Exploring Christian Theology, Volume 2

While this is Volume 2 in a three volume set it must be noted that this is the last volume being published. Volumes 1 and 3 have been out for a while. This project was taken on by professor's from Dallas Theological Seminary, thus the views are Protestant Conservative Evangelical. Most pastors will know that for decades the major Systematic Theology work from Dallas Seminary has been Lewis Sperry Chafer's 8 volume work. So, why a new three volume series?

Well, the answer is found in the introduction for the series, the writers are wanting you to Know God and to do that you must Know About Him. So that means that as a Christian layperson or professional you need to study Theology. But the study of Theology can seem like a daunting task for the layperson. Here is what the introduction states as to why this series of texts;
     "Exploring Christian Theology differs from other mini-theologies in that it strives to present a broad consensus, not a condensed systematic model of one evangelical teacher or protestant tradition.......Treat each volume as a simple primer that supplements (not supplants) more detailed treatments of theology--that complements (not competes with) intermediate and advanced works."

So, what we have is an attempt to give a more readable version of a Theological Text for the layperson. This is not meant to take the place of a more systematic approach to theology, as it states it is to supplement and complement other works that your denomination might use.

So, with that in mind I took up the task of reading through Volume two with the understanding that it was not a comprehensive look at the theological topics that it was going to tackle. I also liked what the author's had to say in that, "since this is not a systematic study you can pick and choose the topic you want to read without working through the text from beginning to end." That is good because most laypeople will have certain topics that they want to delve into without having to build upon them from one to the next.

Volume two deals with "The Christian Story in Four Acts:"
     Act I -- Creation
     Act II -- Fall
     Act III -- Redemption
     Act IV -- Restoration

Each of these topics are broken up into bite size studies that the reader can tackle and accomplish fairly easily. I particularly like their style of how they break down the four acts. The breakdown is:
     High - Altitude Survey
     Passages to Master
     Facts to Never Forget
     Dangers to Avoid
     Principles to Put into Practice
     Voices from the Past and Present
They also give you some recommendations for further books and studies you might do from things that have been discussed in their text.

Reading through this text I felt that they did an excellent job of breaking down the theological jargon in a way that a lay person will be able to understand. They have gone to great lengths to make the book readable.

I would highly recommend this material for any person who wants to get to know God better and put that knowledge and relationship into more practical use in their lives.

NOW, for one last bit of advice, for my Evangelical Free Church of America lay people this is a good set of books to read, but you also should purchase a copy of "Evangelical Convictions, A Theological Exposition of the Statement of Faith of the Evangelical Free Church of America." It is the official book to explain the complete Statement of Faith of our denomination. It is also well written and also written in a way that any layperson, pastor or theologian can understand.

Enjoy learning more about God as you read through these books, and don't forget to spend time in your Bible as well.

Hope Harbor, by Irene Hannon

Another good Christian novel. I think that Christian writers are starting to get better at putting together novels that are entertaining as well as providing good Biblical Lessons for the reader.

 

I want to thank Revell Publishing as well as Irene Hannon for making a review copy of this book available to me through Net Galley.

In this Romantic Novel we find Michael Hunter a widower and Tracy Campbell a widow who are both soured a bit on life, on marriage and on God. Because of the circumstances of their spouses death each of them has had a time of distancing themselves from God. They both have stopped praying and are fairly erratic in their church attendance.

Michael lives in Chicago and is the CEO of a Not For Profit charity. Tracy Campbell is the third Generation of her family to live on their Oregon farm and grow cranberries. She and her uncle farm 16 acres of Cranberries although they have a total of 80 acres, they just can’t handle more than 16 being planted.

Michael has decided to come to Hope Harbor to try and regroup after his wife’s death. Although it has taken 18 months to make the trip. He has taken a two month leave of absence from work and has come to the town that his wife had loved as a child.

Tracy is two years out of loosing her husband and has lost herself in the Farm, in volunteering for a group called, Helping Hands, and also as a CPA doing accounting work part-time for local businesses.

The two will meet and an attraction will form but both are not excited about opening their hearts or lives up to another person.

Along with these two will be a full set of characters that have their issues as well.

The topics that will be addressed are;

1.     Running from God

2.     The need for reconciliation

3.     The need to be rid of bitterness

4.     The need to open yourself up to others for help and support

5.     Trusting that God has things under control

6.     Trusting that God has plans for us that we don’t always see

The hurt and pain that each character faces is very real. The relationships and the worries of each character are true to life and you will find yourself lost in certain characters because you have been there yourself.

The writing is good, but don’t just read. You need to take time to stop and reflect on what you are reading and on the lessons that are being addressed.

Enjoy the book, but I suggest you read it with a book club and take time to stop and discuss the things that you are reading and learning.

Enjoy!

Two Minutes in the Bible Through Proverbs, by Boyd Bailey

First of all I want to thank Net Galley and Harvest House Publishers for making a review copy of the book available. This book will become available on August 1, 2015. You can pre-order it on Amazon or any book seller that you use.

This short little book is a very nice 90 day devotional book. It takes scriptures from Proverbs and dissects them into short chapters that will take you just a few minutes of time to read on a daily basis.

The scriptures are from the “Wisdom Literature” of Proverbs and thus provide a glimpse of wisdom lessons for your everyday life. Boyd Bailey relates how a man that he highly respected told him how he takes one proverb a day and reads through it, meditates on it, memorizes portions of it. The chapter he reads in in relation to the date of the month. Thus on the 1^st day of the month he reads Chapter one.

This is an excellent method that I have used and have taught my students to use as well. It keeps you reading through the Wisdom Literature on a daily basis. It also affords you a chance to become very familiar with the book of Proverbs as you read it through twelve times in a year.

As Boyd will point out we need to keep the Word of God current in our lives. We shouldn’t just read Proverbs, but that gives us a good daily dose of scripture that we can learn from. Then during other times of the day we can study other scriptures to also gain wisdom.

His short chapters will help you focus on Proverbs, they will give you glimpses of the wisdom that is related there. He will also provide you with other scripture to read that will enhance the experience.

This is a great little booklet that you will find refreshing and useful in your devotional times.

The NIV Exhaustive Bible Concordance, third edition

The cover of the Concordance states, "A Better Strong's Bible Concordance." That's quite a claim, can it hold up? If you do not know about Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible then you have missed something good in your Bible Library. Strong's concordance is a must have tool for Pastors and serious students of the Bible. My copy is huge and old and well used and well, exhaustive to the max.

This NIV Exhaustive Concordance is just like the Strong's Concordance, but with this difference, it focused on the NIV translation of the Bible. Strong's was more focused on the King James originally, later editions started to use more modern English, but not the originals.

This Concordance is going to be an excellent choice for Pastors and Bible students who have grown up with the NIV and have used that translation for their memory work as well as daily Bible reading. Why is that do you ask? Because the words you are familiar with in your reading of the NIV translation are the words that you will find in this concordance. It is important that the Exhaustive Concordance that you use works with the same translation you are use to so that you can easily find the words that you remember and are thinking about when you need to find a Bible Verse that just keeps slipping your mind.

A further claim is that this is the only Concordance that indexes every word found in the NIV translation. That is a true statement from what I have found and thus this is a good Concordance for NIV users.

The Concordance also offers Definitions for every Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek word in the Bible. Yeah, hard to believe but it does.

Finally what I find most attractive for me is the fact that there is a complete cross-reference system between the NIV Exhaustive Bible Concordance numbering system with Strong's - Goodrich/Kohlenberger numbering system. so if you still have your Strong's, like I do, you can check a word in that, check the number and then if you want go back to the NIV Concordance and find the corresponding number to catch the different word that the NIV is using. Yeah, that seems like very few people would do this, but some find it interesting.

NOW, for my only issue with the Concordance, my gosh the text is printed so small. That's not a problem for most young people and young scholars, but some of us old guys (yes I'm in my 60's) find it hard to look at such small text. But the only alternative would be for a "larger print" edition, but that book would be so huge that it would need to be in a couple of volumes. So, this is just a small problem for me personally. I will overcome it, if necessary I can use my magnifying glass that I keep close at hand all the time now. PLUS, don't get me wrong, the huge Strong's Exhaustive Concordance I have also has small text, oh well.

Enjoy!

Youth in Asia, 1968 Vietnam, The Central Highlands, by Allen Tiffany

Allen Tiffany provides us a powerful short story about the war in Viet Nam in time to honor those who served there on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of that conflict. As a military officer, an graduate of Airborne and Ranger school, Tiffany provides a unique knowledge of the military and specifically the army that allows him to deliver this poignant short story about American Army Personnel who served in Vietnam.

Having five people I knew loose their lives in Vietnam and with one of those, John Michael Tompkins, having been my childhood best friend and "big brother" growing up I knew the pain and loss that this conflict brought to many families in America. Having talked with and received written documents from those men that were with John on the day he died I learned how harsh the reality of an Ambush can be, especially when your comrade and friend don't survive.

So, it was with interest that I wanted to read Allen's story. Let me say that his portrayal of this squad of men and their patrols in the highlands of Viet Nam capture perfectly the stories that John's friends relayed to me and wrote in their own diaries. I felt as though I was walking through the jungle with those men. So, thank you Allen for a powerfully written message about the men who served. I will say that it was a hard read, because I could picture my friend John and picture his death in an Ambush and know that it happened during the Tet Offensive, just as your story tells.

NOW FOR THE STORY REVIEW:
A young Army Airborne Ranger leaves his tour of duty in Korea along the DMZ to head for his next posting, Vietnam. He arrives in November 1967 just a short time before the 1968 Tet Offensive (Tet meaning New Year) by the Viet Cong takes place. This young corporal will be placed in charge of a squad of men because he has "experience" because of his time in Korea. He and his four men will need every once of courage, strength, fortitude and good luck to survive what is coming.

The Battalion and the Company that his squad is part of has just lost 200 men on hill 857 where there were also 700 casualties. So, the squads, platoons, companies and the Battalion are all very short handed. Our Corporal comes along just after that and thus gets placed in leadership quickly.

We will follow him and his three "veterans" (men who have been through that fight) and their new "cherry" recruit that has just arrived from the United States and is fresh out of basic trainer, which means, he knows nothing.

The character of each man will be developed by the author, but what is amazing is how well he tells of their thoughts, their fears, their anxiety and their courage under fire. This is not the stuff of hero's (although there will be heroics), this is the stuff of real men of war and the ravages that they will face, the sweat, the heat, the bugs, the insects, the tiredness, the lack of food and good water and the contact with the enemy which brings the true inner man to the surface.

The title of the book is correct, these were very young men thrown into war, many of them just 18 years old. They would change from what they would see. They would either come home "much older" than their age, or they would come home in a coffin. Death was always just one step away.

This book is fairly quick and easy to read, but for those who were there (I wasn't) or those who lost friends (I did) you can't read this without it bringing back many memories, not all of them nice.

Thank you Allen for such a well written story.

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.