard of faith and practice. However, they are of no particular Christian denomination (non-denominational),…”

Biblical Lifespans
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
January 14, 2022
Words
585

“In the Old Testament, several people are stated to have lived almost 1,000 years. Is this literal, figurative, or a mistake? One theory says that a simple translation error caused months to be counted as years. If someone was said to have died at 950 years, it was really 950 months , which is 79…”

Blue Laws
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
November 22, 2021
Words
171

“Blue laws are regulations that attempt to restrict activities or the sale of specific goods or services for religious reasons. The most common in the United States is the restriction of selling alcohol on Sundays in some municipalities. Rumor has it that the laws were originally printed on blue…”

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
June 13, 2021
Words
275

“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…”

Chair Time
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 5, 2021
Words
65

“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…”

Cloisters
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
May 27, 2023
Words
152

“This has both a literal and symbolic definition. Literally, a cloister is a covered walk forming the perimeter of a building’s open central square. It’s from the Latin word for ‘enclosure.’ Symbolically, ‘cloisters’ refers to a separated religious life. To be ‘in cloisters’ is to life a monastic…”

Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 3, 2019
Words
47

“ 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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 24, 2019
Words
47

“ 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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
May 19, 2023
Words
471

“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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
September 14, 2016
Words
215

“My wife bought me this at the Global Leadership Summit. It was one of the top three selling books there (which is her criteria for buying me books for my birthday). 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…”

Disputed Books of the Bible
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
November 22, 2021
Words
515

“There are dozens of books, chapters, and gospels that were once included in the Hebrew Bible, or that various scholars believe should be included. Some of these books have questionable attribution, or were written by groups that eventually came to be considered heretical. Others are accepted only…”

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
April 12, 2018
Words
113

“This book makes the case that (1) the world is better now on almost every quantifiable dimension than at any other time in its history, and (2) 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…”

Even in Our Darkness: A Story of Beauty in a Broken Life
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 24, 2019
Words
69

“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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
August 18, 2020
Words
75

“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…”

Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
August 4, 2024
Words
52

“ 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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
December 21, 2022
Words
252

“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. The rationalism of faith The problem of good and…”

God’s Secretaries : The Making of the King James Bible
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
January 12, 2019
Words
299

“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…”

Great to Good: How Following Jesus Reshapes Our Ambitions
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
July 19, 2025
Words
110

“I don’t know how I ended up buying this book. I just found it on my Kindle. I bought it at some point, but I have no memory of it. It’s translated from Korean, and you can tell. The verbiage is stilted. And I just didn’t get it. The book didn’t seem to be saying anything original or interesting….”

Halal
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
April 19, 2024
Words
52

“ This refers to things that are allowed under Islamic law. This is the opposite of haram . ”

Haram
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
April 18, 2024
Words
47

“ This is used to describe anything outlawed by the Quran. It’s the opposite of halal . ”

Heart Not Hype
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
June 12, 2014
Words
195

“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…”

Holy Roar: 7 Words That Will Change The Way You Worship
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
August 31, 2021
Words
165

“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…”

Homily
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
December 12, 2021
Words
157

“I feel like this word gets used more in Catholic religious contexts that others. Wikipedia says this: In Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox churches, a homily is usually given during Mass (Divine Liturgy or Holy Qurbana for Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, and Divine Service…”

How Now Shall We Live?
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
September 9, 2014
Words
65

“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…”

Ichthys
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
August 3, 2024
Words
98

“This is the formal name for the ‘Jesus fish.’ It’s been dated back to the 2nd century. Historians speculate that it was used by Christians to safely identify each other during periods of persecution. The etymology of the word is disputed, but one fascinating theory is that the acronym for the Greek…”

Just Courage: God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
September 5, 2017
Words
93

“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 (there is injustice in the world and people don’t deserve to be slaves) and just hammers away at it for 150 pages. It was a big argument…”

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
August 7, 2024
Words
262

“I had to stop reading this one. It was recommended to me by a friend, but I was pretty uncomfortable with it. It’s a modern, snarky novel that purports to be an alternate version of the Gospels, written by Jesus Christ’s best friend, Biff. …yeah. There was the obvious sacrilegious angle that I…”

Lead Small: Five Big Ideas Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
September 28, 2022
Words
237

“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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
April 30, 2022
Words
187

“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 (and subtitle) hint that’s it about letting the world see ‘the real you.’ But the result is really just a bunch of…”

Moloch
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
June 15, 2023
Words
220

“This is commonly considered to be a pagan God from the Old Testament. (Note: the spelling is quite variant.) Leviticus 18:21 Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 1 Kings 11:7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon…”

Narthex
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
January 25, 2022
Words
177

“Basically, the ‘lobby’ of a Christian church. From Wikipedia: […] the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church’s main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper. There was a specific…”

Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
July 6, 2015
Words
127

“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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
April 16, 2024
Words
201

“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….”

Ontological Arg
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Words
333

“There are four major arguments for the existence of God. This is the hardest one to grasp and the easiest one to forget. This is the only argument of the four which is based strictly on logic, rather than observation. In its simplest form, it boils down to this: because we can imagine God, He must…”

Papist
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
August 18, 2024
Words
63

“ The idea behind this is to refer to someone who follows the Pope (‘papal’) more than God or Jesus Christ. ”

Ploductivity: A Practical Theology of Tools & Wealth
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 22, 2021
Words
261

“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…”

Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
December 24, 2019
Words
193

“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…”

Seraph
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
June 13, 2024
Words
191

“A ‘seraph’ (singular) is a heavenly being of some kind. It many contexts, it’s the technical word for ‘angel,’ but in different Abrahamic religions, it might take on other meanings. In general, it means some supernatural, religious being. Most people are more familiar with the plural form:…”

Seventh Day Adventists
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
April 18, 2024
Words
256

“This is a Protestant denomination with some heterodox beliefs when compared to more denominations. It has been around only since the 1800s, and was co-founded by Ellen White, who wrote extensively about her visions and prophecies she claimed to have received from God. This emphasis on a founding,…”

Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
August 9, 2023
Words
290

“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 Bible Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 11, 2020
Words
135

“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…”

The Case for Christ
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 3, 2019
Words
304

“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…”

The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
May 5, 2014
Words
132

“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…”

The Formation of the Christian Biblical Canon
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
May 16, 2017
Words
95

“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…”

The Holy Spirit
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
October 25, 2021
Words
547

“In Christian doctrine, the Trinity says that God exists in three parts: The Father: the omniscient being that created all things The Son: the physical form in which God came to Earth to witness to humans The Holy Spirit: God existing within a human that has accepted him as Lord So, the Holy Spirit…”

The Humanity of God
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
December 11, 2019
Words
62

“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…”

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
December 20, 2019
Words
64

“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…”

The Mormons
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Words
148

“The group we commonly refer to as ‘The Mormons’ is actually The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). One of their holy books is ‘The Book of Mormon.’ So, calling them ‘The Mormons’ is kind of like calling Protestants ‘The Bibles’ or ‘The New Testaments.’ ‘Mormon’ is claimed to be a…”

The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
June 24, 2022
Words
379

“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 (defined as the part of God that dwells within the believer after conversion). Example chapters: The Personality of…”

The Problem of War in the Old Testament
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
May 5, 2017
Words
85

“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 – on first reading, at least – 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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
May 18, 2022
Words
108

“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. (I might-re-read at some point,…”

The Pursuit of Holiness
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
May 5, 2022
Words
124

“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
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
August 27, 2024
Words
214

“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…”

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
October 4, 2023
Words
183

“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…”

The Standard: Discovering Jesus as the Standard for Masculinity
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 1, 2023
Words
247

“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. (I don’t remember where I got the book, honestly. I might have picked it up at church somewhere.) Either that, or it’s a promotional tool. It’s…”

The Third Conversion
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
March 12, 2014
Words
97

“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 (it’s guilty…”

The Unbundling of “Marriage”
Section
Personal Blog
Type
Blog Post
Date
May 12, 2010
Words
1523

“Marriage is a bundle. It is, all at once, a contract, a romance, and a spiritual institution. But I don’t think it’s going to stay this way. Marriage is actually three structures, layered on top of one another. As it’s most basic level, marriage is a contract . When you get married, you are…”

Theosophy
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
July 20, 2024
Words
285

“This is religion/philosophy established in the late 1800s. It promotes the ‘brotherhood’ of all Mankind, and the idea that a set of spiritual beings called ‘The Masters’ who had supernatural powers and are the basis of all human religions. Though the founders explicitly rejected the idea that…”

Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 28, 2014
Words
121

“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 (the Diet of Worms, actually), to the Edinburgh Mission conference in 1910. It was a good book, and certainly…”

Vespers
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
December 15, 2021
Words
101

“A time of prayer and worship – or an entire church service – in the evening. It has more significance in Orthodox and Catholic denominations. In some denominations, it is one of the ‘Canonical Hours,’ which are set times for worship during the day. Many denominations have evening Christmas services…”

Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
March 13, 2022
Words
101

“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…”

What Christians Believe: The Foundation Series Volume One
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
July 12, 2015
Words
62

“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…”

Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
January 3, 2016
Words
180

“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…”

With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God
Section
Deane’s Library
Type
Book Review
Date
November 24, 2020
Words
136

“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:…”

Zoroastrianism
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Words
127

“An ancient religion practiced mainly in Iran. It is named for an Iranian prophet named Zoroaster or Zarathustra. Zoroastrianism was the official religion of Iran for almost 1,000 years. It is known to many modern audiences as the subject of Frederick Nietzsche’s work of fiction Thus Spoke…”