John Newton, by Jonathan Aitken

John Newton is well known for his hymn writing, specifically Amazing Grace. The reason for the popularity of this hymn is more due to the fact of the truth of the words, "That saved a wretch like me!" John Newton truly was a wretch. As a matter of fact in reading this biography of his life you are left a little bit in dislike of the man.

John Newton's early life was terrible. His mother died when he was still a boy, his father remarried and had three more children with his second wife, but they treated John a bit with contempt.

His father had him put to work by the time he was 13 and by the time he was 15 he was accomplished as a sailing man. BUT, he was not a good, righteous man. Indeed, he was a vile obnoxious sailor who could swear with the best of them, drink others under the table and found that he never had a ships Captain that he could respect.

John Newton was a "wretch." He was a deserter from the Royal Navy and when caught he was flogged and demoted and despised by all other sailors. He also was such a pain in the neck to the captain that he traded Newton to a merchant vessel to obtain a more able bodied navy sailor.

Newton was then introduced to the slave trade. He was taught how to capture, incarcerate and demean African's to the point of inhumane means. But what he dished out came back to haunt him as he was himself enslaved for a time and almost starved to death.

Further he was on board ship after ship where he should have died, but always a strange twist of circumstance would spare his life. Was this God's doing to prepare him and spare him for a life of service to the Lord?

The first third or so of the book describes Newton's upbringing, his sin, his wretchedness and his terrible acts of vileness as a slave trader. Frankly I just didn't like him as I learned more about him.

But then the change takes place and his life does a complete 180 degree turn. God has captured his heart and sets him on a path of service that is truly amazing. Newton becomes a beloved pastor and hymn writer. He is a true Shepherd to the people in his flock and cares deeply for them.

He also takes up action as an abolitionist to defeat the slave trade business and set Christians on a proper course to understand that slave trading is not Biblical nor honorable, but just inhuman. Newton will join forces with William Wilberforce and also mentor Wilberforce as they work towards the abolition of the slave trade.

The work of John Newton for the Lord is truly amazing and an inspiration to all of us. After disliking him completely through the beginning of the book I come to admired and trust his faith and his teachings on the Christian life. He is an inspiration to all of us.

I actually stopped and thought, the modern day version of John Newton would be Chuck Colson. Both started out as terrible sinners and God captured their hearts in captivity and turned them to a true walk with Christ and they both became Shepherds to their flocks that were honoring to the Lord.

Enjoy!

One Universe, by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Charles Liu and Robert Irion

What a wonderful book. I can't decide if it is a coffee table book or a textbook? There are so many pictures involved that are stunning that anyone just sitting down to peruse through it would be fascinated for an hour or more. They would also find themselves learning about the universe, the Cosmos. That's because when you see the pictures you are just drawn to want to read the captions and learn what they are, then in turn you want to read the textbook portion to learn even more. The learning experience is fascinating.

I am a Theologian and thus I am happy to say that I am a young earth believer and also a believer in Intelligent Design, i.e. in God, Yahweh, Elohim, the I am of the Bible. So, I have a definite take on the details of the creation of Earth and the creation of the universe. I am not drawn to the "scientific" or "Astronomic's" of the Big Bang Theory.

BUT, I must say that as I read through this textbook I found that it was teaching me more and more about the Universe and the Galaxies and stars and planets than I ever imagined I would learn, and learn quickly.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson does a great job in this textbook of laying the ground work for the "Big Bang Theory" and the resulting galaxies that "evolved" out of it. Like I say, I am not a fan of that theory, BUT, it was so interesting to read and understand his concepts and they helped me to form even more knowledge and belief in the fact that the universe is incredible and I believe must have had an intelligent designer to create it.

The book takes you through four main sections:
MOTION
MATTER
ENERGY
and FRONTIERS

Each is described and the history of the men and women who brought us the great thinking regarding these areas and the theories that come out of them is amazing. Taking about Plato, Galileo, Einstein, Newton,Copernicus, etc. There is so much to learn.

The writing style is very straightforward and easy for school age children to read and understand. Thus it is a great primer for thoughts regarding our Cosmos/Universe and the lessons that can be drawn from the research and science that is detailed.

I loved the section on "Evidence for Supermassive Black Holes." That was so cool to read and understand. It is just amazing.

Then the fact that our galaxies are moving away from each other at anywhere from 186 miles per second to 700 miles per second, THUS, the universe is still expanding. This is mind boggling.

Why is that? What can it mean? and what is the final result? Those speculative questions will be talked about but not necessarily answered.

Maybe the most disconcerting thought was that while Galaxies are moving, all but one are moving AWAY from the Milky Way, where Earth resides. But the Andromeda galaxy is moving "TOWARDS" the Milky way at a rate of 186 miles per second. You must ask yourself, "What will happen when the Milky Way and Andromeda collide? Fortunately Andromeda is so far away this won't happen in our lifetime or our children's or grandchildren's lifetime, so at least for now we are safe.

But that kind of information is found in this textbook and brings you to stop and think and have to ask questions.

I loved the book, even if I did disagree with it's main scientific thoughts on the Big Bang.

I think you would enjoy it was well and it would be a good teaching tool for you with your children.

Vines of Entanglement, by Lisa Carter

For a Christian Themed Novel I was very impressed with the writing and the storyline as well as the Character Development. Many "Christian" based novels are either a bit to shallow, the plot line stinks, or the characters are a bit to syrupy to be believable, or they are "Bible Thumpers" who come across as sanctimonious.

Lisa Carter though gives us a "Christian" novel that has characters that are true to human nature. They have problems. They have hurts. They have doubts about God. They struggle to live a good Christian life. Some of them have major self-esteem issues. But the nice part is that when or if they turn to God they do so in a very natural human way that most of us can relate to. They turn to God in prayer when things are going poorly and they don't necessarily believe that God will answer, or that if He does answer it won't be for their good, and He might not even be listening because their sins are to deep and dark for God to overlook or forgive.

That makes this novel good. The other thing that makes it good is that as a Christian Themed novel it does a good job of applying scripture and Biblical themes to the issues at hand without it coming off as preachy. They are presented in believable ways that make you want to keep reading. Thank you Lisa Carter for writing the novel so well.

The general plot of the novel is that Laura Mabry stumbles across a murder scene and almost becomes a part of it. When the police respond the lead detective turns out to be a long lost love of hers from ten years before that she really never wanted to see again because he reminds her of the sin in her life and her deepest darkest secrets.

Detective Jon Locklear can't believe  that he has been brought into contact with Laura again. His heart does a flip flop when he sees her. His old feelings are there but she does her best to drive him away.

The case will be one that has major issues for both of the main characters. There is a murder to be solved and a question of whether Laura may have done the murder or whether she is now in danger.

Underlying all of this is the long dashed love interests of both Laura and Jon. The tension is built well and frankly the themes of anger and bitterness that are developed are so real and thick you can feel it in your bones that this is how you would feel and react even though it isn't very Christian.

The story moves well, the characters are developed really well, the depth of plot and the turns that it takes are natural and well written. All in all this is a great detective novel, a great romance novel and above all a great Christian themed novel.

Enjoy!