Biblio-File

$5 gift certificates from Veritas Press

2012-02-01T17:44:00.001+11:00

Rednecks redacted

2012-01-31T16:32:00.012+11:00

Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War by Joe Bageant

I found this book completely by accident. I was looking for Paul Fussell's Class: A Guide Through the American Status System, which had been discussed on the Basement Tape on "class". Fussell wasn't there, but this book was, and it looked interesting. It's a review of right-wing working-class white American (i.e. redneck) culture, written by a liberal for liberals, presumably so they can better understand their fellow countrymen. An excellent summary of the ideas in the book is in Bageant's article, "Why rednecks may rule the world."

Most of the book is about redneck poverty: many have unrealistic mortgages weighing them down, and many have to contend with enormous medical bills. But the most interesting chapters are the ones about guns and religion - which form, of course, the inspiration for the book's title. Unfortunately, Bageant lumps together premillennialists and reconstructionists, dismissing the differences with an airy "I will spare you the agony of fundamentalist taxonomy." But he makes an amazing claim about R. J. Rushdoony: if the United States experiences a fourth "Great Awakening", historians may one day document it as beginning in 1973 with the publication of The Institutes of Biblical Law.

Kara's Reading Goals for 2012

2012-01-03T17:45:00.004+11:00

Here are twelve books which I hope to read this year.

Two books outside my comfort zone:

The Elements by Theodore Gray

The Histories by Herodotus (or something else about ancient history)

Two memoirs:

An American Childhood by Annie Dillard

Finding God Beyond Harvard by Kelly Monroe Kullberg

Two books about parenting:

To Train Up a Child by Michael and Debi Pearl

Instructing a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp

Two books out of curiosity:

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

My brother-in-law, and now my sister, keep talking about this!

God So Loved the World by Elizabeth Goudge
Maybe this will help me understand her theology.

Two books by Wilsons:

Mother Kirk by Douglas Wilson

Notes from the Tilt-a Whirl by N.D. Wilson

Two lonely books in need of a mate:

Morning and Eve ning by Charles Spurgeon

The Green Earth by Luci Shaw

2011 In Books (Kara's List)

2012-01-01T21:13:00.000+11:00

These are the books I read this year, with occasional comments in italics.

Brave New Family by G. K. Chesterton

Three Men on the Bummel by J.K. Jerome
I didn't find this as funny as Three Men in a Boat. But it was pleasantly diverting.

Maggie's Harvest by Maggie Beer

Why Johnny Can't Preach by T. David Gordon

Untune the Sky: Occasional Stammering Verse by Douglas Wilson

Jeeves in the Offing by P.G. Wodehouse

Finding God at Harvard, ed. by Kelly Monroe

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

There is a lot to be said about the things one sees down at the creek, evidently. As I read this, I began to see the outdoors in a different way. Highly recommended!

Better Birth by Lareen Newman and Heather Hancock

Four Faultless Felons by G. K. Chesterton

Redwall by Brian Jacques

I read this when I was feeling a bit sick during early pregnancy. A fun story, with short chapters.

What to Expect When You're Expecting

The New Experience of Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger
I liked her emphasis on joy.

Multiple Blessings by Jon and Kate Gosselin

The Pilgrim's Inn by Elizabeth Goudge

The middle book in "The Eliots of Damerosehay" series, and the best. Also known as "The Herb of Grace".

I Will Repay by Baroness Orczy

A silly historical romance, part of the Scarlet Pimpernel series.

To a Thousand Generations by Douglas Wilson

I found this a very helpful explanation of infant baptism. It's written with a Baptist audience in mind. I came away remembering that baptism is more about God than me.

The Case for Covenant Communion, ed. by Gregg Strawbridge

A mixed bag of essays in favour of paedocommunion. The most helpful one for me was an exposition of I Corinthians 11:28 by Jeff Myers. I'd recommend that, even to people not interested in the larger subject of the book.

Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver

An English chef travels through the U.S. in search of new recipes.

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up by Julia Eccleshare

Edith Head by Jay Jorgenson

Appallingly edited bio of the costume designer.

The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge

The first book in "The Eliots of Damerosehay" series.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Maybe I should have read this as a child. As it is, I found Toad completely annoying.

Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic

I found this so helpful that I'm re-reading it. Maybe a review will follow.

In Xanadu by William Dalrymple

This sort of travel is fun to read about, but not the sort I'd attempt myself. Sneaking into Communist China sounds a bit too risky to me! The author retraced the steps of Marco Polo, in the 1990's.

The Water Birth Book by Janet Balaskas

Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize

Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge

Goudge has her ups and downs, but this is the first time she's made me mad. The first half of the book is a lovely tale with wonderful, humorous characterization of small children. Then suddenly we find that all the plot tension is the result of voodoo. Why?! It was completely unnecessary. This isn't the only thing--one of her characters, an Anglican priest, tells his young relatives that they are free to believe in the "old gods". (Pan, etc.) He would like to, but can't because of his position. Bad advice!

The Heart of the Family by Elizabeth Goudge

The last book of "The Eliots of Damerosehay" series.

Supper of the Lamb by Rober Farrar Capon

The Road to Yesterday by L.M. Montgomery

Greenmantle by John Buchan

The Moon by Night by Madeleine L'Engle

Eggs, Beans, Crumpets by P.G. Wodehouse

A House Like a Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle

Not recommended.

The Waiting Place by Eileen Button

Operation Black Fang by Jake MacKenzie

Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

The Baptized Body by Peter Leithart

I particularly liked the essay in the appendix, "The Sociology of Baptism".

The Titian Committee by Iain Pears

Biggles of 266 by Capt. W.E. Johns

The first Biggles I've read. This is one time my little brother is ahead of me!

Realms of Gold by Leland Ryken

A discussion of classic literature which rehashes arguments which are made much better elsewhere, such as Tolkien's "On Fairy Stories". However, it does contain a provocative chapter on what a Christian classic is.

What to Expect: The First Year

The Field Guide to Natural Phenomena: The Secret World of Optical, Atmospheric and Celestial Wonders

I really enjoyed reading about things like lunar eclipses, superior mirages and will o'the wisps.

20 books John plans to read in 2012

2012-01-01T12:43:00.055+11:00

I wrote similar lists in 2010 and 2011, although last year I managed only twelve books on my list. The Ink Slinger and Money-Saving Mom also have good lists.

Four novels:

A City of Bells by Elizabeth Goudge

Kara really likes Goudge, and recently re-read this novel. I really enjoyed the excerpts she read to me.

Joy in the Morning by P. G. Wodehouse

This is one of the fifteen Jeeves books in the Wodehouse canon, and will be the ninth one I've read.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

One of many books on my shelves that I've been meaning to read for ages.

War in Heaven by Charles Williams

Along with Lewis and Tolkien, Williams was one of the so-called Inklings, but his work hasn't achieved the fame of some of his colleagues.

Four books of theology or Biblical studies:

Literary Criticism of the Old Testament by Norman Habel 2nd - 21st January

It's my opinion that the recent trend of literary approaches to the Old Testament has been generally helpful. This is an older book, however, and still caught up in source criticism.

Religion and Empire: People, Power, and the Life of the Spirit by Richard A. Horsley

This isn't quite a biblical studies book - instead, it looks at an issue that forms an important part of the historical and cultural background of the New Testament: imperial religion. The early Christians understood that Caesar's claim to be Lord was a religious one, and incompatible with Jesus' lordship.

The Marrow of Modern Divinity by Edward Fisher Commenced 8th January

This book was controversial in its day, and has become a classic in reformed theology.

The Structure of Matthew's Gospel: A Study in Literary Design by David R. Bauer Commenced 30th January

I have been preaching through Matthew off and on for the past three years, and have got up to Matthew 15. For a long time I've been interested in the structure of Matthew's gospel, particularly whether it can be regarded as a covenant document. It doesn't seem to address the issue directly, but maybe this book can help me think through this.

Four books to help me in my work as a pastor:

Comfort those who grieve: Ministering God's grace in times of loss by Paul Tautges

This will be the ~~third~~ fourth book I will have read in the Ministering the Master's Way series. The last one was on ~~visiting the sick~~ handling a new call.

Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture by Graeme Goldsworthy

I think that Goldsworthy's Gospel and Kingdom is a modern classic, and I am in fundamental agreement with his approach to the Old Testament. This looks like it will be a helpful book.

Tell it Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers by Eugene Peterson

This is the fourth volume in Peterson's "spiritual theology" series. I read the first two, and skipped the third. They don't seem quite as good as his books on pastoral theology, but Peterson is usually insightful.

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry by John Piper Commenced 22nd January

My friend Mark Smith reviewed this book several years ago, but I never got around to reading it myself.

Four more Christian books:

Literary Companion to the Festivals by Mark Pryce Commenced 2nd January

This book mostly contains hymns and poems by great saints of old, arranged according the day of their commemoration. It starts tomorrow with Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, and his "Hymn to God".

The Consolations of Imperfection: Learning to Appreciate Life's Limitations by Donald McCullough

This book is all about human limitations. Sounds like it might contain some lively wisdom.

So Much More: The Remarkable Influence of Visionary Daughters on the Kingdom of God by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin Commenced 27th January

This book has received ridiculously polarised reviews on Amazon. I wonder what the fuss is all about.

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

Kara reviewed this book after receiving a copy through Booksneeze, and my brother Tony has also read it.

Four other books:

The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection by Robert Farrar Capon

This is another book that Kara has already read, and thoroughly enjoyed.

The Field Guide to Natural Phenomena: The Secret World of Optical, Atmospheric and Celestial Wonders

This will come in handy when we teach Galilee natural history.

Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign by Stephen Talty

Pirates!

At Large and At Small: Confessions of a Literary Hedonist by Anne Fadiman

I loved this author's book Ex Libris, which I read several years ago. This volume looks fun as well.

Books John read in 2011, Part 5

2011-12-31T08:42:00.009+11:00

After parts one, two, three and four, this completes the list of books I read in 2011. It comes to 104 books, which is exactly two per week, an average I have kept up for the last several years. However, I only read twelve of the 20 books I planned to read this year.

The Forgotten Heavens: Six Essays on Cosmology
An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters
In Search of Hobart by Peter Timms
The Men Behind the King James Version by Gustavus S. Paine
The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
The Next 100 Years by George Friedman
Giotto's Hand by Iain Pears
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen
Canon and Biblical Interpretation
Rich Gleanings from Rabbi Duncan
A Read-Aloud Family Christmas: A Collection Of Classic Christmas Stories
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Exploring Worship: A Practical Guide to Praise & Worship by Bob Sorge
The Great Tribulation: Past or Future? by Thomas Ice and Kenneth Gentry

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

2011-12-30T18:02:00.003+11:00

This is a fat book. So I initially expected it to be a memoir in need of a lot of pruning. Such is not the case. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. It's a spiritual memoir in the style of Girl Meets God-- a story of a bookish person struggling with the big questions of life and ultimately coming to believe that Christ has the answers.

There are many things to like about this volume, from its structure around the Oxford academic year to the way Weber weaves quotations from various classics throughout her narrative. Most striking and helpful to me was her description of life as a new Christian in the midst of academia. Many of her friends thought she was crazy. Some even told her she had lost all academic credibility. Not only did she struggle with friends feeling betrayed, she also struggled to fit into “churchianity”. Things like finding the correct page for the Bible reading and singing in public seemed like almost insurmountable difficulties. She felt she could never catch up to those who had been steeped in the Bible and Christianity from youth. As one of the latter, I found the chapter “Church Going” a very helpful description of how a new Christian might feel coming to church for the first time.

One thing that surprised me about Weber's memoir was how little she mentions C.S. Lewis. Given that the book is set in Oxford, that was something I expected. But her road to faith in Christ was guided primarily through reading the Bible (all of it!) and conversations with Christians.

Surprised by Oxford is funny, articulate and thought-provoking. It's a title I'd read again, and will be recommending to others.

-Kara

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Christians and Literature

2011-12-29T07:08:00.002+11:00

Kara and I have answered a questionnaire as a guest post at the blog All Things Expounded. Go over there and take a look at our answers.

A self-unfulfilling prophecy

2011-11-15T11:59:00.018+11:00

The Next 100 Years by George Friedman

My friend Luke Isham recommended this book to me, knowing that I would like it, which I did.

The Next 100 Years predicts what the 21st century will be like. It really only goes up to 2090, and so really ought to be called The Next 80 Years, but the further one prognosticates, the less likely one is to hit the target.

As he acknowledges in the epilogue, George Friedman makes virtually no mention of climate change. Instead, he focuses more on geopolitics. Yet the does posit a scenario in which solar energy is collected by satellite cells, and beamed down to the earth's surface via microwaves.

In fact, much of the material in this book is bordering on science fiction. But it is in the context of telling the story of World War III. It makes for a great story, and I suspect it will be made into a movie. Friedman suggests that that the US will set up "Battle Stars": satellite systems that can fire missiles are the surface of the earth. But then the Japanese will launch a surprise attack from the far side of the moon, and knock out all the Battle Stars. This will occur at 5pm, November 24, 2050. The US will then go to war against a Turkish-Japanese coalition.

Of course, the secret's out now. This book is, in fact, a self-unfulfilling prophecy. The very fact that the order of battle has been written down will take away its surprise value.

But obviously the details are unimportant. Friedman is clearly concentrating on the big picture. And that is a century dominated by the USA. Russia and China, he says, are not going to be major players. Instead, we will see a military resurgence of Turkey and Japan, with Poland and Mexico also featuring prominently. Sadly, Australia is not mentioned in this book at all.

Friedman's predictions are not mere speculation. This is a well-argued book, based on past history and current politics. Perhaps the most interesting argument is that US history follows 50-year cycles, beginning with a successful presidency and ending with an unsuccessful one. The first cycle started with George Washington, the second with Andrew Jackson, the third with Rutherford Hayes and the fourth with Franklin D. Roosevelt. We are currently halfway through a fifth cycle, which began with Ronald Reagan. Thus, argues Friedman, the presidential election in either 2028 or 2032 will be the significant one, probably focusing on issues of immigration, except that now the US will be trying to attract immigrants to overcome its labour shortfall.

My question in reading this book concerns the place of Christianity in all this. Friedman argues that there will be a battle regarding the status of the family, including the role of women and sexual ethics. Friedman says it is a battle the conservatives will lose. He argues that it will not make economic sense to have large families, and as a result there will be a significant population decline: "Women are having fewer children because supporting a lot of children in industrial, urban society is economic suicide" (p. 59). He notes that religious traditionalists argue for, and often have, large families, but he doesn't seem to think this will have much of a political or sociological impact. But if traditionalists are the only ones having lots of kids, that will presumably skew the population. Which is why some Christian conservatives advocate of large families as a way of winning the world for Christ.

And maybe Friedman doesn't realise the power of the gospel. Perhaps this will be the century where the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Film review: Courageous

2011-11-02T17:57:00.013+11:00

This afternoon I went to a preview screening of Courageous. It is an inspiring movie about fatherhood.

Courageous has a very limited screening in Australia, which isn't surprising given that that it is made by American evangelicals. It is the first film by Sherwood Pictures that I have seen, having missed Flywheel, Fireproof and Facing the Giants. (I note in passing this is the first one that doesn't start with the letter "F".) The American nature of the film was immediately evident to me (it is set in Albany, Georgia) and it is is a thoroughly Christian movie, though not cheesy. But I don't think Australian audiences will warm to this film. For one thing, it's portrayal of masculinity is so foreign. It is all about men opening up to each other, sharing their feelings and asking others to keep them accountable. That is not something Australian men tend to do.

Courageous is emotionally intense, even to the point of making me wonder if the film-makers are being emotionally manipulative. It is also rather long. But I love the way they carry out character development through spiritual transformation. The film is basically about men stepping up to be better fathers. The way they do this may seem foreign to some, yet the people were on the whole quite realistic.

I enjoyed this film, particularly since I am a recent father. The sentiment I will remember is that it's not good enough just to be good enough Dad.

Rating: Four Stars

Books John read in 2011, Part 4

2011-10-31T18:19:00.016+11:00

These are the books I read in August, September and October. I only managed to finish three books in October - the fewest books I've read in a month in a long time. But I've still read 90 books so far this year.

The Barbed Coil by J. V. Jones
BC is alive and well by Johnny Hart
Kansas Tornado by Paul Ackerman and Bob Williams
The Poet and the Lunatics by G. K. Chesterton
The Second and Third Letters of the Alphabet Revisited by Johnny Hart
The Waiting Place by Eileen Button
The Auburn Avenue Theology: Pros & Cons
Phaic Tăn
To Train Up A Child by Michael and Debi Pearl
Buried in Books by Julie Rugg
The Late, Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey
Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth about the Antichrist by Kim Riddlebarger
The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation by Philip Mauro
Letter from a Christian Citizen by Douglas Wilson
The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury
The Titian Committee by Iain Pears
Doing Theology at the Grassroots by Patrick Kalilombe
Will the world end in 2012? by Raymond Hundley

Four weeks ago...

2011-10-29T17:34:00.003+11:00

With thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Kara and John
are thrilled to announce the birth of
a baby daughter:
Galilee Lavender Dekker
Born on Saturday, 1st October at 5:28am (AEST)

A most un-useless place

2011-08-08T13:11:00.017+10:00

The Waiting Place: Learning to Appreciate Life's Little Delays by Eileen Button

I received a review copy of this book on BookSneeze. The whole idea is that you need to write a review of the book before they will send you another. The problem is, no sooner had I received this book, than I realised there were two other books available that looked really interesting: Mark Horne's biography of Tolkien, and Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber. So, ironically, I found myself rushing through a book on waiting.

This is not a book to be rushed, however. It is mostly personal memoir, through which the author celebrates all that is ordinary and mundane. And, of course, waiting. There is great wisdom here, something that Kara and I need to remember as we wait for the birth of our first child at the end of October.

Button writes very well, and communicates this wisdom through story rather than through teaching the Bible. There is, however, plenty in the Bible about waiting, like in the Book of Deuteronomy, when a curse comes on the wicked: " In the morning you shall say, 'If only it were evening!' and at evening you shall say, 'If only it were morning!' because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see." That's the ungodly view of time.

The title of the book comes from Dr. Seuss: "and grind on through miles across weirdish wild space / headed, I fear, toward a most useless place / The Waiting Place." But it's not useless. It has the capacity to shape us and bless us.

Books John read in 2011, Part 3

2011-07-30T09:49:00.013+10:00

I spent most of June and July on holidays, travelling around the world. I didn't read as much as I usually do on holidays, but still managed eighteen books in June and July, making a total of 72 for the year.

Impossible Things by Connie Willis
The Diary of Anne Frank
Luke, the Historian by J. A. Thompson
The Amazing Story of Sodom by Walter J. Beasley
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Birth of the Chess Queen: A History by Marilyn Yalom
The Anglican Evangelical Crisis
Free at Last: The Second Madam and Eve Collection
All aboard for the Gravy Train: The Third Madam & Eve Collection
The Blood of the Moon: The Roots of the Middle East Crisis by George Grant
A Place for Pilgrims by Phyllis Thompson
Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic
Casual Day Has Gone Too Far by Scott Adams
In Xanadu: A Quest by William Dalrymple
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
Gargoyles and Grotesques by Alex Woodcock
The Plant Sitter by Gene Zion
Stop that Ball! by Mike McClintock

Liturgical drear

2011-06-04T14:56:00.009+10:00

The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life by Joan Chittister

I received a review copy of this on Booksneeze, but I found it so bland, I have taken quite a long time to get around to reviewing it.

The goal of the book is worthy enough: it covers all the main points in the liturgical year, and explains what they mean for Christians. Chittister argues that the liturgical year reprises "those moments that are the substance of the faith" (p. 13). But what is the Christian faith? Chittister seems somewhat liberal on this point: "It was on the cross that Jesus, the new Moses, led the people through a desert of darkened understanding from one insight into the will of God for them to another" (p. 17). Very poetic, and picking up on an important New testament theme of Jesus being the New Moses and salvation being a New Exodus, but that is not why Jesus died.

This is a thoroughly Roman Catholic book, and as such puts more store in Church tradition than in biblical practice. Chittister acknowledges that "not all the feast days that accrued to the church calendar in early centuries were well-grounded spiritually or well-authenticated spiritually" (p. 29), but that doesn't seem to faze her. Her Catholicism also comes out in sentiments such as "Good Friday is the saddest day in the liturgical year" (p. 147).

Books John read in 2011, Part 2

2011-05-31T14:09:00.018+10:00

In April and May I finished 24 books, making it a total of 54 for the year to date.

Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History by Carl Trueman
Divine Excess: Mexican Ultra-Baroque by Ichiro Ono
Boiling Point: Monitoring Cultural Shifts in the 21st Century by George Barna and Mark Hatch
Open Heart by Frederick Buechner
The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel by James B. Jordan
Portofino by Frank Schaeffer
The Scottish National Covenant: A Tercentenary Sketch by George David Henderson
Face to Face: Meditations on Friendship and Hospitality by Steve Wilkins
On Ugliness by Umberto Eco
Telling Queen Michal's Story: An Experiment in Comparative Interpretation
A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
Worlds in Collision by Immanuel Velikovsky
The New Jerusalem by G. K. Chesterton
The Challenge of Easter by N. T. Wright
Saving Grandma by Frank Schaeffer
Better Coin Collecting by Tom Mulligan
Evangelicalism Divided: A Record of Crucial Change in the Years 1950 to 2000 by Iain Murray
Untune the Sky: Occasional, Stammering Verse by Douglas Wilson
Reading the Lines: A Fresh Look at the Hebrew Bible by Pamela Tamarkin Reis
Chessmen by Frank Greygoose
Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James
Theological Liberalism: A Handful of Pebbles by Peter Barnes
Instructing a Child's Heart by Ted and Margy Tripp
Modern Dispensationalism and the Law of God by O. T. Allis

A good taste of Wright's writing

2011-05-22T16:49:00.000+10:00

The Challenge of Easter by N. T. Wright

This book is excerpted from Wright's The Challenge of Jesus. I read it during Easter week, and found it quite thought-provoking. It is, in fact, a very good introduction to Wright's writing.

Firstly, Wright's theme of the Kingdom of God comes out in this book. Wright sees New Testament Christianity as being "Jewish no-king-but God theology - with Jesus in the middle" (p. 12). He emphasises how the Jewish concept of the Kingdom of God concerned public events ("The end of Israel's exile, the overthrow of the pagan empire and the exaltation of Israel, and the return of YHWH to Zion to judge and save") and is thus much more than a new spiritual experience or sense of forgiveness.

Secondly, we see here Wright as an apologist for the physical resurrection of Jesus. He takes issue with Barbara Thiering (who says that Jesus was crucified, but did not die on the cross, p. 8) and Dominic Crossan (who does not believe that Jesus was buried, p. 22). This sort of defence is greatly expanded in Wright's The Resurrection of the Son of God.

Thirdly, Wright draws some fascinating parallels between the gospel accounts and the creation narratives in Genesis. He notes that Jesus was crucified on the sixth day of the week, which corresponds to God's completion of creation (p. 33) and he was rose on the first day of the week, which inaugurates a new creation. He then says, "Mary goes to the tomb while it's still dark and in the morning light she meets Jesus in the garden. She thinks he is the gardener, and in one important sense he indeed is" (p. 34.)

Fourthly, this book contains an example of all that for which Wright gets criticised - puzzling statements of dubious orthodoxy. He says on p. 59 that Jesus did not know he was God, if by "know" we meant what the Enlightenment meant. Now, this statement is incomprehensible to me, but whatever Wright means by this, it would seem that a lot of people will be left confused as to what he is saying.

So perhaps this book has the best and worst of Wright. But like C. S. Lewis, I often find doctrinal books more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and this was a useful book to read in Eastertide.

John Dekker

Where my tastes lie at the moment

2011-05-10T17:02:00.004+10:00

Or, what happens when a newly expectant mother goes to the library.

Some brief thoughts on the two books that stand out.

Better Birth was a helpful, balanced discussion of the varying philosophies of birth. The best chapter was filled with birth stories from mothers reflecting on what went well and what they would like to change about their experiences. The stories pretty much cover all the options of "place": hospital, birth centre, home, etc.

What to Expect has been the most useful on a daily basis. Any time I have a weird symptom, the book comes out and then I say, "ah, yes. this happens to other people, too." I especially like the week-by-week descriptions of what's happening with the baby.

I also recommend Sheila Kitzinger's books, but don't have anything to say about the specific titles above, other than that Rediscovering Birth is more of an anthropological study and I probably wouldn't leave it lying around the house 'cause of some of the photos.

My favourite commentary on Daniel

2011-04-20T11:29:00.014+10:00

The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel by James B. Jordan

I have been teaching on the Book of Daniel at PTC this semester, and this book has been very helpful in my preparation and study.

I first started reading Jordan about ten years ago. His biblical studies are always stimulating, often novel, sometimes rather weird. His Biblical Horizons newsletter is online, and I particularly recommend "Eldership and Maturity" (Parts 1 and 2) and "Concerning Colors, Architecture, and Sacraments."

In this commentary on Daniel, the most important thing is that Jordan takes the text seriously. This naturally leads him to take an early date for the book, and means that he has to part ways with the majority of scholars on various points of interpretation.

The most unusual contribution he makes to the study of the book is seeing King Herod at different points. This starts in the vision of the statue in chapter 2. The legs of the statue are iron, while the feet are iron and clay. The iron is traditionally taken to be Rome, which Jordan accepts, but whereas the iron + clay is usually interpreted as the declining Roman empire, Jordan takes it to be the mixture of Romans and Jews who sought to join Rome (p. 182), exemplified in Herod. That is, the iron and clay mixture is the one ruling Palestine in the first century, and so this explanation makes the best sense of Daniel 2:44, "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed."

Jordan tends to see Herod everywhere in the Book of Daniel - the little horn in chapter 7, the horn in chapter 8 and the king in Daniel 11:36-45. I disagree with the first two identifications, but at this point in time I agree with Jordan's interpretation of Daniel 11.

The book contains some interesting appendices, one comparing Joseph and Daniel, and another (based on this article) suggesting that the words Jesus wrote in John 8:6 are the words mene, mene, tekel, parsin from Daniel 5:25.

The Handwriting on the Wall is my favourite commentary on the book of Daniel.

John Dekker.

Rather hokey ten years on

2011-04-07T12:06:00.027+10:00

Boiling Point: Monitoring Cultural Shifts in the 21st Century by George Barna and Mark Hatch

"Prediction is very difficult," Niels Bohr allegedly said, "especially about the future." Well, this book aims to predict the future. It was written in 2000, and describes what the world will be like in 2010. And it's kind of hokey. The most obvious thing it fails to predict is 9/11, but it also misses the rise of social media and user-generated content.

The authors do mention terrorism, actually. They talk about electronic terrorism, chemical terrorism and "traditional, violent terrorism, especially at the hands of extreme religious groups" (p. 298). But it's still a far cry from predicting the way that radical Islam has shaped the last decade.

They have some interesting economic predictions: debt fiascos will be exposed in Russia and other "kleptocracies" (p. 277). Well, it hasn't really been Russia, but rather Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. The authors also get all premillennial with electronic money ("a number of respected Christian financial experts" contend that "the emergence of electronic money signals the start of the global system the antiChrist will use to force many into submission", p. 273) and one world government (p. 301) .

I was particularly interested in their predictions in regards to the church scene. They asserted that "at least three major denominations are likely to experience splits during the decade in reaction to the structural, theological and methodological stands of the denomination" (p. 254). Well, the Anglican Church in North America is an obvious fulfillment of this, but there aren't really any others, unless one counts Grace Presbyterian Church in New Zealand.

They also predict that "dozens of church association" will emerge, and that "it will not be uncommon for churches to trumpet their affiliation with such associations rather than their connection to old-line denominations." The rise of the church networks is an important feature of the current Christian scene. It is certainly the case that some congregations are affiliated with a church network and a denominations, (Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky, for example, is affiliated with both Acts 29 and the Southern Baptist Convention) but I'm not sure how many churches are "trumpeting" their association with a church network at the expense of their denominational affiliations.

The book is an interesting read, and provides food for thought. The authors are to be congratulated for their insight in many areas, and their courage in having a go at predicting the future. It makes one wonder what the world will be like in 2020.

Books John read in 2011, Part 1

2011-04-01T17:11:00.002+11:00

I have finished 30 books in January to March this year, including seven that were on my list of 20 books to read.

Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome
Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments by Joy Davidman
Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
Already Gone by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
Four Faultless Felons by G. K. Chesterton
Why Johnny Can't Preach by T. David Gordon
Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner
Poincare's Prize by George Szpiro
La Vita Nuova by Dante
Apocalyptic, Ancient and Modern by D. S. Russell

The City Without a Church by Henry Drummond
Our Descent from Israel by Hew B. Colquhoun
The Gryphon by Nick Bantock
Psmith, Journalist by P. G. Wodehouse
Rebekah by Orson Scott Card
Black & Tan: A Collection of Essays and Excursions on Slavery, Culture War, and Scripture in America by Douglas Wilson
The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
Finding God Beyond Harvard by Kelly Monroe Kullberg
Creation revealed in six days by P. J. Wiseman
Golden Buttons: Christianity and Traditional Religion among the Tumbuka by Stephen Msiska

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose
The Museum at Purgatory by Nick Bantock
The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins
Antique Maps by Douglas Charles Gohm
A Son to Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel by Peter Leithart
And Thereby Hangs a Tale by Jeffrey Archer
The Masters by C. P. Snow
The Pastor as Minor Poet by M. Craig Barnes
Beyond Capricorn by Peter Trickett

Finding depth in the details

2011-03-27T15:56:00.015+11:00

The Pastor As Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life by M. Craig Barnes

This is a hard book to review. I thought it was great while I was reading it, but now that I've finished it, it's hard to express what it was really all about.

Perhaps the first thing that needs to be explained is the title of this book. In what way is the Christian pastor a "minor poet". It means that the pastor seeks to find depth, complexity and meaning in conversations, in the details of everyday life, and, of course, in the text of Scripture.

The book picks up on the distinction between major poets (who "provide enduring expressions of the deep truths of life") and minor poets (who "have the more modest goal of inculcating that truth to particular people in particular places"). For the pastor, the major poets, says Barnes, are the writers of Scripture, and thus we have a robust metaphor for the pastoral ministry: communicating the deep truth of Scripture to a particular set of people.

But it goes further than this - being a minor poet involves being sensitive to the subtexts in Scripture, in the congregation and in himself. In other words, the pastor needs to be able to discern what's really going on.

The only time Barnes launches into an extended biblical exposition is in looking at John 4. Here he argues that a preacher can assist people identifying with the woman at the well: even if people have not been married five time, they may have "tried five weight-reduction plans, five moves, five jobs, five degree programs, or five churches - and the system isn't working for them either" (p. 84).

Barnes helpfully takes us through a day in his life to demonstrate how these ideas come out in the everyday life of the minister. My favourite quote from the book comes from this sort of interaction: "Mr Jefferson's life was not going to be reduced by a pathology report any more than it had been amplified by a prestigious job description" (p. 61).

Very useful for the student of logic

2011-02-27T15:22:00.020+11:00

Our Descent from Israel Proved By Cumulative Evidence by Hew B. Colquhoun

(Available from New Boston Fine and Rare Books for $US 56.40)

British Israelism is the idea that the British people are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes and are therefore the People of God in a special sense. There was a time, it seems, when it was all the rage - that time being eighty years ago. The combination of the end of the British empire and the founding of the modern state of Israel after World War II has virtually put an end to the idea.

This book isn't of merely historical interest, however. It also functions as a textbook of logical fallacies. I mention a few below, but I'm sure the careful reader will be able to find many more.

Of course, the book is not all bad. It made two sound biblical points. Firstly, there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that Jews have any distinct appearance. Paul gets mistaken for an Egyptian in Acts 21:38, while Jonah has to tell the sailors in Jonah 1:8 where he is from. Secondly, being Jewish is not, fundamentally a racial thing. Esther 8:17 says that "many people of other nationalities became Jews."

Anyway, here are some of the fallacies in the book.

1. False dichotomy: This is a false choice between two statements, when the reader may want to adopt a third statement.

So we have a choice of two theories, either that all our British ancestors were woad-painted savages in Caesar's time... or that we, as a race, have been civilised for at least 5000 years. (p. 31)

2. Argumentum ad hominem: Connecting a belief with a person's character or intelligence.

The man must be mad who, in the face of universal antiquity, refuses to believe that Constantine and his mother were Britons, born in Britain. (p. 43)

3. Contextomy: Quoting something out of context in order to support one's argument.

J. Foster Forbes... traces the builders of the megaliths, whom he calls the Iberians (i.e. Hebrews - H. B. C.) to the Egyptian city of Hu-Ra... (p. 62)

4. Argumentum ad verecundiam: (literally, "argument to respect") an appeal to authority.

The tracing of the Royal line of David to the present day fortunately presents no difficulty, because there is in the Royal archives at Windsor a chart showing the descent of our Royal Family from David the shepherd king, in unbroken line, and it should be borne in mind that no document finds its way into the Royal archives which has not pased through some Government department which is responsible for its accuracy... (p. 112)

5. Post hoc ergo propter hoc: (literally, "after this, therefore because of this") assuming that because one thing comes after another, the earlier must cause the produce the later.

We find the Trident on a coin of Antigonus, King of Judea, circa 39 BC, also on a coin of Berytus, Beruit in Syria. We follow the Trident to Eubaea in Greece, to Tarentum in the South of Italy, also on a coin of the Bretti, where the Kingdom of the Brittani first existed. A comparison of this coin of the Bretti with our modern English penny should satisfy anyone as to their identity. (p. 128)

Really, this is like shooting fish in a barrel.

Children's books in Tetun

2011-02-23T13:34:00.004+11:00

John's sister, Jo, has been writing Christian children's books in Tetun (also known as Tetum), the language of East Timor. She has written and illustrated books on the Christmas story and the story of creation, and is currently working on a third book - Miguel Nia Jardin - looking at the story of the Fall. Actually, this current book is also in the Mambai language. Jo is working in partnership with a number of members of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Timor Leste, who do the translation.

Anyway, Jo is busy blogging under her imprint name, Grasa Mesak ("grace alone"). Why not visit her blog and encourage her?

Radically biblical, but not quite the full picture

2011-02-14T11:44:00.020+11:00

The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne

This book has been much discussed in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. One congregation has a reading group which has been studying it, and the METRO committee has given a copy to every minister.

The book has two core ideas. The first is that programs and organisational activity in a church (the "trellis") often get in the way of the real gospel work ("the vine"). The second is that real gospel work involves discipling others.

Now, I need to say at the outset that I am in fundamental agreement with these two emphases. Yet, it must be said that they are emphases only. It is very easy for a discipleship system to become a new trellis. The book's discussion on discipleship, however, is sufficiently nuanced to make it broader than just 1:1 discipling.

There were two things I particularly appreciated about the book. Firstly, Marshall and Payne make the point that the aim of Christian ministry is to "make disciples who make other disciples, to the glory of God," and not, for example, to get more people into small groups. This is very important for me to remember, since I would dearly love to see more people in my congregation join a small group. But that is only a means to an end, and not an end in itself.

The second thing I appreciated in this book was the argument in chapter 9 for investing time in more mature Christians so that they would join in the "vine work". Although a pastor may be naturally inclined to spend time with those who are struggling or those who need to hear the gospel, this book recommends an approach to ministry that trains others to do this - and suggests that the pastor focuses on those who need either the equipping or the encouragement to join you in the work. This is radical and controversial - yet it is the way Jesus carried out ministry, focusing on twelve disciples who would (at a later time) teach and disciple others. This is very different to the way many people view pastors and ministers - yet it is biblical.

This book is therefore one that stimulates thought and provokes disagreement. I was fine with the controversial point mentioned above, but there were two things that I didn't like about the book. In the first place, there is more to Christian ministry than discipleship, while in the second place, there is more to discipleship than just discipling individuals.

The book contains a truly hideous chart on page 101, which contrasts the "pastor as clergyman," "pastor as CEO," and "pastor as trainer." Naturally, the table is skewed towards making the reader approve of the third column and disapprove of the first two. It reminded me of the chart that D. A. Carson included in his Exegetical Fallacies (p. 109 of the 2nd edition). Apparently, the "pastor as trainer" approach sees Sunday as a "gathering of worshipping disciples with their Lord," while the "pastor as clergyman" model views Sunday as a "service of worship," and the "pastor as CEO" looks at it as an "attractional meeting." But surely it is possible to view it as both a "gathering of worshipping disciples with their Lord" and a "service of worship."

Perhaps it would be helpful at this point to draw on a modified version of Mark Driscoll's model of the pastor being prophet, priest and king. Following John Frame, Driscoll has suggested that some pastors are gifted as prophets ("thinkers"), others as priests ("feelers"), and still others as kings ("doers"). The point being, of course, is that we need all three of these aspects in a well-rounded ministry, and we need all three types serving as pastors. Maybe there is something similar going on with the three approaches that Marshall and Payne discuss:

Pastor as clergyman - prophet - focusing on public teaching
Pastor as trainer - priest - getting alongside people
Pastor as CEO - king - focus on organisation

Now, this book upholds the biblical and strategic importance of preaching, and views discipleship as being much bigger than meeting with individuals, but even with the widest possible definition, we can still see more to pastoring and teaching than this.

The second concern I have is that there is more to discipleship than discipling individuals. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus tells his disciples to "make disciples of all the nations," (NASB). Marshall and Payne take the line that "full time Christian ministry" is worthwhile for all people, and that there is a distinction between "gospel work" and "other work." They dismiss the idea that people in secular work are contributing in some way to the growth of God's kingdom, and criticise those who say "we shouldn't call people out of their secular careers; we should encourage them to stay where they are for God's glory" (p. 139). They then assert, "We don't make disciples of Jesus by building better bridges, but by prayerfully bringing the word of God to people."

There are two problems with this idea. The first is that it views the Great Commission as replacing (rather then supplementing or expanding) the creation mandate. The second is that it fails to realise how big discipling the nations really is. To take one example - Bible translation is an important component of discipling a nation. But Bible translation presupposes an entire discipline of linguistics. Would Marshall and Payne also say that "We don't make disciples of Jesus by building better verb paradigms"? Someone involved in linguistics is part of the progress of God's kingdom in the world. The Kingdom of God is bigger than individual disciples - it's about the reformation and renewal of families, churches, societies and nations.

In conclusion, this is a stimulating book, that may well prove to be one of the most influential books of 21st century Reformed evangelicalism.

John Dekker

Birthday doings

2011-02-13T16:17:00.018+11:00

On Saturday I turned 33. That's right - the age Jesus died.

Kara gave me a couple of P. G. Wodehouse books and some photos for my birthday. She made me breakfast - bacon, eggs and fried potatoes.

After a leisurely morning, we went out to get some birthday freebies. A number of stores give out free stuff on one's birthday - I got a 6-inch sub and drink at Subway, a serving of poffertjes at Planet Chocolate and a drink at Boost Juice.

We then went to the coin and stamp fair at Malvern Town Hall. Kara bought me a lovely Swedish coin, commemorating Oscar II's silver jubilee.

We spent some time wandering around shops - we visited a couple of stationery shops, and found some second-hand books in an antique shop. Then we went to dinner. We had taken the 2011 Good Food Guide out of the library, and decided to find a place to eat in that. We settled on mr. wolf, a pizza place in St. Kilda, and it didn't disappoint. Kara ordered a potato pizza, and I had one with pancetta, ham and eggs - which meant that in a satisfying sort of way we had begun and ended the day eating the same food.

Finally, we went to the free concert of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. About 10,000 people who were there were treated to Bernstein, Barber and Beethoven's 5th symphony.

And today we had a wonderful tiramisu which Kara made for me:

--John

A playful, yet serious, paradox

2011-02-10T11:35:00.013+11:00

Four Faultless Felons by G. K. Chesterton

The title is meant to be paradoxical. This is a series of stories about four men who do seemingly criminal acts - attempted murder, fraud, burglary and treason - yet act in perfect righteousness. The paradoxical nature of the book makes it similar to Chesterton's The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond, though it is not quite as brilliant.

Chesterton was a great purveyor of paradox, and his playfulness and wit come through in this volume. Yet there is also a serious point being made. These four faultless felons are being radically counter-cultural. They are turning the world upside down, or at least their little part of it. Indeed, they are shocking in their pursuit of righteousness.

In fact, this book is really a fictional representation of Chestertons's maxim the The Everlasting Man: "A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it."

I can recommend Four Faultless Felons to anyone. It is also available to read online.

John Dekker

Creation Revealed in Six Days

2011-02-06T14:42:00.015+11:00

I plan to blog in a new way this year. Instead of just listing the books I am reading monthly, I plan to post some proper book reviews, hopefully weekly.

Creation Revealed in Six Days by P. J. Wiseman

This book contains a little-known proposal on how to reconcile the narrative of Genesis 1 with geological evidence that suggests that the earth is millions of years old. There have been several different attempts at reconciliation - the Young Earth theory says that the universe was created in 144 hours and that geological dating which suggests otherwise is erroneous; the Day-Age theory suggests that the days of Genesis 1 are much longer periods of time, such as geological ages ; while the Gap Theory posits a long time between Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth") and Genesis 1:2 ("And the earth was desolate and deserted"), so that the six (literal) days of creation occur when the earth is already very old. Gerald Schroeder has the ingenious theory that creation occurred in six days within the relativistic framework of the things being created, which equates to billions of years for an earth observer. Wiseman's theory is different to all of these - he argues that God revealed the story of creation to man in six literal days.

Wiseman's thesis argument rests on the hypothesis that the "generations" statements in Genesis refer to what come before rather than (as traditionally interpreted) headings for what come after. This is sometimes called the Wiseman hypothesis. Thus, Genesis 2:4 ("These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created,in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens") refers to the whole narrative from 1:1 to 2:3. Furthermore, Wiseman argues that generations means "written account" or "histories" and concludes that God's revelation of creation to man took six (literal) days.

This is an attractive theory precisely because it allows for a literal interpretation of the word "day", while at the same time accepting geological and other scientific evidence for an old earth. It is ultimately unconvincing in its argument about the word "generations" - how, for example, could Genesis 36:1 be referring to Genesis 35? Yet it does remind us that there are avenues of interpretation that we have hitherto overlooked, and ways of reconciling apparent contradictions that are still undiscovered.

The book is quite pleasant to read, although his arguments are not always clear. He does pay careful attention to the text, and that gives value to the book regardless of whether or not one agrees with his argument.

Wiseman was an Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force who became interested in biblical archaeology through his service in the Middle East. He was also the father of Donald Wiseman.

John Dekker

BookSneeze Review: Lee, A Life of Virtue by John Perry

2011-01-11T15:49:00.004+11:00

I recently obtained an advance review copy of this book from Booksneeze. I was intrigued by this statement on the back cover: "Traitor. Divider. Defender of slavery. This damning portrayal of Robert E. Lee has persisted through 150 years of history books. And yet it has no basis in fact." Strong words, these. Yet I was puzzled as well, for this supposed pervasive portrayal of Lee was something I failed to identify with. To the contrary, every previous Civil War book I had read, both pro and anti-Southern, conveyed only admiration for General Lee. Had I somehow missed something? This could hardly be reason enough to write a new biography about a man who has already had numberless words written about his life. The editor's note helped me to understand the motivation for this new series about American Generals. Stephen Mansfield asserts that most that has been written about the lives of American military leaders falls into two opposing categories, hagiography and revisionist history (in which the subject is a "reviled symbol of societal ills"). He states that it is time for a balance portrayal of our leaders, one that gives honour where it is due, and yet does not gloss over human frailty. More than that, the intent of the series is to "help us learn the lessons they [these generals] have to teach". (p.x) In the author's introduction, Perry proposes to answer the questions "Who was the real Robert E. Lee, how did he become the man he was, and how is the genuine article different from the myth?"(p.xviii)

As I read the biography, I was most struck by the difficulty Lee faced in balancing his sense of duty to his country with his devotion to his family. During his more than 30 years of service in the U.S. Army, he experienced many lengthy separations from his wife and children. Some of the agony he felt comes out in some of the letters to his wife, Mary Anna Custis, which the author quotes at length. Perry also brings out the close connection that Mary Anna's family had to George Washington, whose memory was still fresh in many American minds during the early 1800's. Even at such an early date, there emerge strong hints of the popular mythology that was to grow around the first President of the United States.

Drawing heavily from personal letters and J.William Jones' biography of Lee, Perry concludes that "Lee was not an infallible commander. His recurring flaw was to assume his subordinates had the same energy, bravery, resolve, and sense of self-sacrifice he did and then plan accordingly. ... Yet, ... Lee was a great leader...because he never abandoned his personal standards, [and] never wavered from doing what he thought was right even in the face of inevitable, crushing, devastating consequences." (p. 226) I found the book easy to read, and think that Perry a fair job in accomplishing his stated goals in writing the book. However, I would have appreciated more detailed references, rather than the rather short bibliography given at the end.

2010 in Books (Kara's list)

2011-01-03T16:49:00.004+11:00

At the start of each new year, I like to look over all the books I read in the previous year. Sometimes I post the list on the blog. So here are all the new-to-me books I read in 2010, with my favourites in italics:

The Paideia of God by Douglas Wilson
Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey
Asterix the Legionary
Asterix in Spain
Asterix in Britain
Paddington Marches on by Michael Bond
One Flesh by Amelia and Greg Clarke
The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht
Asterix the Gaul
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Riverside Cup of Tea Recipes by Linda Lamp
Tolkien's Gown and other stories of great authors and rare books by Rick Gekoski
For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
Girl Meets God by Lauren F. Winner
The Flying Inn by G.K. Chesterton
A Girl at Government House, ed. by Helen Vellacott
Pride and Predator by Sally S. Wright
Changing Planes by Ursula LeGuin
Bobby Brewster's Ghost by H. E. Todd
The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
Jane Austen by Peter Leithart
The Immortal Lovers, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning by Frances Winwar
Henry Reed's Baby-sitting Service by Keith Robertson
Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Wild Yam, Nature's Progesterone by Rita Elkins
The Mystery of the Screaming Clock by Robert Arthur
Pajama School by Natalie Wickham
Reformed is Not Enough by Douglas Wilson
The Chase by Louisa May Alcott
Monsoon Diary by Shoba Narayan
50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi
Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller
Healthy Indian in Minutes by Monisha Bharadwaj
Turkish Cooking by Ghillie Gasan
North African Cooking by Tess Mallos
Repairing the Ruins, ed. Douglas Wilson
Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt
Psmith Journalist by P.G. Wodehouse
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Curry (Dorling Kindersley)
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle
A Primer on Worship and Reformation by Douglas Wilson
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
Eating with Emperors by Jake Smith
Around the World in 80 Dinners by Bill and Cheryl Jamison
An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple
Jamie's Dinners by Jamie Oliver
Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape
One Rue Tatin by Susan Loomis
Tarte Tatin by Susan Loomis
Amy's Bread by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree
Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
The Italian Baker by Carol Field
Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf
Blessed are the Hungry by Peter Leithart
Cat O' Nine Tales by Jeffrey Archer
To Cut a Long Story Short by Jeffrey Archer
Lee, A Life of Virtue by John Perry
Heaven Misplaced by Douglas Wilson
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
Eddie's Big Deals by Carolyn Haywood

Kara's Reading Goals for 2011

2011-01-03T11:33:00.008+11:00

Last year I listed twelve books, chosen to fill out a well-rounded set of genres . This year, I just made a list of the books I want to read, and then found categories to put them in. I intended to stop at twelve, but just couldn't. So here are the thirteen books I plan to read in 2011.

Theology:

Eat this Book by Eugene Peterson

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

For some reason, I've not yet read this.

Letters to a Diminished Church by Dorothy L. Sayers

Biblical Studies:

Through New Eyes by James Jordan In progress

Gospel and Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy Finished

Both books highly recommended by my husband.

Nature:

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard Finished

This got a mention in Yancey's Soul Survivor, which I read a year ago.

Humour:

Jeeves in the Offing by P.G. Wodehouse Finished

Because one must always have some Wodehouse at hand.

Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome Began and finished in January

Because my dear sister says this is just as funny as Three Men in a Boat.

Children's book:

Redwall by Brian Jacques Finished

Biography:

A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken

Poetry:

Untune the Sky by Douglas Wilson Finished

Travel:

In Xanadu by William Dalrymple Finished

Now that I've read everything else in the house by Dalrymple, it's time to read his account of travelling in the steps of Marco Polo.

Philosophy:

The Journey by Peter Kreeft

20 books John plans to read in 2011

2010-12-26T16:57:00.078+11:00

I wrote a similar list last year. I finished 17 of those books, and am currently reading the remaining three. I'll use the same categories again.

Four novels:

Psmith, journalist by P. G. Wodehouse 5th - 18th February

I think this will be the 15th Wodehouse book I've read. He wrote 96 of them, so if I read two a year, I'll have read the entire Wodehouse canon by the time I'm 75.

The Heir of Redclyffe by Charlotte Yonge

Abraham Kuyper's fiancée gave him this book to read in an attempt to convert him to orthodox Christianity.

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The 1952 film version of this was one of my favourite movies when I was young, but I never got around to reading the book.

Children of Hurin by J. R. R. Tolkien

Four books of theology or Biblical studies:

The Handwriting on the Wall by James B. Jordan 3rd January - 14th April

This is a commentary on Daniel by one of my favourite authors. In Semester 1, 2011, I will be helping to teach a subject at PTC on the Book of Daniel, so this will be good preparation.

Sola Scriptura by Keith Mathison

The Auburn Avenue Theology: Pros & Cons, edited by E. Calvin Beisner 19th June - 28th August

The s0-called Federal Vision used to be known as the "Auburn Avenue Theology," from a conference held at Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Louisiana. This book is a colloquium of writers for and against the perspective. It was published in 2004, at a time when people on both sides of the controversy were still talking to and listening to each other.

Canon And Biblical Interpretation, edited by Craig G. Bartholomew et al 4th September - 7th December

In the middle of 2010 I started a Doctor of Theology degree, looking at the portrayal of women in the Book of Samuel. I need to think deeply about my methodology, which will involve a canonical approach. That is to say, my thesis will be focusing on the Book of Samuel as a unity - not I and II Samuel, not spilling over into 1 Kings (though Bathsheba appears there as well). It will also examine the final form of the Masoretic Text. So I will need to work through issues relating to canon, and I trust that this book will help me do so.

Four books to help me in my work as a pastor:

Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer 13th - 20th January

I read a book on this topic back in May: Quitting Church by Julia Duin. But I think the perspective will be somewhat different.

The Pastor as Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life by M. Craig Barnes 6th March - 21st March

Exploring Worship: A Practical Guide to Praise & Worship by Bob Sorge 20th November - 29th December

This book is written from a charismatic perspective, but I still think reading it will help me think through aspects of public worship. I am inescapably a worship leader - the only thing is whether I do this well or poorly.

Why Johnny Can't Preach by T. David Gordon 9th - 12th January

Four more Christian books:

Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna

Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas by Kelly Monroe Kullberg 29th January - 4th February

This is a follow-up to one of my favourite books: Finding God at Harvard.

Black and Tan by Douglas Wilson 11th - 16th February

Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner 1st - 11th January

I do like Lauren Winner, especially her autobiographical Girl Meets God.

Four other books:

The Mercurial Emperor: The Magic Circle of Rudolf II in Renaissance Prague by Peter Marshall

I must have been a teenager when I obtained a coin of Rudolf II. So it's about time that I learned about the man.

1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies

In Xanadu by William Dalrymple 14th June - 14th July

I love Dalrymple's From the Holy Mountain, where he relates his travels in the Middle East. It looks like here he does the same thing with central Asia, re-tracing the route Marco Polo took from Jerusalem to China.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence

John's December Reading

2010-12-11T10:36:00.032+11:00

Currently Reading:

The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl

I expected this to be a cheap imitation of The Dumas Club, but in fact it is wonderfully original. It is a fictional portrayal of historical characters - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. - who are at work translating Dante, and then come across a series of horrible murders inspired by scenes from the Inferno.

Best Friends by George and Karen Grant

This is the fifth book I've read of a brilliant series that combines stories and quotes in a wonderful way. This volume looks at some interesting friendships throughout history, like that of George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin.

Interestingly, George Grant's blog was the first one that I read. He started blogging in March 2003, about five months before I did.

Poincaré's Prize by George Szpiro

This is a popularisation of the story of a difficult mathematical problem and how it was solved. The mathematics is getting beyond me (I'm much better at typology than topology) but I love the stories - every mathematician along the way gets a mini-biography.

The Church and the Older Person by Robert M. Gray and David O. Moberg

This book is an interesting sociological study that is the product of a host of interviews with older people about church. Two things strike me in reading through them. In the first place, the vast majority of the respondents speak of the church as "they" rather than "we". Whether "church" means the pastors or elders, and whether the church is viewed positively or negatively ("they are really nice' vs. "they are really mean") even the church-goers interviewed seem to distance themselves from the church.

Secondly, there is a heart-breaking lack of understanding of the gospel among the church-goers interviewed. "I know my soul will go to heaven if I don't do anything wrong between now and then," "my conception of God is that he would never condemn us," "I have faith that I will [live forever] because I have lived a good Christian life and have been a good lady," etc. At least the authors note that "theological beliefs often fall short of the ideal held by the church for them."

Finished Recently:

Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman

I've read a few books on evangelism, and this is probably the best. The basic premise of the book is that it is far more effective and biblical to ask questions in evangelism rather than just tell people stuff. This is, of course, the way Jesus operated, though Newman doesn't go into that all that much. Instead, he spends most of the book looking at the questions non-Christians are asking, and how we can help them come to understand the truth by asking questions in response.

Non-Christian: You see, different religions are just like all of those blind men. None of them has the whole truth.
Christian: How do you know that?
Non-Christian: Huh?
Christian: How do you know that none of the blind men has the whole truth?
Non-Christian: Well, it's just a story.
Christian: I know. And it's not a bad one - except I still wonder how the person who first told it could say with such certainty that none of the blind men got it right...

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

I don't know why I'd never read this before, but it is one of the great American short stories, and a precursor to the horror genre. I recently read an issue of an obscure little magazine called Semper Reformanda: A Covenanter Review in which Caleb Stegall suggested that Ichabod Crane was the "most celebrated Covenanter in all of literature."

Handle That New Call With Care by David Campbell

No, I haven't received a call from another congregation! But I figure that the time to think through what to do in that situation is before it happens. Another worthwhile volume from a helpful series.

The Doomsday Prophecy by Scott Mariani

Another religious thriller for people (like me) who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code. This one is not anti-Christian, however, though it is anti-wacky fundamentalist. It features a character who is purportedly evangelical and yet claimed that the Apostle John had appeared to him to tell him that the events of the Book of Revelation were going to happen very soon. Not only does this betray a non-evangelical view of revelation (the concept not the book - it goes against what Packer calls the "evangelical equation": the Bible = the Word of God), but it also suggests a very Roman Catholic view of saints. And yet, it sounds awfully plausible given the current American evangelical scene.

Kara's Spring Reading

2010-11-30T11:20:00.000+11:00

A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith

A combination travel book and spiritual memoir, this book kept me interested even though I was occasionally annoyed by the author's retelling of her love-life dramas. (I should have guessed they were coming from the sub-title, which in the British edition is something about a "search for my own Mr. Darcy." Blegh.) Smith, a 20-something girl battling chronic illness, decides to travel to England and visit all the places connected with Jane Austen. In the process, she learns more about Austen, herself, and God.

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L' Engle

How could I help but be intrigued by a first line like this: "There are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden..."?

Eating with Emperors by Jake Smith

A collection of menus from various world leaders, from Queen Victoria to J.F.K., combined with recipes and historical trivia. Fun to read, but I don't think I'll try any of the recipes. Foie gras just isn't my kind of thing.

Around the World in 80 dinners by Bill and Cheryl Jamison

A great idea for a book is hampered by the attempt to narrate from the point of view of two people. Some of the sentences are truly cringe-worthy. It's bogged down by too many details--did I really need to know exactly what went into the suitcases? And the worst thing about this combination food and travel book is that it didn't make me hungry.

An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle

The last in L'Engle's Time Quintet, it is interesting, but too long.

The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple

Not your typical travel book. Dalrymple's tales of India are weird and heart-wrenching by turns. In this wide ranging collection of essays, he tackles the plight of widows (including an apparent modern occurrence of sati), and interviews terrorists, politicians and a cricket star. These are tales I will not soon forget.

On Rue Tatin and Tarte Tatin by Susan Loomis

Memoirs of an American food writer who moved to France, along with her husband and son, and started a cooking school. Each chapter concludes with a recipe or two. I loved these books! Loomis' rambling style is charming, and I found her observations on settling into another country and culture particularly insightful.

Amy's Bread by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree

I'm a bread lover and a bread baker on the search for the perfect loaf. Something beautiful, crusty and full-flavoured. This book is helping me reach that goal, with lovely pictures and detailed instructions.

The Italian Baker by Carol Field

Another good baking book, this one was especially helpful to me because of the sweet short pastry recipe, which was broken down into parts by weight. (making it easy to memorize)

Blessed are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper by Peter Leithart

During the past year, I've been reading this as a devotional during the weeks preceding communion. This method works particularly well with this book, as each chapter is a stand-alone meditation on a single Bible passage. Leithart helped me gain a broader understanding of the sacrament, in particular the aspect of a joyful feast. Highly recommended.

Cat O' Nine Tales by Jeffrey Archer

I came to John one day, wanting to read a mystery but bemoaning the fact that I'd already read all the Sayers, Chesterton and Christie in the house. He gave me this collection of short, humorous stories to try. Enjoyable and unpredictable.

John's November Reading

2010-11-01T18:07:00.029+11:00

Finished Recently:

Jeeves in the Offing by P. G. Wodehouse

I enjoy all of Wodehouse's work, but Jeeves is the best. This novel was written in 1960, around forty years after the first Jeeves stories, and surprisingly, Bertie becomes friends with Sir Roderick Glossop. Apart from that, everyone is just the same.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

This is the fourth book by Miller that I've read. It was a bit disappointing compared to Blue Like Jazz and Through Painted Deserts.

A Reformation Debate by Jacopo Sadoleto and John Calvin

In 1538, Calvin was asked to leave Geneva and moved to Strasbourg. The following year, Cardinal Sadoleto took the opportunity to write to the Genevans and urge them to return to the Catholic faith. Geneva then asked Calvin to write a response to this, and this slim volume contains both men's tracts.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

The last line of this book is "I'll pray, and then I'll sleep." I read Gilead on Jean's recommendation. The narrator is a third generation preacher, who has experienced all the familial dysfunction that this entails. He comes from a fictional town in Iowa called "Gilead". This a lovely portrait of grace and forgiveness, and a book that I would particularly recommend to pastors. It won a Pulitzer, and looking at that list I think it's the first Pulitzer Prize-winning novel I've read. (I've read two such non-fiction books: Gödel, Escher, Bach and Guns, Germs, and Steel.)

Currently Reading:

Dutch Color by Douglas Jones

This is a good example of Christian historical fiction for children. I read it some years ago, and I thought I'd read it again after finishing Tulipomania. It's all about painting and tulips in the Dutch golden age. To be honest, though, it doesn't have the same magic it did the first time I read it.

Outgrowing the Ingrown Church by C. John Miller

This has been helpful, inspiring and challenging to me. It argues that every church ought to be a missionary church, explains what that looks like, and suggests steps towards gospel-centredness.

A Son to Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel by Peter Leithart

Many of you will know that I have started a Doctor of Theology degree at the Presbyterian Theological College. My thesis topic is "The Portrayal of Women in the Book of Samuel". This is a very helpful overview-style commentary on the book. Can you guess which woman is in this picture?

Christian by Degrees by Walton Hannah

I thought it was time to read up on the issue of Freemasonry. Hannah describes many masonic rituals in order to demonstrate their religious and quasi-Christian nature. Hannah argues that Freemasonry is an apostate Christian sect.

This blog as a word cloud

2010-10-15T22:25:00.001+11:00

HT: Luke

John's September Reading

2010-09-17T15:57:00.039+10:00

Currently Reading:

Selected Essays of G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton wrote around 4000 essays in his lifetime. This collection includes classics such as "On Gargoyles," "A Piece of Chalk" and "On Turnpikes and Medievalism".

Tulipomania: The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions it Aroused by Mike Dash

At the peak of tulip mania in February 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. And then the bubble burst. The fact that this occurred during the Dutch Golden Age makes it all the more interesting.

I started reading this book in Canberra last month, and when I visited Sydney, I had to take some pictures of tulips in the Royal Botanic Gardens.

A Food Lover's Treasury, edited by Julie Rugg and Lynda Murphy

This is a discerning collection of literary quotes about food. Some are quite lengthy excepts from novels, such as this one from Alduous Huxley's Crome Yellow:

In the middle of a pleasantly sunny little room—'it is now Priscilla's boudoir,' Mr. Wimbush remarked parenthetically—stood a small circular table of mahogany. Crystal, porcelain, and silver,—all the shining apparatus of an elegant meal—were mirrored in its polished depths. The carcase of a cold chicken, a bowl of fruit, a great ham, deeply gashed to its heart of tenderest white and pink, the brown cannon ball of a cold plum-pudding, a slender Hock bottle, and a decanter of claret jostled one another for a place on this festive board.

Evangelical Concerns by Melvin Tinker

This book is in the same genre as the Carl Trueman books I've read lately. Tinker writes in an irenic and polemic style on a number of doctrinal and practical issues - euthanasia, science, death, the Lord's Supper, territorial spirits, etc. The wikipedia article on that last mentioned topic needs more work, so I will probably add some quotes by Tinker when I've read his essay.

Finished Recently:

Love Rules

This is a series of short essays on each of the ten commandments, written by luminaries of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. The title is delightfully ambiguous: does it refer to the rules of love, or is it telling us to have an affection for regulations, or is it saying that love is the best?

Revelation by C. J. Sansom

This is the fourth Shardlake novel, and a worthy successor to Dissolution and Dark Fire. Shardlake is a hunchbacked lawyer investigating murders in the time of Henry VIII. This time, all the murders are inspired by the seven bowls of Revelation 16.

Primer on Worship and Reformation by Douglas Wilson

Kara read this recently as well. It's a good summary of some of the ideas I've picked up from Wilson and friends - books like The Lord's Service and Deep Exegesis. Wilson's view of worship emphasises Psalm singing, expository preaching, rejoicing on the Sabbath and covenant renewal.

One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters

This book is evidently inspired by Chesterton's The Sign of the Broken Sword. The theme in both stories is that of a corpse being hidden in a battlefield. In Chesterton's story, Father Brown asks, "Where does a wise man hide a leaf? In the forest. But what does he do if there is no forest?" He answers his question by saying in an obscure voice, "He grows a forest to hide it in. A fearful sin." In fact, in The Sign of the Broken Sword, the murderer started a battle in order to cover his tracks. Peters uses the metaphor of the leaf also: Brother Cadfael says, "There is a murdered man among your executed men, a leaf hidden in your forest."

Kara's Winter Reading

2010-09-14T14:40:00.006+10:00

I stopped reading for a while, because of sickness. Then we had company. Then we went on vacation. Lots of normal things in between. Here are a few comments on the books I've enjoyed since my last post.

Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner

A small book of meditations on things like candles, prayer, and weddings. Winner muses on how to celebrate God in a Christian way, after her conversion from orthodox Judaism.

A Wrinkle in Time and A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle

L'Engle is fast becoming my new favourite author. In both these books, I was immediately drawn in to the story by her compelling picture of homelife. She has a knack of writing about things that are so ubiquitous as to become unnoticed, i.e. the creak of a stairstep or the sound of a house when the refrigerator is off. These bits of the ordinary are what help me get into stories that might otherwise seem too outlandish.

Pajama School by Natalie Wickham

It's always fun reading books by friends. I am able to get a glimpse of another side of a person, through her writing. So because of this, I found this faith memoir hard to put down. However, the average person might not find it so engaging.

The Chase (A Long, Fatal Love Chase) by Louisa May Alcott

I expected this to be a bad book, and so was able to thoroughly enjoy it. It's one of those novels that would have been better left unpublished in an attic. It reads like a teenager's first effort, full of smudgy crayon characters, melodrama and with a plot guessable from the beginning. As long as you don't take it too seriously, it's great fun.

Monsoon Diary: Reveries and recipes from India by Shoba Narayan

This is my favourite sort of food book: half memoir, half cookbook. This gave me a taste of life in India, in more ways than one! I've added her recipe for Channa Masala to my regular repertoire.

Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller

Not nearly so good as Blue Like Jazz. He lost me a few chapters in, probably right around the spot where he starts having an imaginary conversation with an angel. Or something. I would have preferred more talk about God, and less about people.

Turkish Cooking by Ghillie Besan

Full of tasty recipes. I tried hummus, menemen and spinach salad, among others.

Repairing the Ruins, the classical and Christian challenge to modern education. Edited by Douglas Wilson

A mixed bag of essays, focused on classical education in a private school setting. One of the best talked about how to teach mathematics in a Christian manner.

Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt

I read this while on vacation in Sydney. Hunt writes winsomely about the importance of reading aloud as a family, and gives many interesting book recommendations.

Psmith Journalist by P.G. Wodehouse

Note that the 'P' is silent. :) According to Wodehouse, New York City is full of people who read newspapers non-stop. There are also swarms of thugs with guns. Sometimes the two overlap. Not having been there myself, I have nothing to say on the matter.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

I was a bit skeptical of a novel featuring rabbits. Especially rabbits who see visions. However, I kept at it, and soon couldn't stop til I reached the beautiful conclusion. This is imaginative writing at its finest. I especially like the alternating chapters of rabbit mythology.

A Primer on Worship and Reformation by Douglas Wilson

I end up reading one of Wilson's books every month or so. He makes theology and Christian living beautiful. This is a very small book advocating a return to God honouring worship as an antidote for the ills of modern, man-centered evangelicalism. Highly recommended.

Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

I love this picture book: beautiful illustrations, not too long, and fun for adults as well.

John's July and August Reading

2010-08-13T12:44:00.042+10:00

Currently Reading:

Women of the Old Testament by Abraham Kuyper

This was the first book published by Zondervan. It covers fifty women, including some fairly obscure ones such as the woman of Bahurim. Most of the devotions are fairly moralistic: in regards to the wife of Jeroboam, for example, Kuyper notes that what "the Scriptures intend to teach us by this episode" is that wives should not obey their husbands if they tell them to do evil.

Kuyper does make some use of biblical theology, though - in the chapter on Rebecca, he points out that in favouring Jacob over Esau, Rebecca is partly responsible for the enmity between Edom and Israel - an enmity that extends all the way down to Herod and Jesus.

And a number of the applications in this book are very perceptive. In discussing the Queen of Sheba, Kuyper suggests that

The Queen of Sheba was not much different from many of the young women of the higher classes among us today. They are eager to know everything.They have highly developed tastes... Had they lived in Solomon's day, they would certainly have made a trip to Jerusalem, just as they now travel to Paris and London, to Vienna and Berlin... Doubtless, they would have marveled in breath-taking bewonderment at the external beauty of the Temple at Jerusalem. But they forget one thing. They forget that a greater than Solomon is here. They forget that that greater One does not primarily ask them to appreciate the beauty of His word, but that he asks them for the surrender of their hearts... For that reason, these interesting and interested young women remain at the stage which the Queen of Sheba reached and go no farther. They come to Jerusalem. They are amazed and awe-struck. And they leave Jerusalem.

The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton by Dave Armstrong and G. K. Chesterton, Theologian by Aidan Nichols

These two books were both published last year. I am reading them in preparation for a talk I am giving on Chesterton at St Joseph's Catholic Church, Chelsea on Thursday, 3rd September at 7:30pm. If you live in Melbourne, feel free to come along.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

It always says something when the name of the author is much bigger than the title of the book. This is the third book in the Robert Langdon series, after The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Like the other two books, the front page of this novel contains a "Fact" section, this time asserting that "All rituals, science, artwork, and monuments in this novel are real." I don't know what "real" means in this context, but here is an example of a scientific statement in the book:

In 2001, in the hours following the horrifying events of September 11, the field of Noetic Science made a quantum leap forward. Four scientists discovered that as the frightened world came together and focused in shared grief on this single tragedy, the outputs of thirty-seven different Random Event Generators around the world suddenly became significantly less random.

This quote, on the other hand, is probably fictional rather than scientific:

Katherine had created beautifully symmetrical ice crystals by sending loving thoughts to a glass of water as it froze.

The Masters by C. P. Snow

C. P. Snow was a scientist who became a writer. This novel is set in an imaginary Cambridge college, and seems to be set around the intrigues within the faculty as they choose a new Master.

Finished Recently:

The Two Cultures by C. P. Snow

Being both a scientist and a novelist, Snow was aware of the divide that often exists between those in the science and those in the humanities - these are the "two cultures" to which the title of this 1959 lecture refers. The point Snow argues is that they don't usually understand each other, and are mutually ignorant of each other's work. He notes that not many in the "traditional culture" (i.e. the humanities) can describe the Second Law of Thermodynamics, but asking them to do so is, in fact, the scientific equivalent of asking "Have you read a work of Shakespeare's?"

The edition of the book that I read had fifty pages of the original lecture, plus seventy pages of introduction. But such an introduction is probably appropriate given the lecture's influence - it is, for example, included in this list of the hundred most influential books since the war.

Travel with William Cowper by Paul Williams

I have blogged about this series before, and this volume was similar to the ones I had read on John Knox and Robert Murray M'Cheyne. Cowper is best known for the hymns God moves in a mysterious way, O for a closer walk with God and There is a fountain filled with blood - but is also notable for his struggle with insanity and depression. He had a mental breakdown every ten years: in 1752, 1763 and 1773.

The Philippian Fragment by Calvin Miller

This book is a series of fictional letters from the second century. The author purports to be the pastor of the church at Philippi. There is a lot of pastoral wisdom here, though it gets rather silly at times.

The Flanders Panel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

This was a rare re-reading. The Flanders Panel is a mystery novel about art and chess, and so it's right up my alley. It does, however, contain violence and sensuality, and so I am not recommending it here. One thing struck me as I read it again: not only is the painting in the story fictional, but it reflects an imaginative history of a non-existent country: the Duchy of Ostenburg, which is described as being somewhere between Luxembourg and Flanders. In fact, I only realised it was fictional when I tried to look it up on Wikipedia.

John's June Reading

2010-06-29T08:32:00.041+10:00

Currently Reading:

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

I somehow missed out on reading this when it first came out, but Luke recommended it to me, and now that the film is about to be released, it seemed like the perfect time to get into it. The storyline is intriguing, and the characters bemuse me.

Unfinished Tales by J. R. R. Tolkien

We watched all three LOTR films a couple of weeks ago, and that inspired me to reread this book. It fills in a number of the little details. For example, Unfinished Tales is the source of our knowledge about the Istari: along with Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey and Radagast the Brown, there were two other Blue Wizards, making five in all.

Abraham Kuyper: God's Renaissance Man by James McGoldrick

More on Kuyper. The Religion in the Public Square colloquium is only a few weeks away, and I'm busy writing my paper on Kuyper that I'm going to present there.

The Wages of Spin by Carl Trueman

From the first few essays, this isn't quite as good as Minority Report, which I read last year, but it still seems worth reading.

Finished Recently:

Pajama School by Natalie Wickham

This book is an autobiographical memoir, and I enjoyed reading how the author had been taught and moulded by the Holy Spirit over the years. In this way it reminded me of Lauren Winner's Girl Meets God.

This book is not solely about homeschooling - instead, Natalie has a lot to say about her involvement in various ministries. This includes several chapters devoted to her work with the Adventures in Character program. As its very name implies, this program is about teaching children how God wants them to live - honouring their parents, telling the truth, showing gratefulness.

The problem with this approach is that it is not gospel-centred, gospel-focused and gospel-driven. Children of all ages and all backgrounds need to hear the gospel, again and again and again. After all, the gospel is the "power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). And the gospel is not what God wants us to do, it is about what God has done for us.

There is also no substitute for teaching kids systematically from the Bible. Take, for example, this children's curriculum called Promises. One might expect it to be about keeping promises to others. In fact, it's about the promises that God has made to people. That's what children need to hear. Regardless of whether or not they are from Christian backgrounds, regardless of whether or not they are converted, sound teaching means drawing out from Scripture what God has done for us in Christ.

Sovereign by C. J. Sansom

This is the third book in the Shardlake series - detective novels featuring a hunchback lawyer in the time of Henry VIII. This one is set in 1541, when Henry was married to Catherine Howard. It's not quite as interesting as the first two in the series. The characters spend the book feeling cold and miserable, and so does the reader.

Deep Exegesis by Peter Leithart

I loved this book. It's one of the best books on understanding the Bible that I've read. Leithart goes through different aspects of understanding the biblical text, constantly coming back to John 9 in order to illustrate what he means.

Leithart starts off by arguing that the text of Scripture is important: we ought not view it as a husk to be stripped away and discarded in order to get at the kernel. He then suggests that texts add meaning to what has gone before. So, in John 9:14 we are told that Jesus had healed the blind man on the Sabbath day. This crucial piece of information had been withheld until now, and it colours all that goes before. Meaning emerges as we read through the chapter.

Leithart then proceeds to discuss poetic meanings (like John pausing to tell us what the name of the pool means in 9:7) and intertextual allusions (such as creation out of dust in John 9:6 and Genesis 2:7). He also looks at structure, and notes that the interrogation of the blind man's parents forms the hinge of a chiasm. Leithart concludes by asserting the Christ-centred nature of all sound interpretation.

At times Leithart seems to get bogged down by talking about people like Spinoza and Oedipus, but this is still an excellent book for those who read theology at a first-year seminary level.

Preaching that Speaks to Women by Alice Mathews

I aim to read at least one book on preaching every year, and two things in particular stand out in this one. In the first place, Mathews raises three questions that every preacher should ask: What does the text mean? Is it true? So what? In other words, preaching involves explaining, proving and applying. Secondly, Mathews has some helpful things to say about eschewing power. That is something I really need to remind myself of as a minister. Yet neither of these things have much to do with preaching to women in particular. I finished this book wondering how preaching to women is different to preaching to men. Indeed, the great need in the church today is not that preachers learn how to preach to women, but that they learn how to preach full stop.

John's May Reading

2010-05-24T17:41:00.040+10:00

Currently Reading:

Brave New Family: G. K. Chesterton on Men and Women, Children, Sex, Divorce, Marriage and the Family

I am giving a talk on Chesterton at St Joseph's Catholic Church, Chelsea on Thursday, 2nd September at 7:30pm. This is a wonderful collection of pieces, recently compiled. This morning I read "The Library of the Nursery," where Chesterton argues that children do not really need books of Nonsense. "Sages and grey-haired philosophers," to be sure, "ought to sit up all night reading Alice in Wonderland," but

The child has no need of nonsense: to him the whole universe is nonsensical, in the noblest sense of that noble word. A tree is something top-heavy and fantastic, a donkey is as exciting as a dragon. All objects are seen through a great magnifying-glass; the daisy in the meadow is as large as a tree of the Hesperides, and the pebbles littered about a puddle will serve for the Islands of the Blest.

Christ and Culture by Klaas Schilder

I have been thinking through the issue of common grace in preparation for my talk on Abraham Kuyper at the Religion in the Public Square colloquium, and I thought this would be an opportunity to finally have a go at reading this book. Much of what Schilder wrote on the subject of culture and grace is a response to Kuyper's ideas:

We are fog-bound. Even the followers of Dr. Abraham Kuyper are. For years and years they talked of nothing but “God’s honour in all spheres of life.” The more scholarly ones among them constantly repeated Kuyper’s adage concerning “sphere sovereignty.” Every “sphere” of “life” had its own “sovereignty. However; often they do no more than repeat this slogan. No wonder. For Abraham Kuyper himself could not clearly explain what exactly those “sovereigns” in all those “spheres” are. One single Sovereign—that we can accept and understand But as soon as one starts to speak about “sovereigns” in the plural, each of them in his own sphere, then things become vague.

I've been greatly blessed in the past by reading Schilder's trilogy on the suffering and death of Christ. Those were rich meditations, but difficult to read - it literally took me years to get through the three books. So far, Christ and Culture seems to suffer from the same sort of lack of readability.

Passage by Connie Willis

I don't often re-read books, but this one is just so good. It's about a couple of researchers who manage to simulate near-death experiences. This is a gripping story, and Willis is most adept at getting the reader to identify with the main characters.

Reading the Old Testament by John Barton

As many readers will know, I am starting to specialise in the Old Testament in my reading and study, and this book provides a good introduction to the different types of approaches and "criticisms" out there. I have found it useful in writing the Wikipedia article on canonical criticism.

Finished Recently:

Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

This was a difficult read, and it's hard to explain what are the three views in question. They revolve around fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies. For example, Matthew 2:15 indicates that certain events in Jesus' life "fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son." This is a quotation of Hosea 11:1. Now, as I understand them, Walter Kaiser would say that Hosea was revealed a truth about the Messiah, Darrell Bock would understand the passage as talking about God's Son, but that Jesus as well as Israel, fulfils that role, while Peter Enns would say that Hosea was not thinking about Christ at all, but since the whole of the Old Testament has Christ as the goal, it was reasonable of Matthew to make the connection.

This has been a burgeoning area of study in recent years, as witnessed by the massive Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, which I often use in sermon preparation.

The Clown in the Belfry: Writings on Faith and Fiction by Frederick Buechner

Last time I blogged, I mentioned how I was reading Buechner's The Book of Bebb. I thought it would be appropriate to read some of his non-fiction at the same time. This is a collection of sermons and addresses. The title of the book comes from an anecdote about a certain Lyman Woodard who "stood on his head in the belfry with his feet toward heaven." That, says Buechner, "is a magical and magnificent and Mozartian thing to do."

Quitting Church: Why the Faithful are Fleeing and What to Do about It by Julia Duin

This book is about those who quit church, for such reasons as being hurt by a church, not being able to find good teaching, or not having churches take singleness seriously. Interestingly, one of the reasons covered is charismatics not being able to find a suitable church, since so many charismatic churches have, in recent years, moved away from exercising the extraordinary gifts.

Searching the Scriptures - A Feminist Introduction

The world of feminist hermeneutics is a desolate one, and I would not recommend venturing there without good reason. The essays in this book seem to be based on two premises: 1) the Bible is intensely patriarchal; 2) that's a bad thing. Still, the book wasn't quite as bad as I expected.

Kara's March and April Reading

2010-04-12T15:03:00.005+10:00

Finished:

A Girl at Government House, An English Girl's Reminiscences: "Below Stairs" in Colonial Australia, ed. by Helen Vellacott

Recently, I was talking with one of the ladies at church about Kansas and Victorian history. I gave her Pioneer Women; she gave me this. What a fun read it was! It's an edited version of a book published anonymously many years ago. Helen Vellacott found an old copy in a bookshop and liked the story so much that she researched until she found the name of the author. This edition has illustrations and photos of many of the people and places mentioned in the story. It's the memoir of a girl who left England for Australia in the 1890's, and ended up working in the kitchens of several prominent leaders of the day.

Pride and Predator by Sally S. Wright

Second in a series. Dorothy Sayers wannabe, Wright, gives us a story of a Scottish minister killed by bees. I didn't like this nearly as much as Publish and Perish. But that might not have so much to do with the book, as with the fact that I'm a minister's wife.

Changing Planes by Ursula Le Guin

This collection of short stories soon lost its attraction for me. What began as an intriguing idea (people stranded in airports visiting other "planes") soon flopped, as the stories began to look like anthropological studies. I've since been told that this probably wasn't the best Le Guin to start with.

Bobby Brewster's Ghost by H.E. Todd

Two reasons I took this took this from the shelf: I wanted to read a book that John had read as a child. And my littlest brother had just read it, and given me an enthusiastic report. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Currently reading:

Reformed is not Enough by Douglas Wilson

The Federal Vision book. And I still don't see what the big deal is. I've found the discussion of living by faith in the chapter entitled "Reformation Bona Fides" particularly helpful. I'm still thinking on this: "systematic interpretations may be allowed to interpret what the Scriptures say...but they must never be allowed to replace what the Scriptures say. We can tell we have stumbled at this place when we disallow (for the sake of our systematic understanding) a phrase or statement that the Bible itself uses." (p.54) I'm afraid I've done that before.

The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears

I'm halfway through and I still don't know what's going on. But somehow I feel compelled to finish.

Immortal Lovers: Elizabeth Barret and Robert Browning by Frances Winwar

John, Tony (my brother in law) and I were out walking the other day when our attention was drawn to a sign: Book sale, 100m. A little later, there was another: Book sale, 50m. By now, we were excited! This is one of the books I came home with. (John and Tony found several useful Bible commentaries)

Prodigal Press by Marvin Olasky

Not certain one of the major premises is entirely accurate. (Did the U.S. ever have any Christian reporting? Or was it simply that newspapers used the accepted phraseology of the day?) But still a very insightful study on journalism past and present, with a helpful discussion of the ethical issues at stake.

BookSneeze Review: Jane Austen by Peter Leithart

2010-04-12T13:52:00.004+10:00

In this slim biography (only 175 pages), Peter Leithart endeavours to counter misconceptions of the "Divine Jane" and to reveal Austen as she was. He shows how her life was idealized in the 19th century, and compares letters quoted in older biographies with the originals. Leithart argues that Austen's satiric, sometimes cutting, sense of humour has been often downplayed or ignored. The Victorian Austen was "an Austen who could never even deign to notice bad breath, much less complain about it to her sister." (page 146)

He also comments on the current craze for all things Austen, labelling it "Janeia". He says that "Jane Austen is now what she never was in life, what what she would have been horrified to become--a literary celebrity." (back cover) Instead, he believes that she was a humble person: "She recognized her own smallness, and she achieved artistic greatness because she recognized her limitations and joyfully worked within them...." (page 153)

I've not read many biographies of Austen, so am not sure if Leithart is really saying anything new. But I found the book a concise, balanced introduction to her life, and a useful companion to Leithart's excellent commentary on Austen's novels, Miniatures and Morals.

Note: Originally, the book was written as part of the Cumberland Press Leaders in Action series, however, publication was delayed when the press went out of business last year. Thankfully, Thomas Nelson decided to print it as part of their Christian Encounters series. I was thrilled to receive a review copy from Booksneeze .

John's March Reading

2010-03-13T06:17:00.027+11:00

Currently Reading:

Intentional Disciplemaking: Cultivating Spiritual Maturity in the Local Church by Ron Bennett

I am reading this book as part of discussion group with my fellow PTC graduates.

Biblical Economics: A Commonsense Guide to Our Daily Bread by R. C. Sproul, Jr.

This is an informative book. Sproul is very critical of U.S. governmental policy, and accuses it of stealing, not so much through high taxation, but through currency devaluation and excessive borrowing. It's not quite as biblical as I would like: perhaps a better title would be Austrian Economics.

Reading Biblical Narrative by J. P. Fokkelman

This is one of the classics in the field. I find the recent trend towards literary approaches in biblical studies to be quite satisfying.

The Book of Bebb by Frederick Buechner

This volume consists of a quartet of novels, the first three of which I read about ten years ago. I bought this book recently, and decided I wanted to re-read them all before I got to the one I haven't read yet. They are about a so-called evangelist named Leo Bebb, who runs a mail-order ordination business. Buechner describes his physical appearance in the following terms:

A workable, Tweedledum mouth with the lines at the corners, the hinge marks, making an almost perfect H with the tight lips. A face plump but firm, pale but not sick pale. He was high-polish bald and had hardly a trace of facial hair, beard or eyebrows even. The eyes were jazzy and wide open and expectant, as if he'd just pulled a rabbit out of a hat or was waiting for me to.

Finished Recently:

Handbook of Church Discipline: A Right and Privilege of Every Church Member by Jay Adams

As the title suggests, this is a practical manual of the way in which biblical discipline should be carried out in the church. And as the subtitle indicates, the great theme of this book is that discipline is a blessing that we dare not withhold from God's people.

One of the unusual arguments in the book is that there is a difference between excommunication and "putting outside the fellowship". In the former, the offending party is still regarded as a brother, while in the latter situation, he is regarded as a "tax collector or sinner".

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

Another classic that for years I'd never got around to reading. Completely enchanting.

Visions & Voyages: The Story of Celtic Spirituality by Fay Sampson

This book's subtitle is a little misleading, as the book has much more to do with the history of Celtic Christianity than its "spirituality". But it contains a whole lot of great stories and fascinating characters.

Biffen's Millions and The Return of Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

These are both the U.S. titles. They were published in the U. K. under the titles Frozen Assets and Ring for Jeeves respectively. Light-hearted fun.

Kara's February Reading

2010-02-23T20:28:00.007+11:00

Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller

Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner

Two spiritual autobiographies that made me think. The first is by a man who ended up a Christian, in spite of early experiences of Fundamentalism gone bad. He challenged my ideas of what evangelism and friendship with non-Christians should look like. This must be the sort of book Kafka was talking about: "I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book we are reading doesn't shake us awake like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place?" (read the rest of the quote here)

I loved Girl Meets God. In it, Lauren Winner tells of her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity. She brings home to me the truth that following Christ costs something. I appreciated how her story is neither glib nor saccharine, and how she doesn't gloss over the many intellectual struggles she had along the way. I hope to read more from this author--Mudhouse Sabbath next, I think.

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

I've been vaguely familiar with aspects of Charlotte Mason's education theory for some time now. Things like reading aloud, narration, and nature study. But I've wanted to learn more. So I was happy to find this introduction to her thought on our shelves. I found myself arguing with the book as I read, and even after finishing I don't really understand the ideas behind the method.

In spite of this, I did glean some helpful things. I appreciate the admonition to parents to not act like they have all the answers, and to make sure that the children know that their parents are under authority, too. Of particular interest to me was the idea that I can help children now, even if I don't have any of my own. Being willing to listen, perhaps reading aloud to a child in the neighbourhood.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

I was deeply disappointed in this book. After seeing and liking the movie, I expected a book that revelled in the delights of chocolate while exploring themes of prejudice, friendship and hypocrisy in religion. Well, I got the themes. But not much chocolate. Which is almost infuriating, considering the book's title! I was left feeling a bit depressed and confused. I couldn't identify with any of the characters at any meaningful level. Who was I supposed to feel for? The snooty, prejudiced townspeople? The rootless chocolatier who dabbles in witchcraft? The fanatical priest with a hidden past? The story seems to be saying that life is better when we throw away prejudice, help those in need, and do what we like (never mind what society thinks). Maybe there's some element of truth buried somewhere in there. But when I reached the end of the book, I was thinking of the emptiness and futility of life without Christ.

The Flying Inn by G.K. Chesterton

Great for someone who already likes Chesterton, but not for anyone else. Too episodic. He's not really much of a novelist. Lots of speeches, poetry and story all mixed up together.

The "Song of Right and Wrong" is often quoted at our house.

John's February Reading

2010-02-15T16:15:00.023+11:00

Currently Reading:

The Unprejudiced Palate: Classic Thoughts on Food and the Good Life by Angelo Pellegrini

This book, first published in 1948, is a memoir/reflection on cooking and eating by an Italian immigrant to the US. He reacts angrily to the culinary élite who suggest that "excellent meals require exotic and unavailable ingredients, endless hours in the kitchen and a lifetime to perfect" (page 10). Instead, Pellegrini extols the virtues of simple fare and growing one's own vegetables.

Unpopular Opinions by Dorothy Sayers

This volume contains some of Sayers' best pieces, such as "Christian Morality" and "A Vote of Thanks to Cyrus". Most of these I'd read before - indeed, several of them are reprinted in Letters to a Diminished Church, which I bought a few years ago. That latter volume, however, was terribly edited, and inexplicably omitted the first half of the address "Creative Mind". Anyway, I particularly enjoyed reading "The Gulf Stream and the Channel", which muses on how Britain's geography may affect its culture.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

This is my third Austen novel, having read Emma and Pride and Prejudice. So far, it seems to have an inordinate number of introductory chapters.

The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister

I received a review copy of this book through Book Sneeze. Stay tuned for a full-length review.

Finished Recently:

Visit the Sick: Ministering God's Grace in Times of Illness by Brian Croft

This is the second book I have read in DayOne's inexpensive and helpful Ministering the Master's Way series.

On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Kara is reading this series aloud to me - this is the fourth book we've read.

Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller

I really like this guy. This book left me wanting more.

Four Gospels, One Jesus: A Symbolic Reading by Richard Burridge

This book compares the four biblical gospels. Burridge takes as his starting point the traditional portraits of the Evangelists: Matthew is traditionally represented by a man, Mark by a lion, Luke by an ox and John by an eagle, as pictured in the Lindisfarne Gospels:

Burridge, however, give these representations a new twist: he considers these images as ones the evangelists use of Jesus. Thus, Mark portrays Jesus as a lion who bounds across the stage - "the lion bounds on, roars, and bounds off again, calling us to see him, in Galilee, somewhere." Luke, on the other hand, portrays Jesus as an ox, plodding steadily toward being sacrificed.

Although it can be overdone, we do need to recognise the differences between the gospel accounts, and avoid flattening them out into one "Life of Christ" narrative. I learned a lot of things in this book about the subtle differences between the gospels. For example, whereas Luke uses the words "joy" and "rejoice" numerous times, in Mark's gospel they're only used once each - in 4:16, when the seed on rocky ground receives the word "with joy," and in 14:11 when the chief priests rejoice over Judas' betrayal. That is to say, Mark's theology is one of "suffering and darkness".

Kara's January Reading

2010-02-05T21:28:00.006+11:00

These will all be in the category of Finished Recently, as the month is already over...

The Paideia of God by Douglas Wilson

This is a collection of essays on classical education. Not the sort of book to spend a lot of time mulling over, rather, more bits to fit into my growing concept of Biblical education. Best essays: Title, and one discussing whether the Reformed faith and Classical education are necessary counterparts.

One Flesh: A Practical Guide to Honeymoon Sex and Beyond by Amelia and Greg Clarke

This is the first book I've finished from my list of books to read in 2010. As I read it, I asked myself whether I would recommend it to someone preparing for marriage. I've concluded that it wouldn't be my first choice. There's too much detail in some places (i.e. discussion of various positions-- possibly overwhelming, I think, for newly-weds) and not enough detail in others. I would have liked to have seen more discussion of what to expect on the wedding night, and how to prepare. Anyway, for pre-wedding reading about love making, I would recommend selected chapters from Ed Wheat's Intended for Pleasure.

My friend Sherrin has written a more detailed review of this book here.

Asterix the Legionary

My first Asterix comic. And so far my favourite. I knew I had to read these when John started making little jokes, and then remarking that they were "from Asterix". Since the "Legionary", I've also read Asterix in Spain, Asterix in Britain and Asterix the Gaul. I like the funny names and wordplay.

The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht

If I ever need to trail a pickpocket, survive a trip down a waterfall, get out of a locked car trunk, or cross a piranha-infested river, I'll know what to do!

Paddington Marches On by Michael Bond

Not the best, but still fun revisiting a childhood favourite.

Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church by Philip Yancey

Another from the 2010 list. This one made me think. At times, there was so much food for thought that I had to put it down for a few days, just so I could digest it all. Often I found myself getting uncomfortable; other times I began having a spirited debate with some of the ideas promoted by authors Yancey discusses.

In the past year, I've learned not to be afraid to ask hard questions. Soul Survivor gave me many to ponder: What sorts of civil disobedience are Biblical? In what ways has the Church alienated people unnecessarily? What does it mean to love sinners? And many more. This is an important book for me, one I'm still thinking about weeks after I finished reading it.

John's January Reading

2010-01-19T21:06:00.015+11:00

Currently Reading:

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

I saw the 2002 film recently, and that inspired me to read the story. I had a Phoenix 60p edition (these were cheap imitations of the Penguin 60's design) on my shelf, and I started reading it before I realised it was an abridgement - chapters 3 to 6 of a twelve chapter novel. Fortunately, the whole book is available on Wikisource, so I'm reading it online now.

The Message of Zechariah by Barry Webb

I heard Barry Webb speak in Melbourne last July as part of an MTS training day, and that inspired me to preach through Zechariah. So that's what I'm currently doing on Sunday mornings at Aspendale. We're looking at Zechariah 3 this Sunday, and aim to finish the series at Easter.

Cohabitation and Marriage: A Pastoral Response by Greg Forster

Reading this book was helpful in thinking through what I mean when I say a book is biblical or not. This book is not biblical. Forster does not, for example, explain how the covenantal nature of marriage (as seen in Malachi 2:14) makes it different to cohabitation, nor does he discuss the relevance of Genesis 1 and 2. Being biblical means looking at what the Bible says is the nature and purpose of marriage. This is not to say that a biblical response needs to be unpastoral, but the subtitle of Forster's book really ought to be "A Sociological Response". Forster adopts a functional definition of marriage - examining the difference it makes socially - rather than a biblical one.

His Truth is Marching On: Advanced Studies on Prophecy in the Light of History by Ralph Woodrow

This seems to be mainly a response to premillennial dispensationalism.

Finished Recently:

The Paideia of God by Douglas Wilson

This is, I believe, the 18th book I've read by Douglas Wilson.

The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton

The first half of the book deals with prehistoric man and pagan religion, and is somewhat mediocre. The second half is much better, and talks about Jesus. Although never reaching the dizzying heights of Orthodoxy, GKC does have some good things to say concerning the Church:

Tolstoy or some great preacher of peace among peasants has been shot as a mutineer for defying conscription; and a little while afterwards his few followers meet together in an upper room in remembrance of him. They never had any reason for coming together except that common memory; they are men of many kinds with nothing to bind them, except that the greatest event in all their lives was this tragedy of the teacher of universal peace. They are always repeating his words, revolving his problems, trying to imitate his character. The Pacifists meet at their Pentecost and are possessed of a sudden ecstasy of enthusiasm and wild rush of the whirlwind of inspiration, in the course of which they proceed to establish universal Conscription, to increase the Navy Estimates, to insist on everybody going about armed to the teeth and on all the frontiers bristling with artillery; the proceedings concluded with the singing of 'Boys of the Bulldog Breed' and 'Don't let them scrap the British Navy.' That is something like a fair parallel to the theory of these critics; that the transition from their idea of Jesus to their idea of Catholicism could have been made in the little upper room at Pentecost. Surely anybody's commonsense would tell him that enthusiasts who only met through their common enthusiasm for a leader whom they loved, would not instantly rush away to establish everything that he hated. No, if the 'ecclesiastical and dogmatic system' is as old as Pentecost it is as old as Christmas. If we trace it back to such very early Christians we must trace it back to Christ.

Science & Its Limits: The Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective by Del Ratzsch and No Final Conflict by Francis A. Schaeffer

I read both these books in preparation for a workshop that I ran at PYV Summer Camp on Science and Christianity. Ratzsch discusses the nature and limits of science, while Schaeffer looks at Genesis in the light of a belief in the inerrancy of Scripture.

Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels by Arthur Conan Doyle

I decided to read all four Sherlock Holmes novels as a way of preparing to see the recent movie. I had read A Study in Scarlet and The Hound of the Baskervilles a long, long time ago, but now I read The Sign of Four and The Valley of Fear for the first time. Exciting stuff.

Kara's Reading Goals for 2010

2010-01-06T18:19:00.009+11:00

In past years, my reading goals have been a bit ambitious. The lists were too long for someone who likes picking most of her books on the spur of the moment, and there were too many weighty titles. So this year, I've chosen only twelve books, each in a different category. I've included only one or two difficult titles, and to make things simpler, I've narrowed my options by choosing only from books we already have on our shelves.

Church history

The Story of the Church by A.M. Renwick and A. M. Harman

I realized the other day that church history is an area I'm a bit weak in. I've read lots of bits and pieces, but have never read a full-length overview. I'm spurred on to remedy my weakness by the realization that for me as a Christian, church history is family history.

Biography

Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner Finished February 2010

Novel

Watership Down by Richard Adams Finished September 2010

Play

Hamlet by Shakespeare

I intend to read this in conjunction with the study notes from Peter Leithart's Brightest Heaven of Invention.

Poetry

Works of G. K. Chesterton

Children's Book

Scout: The Secret of the Swamp by Piet Prins

I wanted to read something that my husband read as a child, and he said this was a good place to start.

Science Fiction

Changing Planes by Ursula Le Guin Finished March 2010

Biblical Exposition

Wrestling with God: Lessons from the Life of Jacob by J. Douglas MacMillan

Education

Repairing the Ruins: The Classical and Christian Challenge to Modern Education by Douglas Wilson Finished August 2010

I read Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning years ago, and it was instrumental in forming my ideas about education. In this title, I hope to learn more about the specifics of the classical method.

Marriage

One Flesh: A Practical Guide to Honeymoon Sex and Beyond by Amelia and Greg Clarke Finished January 2010

Theology

To a Thousand Generations: Infant Baptism - Covenant Mercy to the Children of God by Douglas Wilson

Having recently joined the Presbyterian church, I want to develop my knowledge of the theology behind paedobaptism. I chose this particular book for two reasons: it is written specifically for readers of Baptist background (like myself), and it is by one of my favourite authors.

Book about Books

Soul Survivor: How Thirteen Unlikely Mentors Helped My Faith Survive the Church by Philip Yancey Finished January 2010

The mentors mentioned in the subtitle are authors such as Chesterton, Donne and Tolstoy.

2009 Books: The (almost) complete list

2010-01-04T18:08:00.005+11:00

It's time to post another list of books I've read in the past twelve months.

I've included links to the books I reviewed here on the blog.

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God -- Stacy MacDonald and Jennie Chancey

Nothing particularly new to me here. I thought the story bookends were a bit superfluous.

Created to Be His Helpmeet -- Debbie Pearl

I don't really get what all the fuss is about. But then, maybe I was brought up in a patriarchal culture.

Intended for Pleasure --Ed Wheat

By far the best of the books my mom and I read together prior to my marriage. Very helpful preparation for marital intimacy.

Confessions --St. Augustine

John and I read this together while we were courting. I was struck by Augustine's humility.

Sketches of Home --Suzanne Clark

Black and Tan --Douglas Wilson

The Complete Stories --Dorothy Sayers

Finally, I've read all the short stories, including Montague Egg.

Persuasions --Douglas Wilson

Primeval Saints --James Jordan

84 Charing Cross Rd --Helene Hanff

Young, Restless, Reformed --Collin Hansen

Subtitled "A journalist's journey with the new Calvinists". I enjoyed reading about young people who are excited about the reformed faith.

Cold Comfort Farm --Stella Gibbon

Meet the Austins --Madeleine L'Engle

Fahrenheit 451 --Ray Bradbury

Disturbing.

Lincoln's Dreams --Connie Willis

Perhaps more disturbing! But I did enjoy it.

Publish and Perish --Sally S. Wright

From the Holy Mountain --William Dalrymple

The Daughter of Time -- Josephine Tey

The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond --G.K. Chesterton

Reaching Forward: From a Rich Heritage to a Certain Goal --Allan and Mairi Harman

Radical Refomission --Mark Driscoll

Her Father's Daughter --Gene Stratton Porter

I have to say I was quite shocked at the white supremacist philosophy expressed throughout Her Father's Daughter. That, and the fact that the story is overlong, makes this my least favourite of Porter's books.

The Labours of Hercules --Agatha Christie

A Murder is Announced --Agatha Christie

Glorious Things, A Protestant's Guide to London --Bob Thomas

Sheriff's Badge --Rebekah Brown

Bound for Glory --R. C. Sproul, Jr.

Death and Restoration --Iain Pears

Invisible Forms --Kevin Jackson

A Study in Scarlet --Arthur Conan Doyle

20 books John plans to read in 2010

2009-12-24T15:21:00.067+11:00

Jean inspired me with her list of books to read in 2010.

Four novels:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 22nd January - 4th December

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin 6th - 14th March

My brother will probably be surprised that I haven't read this... but I received it as a Sinterklaas present from Kara, so I have no excuse now.

Bachelors Anonymous by P. G. Wodehouse 7th - 8th January

This is one of ten Wodehouse books that Kara brought into our marriage. :)

Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle 7th - 11th January

I've been getting back into Sherlock Holmes lately - maybe as a result of the recently released film. I read all the short stories when I was a kid, but I hadn't read this novel.

Four books of theology or Biblical studies:

Four Gospels, One Jesus: A Symbolic Reading by Richard Burridge 3rd January - 11th February

Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament 14th February - 16th May

This will be the third book I've read in Zondervan's Counterpoints series - and this is an important subject.

The Drama Of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach To Christian Theology by Kevin Vanhoozer Commenced 5th September

Deep Exegesis by Peter Leithart 27th May - 2nd July

I've read half a dozen books by Leithart now, and enjoyed every one.

Four books to help me in my work as a pastor:

Quitting Church: Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do about It by Julia Duin 1st - 10th May

Preaching That Speaks to Women by Alice Mathews 16th May - 30th June

This looks like a book that's worth reading, but I really don't know if I will agree with it at all. After all, Steve Schlissel says, "Preaching should be self-consciously directed to the men of the covenant... Preach to women, have women; preach to men, have men, women and children."

Church and the Older Person by Robert Gray and David Moberg 7th November - 15th December

Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman 13th November - 9th December

No, this isn't a book that discusses the need for evangelism - rather, it examines how we can evangelize by asking questions. "It worked for Jesus; it will work for you," proclaims the back cover.

Four more Christian books:

Wages of Spin by Carl Trueman 11th June - 18th July

I really liked Trueman's Minority Report, which I read a few months ago. I also heard Trueman speak in Melbourne last winter, and he was excellent.

Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller 7th - 30th January

This is by the author of Blue Like Jazz, which was great, and Searching for God Knows What, which was pretty good. I also read Miller's blog.

The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life by Joan Chittister 24th January - 20th March

This is a review copy from Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger scheme.

Brave New Family: G. K. Chesterton on Men and Women, Children, Sex, Divorce, Marriage and the Family 9th April - 19th June

This will be, I believe, the 18th book I've read by GKC. It's a fairly recent compilation of essays.

Four other books:

The Diary of Anne Frank Commenced 20th December

The Two Cultures by C. P. Snow 30th July - 13th August

The two cultures Snow refers to are the humanities and the sciences. He argues that our society's intellectual life is characterized by a division between the two.

Poincaré's Prize: The Hundred-Year Quest to Solve One of Math's Greatest Puzzles by George Szpiro Commenced 12th November

It's been a while since I've read a book on mathematics. This is about the Poincaré conjecture, the only one of the so-called Millennium Prize Problems to be solved.

The Unprejudiced Palate: Classic Thoughts on Food and the Good Life by Angelo Pellegrini 1st February - 30th April

Now that I live on gourmet food, I thought I might as well read about it. According to the back cover, this book "inspired a seismic culinary shift in how America eats."

Book giveaway at Kingdom People

2009-12-19T18:31:00.003+11:00

Trevin Wax at Kingdom People is having his annual book giveaway at the moment. Trevin is giving away his ten favourite books of 2009 to one lucky winner. With interesting titles like The God Who Smokes and unpronouncable authors such as Tullian Tchividjian, this stack is a treasure trove for Reformed Christians.

To enter, subscribe to Trevin's blog, and send him an email.

John's December Reading

2009-12-12T17:51:00.027+11:00

Currently Reading:

My Soul Magnifies the Lord: Meditations on the meaning of Christmas by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

This book consists of four expositions on the Magnificat - Mary's song in Luke 1. I've been reading one chapter in each Sunday of Advent.

Powers by John B. Olson

I received a copy of this as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers scheme. Stay tuned for the full-length review coming soon.

Science and Christianity: Four Views edited by Richard F. Carlson

This book is published by IVP, in apparent imitation of Zondervan's Counterpoints series. I'm reading this in preparation for a workshop I will be running at PYV Summer Camp on "Can I be a Christian and believe in science?"

The Faithful Sayings in the Pastoral Letters by George W. Knight III

I am in the middle of a series on the faithful sayings in the Aspendale evening services. Five times in the pastoral epistles (I & II Timothy and Titus), Paul says "this is a faithful [or, "trustworthy"] saying. The first one in particular is a great Christmas text: "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief," (1 Timothy 1:15)

Finished Recently:

The Path to Rome by Hilaire Belloc

Rather than being the story of Belloc's conversion (he was a life-long Catholic), this is a travel book, written in 1902. Read the book online here.

Belloc undertakes to walk from Toul (in France) to Rome. He does end up cheating, however - twice he catches a train, and twice he hitches a ride on a cart. Here is a Google map of Belloc's trip - I would love to follow in his footsteps one day. By car, of course - it's a 22 hour trip:

Dark Fire by C. J. Sansom

This is the sequel to Dissolution, which I read on my honeymoon. There are currently four books in this series of historical mystery novels, featuring a hunchbacked lawyer as the hero. "Dark Fire" is another name for Greek fire, the long-lost formula of which, in the book, has apparently been rediscovered.

Bound for Glory: A Practical Handbook for Raising a Victorious Family by R. C. Sproul, Jr.

This is the fourth and probably the best book I've read by R. C. Sproul Jr. This has some challenging things to say about Christian family life - and although I have read a fair bit on this subject, I found much in the book that I hadn't thought about before. For example, Sproul argues that a church Session can function as a sort of "court of appeal" for a wife (p. 93):

My wife and I have a dispute. We are not agreeing. I am asking her to do something she doesn't think we ought to be doing. So she goes to court. The court she comes to however, is the church, not the state. That I am not Jesus is painfully apparent. But here, in a church that is willing to exercise discipline and recognizes its rightful calling in these circumstances, she has protection.

The Old Church Book by Robin Langley Summer

This is coffee table book of churches in North America. Although it was a bit frustrating that not all the churches discussed were pictured, I was particularly interested in what it said about revival styles (Greek, Gothic, Romanesque), since they are also to be found in Australia. So, for example, when Kara and I visited Hobart last month, we saw St George's, Battery Point (left) whose pillars are clearly Greek revival. Notice the (architectural!) similarities to the United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts (right) which is one of the churches featured in the book:

John's November Reading

2009-11-07T12:01:00.024+11:00

Currently Reading:

Face to Face: Meditations on Friendship and Hospitality by Steve Wilkins

I'm reading this with Kara. We're both keen on extending our hospitality over the next few years, and hopefully this book will help us to think theologically about the subject.

Preach or Perish, edited by Donald Howard

I like usually to have a book of preaching on the go, and this is a good one. Most of the contributions come from Sydney Anglicans, but there are a few Presbyterians in it as well.

1 Samuel by David Jobling

I've been preaching through 1 Samuel in our evening services at Aspendale, and this book has stimulated my thinking. Jobling provides us a good example of where liberal assumptions can take us in biblical interpretation - if the Bible is only a fallible record of human experience, there is no reason to believe it contains an accurate portrayal of God. Sure enough, Jobling believes that 1 Samuel portrays God as childish and irrational (p. 84). Despite this outrageous statement, Jobling raises some important questions that do need to be answered. For example, why does David remain king despite all his sin, whereas Saul is rejected after a trifling offence? Jobling puts it down to God's inconsistency, but there is a better explanation: the LORD made an everlasting covenant with David (2 Samuel 23:5), whereas he did not make one with Saul. All in all, this is a potentially dangerous book, and not one I can recommend to readers of this blog.

Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn

This is a classic example of a controversial book. It has 29 reviews on Amazon: 17 give it five stars, while 10 give it 1 star.

Kara and I are planning to homeschool our kids, and this book looks like it's going to be very useful in helping us plan a curriculum.

Finished Recently:

Aussie Pilgrim's Progress by Kel Richards

This book is almost better than the original. I avoided getting Richards' Aussie Bible, but at just $3 at Borders, this was too good to pass up. I read it to Kara, and had the dual pleasure of sharing a devotional book with her, and teaching her the Australian language.

At a couple of places, Richards makes some positive theological adjustments to Bunyan's text. In Hopeful's account of his conversion, Richards includes an explanation of the Big Swap. In the original version, Hopeful has to wait for Christ to reveal himself to him, which he does in a special revelation to his soul, but in Richards' version, all Hopeful (or "Trusty", as he is now) has to do is pray a short simple prayer and really mean it, and he has made the first step on a lifelong journey.

The Sermon on the Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5-7 by Don Carson

I've just finished preaching through these chapters in our morning services, and this book was quite helpful. Not Carson's best, (that would be A Call to Spiritual Reformation) but still very good.

The Deceiver by Frederick Forsyth

Another spy novel, better than the one I read last month.

Miniatures and Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen by Peter Leithart

As the subtitle suggests, this book doesn't just look at Jane Austen from a Christian perspective - it actually argues that her novels are Christian. It has be admitted, however, that we don't know much about Austen's personal faith.

I must confess, I did not read all of this book - just the introductory chapter, and the two chapters on the two Jane Austen books I have read: Pride and Prejudice and Emma. But Leithart has encouraged me to keep on reading through the Austen corpus. Next stop: Mansfield Park, which Leithart claims is Austen's most theological novel.

Two literary tools

2009-10-23T10:14:00.007+11:00

I've been playing around with two book-related websites. The first is Amazon, which is so much more than just a place to buy books. I've been posting some old book reviews there - a couple are taken from my old blog, a couple are reviews I wrote for periodicals, and the rest are pared-down versions of book reviews I wrote at college. Anyway, here is my list of reviews on Amazon.

The second website I have been playing with is LibraryThing. I've listed my books there, having imported them from weRead. All the books, that is, that I both own and have read. Anyway, LibraryThing has some great tools on it, and one of them is the capacity to construct a word cloud from any given list. So, here is the author cloud of my personal library.

Kara's September/October Reading

2009-10-19T15:08:00.007+11:00

Currently Reading:

The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond by G. K. Chesterton

Mr. Pond is an odd character. He's always saying things that just don't make sense...at first. Take this from the first story, "The Three Horsemen of Apocalypse" : "... Grock failed because his soldiers obeyed him. Of course, if ONE of his soldiers had obeyed him, it wouldn't have been so bad. But when TWO of his soldiers obeyed him--why, really, the poor old devil had no chance."

And then there were the two doctors who "came to agree so completely that one of them naturally murdered the other..."

I'm enjoying this book. :)

Her Father's Daughter by Gene Stratton Porter

I've only just begun this title, but expect it will be an enjoyable, if somewhat flowery read. Porter's interest in birds and plants again comes to the fore in this story of a young girl living on the outskirts of 1920's Los Angeles.

Recently Finished:

The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out by Mark Driscoll

This book took me a while to finish, simply because I found it hard to get past Driscoll's tone. I found it both overly familiar--this diminished after the first chapter or so-- and times abrasive. However, now that I've made it to the end, I find myself wanting to read it again. There are many things he says about evangelism and culture that make me uncomfortable. But this is a good thing, because I am forced to ask myself "why?".

One thing in this book that I appreciate is the emphasis on evangelism through hospitality. This is an area I would like to grow in. Here are a few other things I've been thinking over:

"The way to avoid sin is not to avoid sinners but to stick close to Jesus." (p. 40)

"As long as Christians fail to repent of self-righteousness, we will continue to speak of evengelism in terms such as outreach, which implies we will not embrace lost people but will keep them at least an arm's length away." (p. 78)

"Jesus told us that the kingdom will be filled with joy, and so we make it a habit to take God very seriously and everything else very lightly." (p. 187)

My husband has written a review which covers the contents of this book more in depth.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

A mark of a good book of historical fiction is that it makes you want to read some real history. Even better if a bit of mystery is in the mix. This book fits the bill. It's a criminal investigation held hundred of years after the suspect(s) and victims are dead. On trial: Richard III.

Overall a great read, even though I was quite irritated at some historical revisionism regarding the Covenanters. Seems a bit much to marginalise them as simply political radicals, none of whom actually died for their faith.

From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple

A travel book in which Dalrymple retraces the steps of John Moschos, a 6th century monk who traversed Byzantium in its declining years, and then wrote a book called the Spiritual Meadow . I suppose what I liked best about the Holy Mountain was how I could learn ancient and modern history simultaneously. I was fascinated by the accounts of many strange sects, such as the Stylites, ascetics who lived on top of pillars. This book gave me a greater understanding of the difficulties that Christians face in the Middle East, and of the complexity of the issues behind conflict in the Holy Land.

Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis

One of the most intense books I've read. Probably wasn't a good idea to pick this up right after finishing Fahrenheit 451! Lincoln's Dreams is the story of a young researcher who meets a girl who is having very strange dreams. He soon concludes that they are not actually her dreams, but the dreams of Robert E. Lee, somehow transferred across the years (an idea I found quite disturbing). He sets out to help her, and soon finds himself in a bit of a predicament. There is a twist to this story that in retrospect I should have picked up on sooner. A very strange story.

John's October Reading

2009-10-13T17:32:00.022+11:00

Currently Reading:

The Compass Rose by Ursula Le Guin

This is a book of short stories that seem to linger in the grey zone between science fiction and fantasy. I'm starting to develop a taste for Le Guin...

Primeval Saints by James Jordan

I've read a fair bit of James Jordan over the years (mostly on the Biblical Horizons website) and he's always stimulating. In this book he looks at the patriarchs in Genesis. My wife read it a while ago, and now it's my turn.

A Passion for Books by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan

A modern classic in the books about books genre. The subtitle says it all: "A Book Lover's Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Love and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring for and Appreciating Books."

Scientific Mythologies by James Herrick

This is a true "Science and Christianity" book, but it's also "Science Fiction and Christianity". Herrick examines the interplay between science and science fiction over the past century, and some of the myths that have arisen in both. I think this book has a really cool cover:

Finished Recently:

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre

This is a gritty, "realistic" spy thriller, not at all like the James Bond books I read as a kid.

Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport by Richard Mouw

The idea of this book comes from a scene from the 1979 film Hardcore (which I have not seen) in which a Dutch Reformed elder from Grand Rapids attempts to explain the five points of Calvinism to a prostitute at Las Vegas airport. Which raises a whole lot of questions, that this book attempts to explore: How does TULIP relate to everyday Christianity? Is Calvinism more that just the five points? Do we refer to the "Reformed distinctives" when we explain the gospel to non-Christians? I really enjoyed this book up to chapter 8, when Mouw's inclusivism bubbled to the surface.

Travel with Robert Murray McCheyne by Derek Prime

Note the non-standard spelling of M'Cheyne's surname. Still, this is a solid contribution to a worthwhile series. It is a biography combined with a travel guide, which means the reader is treated to some lovely, if somewhat gratuitous, pictures of Edinburgh, Dundee and Jerusalem.

Minority Report by Carl Trueman

I heard Carl Trueman speak in Melbourne a few months ago. Hearing him was great and reading him better. This book has several shorter pieces from his Wages of Spin column on the reformation21 website, as well as four longer pieces. Two themes emerge from his writing. The first is the necessity of studying (and understanding!) church history. Not all that surprising, really, given that Trueman is Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at WTS. The second theme is a bit more surprising: he critiques the "mere Christianity" popular in modern evangelical circles, which thrives at the expense of a robust confessional orthodoxy. Trueman's perspective comes out most clearly in his review of Is The Reformation Over? by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom. Thought-provoking stuff.

John's September Reading

2009-09-09T17:31:00.032+10:00

Currently Reading:

Emma by Jane Austen

I've actually been reading this for ages. Now that my sister-in-law has started reading it, the race is on to see who finishes first.

Martin Luther's Tabletalk

I remember my old church history lecturer, Maurice Betteridge, once saying that Luther would be a much more interesting dinner companion than Calvin. Fortunately for us, some zealous disciples wrote down the stuff he said at the dinner table.

Essays on Reformed Doctrine by Jelle Faber

I'm returning to my roots with this book. This is a collection of essays from a man who for twenty years was Principal of the Theological College of the Canadian Reformed Churches, the denomination in which my Dad was once a minister. Most of Faber's essays deal with the doctrine of the Church.

An Introduction to Aramaic by Frederick Greenspahn

I'm learning Aramaic! It's the much-neglected third biblical language. Although most of the Old Testament is written in Hebrew, Ezra 4:8-6:18 and 7:12-26, Daniel 2:4b–7:28 and Jeremiah 10:11 are written in Aramaic.

This is the first book I've read on computer. Luke and Amy kindly gave me their old laptop last month, and I've been using it for work. I installed a copy of my Bible software on it, and discovered that it included this book. I'd been meaning for ages to learn Aramaic, and thought this was a great opportunity.

Finished Recently:

The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King

This is one of the books discussed in the excellent Preachers and Misfits, Prophets and Thieves: The Minister in Southern Fiction, which Kara gave me for my last birthday. The main character, Dean Lynch, is a minister's wife neglected by her husband. Plenty of food for thought.

The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by Don Carson

One reason the doctrine of the love of God is difficult is that the Bible talks about God's love in several different ways. The love the Father has for the Son, God's general love for his creation, God's "salvific stance towards his fallen world," his "particular, effectual, selecting love toward his elect," and love that is conditioned on obedience. Carson deals with all these aspects in a masterful way.

The Seven Ordeals of Count Cagliostro by Iain McCalman

The story of Count Cagliostro is a fascinating one, and McCalman tells it well. It is, in effect, a history of Europe in the second half of the 18th century, since Cagliostro's story intersects with those of Marie Antoinette, George IV, Casanova and Catherine the Great of Russia.

Athanasius' On The Incarnation

This is the edition that comes with the famous introduction by C. S. Lewis, in which he says that it is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. "If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones." Lewis also says that he tends to find "doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books." On The Incarnation is a great book to read devotionally.

John's Dustings

2009-08-01T14:51:00.008+10:00

Since Kara has posted her list of books recently read and currently reading, I thought I'd better do the same.

Currently Reading:

Enthusiasm by R. B. Knox

This book has numerous untranslated French and Latin quotations, but it's still worth the effort. Writing from a Catholic perspective, Knox describes movements within Christendom such as Jansenism and Methodism.

The Spirit in Public Theology: Appropriating the Legacy of Abraham Kuyper by Vincent Bacote

I'm giving a lecture on Kuyper at the end of August, so I thought I'd better read some more about him.

Autobiography of John G. Paton

Paton was a pioneer Presbyterian missionary to Vanuatu. Last year our denomination had a missionary awareness day for kids, and I dressed up as him:

I'm the one on the right.

Collapse by Jared Diamond

The book is a follow-up to Guns, Germs and Steel, which I read a couple of years ago. That book made the argument that it is geography rather than biology that determines the destiny of civilisations. Which is just a secular version of Acts 17:26: "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."

Here Diamond chronicles civilisations that collapsed, such as that of the Maya, the Vikings on Greenland, or the inhabitants of Easter Island.

Finished Recently:

Heiland by Franklin Sanders

This is almost post-apocalyptic in its tone. Heiland, the protagonist, is a coin minter who works as an intelligence officer for the Tennessee Free State in its struggle against the US Government.

Christ-centred Preaching by Bryan Chapell.

Probably the best book on preaching around.

The New Faithful by Colleen Carroll

Does for the Catholics what Young, Restless, Reformed did for the Calvinists.

Fatherland by Robert Harris

This rather intense book is set in a 1964 in which Germany had won World War II.

Dusting off the shelves...

2009-07-28T18:03:00.008+10:00

Blogging has been the furthest thing from my mind in recent months. Not too surprising, as those months involved two very life-changing events: marriage and an international move. But as the two-month anniversary of my wedding approaches, I feel the urge to once again toss a few words of my own into the blogosphere.

Currently Reading:

Primeval Saints by James Jordan

This is a study of some of the men and women in the book of Genesis. Since John and I are currently reading through Genesis, this book caught my eye. I was further intrigued by this sentence in the introduction: "From the pagan point of view, Abram did not act honorably when he told Sarai to tell Pharaoh that she was his sister and not his wife. Many Christians have faulted him for this, but as we shall see, he was acting in faith to preserve God's kingdom. And God vindicated him. "
I have yet to find out why he says this...

The Complete Stories of Dorothy Sayers

I was thrilled to find this on John's shelf! I loved the Lord Peter short stories, and had been disappointed that none of Sayers' other short stories were available in libraries near Wichita. Now I'm zipping through the 300 pages of adventure that I missed. Some of the stories send a shiver down my spine. Others make me feel like the top of my head is coming off. Not sure what that means. But perhaps others who've experienced the sensation will understand!

For a Glory and a Covering by Douglas Wilson

John is reading this to me. It's a bit more theological in tone than Wilson's other books on marriage. He does repeat many things he has said elsewhere, but those things are worth repeating.

June 6, 2009

Finished Recently:

Sketches of Home by Suzanne Clark

Ever since I read Tremendous Trifles by Chesterton, I've wanted to find more essays that appreciate the small things in life. This book is chockful. Honest, poetic, and unsentimental, it chronicles the life of Mrs. Clark from the early days of her marriage til her children reach the brink of adulthood. Mixed in are occasional reminiscences of her own childhood.

In John's home state of Tasmania

Black and Tan by Douglas Wilson

It's been years since I read anything about the War Between the States. But I've had a few questions posed to me recently, so I decided it might be time to revisit the period. I found this collection of essays to be a helpful and balanced discussion of the theological issues surrounding the war. Good mind-stretching stuff.

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

John recommended this to me way back when, but for some reason I procrastinated. Once I had it in my hands, though, I couldn't put it down. It's the collected correspondence of a booklover and a London bookshop and tells the story of the friendships that developed over twenty years. The sequel, Duchess of Bloomsbury, was included in the same volume. It's the diary of the author's trip to London, after the successful publication of 84 Charing Cross Road. Wryly humourous, it brought back good memories of my own travels, and made me want to go back to see the places I missed.

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

I can summarize this book in one word: Weird. But enjoyably so. I could feel the author laughing at me as I finished the final paragraphs.

It feels so good to settle down into the rhythm of a new normal. My life is quite different in many ways, but books are a comforting constant!

Too Good To Miss!

2009-05-03T12:24:00.004+10:00

Canon Press is running a great book sale through May 8th. There are 9 pages of books for 1, 2, or 3 dollars, including A Great Mystery, an excellent collection of wedding sermons which John and I recently finished reading together.

Check it out!

A Story of Answered Prayer

2009-03-01T14:23:00.003+11:00

For as long as I can remember, I have desired to be a wife and mother. I distinctly remember the day my grandfather asked me the perennial question, “what do you want to be when you grown up?”. I made him guess, and after suggesting an enormous list of occupations, ranging from gynecologist to zookeeper, he gave up. “What do you want?” “To be a mommy”, I replied. That, to me, was the greatest aspiration a girl could have. I knew my mother was pretty special, and I wanted to be just like her. This was when I was about twelve years old. That desire never left me. But as my high school graduation neared, I began to have doubts as to its validity. I again had opportunity to answer the perennial question. But this time, I found that my answer would be countered with, “Yes, but what do you really want?” And I began to wonder if I was supposed to have some other goal in life. So I turned to my music—piano, viola, and theory. But I soon reached the end of my musical goals, and felt at a loss.

That was the beginning of my time in God’s school of contentment and humility. My first lesson was realizing that much of my life had been spent in the pursuit of selfish pleasure. As God changed my heart, I began to find joy and fulfillment in serving others, and especially my own family. During this time, I began to realize I had bought into many unbiblical preconceptions of what womanly fulfillment meant. I’d grown up hearing about the rebellious feminist, and found to my horror, that I was one myself. This was hard to swallow, and I began to spend time reading my Bible to find out what God had to say about His plan for me. I found that I didn’t have to leave my home to do important work. The simple task of washing the dishes grew in my estimation, as I learned that this, too, was serving God. The next lesson was the most humbling yet. I realized that I had placed my desire for marriage above God. I had allowed the lack of one thing to make life seem hopeless. When I read the story of King Ahab’s lust for Naboth’s vineyard, I saw myself.

By God’s grace, I began to get my priorities straight. And thus began some of the hardest years of my life. For, as my relationship with God grew, and as I sought His will for me as a woman, I became completely convinced that marriage was a good thing. And more than that, that it was His will for me. On the one hand, this was freeing. Now I knew what I should prepare for. On the other hand, it was discouraging, for the years passed by without a prospect in sight. It was tempting to despair.

In the summer of 2008, I became increasingly burdened to pray for marriage for myself, as well as for my single girlfriends. So much so, that for the first time, I voiced that desire in public at a ladies’ prayer meeting at my church. This was a significant step; over the years I’d become cynically silent on the subject, feeling I’d heard enough pat answers. I felt immediately rebuked for my assumptions, as several ladies began to encourage and pray for me. Something one of them said in her prayer prompted me to take a fresh look at God’s Word, and what it said about godly men. I began to surrender many of my preconceptions of how things should be. In retrospect, I see this as key preparation in order for me to be receptive to the idea of long-distance courtship.

Also that summer, I participated in a young ladies’ Bible study on prayer, at which many helpful conversations on the subject of marriage were held. I also read and reviewed Candice Watter’s book, “Get Married.”

By August, I felt that I had come to the absolute end of myself. I had studied what God had to say about marriage and godly womanhood. I had prepared to the best of my ability. My lifeline became the prayer of faith. I took comfort in Jesus' parable of the importunate widow, grasping the promise that God would hear my prayers.

In September, one of my dearest friends began courting. And for the first time, I felt no jealousy, simply joy. Joy that God was doing great things. I thought those great things were for my friend. Turns out they were—but, in the biggest surprise of my life, I found God was working on my behalf, as well.

October 3^rd began as a normal, sunny Friday. As I waited for my family to gather for morning devotions, I began the routine check of my e-mail on my sister’s laptop computer. There was a Facebook message from John Dekker, someone I vaguely knew through blogging. The first line was all I could see: “I feel a bit awkward sending this…” And as I clicked on the message, my first thought was, “Oh, no! What did I say?” For I distinctly remembered John’s precision with words; one of our very first blogging exchanges involved me having to explain ambiguities in my writing. I was not expecting what I saw next: “pursue friendship….contemplate marriage…”. My jaw dropped. It was all I could manage to hand the computer to my mom and say, “read this”.

I was completely shocked. For, all my thought and prayers about marriage notwithstanding, I had never once thought of John as a prospect. He had similar interests in literature, yes. But he lived on the other side of the world! I really knew next to nothing about him. He was simply a name in cyberspace.

But I immediately knew that I was interested. The reason was this: I had been praying a very specific prayer that week. I had prayed that God would prompt whoever he had for me as a husband to show some initiative in beginning a relationship. There were secondary reasons for my interest: John’s taste in literature, his evident sense of humour and his work as a minister. But these were dwarfed by this one apparent answer to prayer.

The first test of whether it truly was God’s answer was my father’s response. I knew if my dad said “no”, it was a closed door. And I fully expected him to refuse. I knew he was not at all keen on the idea of internet relationships. So when my dad decided to write to John, I was both surprised and scared. A reserved person by nature, I like my life to be certain and safe. The outcome of this situation was definitely uncertain, and it did not feel safe at all. The two weeks Daddy spent writing to John felt like the longest of my life. I was still in shock, and my days became one long prayer. Prayer simply that God would make His will clear. Because, now that the opportunity had come, I didn’t know what I wanted. The decision was too big. Yes. No. Yes. No. My wishes changed daily, even hourly. So when my mom came to me on Saturday, October 18 and told me she and daddy were happy for me to pursue friendship with John, I felt relief and happiness that the first answer had come.

Now for a timeline of our courtship:

October 19, 2008. John and I begin corresponding via e-mail. I feel completely out of my depth. It is a struggle to overcome my feelings of vulnerability, and to be completely honest. I discover that I didn’t trust God as much as I thought I did, and grow in faith.

November 17, 2008, my birthday. I am no longer fearful. By now we have discussed many foundational beliefs, and I begin to feel a growing interest in this man.

December 2008. I realize it is nearly impossible to remain emotionally detached. By the second week of the month, I surprise myself by falling in love. My prayers change at this point. I don’t understand my feelings, and ask God to give us both direction, and that if it is His will for us to marry, John would propose when he visits.

January 20, 2009. It is an answer to prayer that when we finally meet in person, it doesn’t take long for us to feel comfortable together. There are no surprises: John is the same in person as he was long-distance. After spending 3 days together, I felt as if we’d been friends for years.

January 24, 2009, Saturday morning. John makes me the happiest girl in the world, when he asks me to be his wife. Eight long years of prayer are brought to fruition.

That’s our story. I’m still in awe of it all. God has blessed me far above what I asked or even imagined. There are so many things I love and admire about John. He challenges my thinking-- this even from our very first blog discussion. He is a spiritual leader. We have had the blessing of studying several books of the Bible together. He is a teacher—I learn something new, nearly every time we talk. He is considerate of others. This was demonstrated in how he was careful to spend time with each person in my family when he visited. He is deliberate and intentional in his actions. I saw this continually throughout our courtship, and was often amazed at his forward thinking. He is patient. He always waited until I was comfortable before beginning a new stage in the relationship. (e.g. moving from e-mail to instant messaging) He can talk to strangers. This is a skill I greatly admire, as it is an area I struggle with. He had ample opportunity to demonstrate it, as I introduced him to many of my friends and church family during his visit to Wichita. He is discreet. He makes me laugh! And most of all, he points me to Christ.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Our Story...

2009-02-14T10:08:00.010+11:00

...and why I love the author of this blog.

My name is John Dekker. On the evening Tuesday January 20, I met Kara for the first time. Three and a half days later, on Saturday morning, I asked her to be my wife, and she accepted. How did these events come about, you may ask?

Internet relationships have been around for a while now, and in the last couple of years blog relationships seem to have taken off. I'm personally aware of Mike and Christine (read their story here), Adrian and Susan (read their story here) and Aaron and Jessica.

Well, I came across Biblio-File, and I liked what I saw. I came to it from Lydia's blog. I knew Lydia through Susan, whom I knew through Sherrin, whom I knew in real life.

Throughout 2008, I spent some time rethinking my approach to marriage. Possibly influenced by Debbie Maken's Getting Serious About Getting Married, I began to think about becoming more proactive about finding a wife. I also started to rethink what things were important to me in a future spouse. One of these was that I decided I was looking for a girl who wanted to get married – not merely one who thought she might want to get married someday.

And that's something I saw in Kara. She was happy to publicly state her belief that “desire for marriage is God-given and that intentional prayer and preparation are not wasted efforts.” She also quoted approvingly Jackie Kennedy's maxim, “I want to take such good care of my husband that whatever he is doing, he can do it better, because he has me.”

But most of all, I noticed that Kara shared my love of books. We had so many favourite authors in common: P. G. Wodehouse (which showed that she had a sense of humour), G. K. Chesterton (which showed that she wasn't afraid to draw on other theological traditions) and Douglas Wilson (which showed that she wouldn't be put off by my Federal Vision sympathies.)

And one of my most favourite books, Angels in the Architecture, appealed to her also. It's a book that I have, on occasions, given to people to explain what I am on about. It is one of the clearest statements of my worldview, and the sort of things I wish to encourage in my home. The fact that Kara rated the book with five stars on Facebook, told me that we had much in common.

Well, it does seem that one can find out a lot about an individual by reading his or her blog. This may particularly be the case with a book blog like Biblio-File. And I'm more convinced than ever that a person's books say a lot about them.

I don't think I had any explicit evidence that Kara was Reformed in her theology, but I certainly got that vibe. Similarly, I had the feeling from reading her blog that Kara wanted kids, which was really important to me also.

So, we had common interests, common theology, and from the photos I had seen her blog and facebook (we had become facebook friends almost a year earlier) I thought she was attractive. At that particular moment in time, that was enough. So I told her that I had been admiring her for some time, and would like very much to get to know her better. I asked her if I could cultivate a friendship with her in order to prayerfully contemplate the possibility of marriage.

I hardly expected her to be interested. Internet courtships are not for everyone. Neither is getting married to a pastor. Neither is moving to Australia. I am the minister of Aspendale Presbyterian Church in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and expect to stay here for several years. I knew I would be asking Kara to leave friends and family behind.

I wasn't particularly surprised when I got an email back from Kara's father. What thrilled me most was that I was still in with a chance. Mike thanked me for my interest in his daughter, and said that he would like to correspond with me first. This process took two weeks, at the end of which he gave me permission to write to Kara.

The courtship process has been a wonderful one. It lasted right on three months. Perhaps a timeline would help: (these are the Australian dates!)

20^th October – I send my first email to Kara. We quickly begin to cover some important ground theologically, as well as sharing our personal histories.

12^th November – we begin to talk seriously about marriage, and about the possibility of marrying each other. We realize that we have similar perspectives and expectations.

14^th November – a significant moment for me: Kara asks me how I feel that she could help me in my ministry. I realize that I'd made a good choice, and we talk about companionship, hospitality and what being a pastor's wife might entail.

19^th November – we start chatting online. It was so helpful to wait until we had sorted through the serious philosophical issues before we started on this. It didn't take long before we both felt really comfortable with each other.

28^th November – I ask Kara if I can come and visit, and tell her that now would be a good time to break off the relationship if she thought it wasn't going to continue. But she seemed more than happy to meet me.

8^th December – we start reading through Isaiah together, a chapter a day, emailing our thoughts to each other. This has been such a blessing to both of us.

20^th January – we meet face to face, at Wichita airport.

24^th January – after talking with her Dad in the early hours of the morning and receiving his permission, I propose to Kara at about 10am, and she immediately accepts.

So – why do I love this girl? She's kind, intelligent, feminine and loving. She's full of discretion, wit, wisdom and courage. She has lovely eyes and a beautiful smile. And she admires, respects and loves me herself. Why wouldn't I want to spend the rest of my life with her?

Finally, I need to emphasize that we are still getting to know each other, and I feel like I know Kara so much better than I did when I asked her to marry me. And I could swear she's becoming more beautiful every day as well.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Just in case I didn't make myself clear in the last post...

2009-02-13T13:00:00.006+11:00

...there will be a few changes coming to the Biblio-File. As my readers may have noticed, I have been quite lax in my posts of late. With the addition of a new writer to the blog, I hope that pattern of posts may become a bit more frequent. This new blog-team member is even more of a bibliophile than myself, and I anticipate the possibility of some thought-provoking book reviews! Or at least, a Good Story. :)

Please welcome John Dekker, pastor, avid reader, board-game enthusiast....and also, my fiancé!

With many thanks to God for answered prayer,

Kara A.

Browsing at Eighth Day Books

Currently Reading

2009-02-12T14:52:00.003+11:00

Biblio-File

$5 gift certificates from Veritas Press

Rednecks redacted

Kara's Reading Goals for 2012

2011 In Books (Kara's List)

20 books John plans to read in 2012

Books John read in 2011, Part 5

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

Christians and Literature

A self-unfulfilling prophecy

Film review: Courageous

Books John read in 2011, Part 4

Four weeks ago...

A most un-useless place

Books John read in 2011, Part 3

Liturgical drear

Books John read in 2011, Part 2

Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History by Carl Trueman

Divine Excess: Mexican Ultra-Baroque by Ichiro Ono

Boiling Point: Monitoring Cultural Shifts in the 21st Century by George Barna and Mark Hatch

Open Heart by Frederick Buechner

The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel by James B. Jordan

Portofino by Frank Schaeffer

The Scottish National Covenant: A Tercentenary Sketch by George David Henderson

Face to Face: Meditations on Friendship and Hospitality by Steve Wilkins

On Ugliness by Umberto Eco

Telling Queen Michal's Story: An Experiment in Comparative Interpretation

A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis

Worlds in Collision by Immanuel Velikovsky

The New Jerusalem by G. K. Chesterton

The Challenge of Easter by N. T. Wright

Saving Grandma by Frank Schaeffer

Better Coin Collecting by Tom Mulligan

Evangelicalism Divided: A Record of Crucial Change in the Years 1950 to 2000 by Iain Murray

Untune the Sky: Occasional, Stammering Verse by Douglas Wilson

Reading the Lines: A Fresh Look at the Hebrew Bible by Pamela Tamarkin Reis

Chessmen by Frank Greygoose

Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James

Theological Liberalism: A Handful of Pebbles by Peter Barnes

Instructing a Child's Heart by Ted and Margy Tripp

Modern Dispensationalism and the Law of God by O. T. Allis

A good taste of Wright's writing

Where my tastes lie at the moment

My favourite commentary on Daniel

Rather hokey ten years on

Books John read in 2011, Part 1

Finding depth in the details

Very useful for the student of logic

Children's books in Tetun

Radically biblical, but not quite the full picture

Birthday doings

A playful, yet serious, paradox

Creation Revealed in Six Days

BookSneeze Review: Lee, A Life of Virtue by John Perry

2010 in Books (Kara's list)

Kara's Reading Goals for 2011

20 books John plans to read in 2011

John's December Reading

Kara's Spring Reading

John's November Reading

This blog as a word cloud

John's September Reading

Kara's Winter Reading

John's July and August Reading

John's June Reading

John's May Reading

Kara's March and April Reading

BookSneeze Review: Jane Austen by Peter Leithart

John's March Reading

Kara's February Reading

John's February Reading

Kara's January Reading

John's January Reading

Kara's Reading Goals for 2010

2009 Books: The (almost) complete list

20 books John plans to read in 2010

Book giveaway at Kingdom People

John's December Reading

John's November Reading

Two literary tools