Originally when I switched from MrShields.com to Bookwi.se a year ago I had two purposes. First, I wanted to expand the brand to be about the books, not about me personally. Second, I wanted to get more voices talking about books. I have had several people contribute over time, but I have not make a … Read more
Summary: Basic ideas of the trinity in a short pamphlet form.
One of my reading projects this year is to read about the trinity. I am currently (very slowly) working through a book on the trinity with some friends. And I have several more lined up when that is done.
But this book came up free last week, and it was short, so I thought I would read it. It is part of a series, about half of which have been temporarily offered for free, but they are all currently $2.99.
Last March, Bookwi.se hosted a blog discussion of the book Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions by Dan Brennan. I also listed it as one of my books of the year.
Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions has the counter cultural idea that cross-gender friendship is actually important, should be encouraged, and should be championed by Christians. I whole heartedly agree with the main thesis of the book, which is why I hosted the blog discussion and frequently talk about the book.
Takeaway: I have no idea This is one of my Prime lending library books. I went out on a limb and the limb snapped off underneath me. This is a book on ontology, the meaning of things. It is short. I read it in about 90 minutes. But I did not understand what in the … Read more
Summary: Stories of conversion from Evangelicalism to Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism and from Catholicism to Evangelical
I am a big proponent of story. I think that personal stories are often more valuable than discussion based purely on rationalism. I believe this because we are not purely rational creatures. There is something else that is important to us and story often communicates in a more well-rounded way than pure rational discussion.
The structure of this book is that an author discusses their move from one branch of Christianity to another. Then there is a response by a third party and then a response to the response by the original author.
In general, this allows for the story to be the main subject of the first section. Then the response can bring up rational/theological issues and then the original author can deal with theological objections.
Summary: Artemis’s mother is sick. And some how she has a magical sickness that can only be cured by a now extinct lemur. Artemis’ 10 year old self was responsible for killing that last lemur. He has to go back in time and stop himself.
Time Paradoxes are always fuel for science fiction. The fact that you can in your future change something in your past both is an interesting idea, but also something that we all would like to do.
Artemis is continuing to mature in this series. Because he gets to see himself as a 10 year old he has a chance to really evaluate where he has come from and his changing values.
Carolyn Webber, author of Surprised by Oxford, I reviewed last year), Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Weber is a former literature professor and now full time writer. She is well worth reading. Also Parchment Girl recently reviewed Surprised by Oxford, interviewed Carolyn Weber and is giving away a copy if you want to enter _________ The Englewood Review … Read more
Summary: In book two of this young adult romantic dystopian novel, Cassia is looking for Ky, who has been shipped off to the outer provinces as a decoy in the secret war of rebellion.
This trilogy by Ally Condie is a unique take on the dystopian novel. It has all of the traditional elements: a society that has re-built itself out of the ashes of our current world, a tension between the totalitarian elements that want to prevent another societal meltdown through social engineering and those that rebel against the power of the society, and a utopian undercurrent that believes that if only we can do it a bit better.
But in Condie’s novels much of the action is internal to the characters. The violence of the Hunger Games is absent. There is plenty of tension. But it is a psychological and romantic tension. Not a tension caused by physical violence and political intrigue.
Takeaway: The concept of original sin has greatly shaped Western culture.
Original Sin is a doctrine I have always had trouble understanding. It is not that I disagree that we are all sinful. I affirm that.
My issues have been in the way that Christians understand the origin of sin, the way some understand the need for a physical Adam and Eve to affirm the doctrine of original sin (which then some need to justify the need for Christ’s death and resurrection), and the extent of the corruption of the world caused by the fall.
Jacobs is an author I appreciate. He was a professor at Wheaton College, and while we overlapped, I did not have him for any classes. But he is one of those authors that, as I read, I am always aware that he is much smarter than I am. Not in a snooty or negative way. He is very readable. It is that he always brings in ideas and sources that I would not have considered (and often do not even know exist).
This is not a theological history but a cultural one. So Jacobs deals primarily with how Christianity and the West have culturally understood original sin. Occasionally, the cultural and the theological understanding separate. I think, at least partially, this is my issue with original sin. I hear people speaking of the transmission of sin as if it were literally part of our DNA. I believe it was Augustine who proposed that one reason that Jesus could be born of a woman and not be corrupted by original sin is that sin was transferred through semen.
Takeaway: Variety of essays on business and leadership matters, especially focused on issues that are not intuitive, but still true.
I used to read a lot more business and leadership books. I have now come to the realization that I am neither all that interested in business nor all that good at leadership.
What has always interested me about business and leadership books are the insights into human behavior. And that is why I still pick up the occasional business book.
The Myth of the Garage is collection of essays from Dan and Chip Heath’s column in Fast Company. It is a free kindle or audiobook (which is the real reason I picked this one up.)