Stopping to Think

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Enjoyable, horrifying, fun. Neil Gaiman is a top notch writer, and his narration of the audiobook was excellent as well. I had very little knowledge of Norse Mythology, but my sense is that this is how you should experience it - as if being told the tales of the gods, rather than reading about them in a textbook form. The stories themselves are both fascinating, entertaining, and atrocious. The gods of the North, though superhuman in certain ways, are utterly human in all the ways that matter most. Which, I suppose, is what we should expect from gods made in man’s image. View all my reviews

                                                                           Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash    Introduction Inerrancy is the belief that the Bible is entirely inspired by God, such that each and every word proceeds from his mouth and is as truthful as God himself is truthful. ‘While the technical term inerrancy is of recent origin, the conviction that the Bible is “without error” is not.’ So state Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy in their essay on inerrancy in Across the Spectrum. The argument of this paper will be that such a view is not of recent origin because the Scriptures themselves teach that they are without error. And as Wayne Grudem writes, “ to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God. ” To put it provocatively, to disbelieve inerrancy is to question the truthfulness of God. Old Testament Use The Old Testament reveals God as a speaking God. God’s word is powerful and authoritative, and is the means by which the earth and the heaven

Reforming Joy: A Conversation Between Paul, the Reformers, and the Church Today by Tim Chester My rating: 5 of 5 stars This really is a marvelous little book. Chester manages in 100 pages to give a clear taste of Pauline theology, some core tenants of the reformation, and practical application for your 21st century life. Though I’m not sure this was Chester’s goal, he’s really written a first-rate introduction to Christianity. I plan to buy more copies to give away to believers whose faith could use strengthening, unbelievers to introduce them to the heart of Christianity, and anyone who needs more joy in their life. This book is that good. View all my reviews

  Christian Ethics: Contemporary Issues and Options by Norman L. Geisler My rating: 3 of 5 stars The first section, laying out various ethical systems, is helpful and clear. The second section, less so. The appendices on drugs and birth control were virtually worthless in terms of argumentation and intellectual rigor. But I'll probably keep the book as a reference for that first section. The prose is accessible and clear. View all my reviews

  Ernest Hemingway on Writing by Larry W. Phillips My rating: 4 of 5 stars Lucid, clear, if somewhat idiosyncratic, advice. As it is drawn from his work and letters across his career, it's interesting to see how his opinions develop or stiffen in certain areas. It was fun and easy to read. I also have a feeling that Hemingway would have hated it. View all my reviews

  Anxious People by Fredrik Backman My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5ish. Backman's writing is worth five stars, his ability to take you inside the skin of each of the characters and laugh and cry and feel queasy under the skin right with each of them is simply brilliant. This story wasn't as strong as the others I've read from him, which is why I bring it back down to a four. That said, I couldn't put it down (almost literally) for the final 120 pages. "It just hurts so much at times, being human." (98) "Limes seemed to be such a popular adornment at apartment viewings that it's tempting to think that if real estate agents were banned, the surface of the earth would become covered with such a thick layer of limes that only young people with very small knives and an inexplicable fondness for Mexican beer would survive." (129) "When snow arrives autumn has already done all the work, taking care of all the leaves and carefully sweeping summer awa

Ploductivity: A Practical Theology of Tools & Wealth by Douglas Wilson My rating: 5 of 5 stars “My optimism about tools and technology is, at bottom, an optimism about the future history of the world. And that, in its turn, is an optimism that is grounded on the fact that at the darkest point of human history, God in the flesh was crucified by arrogant sinners, by all the important people. Three days after that, the Lord came back from the dead. That means the old world has been overthrown. How could that world not be overthrown? That world is dead because its only power was death, and we serve a Lord who went into death’s maw, and then came out again. That is the ultimate plot turn. That is the central fact of all human history.” (Pg 103) I’m exceedingly inclined toward the technophobia that Wilson rails against in this book. This was a helpful counterweight to my inclinations, and I’m thankful for it. It’s Wilson, so the style is breezy and a blast to read. It was written in a