Biblical Portraits of Creation - Book Review

Biblical Portraits of Creation: Celebrating the Maker of Heaven and Earth is written by Walter C. Kaiser and Dorington G. Little. Kaiser is a professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and it can be fairly said that he is a (or the) leading scholar in his field. Little is the senior pastor of the First Congregational Church of Hamilton, MA. Together they have combined to produce a unique little volume on Creation. (Note: The book is predominantly Kaiser – nine of the twelve chapters plus the Preface, Prologue, Epilogue and Appendix.)

The first question based on the title might be is this another volume defending one of the myriad of positions on creation found in Genesis 1-2? Answer: Absolutely not. However, you will find some answers to that question in the book. Rather Kaiser and Little rejoice in, applaud and commemorate God’s creation. They accomplish this by working through those portions of Scripture that focus on God’s creation. Only two of the chapters are from Genesis 1 and 2. Five are from the Psalms – 104, 8 & 19, 29, 33, and 148.

Each chapter centers on a particular passage of Scripture and I would highly recommend that you read that portion several times before reading through the text. I will provide you with a deeper grasp of what is being said.

If you are a student of Hebrew, you will greatly enjoy Kaiser’s exegetical skills of the language. In many verses he digs deep into the language to explain the wonder of God’s creation. It's worth the time to take advantage of Dr. Kaiser's knowledge of the language.

Kaiser also includes a lengthy appendix, 22 pages, in which he discusses “The Literary Genre of Genesis 1 – 11.” He covers and virtually defeats all of the arguments that have been proposed in the past two hundred years concerning the language of these chapters and in the end gives his own conclusion. It’s a bit heavy duty, but, if one is interested in these matters, it’s worth the read.

I would highly recommend this volume but it’s not one to be just “read.” Rather, it is to be studied. If this approach is taken, it will be greatly appreciated.

 

This book was provided to me by the Weaver Book Company.

How will the world end? - Book Review

What! Another book about the end times you ask? Well, “Yes” is the answer to that question. But before you accept any notion of not reading the book because of its lack of volume, let me put the summary of the book at the beginning. It’s short – 93 pages with six chapters; it’s fairly comprehensive on the basics of the end times; it’s a very quick and easy read; and will serve very well for a small group Bible study and surely open up a room of discussion.

The official title is How will the world end? And other questions about the last things and the second coming of Christ and the author is Jeramie Rinne. Rinne is the senior pastor at South Shore Baptist Church in the Boston area.

Renne answers the question presented in the title of the book in the very first chapter – How will the world end? Sorry, you’ll have to read the book to get the answer, but here’s a hint: With the dire conclusion comes a message of hope.

For ongoing interest Rinne has sprinkled throughout the book a number of “asides” that present discussions to questions to which everyone wants an answer: Who is the antichrist? Are we in the end times yet? Will there be a secret rapture? And – When is Jesus coming back?

Chapter four, Will Jesus come back before or after the “Millennium”?, is a well done discussion.  Rinne offers arguments for the two most prevalent answers – a pre- and post-millennial return. Within each of these two answers he debates the most common viewpoints. It includes four charts giving visual explanation to each viewpoint. It’s well worth the reading of the book for this discussion.

Whatever your view of the end times might be this book is worth the swift and trouble-free read. On the other hand you might want to take your time to research what Rinne has produced. Either way, it’s recommended for another assessment.

This book was provided by “thegoodbook company” for review.

What a Week We're Having

At least as far as Christianity is concerned. And probably a bit is spillover from the previous week.

 

And a lot has been festering inside the volcanic slime for a while.

So here’s a few headlines from the past few days:

Gungor Rattles Christian World With Revelation That They Don’t Believe the Bible Literally

Worship Songwriter Vicky Beeching Comes Out as Gay

What’s the deal with modern, pop Christian music artists? Call me skeptical, but it sounds like a money grab.

Top UK Christian Singer Investigated for Alleged Sex Abuse at 1985 Billy Graham Crusade

Now granted these are allegations and investigations are ongoing. But, let’s face it, the headlines don’t look good. The damage has been done.

Acts 29 Removes Mars Hill, Asks Mark Driscoll To Step Down and Seek Help

Don’t get me started on “celebrity” Christians and Pastors.

Well, never mind.

It would seem to me that pastors who become celebrities and travel to speak at conferences around the country (and the world) have little time to spend with their flock which would seem to be the job description of a pastor.

And the most disappointing fact is there’s more.

And a further disappointing fact is that these are internal, self-afflicted wounds. If you want a view of a few shots taken at Christianity from the outside take a look at Todd Starnes’ Todd’s American Dispatch.

Yes, brothers and sisters, the evil one is alive and well and hard at work.

 Are we?

Impressions Collection Bible - Book Review

Well, sort of a book review. It would seem most presumptuous to review the text of this book. The Impressions Collection Bible is not an attempt at a study Bible from a new angle or approach, but rather a unique slant to packaging and inevitably marketing the Bible. The concept is from Zondervan/Harper Collins Christian Publishing.

The basic cosmetics are quite simple. It is the NIV translation from 2011 with the words of Christ in red letter. The text on each page is double column in thin line making the print somewhat small. Of course, this produces a Bible of a portable size – less than 1.5 inches thick in a 9” x 6” size makes it quite easy to tote around. Also included is a ribbon marker. The boxed packaging is also appealing with a simulation of the cover on the box. The content is totally devoid of study notes with the exception of a Table of Weights and Measures at the very end. It is obvious that this Bible is meaning to simply be read.

But here’s what makes this Bible fun. It’s the clever and hopefully appealing marketing approach.

First it’s a hard cover, but not your usual, straightforward hardcover book. This one is padded with a soft matte finish that is wonderfully soft to the touch. You’ll hardly realize you have a hardback Bible in your hands.

But that’s not all. The soft matte finish comes in three designs. Our review copy arrived with a Cherry Blossom cover. Quite visually appealing. The pattern continues around the binding and the back. The other two styles are Flora and Fauna and Red Poppies.

This is an “attractive” Bible that should appeal to pre-teen and early teen young ladies. It invites you to pick it up and take a look.

If you’re looking for a great gift Bible for a young lady that she’ll be proud to show to her friends and carry to church and Sunday School, this is it. In conjunction with this it will make a great witnessing tool especially as a conversation starter.

My thanks to Zondervan and Harper Collins for providing this Bible for review.

UConn Professor Goes Ape

Now I realize that the title of this blog is a sick pun (I’m not the originator of the pun.), but just read the thing anyway. It will present you with a slice of life from one of the USA’s institutions of higher learning.

At the University of Connecticut an anthropology professor sort of lost it when he observed some campus evangelists. Well, “lost it” may be an understatement; he was two inches from physical violence. I’ve put a couple of links here so you can read about it and even watch his rant on video.

But before you go charging into YouTube Land, here are a few warnings:

Warning #1: The video contains a good deal of profanity.  Apparently the good professor has a limited vocabulary. He needs to sit in on a couple of English classes at UCONN.

Warning #2: Parents, if you’re going to send your child to UCONN or almost any secular college or university, this is the quality of educator he or she will get to experience. Lucky you; you get to reap the benefits.

Warning #3: If you’re a hard core evolutionist, you may derive some benefit from this video. Kind of view it as a training video concerning how not to act in public.

Warning #4: Not only is there profanity and vulgarity in the video, there is obesity.

Here are the links. View them in the order as presented.

http://christiannews.net/2014/04/23/praise-darwin-uconn-professor-goes-ape-during-campus-preaching/

http://christiannews.net/2014/04/25/uconn-professor-defends-going-ape-during-campus-preaching-while-officials-decry-behavior/

Bible Revival - Book Review

Usually we attempt to sound scholarly and professional when producing book reviews; and usually we try to hit a certain length or word count, but for this volume we will dispense with those formalities. We’ll make it short and informative and begin by going right to the bottom line:

If you are a Christian, who claims to love the Word of God, you need to read this book.

The title informs you of everything you need to know about the contents. The author’s contention is that we claim (pay lip service) to love the Word of God, but in reality our actions demonstrate nothing of the kind. He may say it in a little more gentle fashion than that, but that is the thrust.

In six short chapters – Learning, Valuing, Understanding, Applying, Obeying and Speaking the Word - Berding more than adequately presents his case.  If you care about your relationship with the Word of God, you should find this book a very pointed challenge. When you read Bible Revival, you may get your spiritual toes stepped on, but Berding does it very lightly. You’ll learn what it really means to Value and Understand the Word.

So the book is written by Kenneth Berding, a professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He’s had more theological education and written more scholarly “stuff” than you would think is humanly possible. That might lead you to believe that this is a book written by an Ivory Tower Member for the Ivory Tower Gang. Not the case at all! Bible Revival is right down where the green grass grows. Yes, you’ll get a bit of hermeneutics and yes you’ll get a few of the rules of practical application, but mostly you’ll get dared to examine your relationship with your Bible.

ASIDE: It would appear to me that if you have the opportunity to take a class from Dr. Berding, you do not squander that opportunity. He seems to be able to convey knowledge in a practical and useful manner.

Final Bottom Line: If you’re going to buy ten Christian books this year, make this one of them. And after you do, read it, study it, underline it and highlight it. But most of all accept the challenge in it.

**This book was provided to me for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.**

Education and God

I picked up on this little gem this morning. If you’re at all curious or concerned about how the educational element in our culture views Christianity and God, you need to read this article and then file it under something like “The Coming Persecution”. Notice in particular how the lawyer for the community college spins the daylights out of the incident. It’s laughable.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/04/24/student-claims-community-college-rejected-application-because-christian-faith/