I read this because of a review by Joseph Bottom in The Weekly Standard, which makes some good points. The book is solid but doesn’t really offer a lot of insight into Christianity. One point I liked (irrelevant to Christianity) is that Rome was unique in that its leaders/elite wrote poetry (297). This point (286-87) … [Read more…]
This is very good, especially in the facts and history it provides. Some of the analysis toward the end is confused and too speculative, and I think he is too harsh on Joel Osteen and too insistent that Christianity cannot be upbeat (he’s Catholic, FYI and FWIW).
There are about forty excerpts from a Who’s Who of Christian theologians (Luther, Calvin, St. Thomas, Wesley, C.S. Lewis, etc.). Needless to say, there is some good stuff in here; there’s also a biography, bibliography, and questions for each. Note: I did not read the whole book (my notes don’t say why). I read the … [Read more…]
This is a very interesting selection (made by “Renovare,” by the way). First there is commentary and then there are excerpts from each. Some notes: Calvin is much more accessible than I would have thought. He also interprets Scripture with an eye on what is implicit as well as explicit in it; it’s very … [Read more…]
I read this because Professor Timothy Shutt of Kenyon College recommended it in an audiobook lecture as a great way to see what life was like in the provinces of the Roman Empire; because it’s the only surviving ancient Latin novel, and a rare documentation of life in the lower classes; and for the story … [Read more…]
It’s reassuring how much archaeological evidence there is supporting the Bible’s history. Fun fact to know and tell: There were seven key crops in Bible times, namely wheat and barley; grapes and figs; and olives, pomegranates, and dates.
This book illuminates very well the Catholic-versus-Protestant approach to Biblical interpretation — and my proclivities are indeed Protestant (my notes say there’s a good example on page 81). I found the book very engaging — both the specific subject matter (do Catholics focus too much on Mary?) and the window it provides on the theological … [Read more…]
I listened to the audiobook; it’s excellent. It really covers the waterfront: Answers atheists and criticizes them and their mindset, in addition to including Christian apologetics and discussing why being a Christian just makes your life better.
Some good nuggets: The ancient critics of Christianity did not deny that Jesus existed; only recent critics have done that (75-78). John Stuart Mill argued that that a bunch of fishermen could not have made up Jesus’ wisdom (92); but that at least confirms Christianity’s wisdom, does it not? And Herbert Hoover said man needs more … [Read more…]
Lewis regards MacDonald as his “master,” but in the preface acknowledges that sometimes MacDonald’s writing is not all that great (and so, by the way, I have not read beyond these selections). MacDonald seems to me to be more of a mystic, which is not really my cup of tea — but why should every … [Read more…]