Tried With Fire

Ever since I read How to Think , which I loved, I wanted to read more of Alan Jacobs' writing. So I found a used copy of his book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction . 1 It's been sitting in the TBR pile for a while, but I wanted a smaller book to bring on a recent trip, so I pulled The Pleasures of Reading from the stack and took it with me. It's a delightful little book on reading for pleasure and growth. You won't be guilted into reading a list of x number of books that you must read before you die, but Jacob writes about the ways in which we can stretch our minds and tastes as readers. And above all, take pleasure in reading. There are so many quotable quotes, but here are a few that stood out to me: "Above all, take time to discern, what the book - or story, or poem, or essay, or article - has to offer you. Slow down. Make a point of revisiting passages that seems especially rich, or especially confusing, or for that matter especially off...

What is a Girl Worth? My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth About Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics - Rachael Denhollander, Tyndale Momentum, 2019, 352 pages. I stayed up later than I intended last night and finished What is a Girl Worth? . I had followed the Nassar case after connecting with Jacob Denhollander on Twitter. He shared his wife’s story in the Indy Star article – a victim/survivor who had come forward to stop an evil man who had been abusing children for decades. As I read the articles and watched the news coverage, Rachael came across as so brave, strong, and capable. Her training as an attorney was evident in the clarity and power of her carefully chosen words. But her book reveals what was going on behind the scenes – Would anyone believe her and take this seriously? Was it too late to report?  The internal turmoil and re-traumatization of having to retell her abuse.  Turning her private journals over to Nassar’s defense team knowi...

Beyond Authority and Submission: Women and Men in Marriage, Church, and Society - Rachel Green Miller, P&R Publishing Company, 2019, 273 pages. Newton's third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is true in science, and unfortunately, this is true in theology. Attempts to correct a problem can create an equal and opposite problem by reacting in fear, and I've seen this take place in the gender wars. But what if it's time to get off the pendulum, stop reacting, and see what the Word of God says? This is why Beyond Authority and Submission is such an important book.  Rachel Miller first examines what the Bible says regarding authority and submission. Spoiler alert: submission is rooted in our humanity, not in a particular chromosome pair. God has sole power and authority to whom all of creation is subject, including all of mankind. Any human authority is derivative and temporal. Thus the Bible admonishes chil...

This has been an unusual spring. In April and May, I had jury duty which meant being on call every Tuesday of the month not knowing until the night before. I reported only two Tuesdays, but it was stressful not knowing when I would have to serve. I like having some idea of the week ahead so spur-of-the-moment isn't my preference. It's gardenia time. I've cut dozens of flowers over the past week, and my house is filled with the fragrance. All the wet weather we had since last year seems to have made the gardenia bushes happy because they are full of blooms. Even though creation is under curse, even though there is so much that is wrong, there is still so much beauty in the world for which I am grateful. The book of nature, while limited, still speaks loudly of its Creator. If you like audio books, the freebie from Christian Audio this month has been very thought provoking. Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren picks up the same ideas as in You Are Wha...

How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church , C. Christopher Smith, Brazos Press, 2019, 222 pages. The Apostle Paul uses a picture of the human body to describe the Body of Christ. Our bodies are interconnected in ways that we understand and ways that are still a mystery. The brain is the control center. Yet there is a interdependence among the members and the need for some of the lowliest and smallest parts. This interdependence is seen in how the physical body communicates within itself. How the Body of Christ Talks by Christopher Smith uses this same analogy to highlight the importance of conversations within the church. As believers, our relationships are important. While those connections are the result of our union with Christ and inclusion in the church universal, they need to be strengthened and maintained in the church local. Just as our physical body needs the flow of chemical messages from one part to another to flourish, ...

It's been a while since I've gotten back to blogging regularly. Part of it is I'm still in mourning for my dad. I think grief is going to be a steady stream that flows below the surface. It may rise or ebb, but it's always there. Another part is having too many thoughts in my head to organize in a coherent manner and reading too many books simultaneously. So in lieu of a pensieve, this post will be the repository for the random thoughts that have been swirling in my brain based on my recent reading. I wonder if my lack of concentration is due to my use of social media. I'm halfway through Reader, Come Home by Maryanne Wolf. (Ironically I learned of the book via @scifri on Twitter.) Wolf is a neuroscientist and reading specialist. She is concerned that too much screen reading is impairing our ability to read deeply which impairs our ability to think and feel deeply. She is coming from an evolutionary perspective, so she believes that our reading brains evolved o...

There were many wonderful remembrances of my dad during his funeral service. But there were two that especially touched my heart. My uncle and a brother from my parent's church shared similar stories of my dad always encouraging them to read and giving them books. I had to smile through the tears because this was so like my dad. He loved to read, and he loved books. I always remember the growing stack and sometimes stacks of books near whichever chair he happened to chose for reading. When my parents moved from their home of over 40 years to independent living, the big question was, "What are we going to do with all these books?" I'm sure I tripled my library with the books I brought home, and I gave at least three boxes to my pastor. But we managed to pare down the many shelves to four. When the time came for my parents to move to assisted living, the books had to be culled again. We discovered not only my dad's personal books that were never unpacked but ...

This summer was busy and felt longer than usual. I had an ambitious list of potential reading, but good intentions take a back seat to real life. However, here are some of the books I finished over the past few months. The Paper Magician - Charlie Holmberg. The premise is an alternative history of late 19th - early 20th century England where magicians are trained to work with a specific material like paper,  glass, or metal. It sounded promising, but the vibe was too modern. I just couldn't buy the heroine living unchaperoned with her mentor and cooking penne pasta. This was author's first novel, so I will give her some slack, but I doubt I will read any more books in this series. For an example of an alternative history with magic that captures the time period well - Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. One Nation Under God - How Corporate America Invented Christian America - Kevin Kruse. Another book in my quest to understand how we got to where...

Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump , John Fea, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2018, 238 pages. Early in the morning on November 9, 2016, I was on my way to pick up the day's work. I turned on the radio and braced myself for the announcement that Hillary Clinton was elected. It would be an understatement to say that I was stunned when I learned that the next president would be Donald Trump. I think I pulled the car over to the side of the road. I was that shocked. My first major election was 1980, so I am not a new voter. Yet I don't remember there ever being an election where both candidates had so much ethical and moral baggage to disqualify them. For the record, I did not vote for Clinton or Trump. I understand holding one's nose in the voting booth (or in this case with an  SCBA  on) and choosing to be pragmatic even while being internally conflicted. However, it is another thing to rubber-stamp God's approval on a morally questionable candid...

Cartoon by  Tom Gauld

Given the number of books and limited time, this is really an I-may-finish-some-of-these-by-the-end-of-the-year book list. Anyhow, it reminds me of what is waiting on the shelves. Theology/Christianity: Anxiety: Choosing Faith in a World of Worry - Amy Simpson Christ the Lord: The Reformation and Lordship Salvation - Michael Horton Devoted to God - Sinclair Ferguson The Doctrine of God for Every Woman - Rebecca Stark Neither Complementarian Nor Egalitarian - Michelle Lee-Barnewall (reread) Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down - Marva Dawn Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible - Sandra Glahn Why Can't We Be Friends? - Aimee Byrd Domestic Abuse: Fractured Covenants - Marie O'Toole How He Gets Into Her Head: The Mind of the Male Intimate Abuser - Dan Hennessy The Asian American Experience: At America's Gates, Chinese Immigration During the Exclusion Era: 1882-1943 - Erika Lee Looking Like the Enemy - Mary...

How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds - Alan Jacobs, Currency,  2017, 157 pages. I debated about writing a one sentence review - "If you don't want to act like a jerk toward people you disagree with, read this book." Or its converse - "If you want to be respectful and gracious toward people you disagree with, read this book." While both of those statements are true about How to Think , this book is more than tips on being nice and not being mean. Thinking is more than just being intelligent. It's more than always making the right decision or having the right answer. It also isn't about turning off emotions and being purely rational. Thinking is about taking the time and making the effort to consider how our thoughts and thought patterns cause us to view and treat others. To use biblical language, thinking is critical in how we love our neighbor. Written out of concern for the increasing nastiness in the culture and social media, in...

How we measure a person's worth determines how we treat them but also how we see ourselves. The messages we hear from the culture and from our closest influences feed into that understanding. Am I worth something based on my education or salary? Am I worth something because I am married and have children? Am I worth something because of physical abilities or beauty? Am I worth something because my kids have turned out okay and I am set for retirement? These things, which are not bad in themselves, are temporal and can change in a heartbeat. What are we left with when an incurable disease is chipping away at our ability to function at the most basic level? One of the saddest things I have heard from a person with memory loss is, "I can't do what I used to anymore. What is the point of living?" Is that true or is there another source of value that goes deeper? I think there is. We have to go back to imago dei - being made in the image of God. dementia is a threat ...

Reformation Women: Sixteenth-Century Figures Who Shaped Christianity's Rebirth, Rebecca VanDoodewaard, Reformation Heritage Books, 2017, 152 pages. In three months, many of us will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. We are familiar with Martin Luther (of course!), Philip Melancthhon, and Ulrich Zwingli to name a few, but what about women? Were they involved in the Reformation at all? The answer is, "Yes." and you can learn about some of these saints in Reformation Women by Rebecca VanDoodewaard. This book contains biographical sketches of 12 reformation women most of whom were unfamiliar to me. These women came from different backgrounds and stations in life. Some were queens and princesses. Others were former nuns. They were wives, mothers, and single women who served tirelessly in the church. Many were well-educated and theologians/scholars in their own right. But what these women had in common was their conviction from the sc...

I have very strong opinions about books for Christian women. I am tired of the bad theology, and I'm tired of the promotion of cultural norms as being more godly. But I am also very hopeful. I am thankful for women like Hannah Anderson, Aimee Byrd, and Wendy Alsup, whose latest book I have just reviewed. Their books have raised the bar and taken us beyond the pink passages and the pink ghetto of Titus 2-onlyism. Is the Bible Good for Women? tackles Dinah's rape and other passages that would cause many to question the goodness of the Word and ultimately God Himself. How many books for Christian women would dare do that without writing off the very real concerns of women who have suffered abuse and trauma? We need less fluff and more substance. We need sound theology but also its application to real life, not the Christian fairytale. Is the Bible God for Women? does that. Read the review here .

ht: Savage Chickens

I have an uneasy relationship with movies that are made out of books that I love. Maybe I'm not creative enough to understand a director's art, or I'm just a critical wet blanket. But a book purist I will remain, and my standard will be  - "Is it true to the book?" A few months ago, I watched part of the 3rd Hobbit movie. I was disappointed with some of the adjustments that occurred in the older  Lord of the Rings epics. (Okay, Faramir's character assassination was more than just a tweak.) But regarding the Hobbit , was this even the same book? I probably should have just ignored it and gone back to my knitting, but I continued to watch in grim fascination curious to see how far the film makers would go. There were great special effects and all sorts of angst and violence to satisfy a modern audience, but it was a disservice to Tolkien and his beloved novel in my opinion. But what I find even more interesting are so-called Christian movies and books that...

These are not so much fixed goals but suggestions and reminders of the books that are still waiting on the shelf, the stack on the floor, and the pile on the kitchen table. I never thought I would be reading so much history and sociology. I used to think these subjects were dead bores with no practical application Not anymore. Listening: The New American Standard Bible Augustine's Confessions Finish listening to The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee Theological reading: On the Incarnation - Athanasius The Death of Death in the Death of Christ - John Owen (I've tried reading this so many times and gave up. Perhaps this year will be it.) Contemporary issues and the history behind them: The Souls of Black Folk  - W.E.B. Du Bois Heal Us, Emmanuel - various Disunity in Christ - Christena Cleveland The Search for Christian America - Mark Noll, Nathan Hatch, George Marsden (The dream team when it comes to American history from a Christian perspective...

Look inside, examine it against the Bible (just cited verses don't count), and then see whether it is worth reading or not. Many Christians do not distinguish between a likable personality and the content of that person's teaching... A vital skill for becoming a competent woman is learning how to read well.  We need to be alert and equipped, because Christian bookstores don't have genre labels like "fluff" and "I may look like I have my life together more than you, but I am about to wreck your theology." You would be troubled to hear that women in your congregation were uncritically going on dates with random guys they had met, wouldn't you? What would you do in that situation? You would want to spend some time helping them distinguish between attractive traits and harmful ones. This is what we want to do with the books they are reading as well. No Little Women: Equipping All Women in the Household of God , Aimee Byrd, P&R Publishing, ...

Martin Luther   by   Simonetta Carr, illustrations by Troy Howell, Reformation Heritage Books, 2016, 32 pages. For ages 7-12. I was wondering if Simonetta Carr would write a children's biography on Martin Luther, and she has! And it's just in time for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation next year. This book traces Luther's life from his student days to becoming a monk, his pivotal role in the Protestant Reformation, and the subsequent years until his death. The author demonstrates her skill, once again, in being able to take a well-known figure in church history and condense his story so that it is appealing and understandable to the target audience. Beautiful illustrations and photographs augment the text and add visual interest. The book also includes a "Did You Know?" section containing interesting facts, a timeline of Luther's life, and excerpts from his small catechism. I've reviewed some of the biographies in the  Christian Bi...