Tag Archives: book review

B&B Friday: CYOD Bible

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As a kid, I really enjoyed the old “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. They were sort of like a game inside a book. You would read to a certain point, then be presented with a choice, something like: “If you choose to explore the old mine, go to page 71. If you choose to go back to the lake, go to page 42.” There were all sorts of stories and lots of imitations, but the books were great fun.

That’s why I was intrigued when Luddite Press asked me to review their new electronic version of the Bible, the Choose Your Own Doctrine Bible. You won’t find them in stores; Luddite Press only publishes e-books. But it’s worth hunting them down and exploring the other cutting-edge titles that they offer.

The Choose Your Own Doctrine Bible is based on the God’s Word Translation of the Bible. It is designed to help the reader avoid confusion when faced with possible interpretations of a text. All you have to do is choose which doctrine you want to believe, and the hyperlinked text will lead you right to the appropriate passage. For example, you find this is Romans 10:

” 9 If you declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God brought him back to life, you will be saved. 10 By believing you receive God’s approval, and by declaring your faith you are saved. 11 Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed.”

If you want to believe in salvation by belief alone, go to John 6:47.

If you want to believe that baptism is necessary for salvation, go to Acts 22:16.”

(I wish I could format the quote in a way that you could appreciate the layout. It’s very elegantly done, with all the advantages of modern typesetting).

I think you can see the usefulness of this system. No more having to think about what others might believe; you can easily lock yourself into one belief system and stay there.

My one complaint, I guess is that this system can still be confusing for those who haven’t yet been told what they are supposed to believe. I’m thinking that it would have been more useful to have the passages coded by denominational group (Catholic, Baptist, etc.) or overarching belief system (Calvinist, Arminian, Neo-Platonic Gnostic, etc.). I can see how that would greatly complicate the system however. Just within the churches of Christ, we would need several different threads. I could see, for example, something at Acts 20:7 that says, “If you walk the old paths, go to 1 Corinthians 16:2. If you are a progressive change agent, go to Acts 2:46.”

I don’t think I’ll be using this Bible for my own personal use, but it’s an intriguing concept. You should take a look at it. If you’d like to see a video demo of the Choose Your Own Doctrine Bible in action, you can see one here.

For other reviews that are participating in this blog tour, follow this link.

I was in no way compensated for this review nor required to offer a positive review.

Book Review: A Common Bond

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Paula Harrington was gracious enough to send me an electronic copy of her new book A Common Bond for me to read and review. I meant to review this on Friday, when I often do book reviews, but couldn’t come up with the file on Friday! Paula generously sent me another copy and now I’m ready to write!

Paula received submissions from a number of men who have preached in the churches of Christ. Several of them are well known; most have preached for decades. In the book, they discuss things like sermon preparation, job interviews, time management, etc. The book is full of humor, but includes many serious insights and practical suggestions.

Reading the book reminds me of the times I’ve gotten to swap stories with other preachers (and other Christians who aren’t preachers). It’s the sort of thing that goes on at workshops and lectureships around the country.

The material found in this book will be especially useful to those looking at going into the ministry and those who haven’t been in ministry long. It will also be useful to church leaders who oversee the work of ministers as it gives great “behind the scenes” looks into a minister’s life. And I think the book can be enjoyed by all.

The greatest thing that shines through in this book is the love these men have for what they do. That in and of itself is a treasure for our brotherhood. Some men grow tired of ministry, others grow cynical about its role in the church. Reading this book can help restore your faith in these men who serve others in this way.

Paula did a previous book on preachers’ wives; if you can find a copy of it, the two would make a great companion set. I have high hopes that she will continue these compilations, doing similar works on elders, missionaries, Bible class teachers, etc.

I wasn’t asked to write a positive review, just an honest one. I’ve done my best to do that.

Book Review: Radical by David Platt

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Waterbrook Multnomah sent me a copy of Radical by David Platt as part of their Blogging For Books program. I am not required to give the book a positive review.

But I will, for the most part. The themes of Radical are themes that are near and dear to my heart. Platt calls on us to reject comfort and complacency and to embrace a radical Christian lifestyle, focused on taking the gospel to the world. His goal is to lead people to commit themselves to a one-year trial of radical living, with the following resolutions:

  • Pray for the entire world
  • Read the entire Word
  • Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
  • Spend your time in another context
  • Commit your life to a multiplying community

To lead his readers to this point, Platt blends a critical analysis of American Christianity, anecdotes of his own experiences overseas and accounts of Christians who are trying to live the life he describes.

Despite my sympathies with the themes under discussion, I found the book to be less than engaging. Part of it was the fact that I found Platt spending a lot of time discussing David Platt. Some of that is necessary in writing so that readers can be connected on a personal level with the author. And I’m sure he wants us to see that he’s not just preaching it, he’s living it as well. Still, I felt a sense of relief when he turned his focus to telling the stories of others.

I also found that I was ready to move on from a topic before the author was. That could easily be an indictment of my own reduced attention span, but I often felt that I had heard all he had to say about one subject and wanted to see what the next one was.

Platt has a web site with additional resources, links, etc. for those interested in exploring the subject further. If you’d like a taste of the book, you can sign up on the site to read the first chapter.

Overall, I’d recommend the book. There are lots of ideas within that challenge our ordinary run-of-the-mill Christian experience. They call us to be, well, radical.

(The Amazon link in this book review generates a commission for me when a purchase is made)

B&B Friday: The Next Christians

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The book The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons is something of a follow up to unChristian, a book which Lyons co-authored. Having seen the evidence that mainstream Christianity is one the decline in the U.S., Lyons seeks to offer a more hopeful outlook.

Lyons argues that Christianity is about to undergo a major shift, moving away from large buildings and megachurches and moving toward a different model, one that he calls restoration. In the first part of the book, Lyons analyzes different lifestyles that he sees in Christianity over the last few decades and rejects them in favor of restoration.

In the second part of the book, there is a description of what restoration looks like, presented in a series of contrasts. In short, restoration is focused on working to promote kingdom values out in the world, working toward a restoration of what God wants the world to be. Lyons points out seven channels that influence culture, with the church being but one of them. He sees the need for Christians to be equally active in all seven channels.

There was a lot that I liked about this book. It advocates neither a church caught up in philanthropy for philanthropy’s sake nor a church that only focuses on ecclesiastical matters. I think that Christians need to find a way to live in this world as ambassadors of the kingdom (my words, not his), living out lives in the public sector, but with a continual focus on kingdom values.

A few criticisms. I think that Lyons falls into the trap of saying, “Here’s all these people that are doing it wrong; me and my friends know how to do it right.” As I pointed out yesterday, some of that is natural. We want to improve and that naturally means a calling into question what has gone before. But maturity demands that we learn to find the good in that which went before as well. I think Lyons needs to do a better job of recognizing the strengths of other types of Christian living, as well as the weaknesses.

I also think that Lyons errs when he places the church as one channel alongside the other six. Admittedly, sociologists and anthropologists tend to see it this way. But shouldn’t Christians have a higher view of the church? Such a characterization contradicts what Lyons has said about the need to eliminate the dichotomy between secular and sacred. Christians need to recognize that they are the church, that the church encompasses all of the other channels.

These weaknesses don’t change the fact that Lyons has made a great contribution to the modern church through his two books. I look forward to reading more of what he has to say.

I’d greatly encourage you to take some time to visit Lyons’ Q site, reading some of the material there and/or watching the videos.

[Disclaimer: Some links in this post lead to Amazon, and I am paid a commission when purchases are made]

To Change The World by James Davison Hunter

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Others have written about James Davison Hunter’s To Change The World, enough so that I almost feel like the late-comer to the party. Let me encourage you, for example, to read through Jay Guin’s analysis of the book.

Still, I feel that Hunter’s subject matter aligns so closely with matters near and dear to my heart (and oft written about in this blog), that I’d like to take some time to look at this book. Today I’ll do a bit of a review, or at least an overview. Later I’ll examine some of the ideas in a closer way.

The full title of the book is To Change The World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. The title is intended as a bit of irony, mainly because Hunter will argue that Christians can’t change the world without being changed by the world in the process. He contends that the world is changed not only through ideas (worldview) but also through elites, networks, technology, and new institutions. World-changing implies power, power that typically is defined in terms of conquest and domination. When power is seen primarily in terms of political domination, it becomes the opposite of what Christians are called to be.

Hunter analyzes three types of Christian politics: the Christian right, the Christian left and the neo-Anabaptists. He calls these views toward culture, respectively, “defensive against,” “relevance to,” and “purity from.” He sees these groups as utilizing ineffective means for engaging culture.

Hunter argues that the principal issues to be addressed are difference and dissolution: how do we relate to a world that is not our world and how do we deal with the “deconstruction of the most basic assumptions about reality.” (p. 205) The solution that Hunter proposes is “faithful presence.” Using Jeremiah 29:4-7 as his textual base, Hunter says that Christians should maintain their distinctiveness but do it in a way that serves the common good. He observes,

“In short, commitment to the new city commons is a commitment of the community of faith to the highest ideals and practices of human flourishing in a pluralistic world.” (p. 279)

In the end, Hunter says that Christians shouldn’t worry about changing the world, because the world, and history, cannot be controlled and managed. He states,

“To be sure, Christianity is not, first and foremost, about establishing righteousness or creating good values or securing justice or making peace in the world. … But for Christians, these are all secondary to the primary good of God himself and the primary task of worshipping him and honoring him in all they do.” (pp.285-286)

Hunter says that Christians won’t create a perfect world, but will help to make the world a little bit better.

Chapter abstracts of the book can be found on Hunter’s website.