Book Reviews
Book Review: Letters to an American Christian
The 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses are now only days away, ushering in a new United States presidential primary season. This noteworthy contest can indicate how a presidential candidate will do later in the primary season. However, the question is: how interested will voters be this election year? More specifically, how will Christians view their roles in public life and American politics? I’ve reflected several times over the last few months how thankful I am for my college and seminary education. Welch College and Southeastern Baptist...
read moreBook Review: The Apologetics of Leroy Forlines
In my work as a teacher I have noticed a recent surge in Free Will Baptist students who are interested in apologetics. Anecdotally, I can count a handful of students who have graduated recently from Welch College and have gone on to earn (or are earning) master’s degrees in apologetics. While a number of variables may contribute to this sudden interest, these students are heirs to a certain kind of theological thinking concerning apologetics. Specifically, they join a line of Free Will Baptist apologists concerned with offering an apologia...
read moreRecommended Books (Winter 2019)
Many people find reading a difficult task. Their challenges often arise from unfamiliarity and lack of practice. However, time constraints and the constant demands of modern life also play a part in raising barriers to the practice of reading. With these things in mind, it is important to devote what little time and energy we can spare for reading to good books. We would like to recommend some of our favorite selections from the past few months as a guide for your future reading. Or you may find a good last-minute Christmas gift for a friend...
read moreWords Fitly Written: A Review of Honey for a Child’s Heart
I imagine that very few HSF readers would disagree with the assertion that childhood in 2019 is different than childhood in, say, 1999. Speaking as one who was a child herself in 1999, I’m not sure that young Christa could even have imagined some of the changes we see now: “You mean that I can carry a little television around with me all the time, and I don’t need a videotape to watch my favorite shows?”“The internet is everywhere, not just at the library?”“I can send instant messages to my friends and family complete with pictures from a...
read moreWho Is An Evangelical? A Review
Who is an evangelical? That is a complex question. We often hear the term evangelical used today in reference to American politics, but that is a very narrow (one might say misguided) understanding of historical evangelicals and evangelicalism. In Who Is an Evangelical?, Thomas Kidd attempts to answer the question historically by tracing the roots of American evangelicalism from the eighteenth century through the election of Donald Trump. According to Kidd, the moniker “evangelical” has come to mean something like “Republican insider...
read moreRecommended Books (Autumn 2019)
As the cold North Wind begins to blow into our communities, we wrap up our last outdoor chores for the year and seek shelter inside as summer winds to an end. The extra hours inside provide a great time for reading individually and as a family. Listed below are several recommended books that we have particularly enjoyed over the past few months. We hope you will find something useful for your future reading. Please be sure to share your favorite books from the past quarter in our comment section. ____________________ Kathryn Butler Between...
read moreHow We Get Our English Bible: A Review
by Jacob Riggs How We Get Our English Bible: Understanding About Different VersionsRobert E. PicirilliRandall House, 2019ISBN: 9781614841050 Near the end of my reading this book I told my wife, “Next to God’s Word, this may be the most important book for every Free Will Baptist to read.” I said that, and still believe it, for three reasons: (1) some Free Will Baptist’s who are KJV-only (in the National Association of Free Will Baptists, 10% believe that the KJV is the only version we should use for preaching, teaching, and personal study, and...
read moreBook Review: Between Life and Death
Back in the fall of 2018, I was processing feelings of grief after losing my grandfather. He passed away at home surrounded by family and friends. I remember cherishing these final moments with him. In the days after his memorial service, I remember encountering the work of Kathryn Butler on Oceans Rise. I honestly can’t recall how I stumbled upon this blog, but her forthcoming book Between Life and Death caught my attention. I was just completing my first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh, North Carolina,...
read moreModern Technology and the Human Future: A Christian Appraisal
(Note: An earlier version of this book review appeared on the Center for the Study of Ethics and Technology website) The world is changing quickly. The nature of the change varies from region to region, but behind these economic, social, and political “accelerations,” to use Thomas Friedman’s term, lays one unified force: modern technology. “Modern automatic machine technologies,” as author and professor Craig Gay states it, are reshaping our present and, in so doing, are reshaping the future. Believers and unbelievers agree on this, though...
read moreRecommended Books (Spring 2019)
Whew! The school year is over, and everyone is ready to unwind. However, we shouldn’t allow ourselves to become complacent during down times. Our less constrained schedules allow us to focus on other areas of our lives. Students and teachers especially should take this opportunity to develop their minds and spirits at a more even pace. But regardless of your vocation, we have a few reading recommendations for you. We have found these books to be particularly insightful on a wide range of topics, and we think you will too. Please leave us your...
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