Content tagged with “faith”

“Excellent book on why couples might not feel loved in a marriage. It discusses five ‘love languages,’ or methods of expressing love. Knowing them is valuable, but the larger point is that Person A might not experience love the same way as Person B. Person A might like ‘Words of Affirmation’ and…”

“ 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 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…”

“A wonderful book – some cross between a road trip buddy movie and a psychedelic drug experience. I’ll try not to spoil anything, but the basic premise is that when immigrants came to America, they brought their gods and superstitions with them. Norse gods, and Pagan gods, and elves and leprechauns…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“ 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. ”

“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…”

“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…”

“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),…”

“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 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…”

“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…”

“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 (I assume – that’s the…”

“I don’t know where to go with this one. I read it on a recommendation from a friend. It’s…religious science fiction? Is that a thing? The basic idea is that a pastor goes to another planet to try to convert an alien race to Christianity. The author has no history of Christian writing (I don’t…”

“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 (little essays, really) about seemingly boring things. Doyle makes you understand how amazing they…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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….”

“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…”

“This is the third Gabriel Allon novel I’ve read (there are presently 23 of them). It was probably the weakest of the three. There’s always an organizational villain. In the other novels , he demonized Israel and the Swiss banking industry. This time it’s the Catholic church – or a faction within…”

“This is Christian/Conservative spy fiction, if that’s even a thing? It’s perhaps telling that the cover has a praise quote from Rush Limbaugh, and there’s another from Sean Hannity on the inside flap. (The author was on Limbaugh’s payroll earlier in his career, apparently.) This is #4 in a…”

“ 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. ”

“ 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? ”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“This is a classic of science fiction, clearly. By some accounts, it’s the greatest sci-fi novel ever written. I had been meaning to tackle it for years, but this took on increased urgency with the new film coming out (it was supposed to be this year, but the COVID pandemic has pushed back the…”

“Absolutely, one of the best books I’ve read in years. Enraging in places, it’s one of those books where you watch the protagonist suffer, and make choices you don’t really understand because you’re not as deep into the situation as they are. But, in the end, you have some appreciation for how they…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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: Your skillset (‘gifts’) What you like to do…”

“This book wasn’t what I thought it was. I found it in a Hacker News thread about ‘books that made you look at the world differently.’ Also, I kinda thought it was about game theory, which I’m genuinely interested in. This is a book about philosophy. The author posits that there are two types of…”

“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…”

“ 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. ”

“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…”

“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…”

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

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

“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…”

“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,…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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’ (SSA). Those are his words. He doesn’t refer…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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,…”

“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…”

“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…”

“I read this as the second novel in the series. It’s better than the first one (‘The Magician’s Nephew’), but still pretty thin. There are no layers to the story of the plot – it’s very linear, very superficial. There are no twists. It seems like a heavy allegory of the Christ story, but apparently…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

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

“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…”

“This is an epic historical novel. It covers about 50 years in the life of a 12th century English town called Kingsbridge. It’s not fantasy – there’s no magic, no dragons, etc. The book represents actual life in the Middle Ages. The central conflict is the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge….”

“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…”

“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…”

“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,…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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 ‘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:…”

“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,…”

“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: Belief in God is rational Science…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“I read most of this book. I finally bailed on it towards the end. It’s a look inside the minds of Middle Eastern terrorists, and why they did what they did. I gathered that the author was assigned to some hospital in the Middle East, and had the opportunity to interview a bunch of them over time,…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

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

“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…”

“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…”

“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 (gently)…”

“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:…”

“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…”