Category Archives: Books & blogs

More Hope For Life

MHfL coverInstead of doing a Friday book review, as I have at times in the past, this Friday I have a book announcement. Steve Ridgell and I have written a third book: More Hope For Life. This is a follow-up to our 2011 Herald of Truth publication, Hope For Life.

More Hope For Life contains short articles designed to help people find the hope that only God can give.

The articles were originally published on the Heartlight Magazine web site. Most of them also appeared on our Hope For Life web site. The compilation makes it easier to present the articles to someone who is looking for hope.

The book has six sections:

  • Our Father In Heaven
  • Jesus, Our Hope
  • Walking In His Steps
  • The Contented Life
  • When Life Tumbles In
  • Life Without End

Each section is introduced with a pertinent Bible passage, and each article has one that follows it. The pictures in the book are all from Herald of Truth ministry projects.

The book costs $11.00, and shipping is $2.57. Residents of Texas have to pay sales tax as well. (If you would like a signed copy, please send an email to timothycarcher@gmail.com indicating how you would like the book inscribed. If you’d prefer to purchase by check, you can e-mail me at the same address for further information.)

Juan Antonio Monroy: An Autobiography

Several months ago, I wrote a bit about Juan Antonio Monroy. I mentioned at that time that his autobiography hadn’t officially been released. There still hasn’t been much fanfare, but it is out publicly. You can order it from the Herald of Truth website or pick it up anywhere ACU Press books are sold.

Having traveled with Juan, I hear his voice as I read the book. It’s quintessential Juan: amazing stories, almost unbelievable ones, as well as a story or two that will offend some sensitivities. Juan even says a time or two: “Christians in America won’t understand this.” He’s not writing a story to convince anyone of anything. It’s not a researched history book. These are Juan’s memoirs.

I’d never heard a lot of these stories: the time Juan spent in prison because of his faith, his address to the first meeting of Amnesty International, his expulsion from Morocco, the details of his meeting with the king of Spain. I can’t imagine anyone not being fascinated by the stories Juan has to tell.

Juan is a strong-willed man and comes across as arrogant to some. I know, however, that a man of lesser will wouldn’t have been able to do much that Juan has done.

In addition to the text, there are some great photos in the book as well. (Too bad we didn’t get any pictures of the translator… she’s quite good looking!)

An author responds

Two weeks ago, I reviewed the book Deceiving Winds. After the review came out, author Bruce Morton contacted me, expressing his view that I had seriously misunderstood his book. I extended to him the invitation to present his case. Here’s what Bruce wrote:

I appreciate Tim taking time with Deceiving Winds. We have had a positive and enjoyable chat since this review was published, and I appreciate that. I also appreciate Tim for allowing me to comment regarding his review.

First, I hope Tim reconsiders the statement he initially makes in the review: “He has taken some issues that he feels deeply about and made them the primary concerns of these letters.” And that is the “loosing his way” exegetically that Tim suggests I am guilty of and that mars the book.

I am not sure that Tim’s suggestion gets at all that Deceiving Winds is about. Indeed, he is referencing the content of six of the seventeen chapters and appendices of the book when he says I primarily focus on “feminism and instrumental music.” I hope he will take a further look and note that most of the book has nothing to do with “feminism and instrumental music.” Other subjects that are given attention are the resurrection of Jesus, Christian hope, adoption by God, materialism, characteristics of Christian identity, living as children of light, raising children, elders, the reality of spiritual darkness and a focus on reading and speaking the Word of God in a time when the Word is getting lost. So, I am not convinced that I suggest that “feminism and instrumental music” represent the primary concerns of Paul’s letters to Roman Asia and its capital city. However, the subjects of song and gender roles do get Paul’s attention in the first century – just as they get ours 1950 years later.

Tim also suggests that I stumble by taking an “occasional” teaching and applying it in our day. The subject of application is particularly thorny – since the topics of music and gender roles carry with them much emotion. I hope Tim and others who choose to read the book will look closely at the parallelisms in Ephesians 4:17-5:21. Paul’s parallelisms “bring together” the background and the application for our day. All that Paul writes about music (Ephesians 5:18-21) parallels his statement in Ephesians 5:11. Paul is guiding the Ephesians to “expose darkness” by their unified song. Further, I continue to believe quotes of others within the section are justified – since their focus is on song (cf. Stephen Guthrie). While Guthrie should have gone further, what he does say is excellent. He calls Christians to the importance of song in a time when much of a younger generation is more comfortable with listening to music than singing. That “concert mentality” is hindering the growth of faith.

Finally, I will note that Deceiving Winds is not suggesting that “Progressive” thought within churches of Christ is inseparable with the “emerging church movement.” Indeed, I can think of numerous topics where the two paths diverge. However, at points they do intersect. I will leave readers of the book to take a look at specifics here.

Thank you for considering the comments.

Book review: Deceiving Winds

Bruce Morton graciously sent me a copy of his book Deceiving Winds: Deceiving Winds – Christians Navigating the Storm of Mysticism, Leadership Struggles & Sensational Worship. He did not request a review; he merely sent me the book to share his views with me.

Morton’s book sets out to study the influence of the religion’s of Ephesus on the church in that city. In particular, he studies the worship of Artemis and Bacchus as reflected in the letters of Ephesians, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. The book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to gain insight into this facet of these letters; the endnotes and bibliography make up almost one third of the book.

Where Morton loses his way is when he turns to exegesis. He has taken some issues that he feels deeply about and made them the primary concerns of these letters. Primarily, he is discussing feminism and instrumental music; the backdrop of these pagan religions allow him to work these topics into passages throughout these epistles.

In an analysis of some statements from Seeking a Lasting City (Love, Foster, Harris), Morton states, “The apostle is not talking about the whole of apostolic teaching and Christian doctrine. Instead, he is talking about specific Christian doctrine and the false teaching his readers have heard.” (p. 155) This critique of others’ work aptly fits Morton’s study as well. He takes teachings addressed to a specific situation in Ephesus and tries to apply them to all Christians throughout all times. By making such a strong case about the background of these letters, he has weakened the modern application of the passages he’s studying. For example, if the reference to not being drunk in Ephesians 5 only refers to the worship of Bacchus, then it says nothing to those who would drink outside of a religious context or even outside of the context of Bacchus worship.

Basically, what Morton tries to do is relate all of the emerging church movement, as well as the teachings of progressive members of churches of Christ (which are two very different things!), to these ancient religions. This doesn’t work, because shared practices do not mean that two religions are the same. That is, the fact that the Ephesian religions used instruments and modern churches use instruments does not make their worship the same. If that were true, the modern church would have to cease many of its practices; a good study of New Testament backgrounds shows that much of what Christianity does is not unique to Christianity.

Morton also errs in making general statements which reflect his feelings, but have no objective support. For example, when discussing those who have decided that instrumental music should be excluded from Christian worship, Morton declares, “The conclusion represents a commitment to the divine character and authority of apostolic teaching and the New Testament as a whole.” (p. 92) The implication, of course, is that those who disagree share no such commitment.

Another troubling practice in this book was the use of quotations to support things that the original writer did not have in mind. For example, in the section on singing, Morton quotes numerous individuals who praise the value of singing. How many of those people would have limited their comments to a cappella singing? Few, if any. But Morton presents them as if they strengthened his case against the use of instruments in the modern church.

As I said, as a study of the background of Ephesians, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, this book is an excellent resource. (I’m puzzled as to why so little time was spent in addressing the letters of Revelation 2-3, which went to people facing the same religious influences in the same geographic area). As to application, rather than an exegesis of passages within those books, Morton has basically provided us with a series of rants* about the things he doesn’t like in the modern church.

 

*[Edit: January 12, 2012 — It’s been called to my attention that the word “rant” is misused here. Rant implies a degree of emotion and vehemence which is not present in Morton’s writings. I often misuse the word in my own speech and writing to refer to something that is written with the sole intent of criticizing. The dictionary definition of the word is different from my usage.

Note: I received this book for free, with no obligation to write a positive review. The links in this post are for an associate account with Amazon.

We’ve got a winner!

We’ve got a winner, folks: Travis Flora won yesterday’s book giveaway.

Tyndale gave me the chance to participate in the blog tour for Matt Mikalatos‘ new book Night of the Living Dead Christian. They sent me a free review copy, as well as the chance to give away a copy to one of my readers. Travis was the first to comment, and the random number generator at www.random.org came up with “1” as the winning number.

I appreciate Matt taking the time to stop by and interact a bit. Too bad we didn’t have more people asking him questions. So be it.

Have a great weekend!

[And yes, dear FCC friends, Tyndale did provide me with free books for this review and giveaway,
and the links to Amazon do generate referral fees]