This very enjoyable 155-page book features portraits of Saul, Jonah, Jeremiah, Elijah, and Joshua. Wiesel is a Jew, of course, so the Christian perspective is lost; also, he relies not just on Scripture but on other (Jewish) authorities (Talmud, Midrash) and perhaps does not always distinguish them. But these are not disqualifiers; his analyses … [Read more…]
The author is the Archbishop of Canterbury, and I’m sorry to report that finishing the book was a struggle, even though it’s only 141 pages, given a lack of clarity that made it hard to follow but still revealed a high b.s.-to-nugget ratio. The author appears to be quite liberal, but Wikipedia says he does believe … [Read more…]
The author acknowledges that he “is a believer and, further, a Christian theologian.” He seems to dismiss deconstructionism (vii), and takes Scripture seriously but critically; he uses the Apocrypha, and includes the Gospel of Peter as an appendix. There are no big surprises here, but his bottom line is (implicitly) that, yeah, it happened. By … [Read more…]
And that’s what this is — less than 200 pages, covering from A.D. 33 to the present. Not profound, and without any big surprises for me, but straightforward and with little bias. A couple of tidbits: Ephesus’s Artemis/Diana cult became a Mary cult (31). The Christian as wayfarer originated with Augustine (44). And there’s this … [Read more…]
This is an excellent and succinct work of apologetics — an updated version (with the son) of a classic (by the father). Some specific points: Chapter 11 re fulfilled prophecies was very good and new to me. Here’s an intriguing question (7): “If God did become man, what would be the best way for him … [Read more…]
Disappointing, but I did write down a couple of his ideas to try out: (a) simply recite the Lord’s Prayer; and (b) recite simple prayers of a few words (for example, the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”). Other suggestions include no thoughts at all, or focusing only … [Read more…]
I really enjoyed this book, one reason being the large amount of Greek from Acts quoted in it. The series apparently — as the name of the project suggests — focuses heavily on theological issues, but it is not too abstruse. The author — who I believe he was raised Lutheran but converted to Eastern … [Read more…]
Just these notes on the latter: The author is a fan of Paul; he’s critical of Luke’s reliability and Timothy’s performance as a leader. I read just the beginning and end because I thought that these are the parts of Paul’s life that are not really covered in Scripture. He sees Paul’s family as originally … [Read more…]
I enjoyed this book: As you’d expect from the title, there’s nothing profound, but there’s still plenty of good material, and the format of the “Idiot’s Guide” series is very reader-friendly. The author seems sound enough; the only off-note is his obsession with not offending women by the use of masculine pronouns. (The author is … [Read more…]
This terrific book covers a number of important issues, including the evidence of God from the nonrandomness of the universe; near-death experiences; and faith and health. The author is a skeptic/atheist turned believer, a former Reagan administration official (arms control), and Harvard Ph.D., then working at the American Enterprise Institute, Ethics and Public Policy Center, … [Read more…]