What are You Currently Reading?

[gb93433]

Just finished reading Guide To Spiritual Warfare by E.M. BOUNDS, Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches That Make Disciples by Jim Putman, and Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith by Ann Spangler, and Lois Tverberg.

Currently reading Invitation to the Septuagint by Moisés Silva, and Karen H. Jobes

 

[rsr]

I finally got around to reading God's Secretaries by Adam Nicolson. I'm currently reading (on the Nook) Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton and The Strange Death of Liberal England by George Dangerfield.

 

[Crabtownboy]

The Chinese in America, by Iris Chang.

Iris Chang chronicles what it has been like and what it is like to be Chinese in America. She writes of the cycles of need, acceptance and then hatred of the Chinese and how they have walked a racial racist tightrope during their 150 years in America. This includes the draconian exclusionary laws, the first separate but equal laws passed in the United States in California. The Chinese have made many contributions to our culture and have, at the same time, suffered from misunderstanding, jealousy and racial hatred.

 

[AmishHacker]

Just started reading "Essential Guide to Healing" by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark,

 

[TCGreek]

How to be Evangelical without being Conservative by Roger E. Olson

 

[Crabtownboy]

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour

“This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.”

With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur’s vulnerable invasion force were the Roberts and the other small ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553802577/?tag=baptis04-20

This is a very descriptive narration of the amazing battle where a small group of US ships carried off an astounding battle against tremendous odds. That any of the ships survived against such odds could never be predicted.

Admiral Bull Halsey had left them in the lurch by chasing off after other Japanese ships. It is somewhat amazing to me that Halsey was not court marshaled over this error
.

 

[Arbo]

Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose.

 

[Deacon]

Origins: Christian Perspectives on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design [LINK]

Picked this up smoozing the textbooks at Philadelphia Biblical University.

It's an excellent beginner introduction to origins issues.

Rob

 

[Deacon]

I picked this book up at an early Sader last night.
Published just in time for the Passover season:

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53: Encountering the Suffering Servant in Jewish and Christian Theology
Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser

Rob

 

[gb93433]

I picked this book up at an early Sader last night.
Published just in time for the Passover season:

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53: Encountering the Suffering Servant in Jewish and Christian Theology
Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser

What do you like about the book?

 

[Deacon]

What do you like about the book?

I didn't get home till 10ish last night - way past my bedtime.
I only got to crack the book open after your post :laugh:

Mitch Glaser, of Chosen People Ministries writes in the Introduction:

This book, The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 was written to help readers to utilize the truths of this magnificent chapter in bringing the Good News to those who do not yet know Jesus. It is designed to enable pastors and lay leaders to deepen their understanding of Isaiah 53 and to better equip the saints for ministry among the Jewish people.

The book has eleven chapters by 12 notable authors including Walter Kaiser, Craig Evans, Robert Chisholm, and John Feinberg.

Part 1 of the book begins by discussing both Christian and Jewish interpretations of Isaiah 53.

Part 2 discusses its role in Biblical Theology – the identity of the "Servant of the Lord", the message of salvation and a few chapters of how the chapter is used in NT writings.

Part 3 deals with Practical Theology; How is Isaiah 53 used today particularly in a post-modern context, in Jewish evangelism and in preaching.

The book is well footnoted and will require some work to read.

A similar and perhaps more readable book is available for free at: http://www.isaiah53.com/

Rob

 

[ktn4eg]

Today I finally finished F. F. Bruce's (1910-1990) book entitled Paul: Apostle of the Free Spirit (pub. 1980, 510 pp.).

Originally I had merely wanted to read a book on the life and times of Paul, but this book was so highly recommended that I bought it instead. It seems to devote almost as much space to the development of Paul's theology as to his life and times. No compliants, but not being too much of an in-depth theologian, I found it a bit tedious at times.

One thing that I wasn't aware of was that Bruce was a real advocate of the public ministry for women. Not sure how he'd fare in some Baptist circles on that issue.

All things considered [and, no, I'm not an NPR fan], although it was a challenge for me, I too would recommend it for those who want a good knowledge of the Apostle Paul. The fact that Bruce was a Scotsman made his work all the better for me too.

An interesting aside is that my copy of his book was printed in LaVerge, Tennessee. LaVerge is a community just down the road from where I live and is home to several printing/publishing concerns. In fact, I'll be in LaVerge this coming Easter to fellowship with a dear friend and elder in my church.

 

[Crabtownboy]

Bear Creek Collection Vol. 1
by Robert E. Howard

This is indeed a rollicking book of tall tales from the American West of yesteryear.

From the LibraVox introduction:

Breckinridge Elkins is the roughest, toughest, fastest-shootin’, hardest-fightin’ feller in the Bear Creek settlement, and probably in the entire Humbolt Mountains. As he travels further from home, he single-handedly takes on outlaws, settles (and starts) feuds and tries his hand at romancing the girls. He also discovers a lot of strange customs among other folks, such as building houses out of boards and wearing clothes that ain’t buckskins. Set in Nevada during the late 1800’s, this collection of stories is a great rollicking romp through the American frontier as seen through the eyes of one of the most enjoyable characters created in the history of tall tales.

 

[Crabtownboy]

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie.

A large, but very good read of Catherine the Great. This is a very detailed book of her amazing life and times.

 

[Arbo]

The Monuments Men, by Robert Edsel.

 

[Crabtownboy]

Catherine the Great by Robert Massie. I do not know if this is the definitive biography of her life, but it certainly is well researched and well written. She was a very intelligent woman. And much of the gossip about her is untrue.

Rolling Nowhere by Ted Conover. Ted drops out of college to conduct an anthropology research project of riding the rails and gaining insights into the life of the rail riding hobos. A true story and most interesting.

 

[General Mung Beans]

Hammer of Daemons by Ben Counter-Action-packed WH40K novel about a Grey Knight who ends up in a hellish planet of death. Nice, easy read

 

[LadyEagle]

Complete Works of Josephus. The print is small, there is so much to take in, the book is so thick......I may not get through it in my lifetime. So far, quite interesting.

 

[McWilliams]

I follow the ten chapters of scripture daily at Dr. Horner's bible reading plan.
http://www.challies.com/sites/all/files/attachments/professor-grant-horners-bible-reading-system.pdf

Also am reading once more The Tragedy of Compromise by Ernest Pickering
Banner of Truth issues 1 thru 16, hardback
Re-reading The Christian in Complete Armour, William Gurnall

 

[Deacon]

All Roads Lead to the Text: Eight Methods of Inquiry into the Bible
By Dean B. Deppe
Eerdmans Publishing Company (2011) 375pp.


Contents
1. The Infrared Lens of Literary Analysis: Form and Genre Criticism
2. The Grammatical Route: Using an Exegetical Microscope
3. The Structural Analysis Route: Employing a Skeleton Snapshot
4. The Literary Context Route: Employing a Wide-Angled Lens
5. The Cultural and Historical Background Route: Using a Telescopic Lens
6. The History of Interpretation Route: Using a Motion Picture Exegetical Camera
7. The Theological Exegesis Route: Developing the Finished Photo
8. Exploring Spiritual Exegesis: Using an Exegetical X-Ray Camera

Over the past two centuries, the historical-critical method has dominated exegesis. From the methodologies developed, interpreters have gained an enormous wealth of knowledge and wisdom. Yet the arrival of postmodernism as well as the insights of generations of skillful exegetes in the precritical period should demonstrate the limits of the historical-critical method. Spiritual exegesis attempts to employ other skills than those employed by the historical-critical method and accordingly emphasizes such techniques as meditation, imaging, personalizing, listening prophetically, paradigm building, and imaginative application. These methods are geared not to studying Scripture as an object, but to placing one’s self underneath the Bible so that the text exegetes the reader. In particular, spiritual exegesis investigates the attitudes of the reader to the text so that the study is undertaken in faith, reverence, honesty, and devotional vitality. (262–263).

A. The Insufficiencies of the Historical-Critical Method
B. The Dangers of Spiritual Exegesis
C. The Disciplines of Spiritual Exegesis​

Just got this one today and I can't wait to begin digging into it.

Rob