John's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 28 Sep 2024 02:51:05 -0700 60 John's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God]]> 13000611 Modern culture would make you believe that everyone has a soul-mate; that romance is the most important part of a successful marriage; that your spouse is there to help you realize your potential; that marriage does not mean forever, but merely for now; that starting over after a divorce is the best solution to seemingly intractable marriage issues. All those modern-day assumptions are, in a word, wrong.

Using the Bible as his guide, coupled with insightful commentary from his wife of thirty-six years, Kathy, Timothy Keller shows that God created marriage to bring us closer to him and to bring us more joy in our lives. It is a glorious relationship that is also the most misunderstood and mysterious. With a clear-eyed understanding of the Bible, and meaningful instruction on how to have a successful marriage, "The Meaning of Marriage" is essential reading for anyone who wants to know God and love more deeply in this life.
Just as this book is based on his popular sermon series, so will his Encounters with Jesus series, the first of which, "The Skeptical Student "comes out in December.]]> 286 Timothy J. Keller 1101548045 John 4 marriage-and-family 4.54 2011 The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
author: Timothy J. Keller
name: John
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2011/10/18
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: marriage-and-family
review:
The book is not out yet, so I shouldn't say much. But you can see my rating. A good application of Keller's "Gospel-in-life" program.
]]> <![CDATA[Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things (9marks)]]> 7890006 128 Mike McKinley 1433514974 John 4 church-ministry 4.04 2010 Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things (9marks)
author: Mike McKinley
name: John
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2010/04/19
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves: church-ministry
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Works of John Owen, Vol. 6: Temptation and Sin]]> 1495844 648 John Owen 0851511260 John 0 4.68 1656 The Works of John Owen, Vol. 6: Temptation and Sin
author: John Owen
name: John
average rating: 4.68
book published: 1656
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/26
shelves: to-read, historical-theology-church-history, christian-life, theology
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Contemporary Translation of Luther's Small Catechism]]> 1129566 80 Martin Luther 0806600268 John 0 3.50 1529 A Contemporary Translation of Luther's Small Catechism
author: Martin Luther
name: John
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1529
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/14
shelves: historical-theology-church-history, theology
review:

]]> <![CDATA[God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships]]> 17934778
Feeling the tension between his understanding of the Bible and the reality of his same-sex orientation, Vines devoted years of intensive research into what the Bible says about homosexuality. With care and precision, Vines asked questions such as:

� Do biblical teachings on the marriage covenant preclude same-sex marriage or not?
� How should we apply the teachings of Jesus to the gay debate?
� What does the story of Sodom and Gomorrah really say about human relationships?
� Can celibacy be a calling when it is mandated, not chosen?
� What did Paul have in mind when he warned against same-sex relations?

Unique in its affirmation of both an orthodox faith and sexual diversity, God and the Gay Christian is likely to spark heated debate, sincere soul searching, even widespread cultural change. Not only is it a compelling interpretation of key biblical texts about same-sex relations, it is also the story of a young man navigating relationships with his family, his hometown church, and the Christian church at large as he expresses what it means to be a faithful gay Christian.]]> 224 Matthew Vines 1601425163 John 0 3.99 2014 God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships
author: Matthew Vines
name: John
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2020/03/21
date added: 2020/03/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Possibility of Prayer: Finding Stillness with God in a Restless World]]> 50761234 The world clamors for efficiency and productivity. But the life of prayer is neither efficient nor productive. Instead, as we learn in the psalms, prayer calls us to wait, to watch, to listen, to taste, and to see. These things are not productive by any modern measure--but they are transformative. As a pastor in Manhattan, John Starke knows the bustle and busyness of our society. But he also knows that prayer is not just for spiritual giants. Prayer, he writes, is for each of us--not because we are full of spiritual wisdom and maturity, but because we are empty. Here is an invitation to discover, via the church's ancient rhythms and with Starke's clear, practical guidance, the possibility of prayer. Here is a book about prayer that is really a book about the whole Christian life.]]> 200 John Starke 0830845798 John 0 4.38 The Possibility of Prayer: Finding Stillness with God in a Restless World
author: John Starke
name: John
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/16
shelves:
review:

]]> The Brothers Karamazov 4935
This powerful translation of The Brothers Karamazov features an introduction highlighting Dostoyevsky's recurrent themes of guilt and salvation, with a new chronology and further reading.]]> 1013 Fyodor Dostoevsky 0140449248 John 0 4.46 1880 The Brothers Karamazov
author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
name: John
average rating: 4.46
book published: 1880
rating: 0
read at: 2013/09/14
date added: 2018/11/29
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die]]> 452282
The central issue of Jesus' death is not the cause, but the meaning. That is what this book is about. John Piper has gathered from the New Testament fifty reasons in answer to the most important question that each of us must face: What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?]]> 128 John Piper 158134788X John 0 christian-life 4.27 2004 Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die
author: John Piper
name: John
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/01/13
shelves: christian-life
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible]]> 3373063 1591 Robert Jamieson 0310265703 John 0 commentaries 4.19 1961 Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible
author: Robert Jamieson
name: John
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1961
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/06/17
shelves: commentaries
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission Around the Table]]> 9956627 The meals of Jesus represent something bigger. They represent a new world, a new kingdom, a new outlook.

Tim Chester brings to light God's purposes in the seemingly ordinary act of sharing a meal--how this everyday experience is really an opportunity for grace, community, and mission. Chester challenges contemporary understandings of hospitality as he urges us to evaluate why and who we invite to our table. Learn how you can foster grace and bless others through the rich fare being served in A Meal with Jesus.]]> 144 Tim Chester 1433521369 John 0 to-read 4.11 2011 A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission Around the Table
author: Tim Chester
name: John
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/01/28
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Work of the Spirit (Works of John Owen, Volume 4)]]> 3875679
The Reason of Faith
Prefatory Note
Preface
Chapter 1. The Subject Stated � Preliminary Remarks
Chapter 2. What It Is Infallibly to Believe the Scripture to Be the Word of God, Affirmed
Chapter 3. Sundry Convincing External Arguments for Divine Revelation
Chapter 4. Moral Certainty, the Result of External Arguments, Insufficient
Chapter 5. Divine Revelation Itself the Only Foundation and Reason of Faith
Chapter 6. The Nature of Divine Revelations � Their Self-Evidencing Power Considered, Particularly That of the Scriptures as the Word of God
Chapter 7. Inferences From the Whole � Some Objections Answered
Appendix

The Causes, Ways, and Means of Understanding the Mind of God as Revealed in His Word
Prefatory Note
Analysis
Preface
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.

The Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer
Prefatory Note
Analysis
Preface to the Reader
Chapter 1. The Use of Prayer, and the Work of the Holy Spirit Therein
Chapter 2. Zechariah 12:10 Opened and Vindicated
Chapter 3. Galatians 4:6 Opened and Vindicated
Chapter 4. The Nature of Prayer � Romans 8:26 Opened and Vindicated
Chapter 5. The Work of the Holy Spirit as to the Matter of Prayer
Chapter 6. The Due Manner of Prayer, Wherein It Doth Consist
Chapter 7. The Nature of Prayer in General, With Respect Unto Forms of Prayer and Vocal Prayer � Ephesians 6:18 Opened and Vindicated
Chapter 8. The Duty of External Prayer by Virtue of a Spiritual Gift Explained and Vindicated
Chapter 9. Duties Inferred From the Preceding Discourse
Chapter 10. Of Mental Prayer as Pretended Unto by Some in the Church of Rome
Chapter 11. Prescribed Forms of Prayer Examined

The Spirit as a Comforter
Prefatory Note
Analysis
Preface
Chapter 1. The Holy Ghost the Comforter of the Church by Way of Office � How He Is the Church’s Advocate � John 14:16; 1 John 2:1, 2; John 16:8-11 Opened
Chapter 2. General Adjuncts or Properties of the Office of a Comforter, as Exercised by the Holy Spirit
Chapter 3. Unto Whom the Holy Spirit Is Promised and Given as a Comforter, or the Object of His
Chapter 4. Inhabitation of the Spirit the First Thing Promised
Chapter 5. Particular Actings of the Holy Spirit as a Comforter � How He Is an Unction
Chapter 6. The Spirit a Seal, and How
Chapter 7. The Spirit an Earnest, and How

A Discourse of Spiritual Gifts
Analysis
Chapter 1. Spiritual Gifts, Their Names and Signification
Chapter 2. Differences Between Spiritual Gifts and Saving Grace
Chapter 4. Extraordinary Spiritual Gifts, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Chapter 5. The Original, Duration, Use, and End, of Extraordinary Spiritual Gifts
Chapter 6. Of Ordinary Gifts of the Spirit � The Grant, Institution, Use, Benefit, End, and Continuance of the Ministry
Chapter 7. Of Spiritual Gifts Enabling the Ministry to the Exercise and Discharge of Their Trust and Office
Chapter 8. Of the Gifts of the Spirit With Respect Unto Doctrine, Worship, and Rule � How Attained and Improved]]> 520 John Owen 085151068X John 0 to-read 4.56 The Work of the Spirit (Works of John Owen, Volume 4)
author: John Owen
name: John
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2016/01/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> Pastor in Prayer 742545 192 Charles Haddon Spurgeon 0851518508 John 0 to-read 4.51 1997 Pastor in Prayer
author: Charles Haddon Spurgeon
name: John
average rating: 4.51
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Confessions 361947 346 Augustine of Hippo 014044114X John 0 3.99 400 Confessions
author: Augustine of Hippo
name: John
average rating: 3.99
book published: 400
rating: 0
read at: 2013/03/12
date added: 2015/03/11
shelves: historical-theology-church-history, biography, theology
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community]]> 9508167
One size does not fit all, but there are cultural codes that must be broken for all churches to grow and remain effective in their specific mission context. Breaking the Missional Code provides expert insight on church culture and church vision casting, plus case studies of successful missional churches impacting their communities.

"We have to recognize there are cultural barriers (in addition to spiritual ones) that blind people from understanding the gospel," the authors write. "Our task is to find the right way to break through those cultural barriers without removing the spiritual and theological ones."]]> 256 Ed Stetzer John 0 4.04 2006 Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community
author: Ed Stetzer
name: John
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2015/03/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Church Dogmatics, Vol 1.1, Sections 1-7: The Doctrine of the Word of God, Study Edition 1]]> 8528251 The English translation was prepared by a team of scholars and edited by G. W. Bromiley and T. F. Torrance and published from 1936. A team of scholars at Princeton Theological Seminary have now provided the translation of Greek, Latin, Hebrew and French passages into English. The original is presented alongside the English translation. This makes the work more reader friendly and accessible to the growing number of students who do not have a working knowledge of the ancient languages. This new edition with translations is now available for the first time in individual volumes.>]]> 320 Karl Barth 0567202909 John 0 theology 4.26 1986 Church Dogmatics, Vol 1.1, Sections 1-7: The Doctrine of the Word of God, Study Edition 1
author: Karl Barth
name: John
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at: 2011/12/05
date added: 2015/02/18
shelves: theology
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Works of John Owen, Vol. 3: The Holy Spirit]]> 2091603
All believers must "try the spirits" because false prophets and false teachers deprive us of liberty. Some people claim to know the Spirit's inward enlightenment, but the darkness of Satan fills their imaginations. This false light is of no use to the souls of men; it is in opposition to Christ and his work. The only way to tackle this is by giving a plain and scriptural account of the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. His work did not end at Pentecost, otherwise all faith in Christ would have ceased and Christianity also. The Spirit continues to work in the hearts of men, convicting of sin; producing godly sorrow and humility; regenerating and sanctifying; supplying grace and helping in prayer. John Newton spoke of Owen's work as, "An epitome, if not the masterpiece of his writings." No one who cares about the church in the 21st century can afford to ignore this exhaustive guide. This is the orginal text with a new layout and is fully subtitled which makes it more accessible to a new generation of readers!]]> 651 John Owen 0851511252 John 0 to-read 4.81 1674 The Works of John Owen, Vol. 3: The Holy Spirit
author: John Owen
name: John
average rating: 4.81
book published: 1674
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/11/25
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Glory of Christ (Works of John Owen, Volume 1)]]> 625573
Namun, di dalam Kristus, kita kembali dimampukan untuk memiliki pengetahuan tentang kemuliaan-Nya itu. Sebagian dari pengetahuan ini, bahkan telah dapat kita nikmati pada masa sekarang, sebelum kemudian mencapai masa penggenapannya pada masa mendatang. Di masa sekarang, oleh iman; dan dimasa mendatang, dengan cara bertemu muka dengan muka. Pengetahuan akan kemuliaan Kristus ini adalah jauh lebih bernilai dibandingkan semua bentuk hikmat ataupun pengertian lainnya.]]> 494 John Owen 0851511236 John 5 4.87 1683 The Glory of Christ (Works of John Owen, Volume 1)
author: John Owen
name: John
average rating: 4.87
book published: 1683
rating: 5
read at: 2009/07/29
date added: 2014/11/25
shelves: read-2008, christian-life, historical-theology-church-history, theology
review:
Best volume on christology possible. A mix between a scholarly work and devotional classic. Puritanism at its best!
]]> <![CDATA[The New Testament Background: Selected Documents]]> 3373069 361 Charles Kingsley Barrett 0281042942 John 0 biblical-studies 3.67 1957 The New Testament Background: Selected Documents
author: Charles Kingsley Barrett
name: John
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/10/24
shelves: biblical-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Gospel According to St.John]]> 3373070 656 Charles Kingsley Barrett 0281036101 John 0 4.50 1978 The Gospel According to St.John
author: Charles Kingsley Barrett
name: John
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/10/24
shelves: biblical-languages, commentaries
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Athanasius: Selected Works and Letters (Nice and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series, vol 4)]]> 13360041 606 Athanasius of Alexandria John 0 0.0 1842 Athanasius: Selected Works and Letters (Nice and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series, vol 4)
author: Athanasius of Alexandria
name: John
average rating: 0.0
book published: 1842
rating: 0
read at: 2012/04/02
date added: 2014/06/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How (Not) to Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor]]> 18250837 A Secular Age provides a monumental history and analysis of what it means for us to live in our post- Christian present a pluralist world of competing beliefs and growing unbelief. This book by Jamie Smith is a small field guide to Taylor's genealogy of the secular, making it accessible to a wide array of readers. Smith's How (Not) to Be Secular is also, however, a philosophical guidebook for practitioners a kind of how-to manual that ultimately offers guidance on how to live in a secular age. It's an adventure in self-understanding and a way to get our bearings in postmodernity. Whether one is proclaiming faith to the secularized or is puzzled that there continue to be people of faith in this day and age, this is a philosophical story meant to help us locate where we are and what's at stake.]]> 148 James K.A. Smith 0802867618 John 0 currently-reading 4.20 2014 How (Not) to Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor
author: James K.A. Smith
name: John
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/05/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Too Good to Be True: Finding Hope in a World of Hype]]> 135458 192 Michael Horton 0310267455 John 0 to-read, christian-life 4.17 Too Good to Be True: Finding Hope in a World of Hype
author: Michael Horton
name: John
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/05/11
shelves: to-read, christian-life
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions]]> 788091 405 Arthur Bennett 0851518214 John 0 4.73 1975 The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions
author: Arthur Bennett
name: John
average rating: 4.73
book published: 1975
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/05/08
shelves: christian-life, historical-theology-church-history
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rabbit, Run (Rabbit Angstrom, #1)]]> 85386 Rabbit, Run is the book that established John Updike as one of the major American novelists of his—or any other—generation. Its hero is Harry “Rabbit� Angstrom, a onetime high-school basketball star who on an impulse deserts his wife and son. He is twenty-six years old, a man-child caught in a struggle between instinct and thought, self and society, sexual gratification and family duty—even, in a sense, human hard-heartedness and divine Grace. Though his flight from home traces a zigzag of evasion, he holds to the faith that he is on the right path, an invisible line toward his own salvation as straight as a ruler’s edge.]]> 325 John Updike 0449911659 John 0 3.58 1960 Rabbit, Run (Rabbit Angstrom, #1)
author: John Updike
name: John
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1960
rating: 0
read at: 2014/05/05
date added: 2014/05/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away]]> 18050049 Ěý
At the origin of Western philosophy stands Plato, who got about as much wrong as one would expect from a thinker who lived 2,400 years ago. But Plato’s role in shaping philosophy was pivotal. On her way to considering the place of philosophy in our ongoing intellectual life, Goldstein tells a new story of its origin, re-envisioning the extraordinary culture that produced the man who produced philosophy.
Ěý
But it is primarily the fate of philosophy that concerns her. Is the discipline no more than a way of biding our time until the scientists arrive on the scene? Have they already arrived? Does philosophy itself ever make progress? And if it does, why is so ancient a figure as Plato of any continuing relevance? Plato at the Googleplex is Goldstein’s startling investigation of these conundra. She interweaves her narrative with Plato’s own choice for bringing ideas to life—the dialogue.
Ěý
Imagine that Plato came to life in the twenty-first century and embarked on a multicity speaking tour. How would he handle the host of a cable news program who denies there can be morality without religion?Ěý How would he mediate a debate between a Freudian psychoanalyst and a tiger mom on how to raise the perfect child? How would he answer a neuroscientist who, about to scan Plato’s brain, argues that science has definitively answered the questions of free will and moral agency? What would Plato make of Google, and of the idea that knowledge can be crowd-sourced rather than reasoned out by experts? With a philosopher’s depth and a novelist’s imagination and wit, Goldstein probes the deepest issues confronting us by allowing us to eavesdrop on Plato as he takes on the modern world.

(With black-and-white photographs throughout.)]]> 461 Rebecca Goldstein 0307378195 John 0 3.84 2014 Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away
author: Rebecca Goldstein
name: John
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2014/05/05
date added: 2014/05/05
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]]> Heroes of the City of Man 832030 The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and others—commenting on each and contrasting their pagan worldview to the biblical worldview. If you fall asleep in your English classes, this book is like drinking ten cups of coffee. Maybe eleven, depending upon your body weight. For high school students and up.

"The most obvious virtue of Leithart's book is its scope. In a single volume he provides a defense for the value of reading classical literature, a methodology for integrating that literature with the Christian faith, and a reader's guide to the works of classical literature that a contemporary reader would most benefit from reading." -Leland Ryken, Wheaton College

"[A]nyone can read this volume and expect to gain a heightened awareness of the importance of Christian thinking to all of life and the great void that exists in societies that are not undergirded by such thinking." -Byron Snapp, Calvary Herald]]> 394 Peter J. Leithart 1885767552 John 0 4.19 1999 Heroes of the City of Man
author: Peter J. Leithart
name: John
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at: 2014/05/05
date added: 2014/05/05
shelves:
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]]> ±Ę±đ˛Ô˛őĂ©±đ˛ő 449407 334 Blaise Pascal John 0 3.97 1670 ±Ę±đ˛Ô˛őĂ©±đ˛ő
author: Blaise Pascal
name: John
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1670
rating: 0
read at: 2014/04/10
date added: 2014/04/10
shelves:
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]]> Justice: Rights and Wrongs 8214926

Wolterstorff prefaces his systematic account of justice as grounded in rights with an exploration of the common claim that rights-talk is inherently individualistic and possessive. He demonstrates that the idea of natural rights originated neither in the Enlightenment nor in the individualistic philosophy of the late Middle Ages, but was already employed by the canon lawyers of the twelfth century. He traces our intuitions about rights and justice back even further, to Hebrew and Christian scriptures. After extensively discussing justice in the Old Testament and the New, he goes on to show why ancient Greek and Roman philosophy could not serve as a framework for a theory of rights.


Connecting rights and wrongs to God's relationship with humankind, Justice not only offers a rich and compelling philosophical account of justice, but also makes an important contribution to overcoming the present-day divide between religious discourse and human rights.]]> 416 Nicholas Wolterstorff 0691146306 John 0 4.21 2007 Justice: Rights and Wrongs
author: Nicholas Wolterstorff
name: John
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2014/04/10
date added: 2014/04/10
shelves:
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]]> Crime and Punishment 7144 671 Fyodor Dostoevsky John 0 4.26 1866 Crime and Punishment
author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
name: John
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1866
rating: 0
read at: 2014/03/23
date added: 2014/03/23
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]]> Collected Poems, 1909-1962 142080
Poet, dramatist, critic, and editor, T. S. Eliot was one of the defining figures of twentieth-century poetry. This edition of Collected Poems 1909-1962 includes his verse from Prufrock and Other Observations (1917) to Four Quartets (1943), and includes such literary landmarks as 'The Waste Land' and 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'.]]> 240 T.S. Eliot 0151189781 John 0 currently-reading 4.30 1963 Collected Poems, 1909-1962
author: T.S. Eliot
name: John
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1963
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/03/10
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Reformed Pastor 829725
Today, Baxter's principles, drawn from Scripture, and reapplied in terms of modern circumstances, will provide both ministers and other Christians with challenge, direction and help.]]> 256 Richard Baxter 0851511910 John 0 4.26 1656 The Reformed Pastor
author: Richard Baxter
name: John
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1656
rating: 0
read at: 2014/03/10
date added: 2014/03/10
shelves: historical-theology-church-history, pastoral-preaching, theology
review:

]]> Leaving Home 319399 244 Garrison Keillor 0571194184 John 0 3.82 1987 Leaving Home
author: Garrison Keillor
name: John
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at: 2014/02/04
date added: 2014/02/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer]]> 240336 160 Eugene H. Peterson 0060665122 John 0 4.34 1989 Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer
author: Eugene H. Peterson
name: John
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at: 2014/02/04
date added: 2014/02/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God]]> 272872 The Holy Spirit empowers us, guides us, and enables us to grow and endure in our relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. Often the most misunderstood member of the Trinity, the Spirit is someone of great focus and attention today amid church revivals and renewals.

In this new edition of his classic Keep in Step with the Spirit, J. I. Packer seeks to help Christians reaffirm the biblical call to holiness and the Spirit's role in keeping our covenant with God. Packer discusses both the merits and shortcomings of the current charismatic movement and how Christ must always be at the center of true Spirit-led ministry.

Packer encourages believers to implement the Spirit's directives and discusses how to map the Spirit's path in your life. If you want to understand and experience more of life in the Spirit, you will cherish this latest offering from one of Christianity's most respected scholars.

J. I. Packer is recognized as one of today's leading evangelical theologians. He is Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the best-selling author of Knowing God.

]]> 256 J.I. Packer 0801065585 John 5 christian-life, theology 4.20 1984 Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God
author: J.I. Packer
name: John
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1984
rating: 5
read at: 2008/08/07
date added: 2014/02/01
shelves: christian-life, theology
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices (Puritan Paperbacks)]]> 715608
Brooks lists seven reasons for writing this book. The first reason is enough...Brooks says, Satan hath a greater influence upon men, and higher advantages over them than they think he hath, and the knowledge of his high advantage is the highway to disappoint him, and to render the soul strong in resisting, and happy in conquering.]]> 253 Thomas Brooks 0851510027 John 5 4.55 1652 Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices (Puritan Paperbacks)
author: Thomas Brooks
name: John
average rating: 4.55
book published: 1652
rating: 5
read at: 2014/02/01
date added: 2014/02/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus]]> 9662968
In it, Keller shows how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical, and personal, calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God. Like Keller's other books it has tremendous crossover appeal, but it is also ideal for the faithful, those who are looking for a closer connection to Jesus and Christianity.

New York Times bestselling author and nationally renowned minister Timothy Keller unlocks new insights into the life of Jesus Christ.]]> 250 Timothy J. Keller 0525952101 John 5 biblical-studies, theology 4.32 2011 King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus
author: Timothy J. Keller
name: John
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2011/03/16
date added: 2013/12/26
shelves: biblical-studies, theology
review:
I'm all kinds of happy with this book. I've either liked or loved all of Keller's books. But this one is my favorite. It carries all of Keller's popular themes: justice, idols, gospel critique of religion, and worldview challenge. But they are all brought out from the text of the Gospel of Mark. The strength of this book is that it helped me trust in and love Christ more. Also, it's a wonderful example of reading the gospels. It's a wonderful book to read for devotions or hand to a skeptic.
]]> Balanced Christianity 6802956 48 John R.W. Stott 0340201053 John 4 Balanced! 4.13 1975 Balanced Christianity
author: John R.W. Stott
name: John
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/12/25
shelves:
review:
Balanced!
]]> <![CDATA[Reading for Preaching: The Preacher in Conversation with Storytellers, Biographers, Poets and Journalists]]> 18226384 Reading for Preaching Cornelius Plantinga makes a striking claim: preachers who read widely will most likely become better preachers. Plantinga—himself a master preacher—shows how a wide reading program can benefit preachers. First, he says, good reading generates delight, and the preacher who enters the world of delight goes with God. Good reading can also help tune the preacher's ear for language—his or her primary tool. General reading can enlarge the preacher's sympathies for people and situations that she or he had previously known nothing about. And, above all, the preacher who reads widely has the chance to become wise.This beautifully written book will benefit not just preachers but anyone interested in the wisdom to be derived from reading.

Works that Plantinga interacts with in the book include The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario, Silence by Shusaku Endo, How Much Land Does a Man Need? by Leo Tolstoy, Narcissus Leaves the Pool by Joseph Epstein, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo . . . and many more!]]> 147 Cornelius Plantinga Jr. 0802870775 John 5 3.82 2013 Reading for Preaching: The Preacher in Conversation with Storytellers, Biographers, Poets and Journalists
author: Cornelius Plantinga Jr.
name: John
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/12/25
shelves:
review:
Loved it and will love talking about it for a long time.
]]> The Catcher in the Rye 5107 It's Christmas time and Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another school...

Fleeing the crooks at Pencey Prep, he pinballs around New York City seeking solace in fleeting encounters—shooting the bull with strangers in dive hotels, wandering alone round Central Park, getting beaten up by pimps and cut down by erstwhile girlfriends. The city is beautiful and terrible, in all its neon loneliness and seedy glamour, its mingled sense of possibility and emptiness. Holden passes through it like a ghost, thinking always of his kid sister Phoebe, the only person who really understands him, and his determination to escape the phonies and find a life of true meaning.

The Catcher in the Rye is an all-time classic in coming-of-age literature- an elegy to teenage alienation, capturing the deeply human need for connection and the bewildering sense of loss as we leave childhood behind.

J.D. Salinger's (1919�2010) classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923. It was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. It has been frequently challenged in the court for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and in the 1950's and 60's it was the novel that every teenage boy wants to read.]]> 277 J.D. Salinger 0316769177 John 0 3.81 1951 The Catcher in the Rye
author: J.D. Salinger
name: John
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1951
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/12/25
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]]> <![CDATA[A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments]]> 6748 Infinite Jest.]]> 353 David Foster Wallace 0316925284 John 0 4.24 1996 A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments
author: David Foster Wallace
name: John
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at: 2013/12/25
date added: 2013/12/25
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]]> <![CDATA[The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader]]> 422371
The fifteen sermons, four of which have never been published before, reflect a life dedicated to experiencing and understanding spiritual truth. Chosen to represent a typical cycle of Edwards� preaching, the sermons address a wide range of occasions, situations, and states, corporate as well as personal. The book also contains an introduction that discusses Edwards� contribution to the sermon as a literary form, places his sermons within their social and cultural contexts, and considers his theological aims as a way of familiarizing the reader with the "order of salvation" as Edwards conceived of it. Together, the sermons and the editors� introduction offer a rounded picture of Edwards the preacher, the sermon writer, and the pastoral theologian.]]> 336 Jonathan Edwards 0300077688 John 0 4.15 1999 The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader
author: Jonathan Edwards
name: John
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at: 2013/12/25
date added: 2013/12/25
shelves: historical-theology-church-history
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mortification of Sin (Puritan Paperbacks)]]> 310016
Owen is very insistent that believers cannot hope to succeed in this battle in their own strength. He sees clearly that the fight can be won only through faith in Christ, and in the power of the Spirit. Fighting sin with human strength will produce only self-righteousness, superstition and anxiety of conscience. But with faith in Christ, and with the power of the Spirit, victory is certain. The temptations in times like Owen s and ours are obvious on every side; the remedy to them is clearly pointed out in this practical and helpful book.]]> 132 John Owen 0851518672 John 0 4.34 1656 The Mortification of Sin (Puritan Paperbacks)
author: John Owen
name: John
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1656
rating: 0
read at: 2013/11/02
date added: 2013/11/02
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]]> <![CDATA[Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Cultural Liturgies)]]> 5944774
James K. A. Smith focuses on the themes of liturgy and desire in "Desiring the Kingdom," the first book in what will be a three-volume set on the theology of culture. He redirects our yearnings to focus on the greatest good: God. Ultimately, Smith seeks to re-vision education through the process and practice of worship. Students of philosophy, theology, worldview, and culture will welcome "Desiring the Kingdom," as will those involved in ministry and other interested readers.]]> 238 James K.A. Smith 0801035775 John 0 4.23 2009 Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Cultural Liturgies)
author: James K.A. Smith
name: John
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at: 2013/11/02
date added: 2013/11/02
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]]> The Bluest Eye 11337 The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison's first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom. Pecola's life does change—in painful, devastating ways.

With its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment. The Bluest Eye remains one of Toni Morrison's most powerful, unforgettable novels- and a significant work of American fiction.]]> 216 Toni Morrison John 0 4.13 1970 The Bluest Eye
author: Toni Morrison
name: John
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1970
rating: 0
read at: 2013/11/02
date added: 2013/11/02
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]]> <![CDATA[Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth]]> 58061 Hamlet
One of the most famous plays of all time, the compelling tragedy of the young prince of Denmark who must reconcile his longing for oblivion with his duty to avenge his father's murder is one of Shakespeare's greatest works. The ghost, Ophelia's death and burial, the play within a play, and the breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet a masterpiece of the theater.

Othello
This great tragedy of unsurpassed intensity and emotion is played out against Renaissance splendor. The doomed marriage of Desdemona to the Moor Othello is the focus of a storm of tension, incited by the consummately evil villain Iago, that culminates in one of the most deeply moving scenes in theatrical history.

King Lear
Here is the famous and moving tragedy of a king who foolishly divides his kingdom between his two wicked daughters and estranges himself from the young daughter who loves him-a theatrical spectacle of outstanding proportions.

Macbeth
No dramatist has ever seen with more frightening clarity into the heart and mind of a murderer than has Shakespeare in this brilliant and bloody tragedy of evil. Taunted into asserting his "masculinity" by his ambitious wife, Macbeth chooses to embrace the Weird Sisters' prophecy and kill his king-and thus, seals his own doom.

Each Edition Includes:
- Comprehensive explanatory notes
- Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
- Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
- Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
- An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography]]> 955 William Shakespeare 0553212834 John 0 4.18 1606 Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth
author: William Shakespeare
name: John
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1606
rating: 0
read at: 2013/09/24
date added: 2013/09/24
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists]]> 13542725 The first biography of composer John Cage to show how his work, and that of countless American artists, was transformed by Zen Buddhism.

One of the greatest American composers of the twentieth century, John Cage created music that defies easy explanation. Many writers have grappled with Cage’s music—which used notes chosen by chance, randomly tuned radios, and even silence—trying to understand what his music means rather than where it came from. An unprecedented and revelatory book, Where the Heart Beats reveals what actually empowered Cage to compose his incredible music, and how he inspired the tremendous artistic transformations of mid-century America.

Where the Heart Beats is the first biography of John Cage to address the phenomenal importance of Zen Buddhism to the composer’s life, and to the artistic avant-garde of the 1950s and 60s. Zen’s power of transforming Cage’s troubled mind, by showing him his own enlightened nature—which is also the nature of all living things—liberated Cage from an acute personal crisis that threatened his life, his music, and his relationship with his life-partner, Merce Cunningham. Caught in a society that rejected his music, his politics, and his sexual orientation, Cage was transformed by Zen from an overlooked and somewhat marginal musician into the absolute epicenter of the avant garde.


Using Cage’s life as a starting point, Where the Heart Beats looks beyond to the individuals he influenced and the art he inspired. His circle included Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Merce Cunningham, Yoko Ono, Jasper Johns, Morton Feldman, and Leo Castelli, who all went on to revolutionize their respective disciplines. As Cage’s story progresses, as his students� trajectories unfurl, Where the Heart Beats shows the blossoming of Zen in the very heart of American culture.
Ěý
Both an innovative biography and a ground-breaking cultural history of the American Century, Where the Heart Beats is the work of acclaimed art critic Kay Larson. Following her time at New York Magazine and The Village Voice, Larson practiced Zen at a Buddhist monastery in upstate New York. Larson’s deep knowledge of Zen Buddhism, her long familiarity with New York’s art world, and her exhaustive original research all make Where the Heart Beats the definitive story about one of America’s most enduringly important artists.]]> 474 Kay Larson 1594203407 John 0 4.13 2012 Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists
author: Kay Larson
name: John
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2013/09/24
date added: 2013/09/24
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]]> Piccadilly Jim 18077 302 P.G. Wodehouse 1585676160 John 0 4.04 1917 Piccadilly Jim
author: P.G. Wodehouse
name: John
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1917
rating: 0
read at: 2013/09/24
date added: 2013/09/24
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]]> <![CDATA[Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel]]> 15871548 208 Mike Cosper 1433533421 John 0 4.24 2013 Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel
author: Mike Cosper
name: John
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2013/09/14
date added: 2013/09/14
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]]> <![CDATA[The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel]]> 272810 224 Mark Dever 1581347383 John 0 4.14 2005 The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel
author: Mark Dever
name: John
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2013/07/14
date added: 2013/07/14
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society]]> 579014 216 Eugene H. Peterson 0830822577 John 0 christian-life 4.25 1980 A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society
author: Eugene H. Peterson
name: John
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/07/08
shelves: christian-life
review:

]]> On Christian Liberty (Facets) 544652 112 Martin Luther 0800636074 John 0 theology 3.91 1520 On Christian Liberty (Facets)
author: Martin Luther
name: John
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1520
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/07/08
shelves: theology
review:

]]> How to Read the Psalms 393470 166 Tremper Longman III 0877849412 John 0 3.91 How to Read the Psalms
author: Tremper Longman III
name: John
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2013/07/08
date added: 2013/07/08
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]]> Reflections on the Psalms 121706 151 C.S. Lewis John 0 3.91 1958 Reflections on the Psalms
author: C.S. Lewis
name: John
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1958
rating: 0
read at: 2013/06/04
date added: 2013/06/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[C. S. Lewis's Dangerous Idea: In Defense of the Argument from Reason]]> 30623 132 Victor Reppert 0830827323 John 0 3.98 2003 C. S. Lewis's Dangerous Idea: In Defense of the Argument from Reason
author: Victor Reppert
name: John
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2013/05/17
date added: 2013/05/17
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival - Volume I]]> 891500 598 Arnold A. Dallimore 0851510264 John 0 4.57 1970 George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival - Volume I
author: Arnold A. Dallimore
name: John
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1970
rating: 0
read at: 2013/05/17
date added: 2013/05/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope]]> 30100
Andrew Delbanco tells of the stringent God of Protestant Christianity, who exerted immense force over the language, institutions, and customs of the culture for nearly 200 years. He describes the falling away of this God and the rise of the idea of a sacred nation-state. And, finally, he speaks of our own moment, when symbols of nationalism are in decline, leaving us with nothing to satisfy the longing for transcendence once sustained by God and nation.

From the Christian story that expressed the earliest Puritan yearnings to New Age spirituality, apocalyptic environmentalism, and the multicultural search for ancestral roots that divert our own, The Real American Dream evokes the tidal rhythm of American history. It shows how Americans have organized their days and ordered their lives―and ultimately created a culture―to make sense of the pain, desire, pleasure, and fear that are the stuff of human experience. In a time of cultural crisis, when the old stories seem to be faltering, this book offers a lesson in the painstaking remaking of the American dream.]]> 160 Andrew Delbanco 0674003837 John 4 culture-current-issues 3.88 1999 The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope
author: Andrew Delbanco
name: John
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/04/30
shelves: culture-current-issues
review:
Wow. A jeremiad against our Western love-affair with human autonomy. Very sharp. Loved this book.
]]> <![CDATA[A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living]]> 12082644
From the timeless wisdom of the ancient Greeks to Christianity, the Enlightenment, existentialism, and postmodernism, Luc Ferry’s instant classic brilliantly and accessibly explains the enduring teachings of philosophy—including its profound relevance to modern daily life and its essential role in achieving happiness and living a meaningful life. This lively journey through the great thinkers will enlighten every reader, young and old.]]> 304 Luc Ferry 0062074245 John 4 philosophy 3.92 1996 A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living
author: Luc Ferry
name: John
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/04/30
shelves: philosophy
review:
A good brief history of Western thought as it relates to "hope."
]]> The Major Works 354007 Christianity. His writings on matters such as free will, the nature of truth, and the existence of God make Anselm one of the greatest theologians and philosophers in history, and this translation provides readers with their first opportunity to read his most important works within a single
volume.]]> 544 Anselm of Canterbury 0192825259 John 4 4.04 1100 The Major Works
author: Anselm of Canterbury
name: John
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1100
rating: 4
read at: 2013/04/05
date added: 2013/04/05
shelves: read-2008, historical-theology-church-history, theology
review:
I am reading "Why God Became Man." It certainly helps in understanding the need and necessity of atonement for sin. Also puts forth many questions that are not asked today.
]]> Living sacrifice 542065 125 Helen Roseveare 0802449433 John 0 christian-life 4.86 1979 Living sacrifice
author: Helen Roseveare
name: John
average rating: 4.86
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/04/04
shelves: christian-life
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Spiritual Man (3 volume set)]]> 57953 740 Watchman Nee 0736302697 John 0 christian-life 4.37 1928 The Spiritual Man (3 volume set)
author: Watchman Nee
name: John
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1928
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/03/17
shelves: christian-life
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories]]> 48464
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
"The River"
"The Life You Save May Be Your Own"
"A Stroke of Good Fortune"
"A Temple of the Holy Ghost"
"The Artificial Nigger"
"A Circle in the Fire"
"A Late Encounter with the Enemy"
"Good Country People"
"The Displaced Person"
©1955 Flannery O'Connor; 1954, 1953, 1948 by Flannery O'Connor; renewed 1983, 1981 by Regina O'Connor; renewed 1976 by Mrs. Edward F. O'Connor; (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.]]> 252 Flannery O'Connor 0151365040 John 5 4.19 1955 A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories
author: Flannery O'Connor
name: John
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1955
rating: 5
read at: 2013/03/12
date added: 2013/03/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Code of the Woosters: Jeeves to the Rescue]]> 18019 7 P.G. Wodehouse 1572705485 John 4 4.34 1938 The Code of the Woosters: Jeeves to the Rescue
author: P.G. Wodehouse
name: John
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1938
rating: 4
read at: 2012/07/18
date added: 2013/03/11
shelves:
review:
I listened to this while I did my morning runs. It's horribly difficult to exercise while you're belly-laughing, but this is a classic Wodehouse. I enjoy the Blandings series of Wodehouse books better than the Jeeves, but it's the same Wodehouse.
]]> <![CDATA[JOHN CALVIN: A BIOGRAPHY (AN ASLAN BOOK)]]> 3373060 John Calvin was one of the most important leaders of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. In this revision of his major biography, T. H. L. Parker explores Calvin's achievement against the backdrop of the turbulent times in which he lived. With clear and concise explanations of Calvin's theology, analyses of his major works, and insights into his preaching, this definitive biography brings this crucially important reformer and his world to life for readers.

]]> 240 Thomas Henry Louis Parker 0856480819 John 0 3.25 1975 JOHN CALVIN: A BIOGRAPHY (AN ASLAN BOOK)
author: Thomas Henry Louis Parker
name: John
average rating: 3.25
book published: 1975
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/02/13
shelves: biography, historical-theology-church-history
review:

]]> Isaiah 34-66, Volume 25 2702485

In this second WBC volume on Isaiah, he continues to focus on the central figure of Yahweh and to examime the changing roles played by Israel, Jerusalem, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. He carefully examines the language, form, theological content, and scriptural parallels of the book.


The Word Biblical Commentary series provides an exceptional resource for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.]]> 448 John D.W. Watts 0785250115 John 0 commentaries 3.50 1987 Isaiah 34-66, Volume 25
author: John D.W. Watts
name: John
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/02/07
shelves: commentaries
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor]]> 13248958 208 Jonathan Rogers 1595550232 John 4 4.37 2012 The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor
author: Jonathan Rogers
name: John
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/16
date added: 2012/12/16
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City]]> 12348333 Center Church, a collection of twelve essays by Timothy Keller, outlines a theological vision for ministry that is organized around three core commitments:
*Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone and strategy of all that we do.
*City-centered: With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic and underserved places for gospel ministry.
*Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit.]]> 395 Timothy J. Keller 0310494184 John 0 to-read 4.42 2012 Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City
author: Timothy J. Keller
name: John
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion]]> 11324722 An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780307377906 can be found here.

Why can’t our political leaders work together as threats loom and problems mount? Why do people so readily assume the worst about the motives of their fellow citizens? In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding.
Ěý
His starting point is moral intuition—the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong. Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right. He blends his own research findings with those of anthropologists, historians, and other psychologists to draw a map of the moral domain. He then examines the origins of morality, overturning the view that evolution made us fundamentally selfish creatures. But rather than arguing that we are innately altruistic, he makes a more subtle claim—that we are fundamentally groupish. It is our groupishness, he explains, that leads to our greatest joys, our religious divisions, and our political affiliations. In a stunning final chapter on ideology and civility, Haidt shows what each side is right about, and why we need the insights of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians to flourish as a nation.]]> 419 Jonathan Haidt John 4 4.18 2012 The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
author: Jonathan Haidt
name: John
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/11/14
date added: 2012/11/14
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]]> Heretics / Orthodoxy 241966 311 G.K. Chesterton 0785242600 John 5 4.40 2000 Heretics / Orthodoxy
author: G.K. Chesterton
name: John
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2012/10/22
date added: 2012/10/22
shelves: historical-theology-church-history, theology
review:
Classic. Read this over 10 years ago. Refreshing and wise.
]]> <![CDATA[Meditation and Communion with God: Contemplating Scripture in an Age of Distraction]]> 13800002 168 John Jefferson Davis 0830839763 John 4 4.00 2012 Meditation and Communion with God: Contemplating Scripture in an Age of Distraction
author: John Jefferson Davis
name: John
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/10/21
date added: 2012/10/22
shelves:
review:
A refreshing, robust, and thrilling read. Davis gives us the theological and spiritual foundation of our communion with God in the Scriptures based on our union with Christ and inaugurated eschatology. He gives us the biblical basis of why we can taste and see heaven today as we wait for it's coming. I loved this book. I'm so grateful for it.
]]> <![CDATA[Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants]]> 13809998
By incorporating the latest available research from the ancient Near East and examining implications of their work for Christology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and hermeneutics--Biblical scholar Peter Gentry and systematic theologian Stephen Wellum present a thoughtful and viable alternative to both covenant theology and dispensationalism.]]> 848 Peter J. Gentry 1433514648 John 4 4.30 2012 Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants
author: Peter J. Gentry
name: John
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/10/01
date added: 2012/10/01
shelves:
review:
Whew. This books lives and dies by Wellum's chapters.
]]> Gilead (Gilead, #1) 68210 Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. In the words of Kirkus, it is a novel "as big as a nation, as quiet as thought, and moving as prayer. Matchless and towering." GILEAD tells the story of America and will break your heart.]]> 247 Marilynne Robinson 031242440X John 5 3.84 2004 Gilead (Gilead, #1)
author: Marilynne Robinson
name: John
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2012/10/01
date added: 2012/10/01
shelves:
review:
There's a lot that's wonderful about this book. Robinson forces the contemplative self out of you as you read. Also, it was fascinating to read this book again, now as a pastor.
]]> <![CDATA[The Evolution of God (Back Bay Readers' Pick)]]> 7519606
Nearly a decade in the making, The Evolution of God is a breathtaking re-examination of the past, and a visionary look forward.]]> 592 Robert Wright 031606744X John 2 4.07 2009 The Evolution of God (Back Bay Readers' Pick)
author: Robert Wright
name: John
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2009
rating: 2
read at: 2012/09/08
date added: 2012/09/08
shelves:
review:
I was surprised how disappointed I was in reading this. I like Robert Wright. I certainly didn't expect to agree with much, but I thought I would find more of it compelling or at least interesting. The evolution of God is simply recycled arguments of HG Wells and others; something that Chesteron's "Ever-Lasting Man" answered almost a century ago.
]]> The Great Gatsby 4671 The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald’s family and from his lifelong publisher.

This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author’s own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published by Scribner in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.]]> 180 F. Scott Fitzgerald 0743273567 John 5 3.93 1925 The Great Gatsby
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: John
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1925
rating: 5
read at: 2012/09/08
date added: 2012/09/08
shelves:
review:
It had been 15 years since reading it last. Quite a different experience reading it when actually living in NYC.
]]> The Republic 30289 416 Plato 0140449140 John 0 3.97 -400 The Republic
author: Plato
name: John
average rating: 3.97
book published: -400
rating: 0
read at: 2012/08/30
date added: 2012/08/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires & Emotions for Faith]]> 10907242 188 Clifford Williams John 3 philosophy, theology 3.67 2011 Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires & Emotions for Faith
author: Clifford Williams
name: John
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2011/04/15
date added: 2012/08/27
shelves: philosophy, theology
review:
I was very surprised by the actual helpfulness of this book. I was expecting a low-grade, squishy version of apologetics. Not so. Williams is a sophisticated philosopher that warns his readers not to disregard the existential elements of faith - not just for persuading unbelievers, but also in understanding the nuances of existing faith in believers. A little overly analytical or psychologized in spots, but over all I liked it.
]]> The Everlasting Man 112760 As always with Chesterton, there is in this analysis something (as he said of Blake) "very plain and emphatic." He sees in Christianity a rare blending of philosophy and mythology, or reason and story, which satisfies both the mind and the heart. On both levels it rings true. As he puts it, "in answer to the historical query of why it was accepted, and is accepted, I answer for millions of others in my reply; because it fits the lock; because it is like life." Here, as so often in Chesterton, we sense a lived, awakened faith. All that he writes derives from a keen intellect guided by the heart's own knowledge.

]]> 260 G.K. Chesterton 1573832979 John 5 4.15 1925 The Everlasting Man
author: G.K. Chesterton
name: John
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1925
rating: 5
read at: 2012/08/15
date added: 2012/08/15
shelves:
review:
Ah, how do you give a review of a classic? I first read this book over ten years ago. Nice to read it again with fresh eyes and different questions.
]]> Revival 351038 320 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones 0891074155 John 0 4.39 1986 Revival
author: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
name: John
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at: 2012/08/04
date added: 2012/08/04
shelves:
review:

]]> Bossypants 9418327
She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon—from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.]]> 283 Tina Fey John 3 3.97 2011 Bossypants
author: Tina Fey
name: John
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2012/07/18
date added: 2012/07/18
shelves:
review:
Began funny, then got slow, then got funny again when talking about Mean Girls and 30 Rock. Living in NYC helps with the inside ball jokes about UWS and being a fan of 30 Rocks helps with connecting with her humor.
]]> Pilgrim at Tinker Creek 12527 288 Annie Dillard 0072434171 John 5
And she's right. Everything builds and builds to chapter 10, "Fercundity," where she famously wonders, "Either this world, my mother, is a monster, or I myself am a freak."

She writes, "Evolution loves death more than it loves you or me. This is easy to write, easy to read, hard to believe. The words are simply, the concept clear—but you don't believe it do you? Nor do I. How could I, when we're both so lovable? Are my values so diametrically opposed to those that nature preserves? That is the key point."

The problem is, "We value the individual supremely, and nature values him not a whit."

If nature does not care, she asks, "Then why am I making all the this fuss?"

"All right then," she continues, "It is our emotions that are amiss. We are freaks, the world is fine, and let us all go have lobotomies to restore us to a natural state. We can leave the library then, go back to the creek lobotomized, and live on its banks as untroubled as any muskrat or reed. You first."

The books descends and then peaks again in chapter 13, "The Horns of the Altar," which looks at the problem of parasites and the problem it creates for the world. She notes that 10 percent of the world's species are parasitic insects. She asks, "What if you were an inventor, and you made ten percent of your inventions in such a way that they could only work by harassing, disfiguring, or totally destroying the other ninety percent?"

Either Creation is the revelation of God's glory or the devil's Summa Theologica.

]]> 4.08 1974 Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
author: Annie Dillard
name: John
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1974
rating: 5
read at: 2012/06/28
date added: 2012/06/30
shelves:
review:
I had read other essays by Dillard, but never the book that won her the pulitzer. I would have called this book a collection of essays until Dillard chastises us for thinking that in her Afterword.

And she's right. Everything builds and builds to chapter 10, "Fercundity," where she famously wonders, "Either this world, my mother, is a monster, or I myself am a freak."

She writes, "Evolution loves death more than it loves you or me. This is easy to write, easy to read, hard to believe. The words are simply, the concept clear—but you don't believe it do you? Nor do I. How could I, when we're both so lovable? Are my values so diametrically opposed to those that nature preserves? That is the key point."

The problem is, "We value the individual supremely, and nature values him not a whit."

If nature does not care, she asks, "Then why am I making all the this fuss?"

"All right then," she continues, "It is our emotions that are amiss. We are freaks, the world is fine, and let us all go have lobotomies to restore us to a natural state. We can leave the library then, go back to the creek lobotomized, and live on its banks as untroubled as any muskrat or reed. You first."

The books descends and then peaks again in chapter 13, "The Horns of the Altar," which looks at the problem of parasites and the problem it creates for the world. She notes that 10 percent of the world's species are parasitic insects. She asks, "What if you were an inventor, and you made ten percent of your inventions in such a way that they could only work by harassing, disfiguring, or totally destroying the other ninety percent?"

Either Creation is the revelation of God's glory or the devil's Summa Theologica.


]]> The Life Of St. Anthony 349271 80 Athanasius of Alexandria 1425358209 John 0 4.32 357 The Life Of St. Anthony
author: Athanasius of Alexandria
name: John
average rating: 4.32
book published: 357
rating: 0
read at: 2012/06/28
date added: 2012/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Jonathan Edwards: On Revival 792231 160 Jonathan Edwards 0851514316 John 0 4.04 1984 Jonathan Edwards: On Revival
author: Jonathan Edwards
name: John
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at: 2012/06/16
date added: 2012/06/16
shelves: historical-theology-church-history, theology
review:

]]> The Stranger 49552 The Stranger has long been considered a classic of twentieth-century literature. Le Monde ranks it as number one on its "100 Books of the Century" list. Through this story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach, Camus explores what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd."]]> 123 Albert Camus John 0 4.04 1942 The Stranger
author: Albert Camus
name: John
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1942
rating: 0
read at: 2012/06/16
date added: 2012/06/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Story of Christianity: Volume 2: The Reformation to the Present Day]]> 48655 414 Justo L. González 0060633166 John 0 4.13 1985 The Story of Christianity: Volume 2: The Reformation to the Present Day
author: Justo L. González
name: John
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves: historical-theology-church-history
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics]]> 12987401 Privilege and Grand New Party, Ross Douthat has emerged as one of the most provocative and influential voices of his generation. Now he offers a masterful and hard-hitting account of how American Christianity has gone off the rails � and why it threatens to take American society with it.

In a story that moves from the 1950s to the age of Obama, Douthat brilliantly charts traditional Christianity’s decline from a vigorous, mainstream, and bipartisan faith � which acted as a “vital center� and the moral force behind the Civil Rights movement � through the culture wars of the 1960s and 1970s down to the polarizing debates of the present day. He argues that Christianity’s place in American life has increasingly been taken over, not by atheism, but by heresy: Debased versions of Christian faith that breed hubris, greed, and self-absorption. Ranging from Glenn Beck to Eat Pray Love, Joel Osteen to The Da Vinci Code, Oprah Winfrey to Sarah Palin, Douthat explores how the prosperity gospel’s mantra of “pray and grow rich�; a cult of self-esteem that reduces God to a life coach; and the warring political religions of left and right have crippled the country’s ability to confront our most pressing challenges, and accelerated American decline.

His urgent call for a revival of traditional Christianity is sure to generate controversy, and it will be vital reading for all those concerned about the imperiled American future.]]> 352 Ross Douthat 1439178305 John 0 3.96 2012 Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics
author: Ross Douthat
name: John
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2012/05/26
date added: 2012/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sealed with an Oath: Covenant in God's Unfolding Purpose (Volume 23) (New Studies in Biblical Theology)]]> 108895 247 D.A. Carson 0830826246 John 3
It's a bit technical in places to simply hand to lay leaders or lay elders in your church, unless you did the work of marking out selections in order to not discourage readers who may not be up to date with current discussions around covenantal nomism and source criticism. ]]> 3.68 2007 Sealed with an Oath: Covenant in God's Unfolding Purpose (Volume 23) (New Studies in Biblical Theology)
author: D.A. Carson
name: John
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2012/05/17
date added: 2012/05/17
shelves: biblical-studies, hermeneutics-biblical-thoelogy
review:
Read this one in seminary, but was helped to review and read some sections more closely. Other than his argument against a Covenant of Works, his scheme of covenant throughout the entire storyline of Scripture is incredibly insightful. I do think his unwillingness to recognize a covenant of Works in Adam does undermine his understanding of New Covenant, especially with Paul. And it's quite unclear, then, how the theme of "covenant" relates particularly to anything before Genesis 8-9. This is the one weakness of the book, which I would say the other books in the NSBT series make up for.

It's a bit technical in places to simply hand to lay leaders or lay elders in your church, unless you did the work of marking out selections in order to not discourage readers who may not be up to date with current discussions around covenantal nomism and source criticism.
]]> <![CDATA[American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us]]> 7841392 American Grace is a major achievement, a groundbreaking examination of religion in America.

Unique among nations, America is deeply religious, religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. But in recent decades the nation's religious landscape has been reshaped.

America has experienced three seismic shocks, say Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In the 1960s, religious observance plummeted. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, a conservative reaction produced the rise of evangelicalism and the Religious Right. Since the 1990s, however, young people, turned off by that linkage between faith and conservative politics, have abandoned organized religion. The result has been a growing polarization—the ranks of religious conservatives and secular liberals have swelled, leaving a dwindling group of religious moderates in between. At the same time, personal interfaith ties are strengthening. Interfaith marriage has increased while religious identities have become more fluid. Putnam and Campbell show how this denser web of personal ties brings surprising interfaith tolerance, notwithstanding the so-called culture wars.

American Grace is based on two of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America. It includes a dozen in-depth profiles of diverse congregations across the country, which illuminate how the trends described by Putnam and Campbell affect the lives of real Americans.

Nearly every chapter of American Grace contains a surprise about American religious life. Among them:
â—� Between one-third and one-half of all American marriages are interfaith;
â—� Roughly one-third of Americans have switched religions at some point in their lives;
â—� Young people are more opposed to abortion than their parents but more accepting of gay marriage;
â—� Even fervently religious Americans believe that people of other faiths can go to heaven;
� Religious Americans are better neighbors than secular Americans—more generous with their time and treasure even for secular causes—but the explanation has less to do with faith than with their communities of faith;
â—� Jews are the most broadly popular religious group in America today.

American Grace promises to be the most important book in decades about American religious life and an essential book for understanding the United States today.]]> 688 Robert D. Putnam 1416566716 John 0 to-read 3.89 2010 American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
author: Robert D. Putnam
name: John
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Christian Reflections 387961
Lewis’s defense of Christianity was colorfully varied � the subjects he covered ranged widely, including Christianity and literature, Christianity and culture, ethics, futility, church music, modern theology and biblical criticism, the Psalms, and petitionary prayer.

Presented in chronological order, some of the fourteen papers included in this collection were written specifically for periodicals, while others, published here for the first time, were read to societies in and around Oxford and Cambridge. Common to them all, however, are the uniquely effective style of C. S. Lewis and the basic presuppositions of his theology � his “mere� Christianity.]]> 190 C.S. Lewis 0802808697 John 0
Great collection and only some of the 15 essays included I found to be not very useful, and most all of them to be very useful.]]> 4.13 1967 Christian Reflections
author: C.S. Lewis
name: John
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1967
rating: 0
read at: 2012/04/18
date added: 2012/04/18
shelves:
review:
This was the first I had read through this collection of essays by Lewis. There are some real gems: "Christianity and Literature" is wonderfully insightful; "Christianity and Culture" is a solid essay, but dated and absent of much of the Christ and Culture discussions even of his day; "Religion: Reality or Substitute" is very quotable, quite substantial in parts; "Historicism" is great, almost a bit like Carl Trueman; "Moden Theology and Biblical Criticism" undermines much of modern theology as bunk; and "The Seeing Eye" is a classically usual Lewis essay. The best essay I thought is the one on petitionary prayer.

Great collection and only some of the 15 essays included I found to be not very useful, and most all of them to be very useful.
]]> The Gospel According to John 586638 D.A. Carson 085111749X John 0 biblical-studies 4.49 1990 The Gospel According to John
author: D.A. Carson
name: John
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/03/08
shelves: biblical-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Emily, Alone (Emily Maxwell, #2)]]> 9412055
A sequel to the bestselling, much-beloved Wish You Were Here, O'Nan's intimate novel follows Emily Maxwell, a widow whose grown children have long departed. She dreams of visits from her grandchildren while mourning the turnover of her quiet Pittsburgh neighborhood. When her sister-in-law and sole companion, Arlene, faints at their favorite breakfast buffet, Emily's life changes in unexpected ways. As she grapples with her new independence, she discovers a hidden strength and realizes that life always offers new possibilities.]]> 255 Stewart O'Nan 0670022357 John 3 3.67 2011 Emily, Alone (Emily Maxwell, #2)
author: Stewart O'Nan
name: John
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2012/01/30
date added: 2012/01/30
shelves:
review:
Slow. Kind of boring. Pittsburgh.
]]> <![CDATA[Due Considerations: Essays and Criticism]]> 4606934
"[Updike is] one of the best essayists and critics this country has produced in the last century." —The Los Angeles Times

Here Updike considers many books, some in introductions—to such classics as Walden, The Portrait of a Lady, and The Mabinogion —and many more in reviews, usually for The New Yorker. Ralph Waldo Emerson and the five Biblical books of Moses come in for appraisal, along with Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Wizard of Oz .

Contemporary American and English writers—Colson Whitehead, E. L. Doctorow, Don DeLillo, Norman Rush, William Trevor, A. S. Byatt, Muriel Spark, Ian McEwan—receive attentive and appreciative reviews, as do Rohinton Mistry, Salman Rushdie, Peter Carey, Margaret Atwood, Gabriel García Márquez, Haruki Murakami, Günter Grass, and Orhan Pamuk.

In factual waters, Mr. Updike ponders the sinking of the Lusitania and the “unsinkable career� of Coco Chanel, the adventures of Lord Byron and Iris Murdoch, the sexual revolution and the advent of female Biblical scholars, and biographies of Robert Frost, Sinclair Lewis, Marcel Proust, and Søren Kierkegaard.

Reading Due Considerations is like taking a cruise that calls at many ports with a witty, sensitive, and articulate guide aboard—a voyage not to be missed.]]> 703 John Updike 034549900X John 0 4.33 2007 Due Considerations: Essays and Criticism
author: John Updike
name: John
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2012/01/03
date added: 2012/01/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life]]> 13058266 120 Douglas Wilson 1591280990 John 4 4.46 2011 Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life
author: Douglas Wilson
name: John
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/01/02
date added: 2012/01/02
shelves:
review:
A review at The Gospel Coalition is forthcoming, but from my rating, you can tell at least my intentions will be good when I review it.
]]> Outgrowing the Ingrown Church 1529143 176 C. John Miller 0310284112 John 3 4.15 1986 Outgrowing the Ingrown Church
author: C. John Miller
name: John
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1986
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/12/31
shelves:
review:
Very dated. Felt like I was in the middle of all the exciting church discussions in the 80's. But some helpful, practical, and inspiring advice and stories throughout.
]]> <![CDATA[Engaging God's World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living]]> 634200
Chiefly intended to serve as a primer for students beginning college careers but valuable to thoughtful Christians at every stage of life, this volume spells out the central themes of the Christian faith from a Reformed perspective. More important, however, the book shows how Christian higher education fits inside a view of the world and of human life that is formed by these ideas.

"Learning," Cornelius Plantinga writes, "is aĚý spiritual Ěýcalling; properly done, it attaches us to God." Approaching the topic of education from a variety of angles, Plantinga shows that Christ-centered learning teaches people to correctly see the world as God's creation, to see providence in history, to handle secular knowledge critically, to develop good judgment and, ultimately, to use faith-filled learning in the service of God's kingdom.]]> 170 Cornelius Plantinga Jr. 0802839819 John 0 3.80 2002 Engaging God's World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living
author: Cornelius Plantinga Jr.
name: John
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at: 2011/12/29
date added: 2011/12/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Weight of Glory 121715
Addressing some of the most difficult issues we face in our day-to-day lives, C.S. Lewis's ardent and timeless words provide an unparalleled path to greater spiritual understanding. Considered by many to be his most moving address, "The Weight of Glory" extols a compassionate vision of Christianity and includes lucid and compelling discussions on forgiveness and faith.]]> 192 C.S. Lewis 0060653205 John 4 4.36 1949 The Weight of Glory
author: C.S. Lewis
name: John
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1949
rating: 4
read at: 2011/12/27
date added: 2011/12/27
shelves: historical-theology-church-history, christian-life, theology
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ascent of a Leader Experience Guide]]> 606730 167 Bill Thrall 0977090809 John 3 3.90 2004 The Ascent of a Leader Experience Guide
author: Bill Thrall
name: John
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2011/12/25
date added: 2011/12/25
shelves:
review:
Solid and fundamental instruction for not just a leader, but a gracious one—with character. Read it years ago. Probably not as important for a second time through, but good reminders throughout. If I had a handful leaders under me, I'd hand this one out.
]]> <![CDATA[The Transforming Vision: Shaping a Christian World View]]> 173623 214 Brian J. Walsh 0877849730 John 0 3.92 1984 The Transforming Vision: Shaping a Christian World View
author: Brian J. Walsh
name: John
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at: 2011/12/08
date added: 2011/12/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Evangelism: Doing Justice and Preaching Grace]]> 263512
Harvie M. Conn alerts us to barriers that hinder such communication—barriers that can be overcome in a Spirit-enlightened ministry of love and mercy. He discusses "righteous deeds" as a neglected but essential aspect of effective evangelism.

Conn says in his preface, "My prayer is that this book will not emerge as one more exercise in blackboard evangelism, one more excuse to learn a little bit more and do a little bit less, to keep off the streets and out of the kitchen. May it direct us to the streets and not, pray God, to the study."]]> 112 Harvie M. Conn 0875522068 John 4 4.05 1982 Evangelism: Doing Justice and Preaching Grace
author: Harvie M. Conn
name: John
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2011/11/12
date added: 2011/11/12
shelves: evangelism, pastoral-preaching
review:
Solid book on evangelism and preaching. Some forgotten perspectives are hidden in this book that would be good to recover.
]]> <![CDATA[Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture]]> 567180 160 Lesslie Newbigin 0802801765 John 0 4.21 1986 Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture
author: Lesslie Newbigin
name: John
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at: 2011/10/31
date added: 2011/10/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview]]> 278012 155 Albert M. Wolters 0802829694 John 4
He has a small tendency, it seems, towards transformationalism at times, but his conclusions aren't always necessary in order buy what he's selling. If I had the opportunity to rate this book 3 1/2, I would, but since I can't, I don't mind being generous. ]]> 4.06 1985 Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview
author: Albert M. Wolters
name: John
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2011/10/18
date added: 2011/10/18
shelves: culture-current-issues, christian-life, theology
review:
Really good intro for creating worldview categories. Love the distinctions he makes between structure and direction/reformation and revolution. Really helpful. For anyone familiar with these discussions, much of it will be introduction (like his creation, fall redemption outline). But even still, he puts some helpful stakes in the ground that will sharpen our thinking.

He has a small tendency, it seems, towards transformationalism at times, but his conclusions aren't always necessary in order buy what he's selling. If I had the opportunity to rate this book 3 1/2, I would, but since I can't, I don't mind being generous.
]]> <![CDATA[The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited]]> 12279839 192 Scot McKnight 031049298X John 3 theology 4.15 2011 The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited
author: Scot McKnight
name: John
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2011/10/03
date added: 2011/10/17
shelves: theology
review:
[I've removed my previous review here because it was far too dismissive with taking the space to represent McKnight well. I do believe my critique has merit, but I wasn't fair in how I explained McKnight's position]
]]>