The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

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Summary: An intellectually satisfying novel about four college students on the verge of solving the mystery of a well-known but inscrutable renaissance document whose exegesis threatens to upend modern scholarship. Basically, The DaVinci Code without all the heresy.

The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, published in Venice anonymously in 1499, is an ambitious piece of literature. On the surface it appears to be a love story, told using multiple languages (some made up), including the occasional Egyptian hieroglyph. But scholars have long suspected that within the text lies another meaning, if only the code can be discovered and solved. Indeed, the first letters of each chapter combine to form an acrostic. The novel has resisted almost all attempts at full interpretation over the centuries–until now. And the truth is staggering.

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The Innocence of Father Brown by GK Chesterton

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Summary: A series of short stories, originally serialized, about a mystery solving priest.

I am trying to read more old books that have stood the test of time.  (And save some money.)  So I picked up the Innocence of Father Brown by GK Chesterton when I noticed that the audiobook was only $2.49 when you purchase the Kindle book (which is free.)

I have recently read the biography of CS Lewis and Chesterton is often compared favorably to Lewis.  They are very different authors, but both wrote theology/apologetics and fiction.  I have read Chesterton’s Orthodoxy in college, but I think that is the only full length book of his that I have read previously.

Chesterton’s Father Brown series is second only to Sherlock Holmes in popularity as a mystery series in Britain.  But it is very different sort of mystery series.  Sherlock Holmes is about deductive (scientific) reasoning.  Father Brown is more psychological and intuitive.  He understands the sin that is in people’s hearts.

What is most interesting about these stories is how often Father Brown either explains the crime (but has let the criminal go) or talks the criminal into confessing.  It is clear that Father Brown is solving crimes, but his primary interest is in the spiritual health of the criminal.

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The Quest for the Trinity by Stephen R Holmes

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Summary: An important look at the historical development of the Doctrine of the Trinity and how modern language drift has changed the historical definitions.

I have been looking forward to reading the Quest for the Trinity ever since I first heard about it in the middle of last year.  Consistently it has been well reviewed and it certainly deserves the accolades.  Holmes know his historical theology, he is very well read and no other book on the trinity I have read so far has been as well documented.

But I intentionally was holding off on reading this because just by reading the description and I knew he was reacting against the modern theological work around the trinity.  And it was the more recent (primarily social focused) theology of the Trinity that drew me toward investigating the trinity more.

The basic thesis is that the modern focus is fundamentally different from the Patristic understanding of the Trinity.  This is not actually all that hard to capture.  One of the things I most liked about Dunzl’s Doctrine of the Trinity is that he clearly showed that doctrinal development is at least partially dependent on language and culture of the time.  You cannot move beyond the current ability to describe the theology you are trying to document into a doctrine.

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Offsite: 10 Books About Pope Francis

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Anyone who has read more than 2 posts at Bookwi.se knows that I am a big fan of digital publishing.  The only time I consistently reading paper books is when I fly.  But today’s new post at Englewood Review of Books is a good example that not everything about Digital Publishing is good.  Already there are 10 … Read more