Book Reviews
Recommended Books (Spring 2022)
Beautiful days are back! Spring has sprung in most areas of the country, and we are all excited about the possibility of getting outside and soaking up some wonderful vitamin D. However, we should not let the outside lead us away from sharpening our minds and spirits through good books. Below you will find a collection of reading material that we have found beneficial. We hope you will find some to place on your reading list for the coming months. If you have a good recommendation, please leave us a comment. ____________________ D. G. Hart,...
read moreGlimmers of Grace: A Doctor’s Reflections on Faith, Suffering, and the Goodness of God
For the past few years I have been training to be a professional chaplain in a medical setting. One training regimen involved exposure in a level 1 trauma center and behavioral health unit. In my current professional setting, I work in Hospice care where I spend each day in this liminal space of death and dying. The patients I currently see are required to have a terminal diagnosis; given natural disease progression, these patients have six months of life or less to live. These spaces and places, whether in an emergency room, behavioral...
read moreRecommended Books (Winter 2022)
At the start of the year, many people set goals to accomplish over the ensuing twelve months. Some enjoy preparing reading goals that push them to explore new areas of literature, review old classics, or discover new authors. Others simply set a number of books they intend to finish by year’s end. Keeping notes on your reading habits serves to encourage more intentional and consistent reading. Reading partners and book discussion groups are another great motivator for reading new books. The reflection and conversation that follows adds an...
read moreRecommended Books (Autumn 2021)
If you have not yet noticed, we are all very limited. Our wisdom flickers and fails constantly. Of course, the ultimate source of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, but we can also garner wisdom from observing the created order. It is especially helpful to consider the thinking of others who have devoted time to study subjects with which we are unfamiliar. Even authors who write on topics with which we are expertly familiar offer new and interesting perspectives that help us to refine our understanding of the world that God has created. Below...
read moreReflecting on Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga
Sometimes people ask you about your favorite this or favorite that: your favorite color or animal or food or movie or book. For my part I hesitate to answer in such superlative terms because I like all kinds of things. Additionally, the identification of a favorite anything creates heightened expectations in others’ imaginations upon which reality cannot deliver. We have this experience when everyone you know says, “That movie is great,” but then, upon seeing it, you respond with “meh.” This experience is not a big deal for things that lack...
read moreBook Review: Small Church Essentials: Field-Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of Under 250
Small-church pastors often set out to read practical ministry books only to find that most of them are geared toward larger churches. The ideas they promote would not work in a smaller congregation, so the small-church pastor must take the general principle of what the book teaches and adapt them for his own setting. Of course, pastors of larger churches must also discern how to apply the principles set out in a book, since so much depends on each individual church. Even so, smaller congregations receive less attention than larger ones. Karl...
read moreRecommended Books (Summer 2021)
As the summer winds to an end, the oppressive heat and humidity are likely to drive us inside as much as possible. Use that nice air-conditioned time wisely, though. We can fill this time with many good books. Below, you will find some of our most recent reads that we think are important. We offer a wide range of subjects that readers from all walks of life will find interesting. If you have a good recommendation, please leave us a comment. ____________________ Kevin Bales, Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide, and the Secret to Saving...
read moreChristianity, Philosophy, and Natural Theology
While some may associate the subject of philosophy with eggheads who talk about old, dead Greeks and Romans, the truth is much more layered and exciting than that: Fundamentally, philosophy concerns our views of life, truth, the world, ethics, and other topics that form our basic worldviews. Consequently, it is relevant to our Christian confession. Yes, it includes discussion about history, but it is not limited to that by any means. In last week’s post, I introduced readers to the book, Four Views on Christianity and Philosophy, which...
read moreChristianity, Philosophy, and Presuppositions
Approximately one year ago, in the spring of 2020, I was invited to begin teaching Welch College’s offering of Christian Philosophy, which occupies a place in the general education curriculum. Since that time, I have taught four iterations of the course and have loved every minute of it. The subject of philosophy is not simply about philosophers and their ideas. It is also about what and how we think; to that extent, it is relevant to everyone, contrary to the opining of some students. How we think about the state of the world, the life of...
read moreBook Review: Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation: Ancient Wisdom for Current Controversy
Two seemingly distinct areas in theological studies have enjoyed renewed interest in recent years. A variety of authors have emphasized both the doctrine of creation and the method of theological retrieval. Each area is rich for theological discovery and construction. While some have recently sought to apply theological retrieval specifically to the doctrine of creation, fewer have looked to the early church fathers.[1] Thankfully, Gavin Ortlund has undertaken that task by mining the writings of the most influential theologian of Western...
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