The New Oxford American Dictionary defines torture as: (1) “the action or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something, or for the pleasure of the person inflicting the…
Yearly Archives: 2014
THE HEBREW BIBLE by NORMAN K. GOTTWALD
3.0 of 5.0 The bottom line: Valuable information about the world in which ancient Israel lived, but at a very steep price. There were many forces, players, and themes occurring behind and around the narrative of the Hebrew…
RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
I shall define religious pluralism as a condition or system in which multiple spiritual groups, ideas, positions, principles, or sources of authority coexist and are all regarded as equally valid. At the end of 2008, the Pew Research Center conducted…
ACTS INTERPRETATION by WILLIAM H. WILLIMON
4.5 of 5.0 The bottom line: A solid theological exposition of the Book of Acts. In Acts Interpretation, Willimon takes the approach that the narrative of the early Christian “church” in Acts is not a closed tale, but…
Posted in Book Reviews
THE VALUE OF LIFE II
Any ideology that lessens the value of life from “priceless” to “worthless” therein allows people to be treated not as neighbors, but as commodities. At no other point in my life has the harsh, cruel, oppressive, and perverse order in…
SABBATH AS RESISTANCE: SAYING NO TO THE CULTURE OF NOW by WALTER BRUEGGEMANN
4.5 of 5.0 The bottom line: A powerful reexamination of the often misunderstood and neglected day of rest in a restless, commodity-driven, pluralistic world. Reading this book will reveal how to properly say “Yes” to God while saying…
Posted in Book Reviews
THE VALUE OF LIFE: MICHAEL BROWN, ERIC GARNER, TAMIR RICE, & JOHN CRAWFORD
There are many tragedies in recent memory where select members of the police (a group officially sanctioned to use force) recklessly use guns against those who are unarmed. The tragic cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner rest heavily on…
HISTORY OF THE WORLD CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT VOLUME I: EARLIEST CHRISTIANITY to 1453 by DALE T. IRVIN and SCOTT W. SUNQUIST
4.98 of 5 The bottom line: If you want a book on Christian history to 1453, look no further. In short, History of the World Christian Movement is a comprehensive, insightful, and eye-opening look into the people, politics, cultures,…
PRIVILEGE
This is not an article concerned with race—that is, “pro-this” and “anti-that.” This is an article about privilege, a force whose effects are potent yet so well assimilated that those who have the most of it fail to realize it…
RELIGION SAVES by MARK DRISCOLL
4.9 of 5 The bottom line: A superb handbook of practical theology made accessible to all. Provides comprehensive biblical principles to navigate through life’s more complicated dilemmas and answers the tough questions. In the author’s own words, “[R]eligion…
Posted in Book Reviews
