Scribd – Page 17 – Bookwi.se

The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist by Richard Feynman

February 12, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: A scientist riffs on religious, political and social issues of the day, and how science can help. I am interested in physics. I don’t really understand it and every time I read an actual book on physics, I know that I miss far more than I get. But I continue to be intrigued, not … Read more

Nothing to Hide by J Mark Bertrand (Roland March #3)

February 5, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: More back story on Roland March and a step outside of the traditional police procedural. I have loved the first two books of this trilogy, and I would love to read any future books that J Mark Bertrand writes about Roland March. The mix of subjects shows that even within the context of a … Read more

Pattern of Wounds by J Mark Bertrand (Roland March #2)

January 24, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: A well written standard police procedural that stands out precisely because it is a Christian fiction book

Pretty soon I am going to stop saying I tend to not be a fan of mysteries. Because the books I have been enjoying the most lately are mysteries.

Pattern of Wounds is the second in a trilogy of books about a homicide detective in Houston. Roland March is a cop that has seen better days. But he feels like his work, as little as he likes it most of the time, does something.

In this book, a young woman is found floating in a pool, stabbed to death. Detective March is called and despite what everyone else says, he feels like this case has some relationship to an earlier case that he broke.

God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics by CS Lewis

January 23, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: Wide variety of essays, written versions of talks and letters compiled posthumously.

I have been on a Lewis kick over the last year. But I have definitely slowed down on my Lewis reading. God in the Dock was exactly what I needed to be inspired to pick more Lewis up again.

God in the Dock is a collection of 51 essays and a handful of additional letters. These are mostly on either ethics, apologetics (and really how and why of apologetics more than actual apologetics) and general theology.

With a collection like this, you can really see Lewis’ skill at speaking to his audience. A negative of this is that you see how Lewis covers similar topics with different audiences, so there is a decent amount of repetition, especially of his good one liners.

In Search of Deep Faith: A Pilgrimage by Jim Belcher

December 5, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: Faith is about deep understanding and devotion, not right behavior and moral understanding.

I am not sure what I was expecting when I picked up In Search of Deep Faith. I read Deep Church about three years ago and very much enjoyed thinking through Belcher’s third way of doing church.

So I was expecting more of a church focused book when I picked this up. (Honestly when a previous book is as good as Deep Church was, I tend to pick up books and intentionally not read much about them before I start them.)

In Search of Deep Faith was a great book to read as a new father. Belcher and his family resigned his church and moved to Oxford. Not because he was burned out, but because he was seeking after something deeper. And so he took a year off to seek after that deeper faith.

In context of searching for a deeper faith of his own, he and his wife were also seeking after a deeper faith for their children. So much of the book bounces off of the idea of modern Christianity’s tendency to be more about Moral Therapeutic Deism (and Christian Smith’s study on young adults and faith is discussed several times) and not the true Christian faith.

Mariette in Ecstasy by Ron Hansen

November 19, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: A young nun experiences the stigmata in a 1906 upstate New York convent.

I do not remember where I was reading, but at some point earlier this year I ran across a blog post that was asking for authors that are normally considered literary fiction, but often write with religious themes.

Many of the comments were people that I was aware of, Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, Susan Howatch’s Church of England series, Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, etc. But one of the names I had not heard of before, Ron Hansen. I had heard of a his book The Assassination of Jesse James (which has been made into a movie) but not any of his other books.

So I picked up Mariette in Ecstasy when it was on sale for audiobook (currently on sale for kindle) but it took me a while to actually start it.

The idea is interesting, what would happen when a relatively modern woman receives the gift of the stigmata (the marks of Christ that St Francis and other saints have received). But the execution of the book is so odd that I am quite put off.

I have read spare books before. Cormac McCarthy is spare. Mariette in Ecstasy is down right sparse. There are sections that are mostly just phrases grouped together without any verbs. Mostly when describing a scene. But it is not only scene descriptions that are sparse, it is the dialogue and storyline as well. I keep feeling like there are missing pages. As I glanced through other reviews, it seems that quite a number of people have looked through their book assuming that pages had been ripped out.

The Triumph of Christianity by Rodney Stark – Favorites of 2012

November 11, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: An essential book for debunking historical myths about Christianity.

Christian history is am important, but undervalued subject for Christian education. We are pretty good at teaching bible (or at least valuing it). We are pretty good about teaching application of Christian values and ethics and evangelism. We are getting better at teaching the importance of social ministry. But Christian history is usually something that we leave people to learn on their own.

The Triumph of Christianity is written by Rodney Stark (historian and sociologist) specifically to counter a lot of myths and bad assumptions about Christian history. This is really a summary of his three previous books: God Battalions (on the Crusades), Cities of God (rise of early Christianity) and Victory of Reason (on the rise of Western culture). I have only read God’s Battalions, but I think Triumph of Christianity is the book to start with.

Red to Black by Alex Dryden

November 8, 2013 by Adam Shields

If you like spy stories that feel like they could be real, with a healthy dash of paranoia and conspiracy theory thrown in then you might like Red to Black.

Released in 2009, it is set from 1999 to 2006. Finn is a British spy stationed in Moscow. Anna is a young KGB agent tasked with trapping him. But Finn is well aware of her task. And she is well aware of his knowledge of her task.

The story unfolds very slowly. This is a book that requires paying attention and being willing for the story to take years (at least on the page) to unfold.

Alex Dryden is a pseudonym for an unknown British journalist. And it is clear why (she/he) wants to remain anonymous, because this is a screed against the very real Putin. And only a little less against Western European governments that work with him.

The story is about how the KGB (which used to be headed by Putin) is syphoning off tons of money into Western Europe for unknown projects. Finn is trying to find out what they are and build the case. But none of the official channels want him to. And Anna is playing a dangerous game both in actually loving Finn and in trying to satisfy her own superiors.

How to Be Rich: It’s Not What You Have. It’s What You Do With What You Have. by Andy Stanley

November 6, 2013 by All Old Users

This is not a book about economics, and there are no tips inside on how to get rich. Instead, Andy Stanley is focused on how we modern Americans need to live once we recognize that we already are fabulously wealthy compared to the rest of the modern and historical world. Few if any would deny this if pressed, yet everybody has pretty much the same definition of what it means to be rich: about twice what one earns currently. It’s always relative. As Stanley writes, “œRich is a moving target.”

Stanley points out two major weaknesses that our money makes us susceptible to: arrogance, and to become our source of hope. To combat them, he argues for a lifestyle of generosity that is both intentional (planned) and sacrificial (more than just the extra cash left over once we’ve met our consumeristic “œneeds”).

“œTo keep from becoming arrogant”¦to keep your hope from migrating”¦ and to sidestep the assumption that everything is for your consumption, you are to pursue a life of generosity. It’s not just a good thing to do. It’s not some tip for how to be a good person. It’s a preventative for the side effects of wealth.” (71)

Is the Reformation Over? An Evangelical Assessment by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom

October 29, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: A very clear and balanced look at how the Evangelical and Catholic churches are moving closer but still have theological issues that hold them apart.

I have read a lot of Catholics (or Evangelicals that have converted to Catholicism) lately. So Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom’s book is a different take at Catholicism.

There are some great parts of this book and some weaker parts of this book. The weakest part is the back and forth discussion of the many discussions between Protestant denominations and Catholics. This was interesting, but repetitive; it seemed to just keep going on and on. Many of the issues between Protestants and Catholics keep coming up again and again. However, I do not know a better way to present the data, and it needed to be presented.

The discussion of the Evangelicals and Catholics Together statements were more interesting. For one, there were a number of interviews with the participants. These were mostly high profile and interesting people. I was disappointed that Noll did not speak specifically of his involvement narratively. (He was one of the original signers.)