en-US Fri, 25 Apr 2025 06:48:38 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 947738 Winner of the Bancroft Prize

The Minutemen and Their World, first published in 1976, is reissued now in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition with a new Foreword by Alan Taylor and a new Afterword by the author.

On April 19, 1775, the American Revolution began at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. The "shot heard round the world" catapulted this sleepy New England town into the midst of revolutionary fervor, and Concord went on to become the intellectual capital of the new republic. The town--future home to Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne--soon came to symbolize devotion to liberty, intellectual freedom, and the stubborn integrity of rural life. In The Minutemen and Their World, Robert Gross has written a remarkably subtle and detailed reconstruction of the lives and community of this special place, and a compelling interpretation of the American Revolution as a social movement.
]]> 242 Robert A. Gross 0809001209 Peter 0 currently-reading, history 3.74 1976
author: Robert A. Gross
name: Peter
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: currently-reading, history
review:

]]> 2733879 280 John R. Fitzmier 0253334330 Peter 4 history 4.00 1998
author: John R. Fitzmier
name: Peter
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: history
review:

]]> 102549
Written during the dark hours immediately before and during World War II, C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy, of which Out of the Silent Planet is the first volume, stands alongside such works as Albert Camus’s The Plague and George Orwell’s 1984 as a timeless classic, beloved by succeeding generations as much for the sheer wonder of its storytelling as for the significance of its moral concerns.

While searching for a place to rest for the night, Dr. Elwin Ransom is abducted by a megalomaniacal physicist and his accomplice and taken to the red planet of Malacandra (Mars) as a human sacrifice for the alien creatures that live there. Once on the planet, however, Ransom eludes his captors, risking his life and his chances of returning to Earth, becoming a stranger in a land that is enchanting in its difference from Earth and instructive in its similarity.

First published in 1943, Out of the Silent Planet remains a magnificent and suspenseful tour de force in which epic battles are fought between the forces of light and those of darkness. It is the incredible beginning to C.S. Lewis’s spectacular Space Trilogy, which also includes Perelandra and That Hideous Strength .]]> 158 C.S. Lewis 0743234901 Peter 4 stories-poetry 3.99 1938
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Peter
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1938
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: stories-poetry
review:

]]> 217412429 “Arrowsmith's exploration of spiritual warfare in the life of the Christian is equal parts creative, daunting, intellectual, inspirational, challenging, and comforting. The publication of Arrowsmith's magnum opus in English should interest pastors, scholars, and serious Christians who desire to engage in the holy war that really matters.��
—Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina; associate professor of systematic theology, Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte)

New in the Writings of the Westminster Divines Plans for Holy War by John Arrowsmith

In one of the most expansive treatments of spiritual warfare, Puritan John Arrowsmith paints Christianity as the battle between the seed of the woman and the serpent. Beginning with Genesis 3:15, Arrowsmith explores themes of military duty, battle against the evil one, and the Christian’s victory and triumph in the Scriptures and classical writings.

Arrowsmith’s work stands out among writings on spiritual warfare for its depth of research, its insistence that our warfare is chiefly theological, and its attempt to blend polemical and pastoral theology. He regarded his written efforts as “emissaries of evangelical piety, guardians and avengers of orthodoxy, interpreters of some of God’s oracles, and protective deities in many difficulties.��

Carefully translated by David C. Noe with an extensive introduction by Chad B. Van Dixhoorn, this edition of Plans for Holy War presents modern readers with an exceptional and unique guide to spiritual warfare.]]> 560 David C. Noe Peter 0 4.00
author: David C. Noe
name: Peter
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: currently-reading, applied-theology, theology
review:

]]> 25759523 309 Clement of Alexandria 0813215625 Peter 5 applied-theology, theology
In this book, Clement speaks of Christ as the Educator and of how he trains us for our good in our whole course of life. “As for deeds, walking and reclining at table, eating and sleeping, marriage relations and the manner of life, the whole of a man's education all become illustrious as holy deeds under the influence of the Educator.��

He writes, "Just as the general directs a line of battle with the safety of his soldiers in mind, and as the helmsman pilots his ship conscious of his responsibility for the lives of his passengers, so the Educator, in his concern for us, leads His children along a way of life that ensures salvation. In brief, all that we could reasonably ask God to do for us is within the reach of those who trust in the Educator of little ones. Again, just as the helmsman does not always sail with the wind, but sometimes when there is a squall, sets his prow head on against it, so, too, the Educator never falls in with the winds sweeping through this world, nor does He suffer His children to be driven like a ship into a wild and unregulated course of life. Rather, assisted only by the favorable breeze of the Spirit of truth, He holds steadfastly to the rudder, that is, the hearing of His children, until He brings them safely to anchor in the port of heaven."

He writes about the right use of food and drink. “God has provided food and drink for His creature, I mean man, not for his dissipation, but for his welfare.�� A little later on he adds, “At any rate, he who always offers up thanks will not indulge excessively in pleasure.�� (John Calvin makes the same point about giving thanks in his comments on 1 Timothy 4:3, “Now, there can be no thanksgiving without sobriety and temperance; for the kindness of God is not truly acknowledged by him who wickedly abuses it.��)

What he writes of joking and laughing could be applied to many things - not to forbid it, but use it rightly: “We need not take away from man any of the things that are natural to him, but only set a limit and due proportion to them. It is true that man is an animal who can laugh; but it is not true that he therefore should laugh at everything.�� And also: “We should be pleasantly witty, but not clowns.��

Here is how Clement wrote about the blessing of children: “Begetting children is the goal of those who wed, and the fulfillment of that goal is a large family, just as hope of a crop drives the farmer to sow his seed, while the fulfillment of his hope is the actual harvesting of the crop. But he who sows in a living soil is far superior, for the one tills the land to provide food only for a season, the other to secure the preservation of the whole human race; the one tends his crop for himself, the other, for God. We have received the command: ‘Be fruitful,�� and we must obey. In this role man becomes like God, because he co-operates, in his human way, in the birth of another man.”]]> 3.80 198
author: Clement of Alexandria
name: Peter
average rating: 3.80
book published: 198
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/28
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: applied-theology, theology
review:
This is a lively and practical book on Christ as the Educator, written around AD 190 by Clement of Alexandria. I liked it both for its historical value and its instructional value. It is helpful for seeing what it was like to live as a Christian in the midst of a pagan Greco-Roman culture. Some of it is simply interesting, even if not directly applicable. And even although I wouldn't agree with Clement on everything, there is a good deal of wisdom and helpful instruction in it, including instruction on practical matters not always covered in books today (like gluttony). He can be a bit extreme at points, although he often (not always) moderates his position as he continues.

In this book, Clement speaks of Christ as the Educator and of how he trains us for our good in our whole course of life. “As for deeds, walking and reclining at table, eating and sleeping, marriage relations and the manner of life, the whole of a man's education all become illustrious as holy deeds under the influence of the Educator.��

He writes, "Just as the general directs a line of battle with the safety of his soldiers in mind, and as the helmsman pilots his ship conscious of his responsibility for the lives of his passengers, so the Educator, in his concern for us, leads His children along a way of life that ensures salvation. In brief, all that we could reasonably ask God to do for us is within the reach of those who trust in the Educator of little ones. Again, just as the helmsman does not always sail with the wind, but sometimes when there is a squall, sets his prow head on against it, so, too, the Educator never falls in with the winds sweeping through this world, nor does He suffer His children to be driven like a ship into a wild and unregulated course of life. Rather, assisted only by the favorable breeze of the Spirit of truth, He holds steadfastly to the rudder, that is, the hearing of His children, until He brings them safely to anchor in the port of heaven."

He writes about the right use of food and drink. “God has provided food and drink for His creature, I mean man, not for his dissipation, but for his welfare.�� A little later on he adds, “At any rate, he who always offers up thanks will not indulge excessively in pleasure.�� (John Calvin makes the same point about giving thanks in his comments on 1 Timothy 4:3, “Now, there can be no thanksgiving without sobriety and temperance; for the kindness of God is not truly acknowledged by him who wickedly abuses it.��)

What he writes of joking and laughing could be applied to many things - not to forbid it, but use it rightly: “We need not take away from man any of the things that are natural to him, but only set a limit and due proportion to them. It is true that man is an animal who can laugh; but it is not true that he therefore should laugh at everything.�� And also: “We should be pleasantly witty, but not clowns.��

Here is how Clement wrote about the blessing of children: “Begetting children is the goal of those who wed, and the fulfillment of that goal is a large family, just as hope of a crop drives the farmer to sow his seed, while the fulfillment of his hope is the actual harvesting of the crop. But he who sows in a living soil is far superior, for the one tills the land to provide food only for a season, the other to secure the preservation of the whole human race; the one tends his crop for himself, the other, for God. We have received the command: ‘Be fruitful,�� and we must obey. In this role man becomes like God, because he co-operates, in his human way, in the birth of another man.��
]]> 29725775
John Witherspoon's American Revolution examines the connection between patriot discourse and long-standing debates--already central to the 1707 Act of Union--about the relationship among piety, moral philosophy, and political unionism. In Witherspoon's mind, Americans became different from other British subjects because more of them had been awakened to the sin they shared with all people. Paradoxically, acute consciousness of their moral depravity legitimized their move to independence by making it a concerted moral action urged by the Holy Spirit. Mailer's exploration of Witherspoon's thought and influence suggests that, for the founders in his circle, civic virtue rested on personal religious awakening.]]> 425 Gideon Mailer 146962818X Peter 3 culture, history 4.00
author: Gideon Mailer
name: Peter
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: culture, history
review:

]]> 787262
Against a lavish backdrop of pageantry and passion, intrigue and war, Weir dispels the myths surrounding Elizabeth I and examines the contradictions of her character. Elizabeth I loved the Earl of Leicester, but did she conspire to murder his wife? She called herself the Virgin Queen, but how chaste was she through dozens of liaisons? She never married—was her choice to remain single tied to the chilling fate of her mother, Anne Boleyn? An enthralling epic that is also an amazingly intimate portrait, The Life of Elizabeth I is a mesmerizing, stunning reading experience.
]]> 532 Alison Weir 0345405331 Peter 0 currently-reading, history 4.05 1998
author: Alison Weir
name: Peter
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: currently-reading, history
review:

]]> 103489691 ��
Justinian is a radical reassessment of an emperor and his times. In the sixth century CE, the emperor Justinian presided over nearly four decades of remarkable change, in an era of geopolitical threats, climate change, and plague. From the eastern Roman—or Byzantine—capital of Constantinople, Justinian’s armies reconquered lost territory in Africa, Italy, and Spain. But these military exploits, historian Peter Sarris shows, were just one part of a larger program of imperial renewal. From his dramatic overhaul of Roman law, to his lavish building projects, to his fierce persecution of dissenters from Orthodox Christianity, Justinian’s vigorous statecraft—and his energetic efforts at self-glorification—not only set the course of Byzantium but also laid the foundations for the world of the Middle Ages.����
��
Even as Justinian sought to recapture Rome’s past greatness, he paved the way for what would follow. ��]]> 544 Peter Sarris 1541601335 Peter 0 currently-reading, history 4.33
author: Peter Sarris
name: Peter
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: currently-reading, history
review:

]]> 221790976 278 Mark R. Brown 195914510X Peter 4 theology
That said, it is a collection of fifteen essays, and some are better or more convincing than others (Rayburn’s essay is an example of one of those I especially appreciated). As is noted in the book, proponents of this view differ among themselves to some degree on how they get there exegetically. One does not need to agree with any given proponent on the interpretation of every relevant passage to end up with the same 3 office view. But the advantage of this being a collection of essays is that you can see several cases for the position. ]]> 4.00 1993
author: Mark R. Brown
name: Peter
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: theology
review:
This was a helpful collection of essays defending and articulating the ��3 office�� view of church government, particularly on the distinction between ministers of the word and ruling elders. It is common today for this distinction to be blurred or undermined and for earlier discussions on the matter to be forgotten, and this book helps in remedying both problems.

That said, it is a collection of fifteen essays, and some are better or more convincing than others (Rayburn’s essay is an example of one of those I especially appreciated). As is noted in the book, proponents of this view differ among themselves to some degree on how they get there exegetically. One does not need to agree with any given proponent on the interpretation of every relevant passage to end up with the same 3 office view. But the advantage of this being a collection of essays is that you can see several cases for the position.
]]> 36939449
As to the publication of these lectures, the author can truly say that he has had much hesitation. When they were delivered, he had evidence enough that they were popular, and in a measure useful. But he doubted whether they were calculated to be either acceptable or beneficial, if committed to the press unless they should undergo such alterations as he had neither time nor inclination to make.

He tried the experiment of publishing the first of the series in the Christian Advocate, with a distinct intimation, that it implied no pledge that even a se cond would be added. The lecture published appear ed to be well received; and not only has the insertion of the entire series in that miscellany been considered by many as adding value to the work, but the au thor has been earnestly requested by his friends, in various parts of the country, to publish the whole, as he now does, in a separate volume.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.]]> 453 Ashbel Green 0331340054 Peter 4 systematic-theology, theology 4.00 2013
author: Ashbel Green
name: Peter
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves: systematic-theology, theology
review:

]]> 2265154 America's British Culture, now in paperback, Russell Kirk offers a brilliant summary account and spirited defense of the culture that the people of the United States have inherited from Great Britain.]]> 150 Russell Kirk 156000066X Peter 5 culture, history 4.17 1993
author: Russell Kirk
name: Peter
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: culture, history
review:

]]> 198663104 160 Ryan M. McGraw 1433592770 Peter 4 4.00
author: Ryan M. McGraw
name: Peter
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/29
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: biblical-exegetical-theology, systematic-theology, theology
review:

]]> 221402752 ��This book opened up the Ransom Trilogy to me like no other. If you read only one book on Lewis this year, read this one.�� - Joel Heck, Concordia Lutheran Seminary


Years before he wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis published another fantastical fiction the Ransom Trilogy. Yet these three novels �� Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength �� have never enjoyed the same widespread popularity as Narnia or any of Lewis’s apologetical works, whether in mainstream culture or among Christians.

However, as the twenty-first century unfolds, readers are rediscovering the Ransom Trilogy as a vital and prophetic work for our cultural moment. Life on the Silent Planet is a groundreaking collection of essays, bringing together an accomplished group of scholars and writers to discover and apply the insights of these novels to Christian living, particularly focussing on the unique vices and challenges of modernity. Fraught topics such as gender, contraception, bureaucracy, and transhumanism, often overlooked or shied away from in contemporary Christian teaching, were diagnosed and anticipated by Lewis with startling clarity in the 1930s and 40s. This volume seeks to bring these insights, woven into the rich imaginative world of the Ransom Trilogy, to bear upon the realities of the Christian life, enabling Christians to think deeply, live faithfully, and tune themselves again to the music of what Lewis called “the Great Dance�� of creation.]]> 404 Rhys Laverty 1949716252 Peter 5 applied-theology, culture 4.82
author: Rhys Laverty
name: Peter
average rating: 4.82
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: applied-theology, culture
review:
This was very good. I read the Ransom trilogy last year, and this book helped deepen my understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the trilogy. I am also glad that I read the trilogy so that I could appreciate and benefit from the essays in this book.
]]> 40533457 128 Douglas Hurd Peter 3 history 3.00 2015
author: Douglas Hurd
name: Peter
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves: history
review:

]]> 302533 II. Categories ; On Interpretation ; Analytics ( Prior and Posterior ); On Sophistical Refutations ; Topica .
III. Twenty-six works (some suspect) including astronomy, generation and destruction, the senses, memory, sleep, dreams, life, facts about animals, etc.
IV. Metaphysics : on being as being.
V. On Art of Rhetoric and Poetics .
VI. Other works including the Athenian Constitution ; more works also of doubtful authorship.
VII. Fragments of various works such as dialogues on philosophy and literature; and of treatises on rhetoric, politics and metaphysics.The Loeb Classical Library® edition of Aristotle is in twenty-three volumes.]]> 720 Aristotle 0674992911 Peter 4 culture, philosophy 4.37 -350
author: Aristotle
name: Peter
average rating: 4.37
book published: -350
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/24
date added: 2024/12/24
shelves: culture, philosophy
review:

]]> 3352101 101 Edmund S. Morgan 0910412529 Peter 4 family-life, history 3.76 1952
author: Edmund S. Morgan
name: Peter
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1952
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: family-life, history
review:

]]> 763060 285 Bruce C. Daniels 0312161247 Peter 4 culture, history 3.71 1995
author: Bruce C. Daniels
name: Peter
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/18
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: culture, history
review:
An interesting look into how the Puritans viewed and practiced leisure and recreation. While they placed limits on play, they still had fun within those limits. And even as those limits expanded later in the colonial period, they continued to be influenced by the original principles of practicality and moral restraint.
]]> 128385109 257 George D. Langdon Peter 5 history 5.00 1967
author: George D. Langdon
name: Peter
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1967
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/25
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: history
review:
A helpful history of Plymouth colony, 1620-1691. While many accounts of Plymouth’s history focus only on its beginning, it was nice to see the full history of the colony laid out.
]]> 90235 The Daily Telegraph

Spanning four volumes and many centuries of history, from Caesar's invasion of Britain to the start of World War I, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples stands as one of Winston S. Churchill's most magnificent literary works. Begun during Churchill's 'wilderness years' when he was out of government, first published in 1956 after his leadership through the darkest days of World War II had cemented his place in history and completed when Churchill was in his 80s, it remains to this day a compelling and vivid history.

The first volume - The Birth of Britain - tells the story of the formation of the British state, from the arrival of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire through the invasions of the Vikings and the Normans, the signing of the Magna Carta and establishment of the mother of parliaments to the War of the Roses.]]> 448 Winston S. Churchill 0304363898 Peter 5 history 4.18 1956
author: Winston S. Churchill
name: Peter
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1956
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/19
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: history
review:
I appreciated not only the lively style of this history, but also how it is written as the history of the English speaking peoples, with an eye to how these events shaped the culture and political systems of these peoples today.
]]> 4279493 364 James F. Mozley 083714292X Peter 5 history 4.00 1971
author: James F. Mozley
name: Peter
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1971
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/03
date added: 2024/10/03
shelves: history
review:

]]> 83863 First published in 1826, the story �� set in the forests of upper New York State during the French and Indian War �� movingly portrays the relationship between Hawkeye, a gallant, courageous woodsman, and his loyal Mohican friends, Chingachgook and Uncas. Embroiled in one of the war's bloody battles, they attempt to lead the abducted Munro sisters to safety but find themselves instead in the midst of a final, tragic confrontation between rival war parties.
Imaginative and innovative, The Last of the Mohicans quickly became the most widely read work of the day, solidifying the popularity of America's first successful novelist in the United States and Europe. Required reading in many American literature classics, the novel presents a stirring picture of a vanishing people and the end to a way of life in the eastern forests.]]> 336 James Fenimore Cooper 0486426785 Peter 5 stories-poetry
It is different than the movie in a number of ways. If you expect either one to be like the other, you will probably be disappointed. Both are good on their own. (Unlike the movie, there is quite a bit of psalm-singing in the book.) ]]> 3.28 1826
author: James Fenimore Cooper
name: Peter
average rating: 3.28
book published: 1826
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/29
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves: stories-poetry
review:
An old favorite of mine. I read this three times in my teenage years and I enjoyed going back to it this time. It could use better theology here and there, but overall is a great book.

It is different than the movie in a number of ways. If you expect either one to be like the other, you will probably be disappointed. Both are good on their own. (Unlike the movie, there is quite a bit of psalm-singing in the book.)
]]> 103456683 The definitive history of Rome’s golden age—an ultimate superpower at the pinnacle of its greatness

The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind.����

Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory: Nero’s downfall, the destruction of Jerusalem and Pompeii, the building of the Colosseum and Hadrian’s Wall, the conquests of Trajan. Vividly sketching the lives of Romans both ordinary and spectacular, from slaves to emperors, Holland shows that Roman peace was the fruit of unprecedented military violence.��

A stunning portrait of Rome’s glory days, this is the epic history of the Pax Romana.��]]> 480 Tom Holland 0465093531 Peter 4 history 4.13 2023
author: Tom Holland
name: Peter
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/28
shelves: history
review:

]]> 13650512
This is the key statement of ‘Miracles��, in which C. S. Lewis shows that a Christian must not only accept but rejoice in miracles as a testimony of the unique personal involvement of God in his creation.

Using his characteristic lucidity and wit to develop his argument, Lewis challenges the rationalists, agnostics and deists on their own grounds and provides a poetic and joyous affirmation that miracles really do occur in our everyday lives]]> 294 C.S. Lewis 0007461259 Peter 3 apologetics, theology 4.03 1947
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Peter
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1947
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/28
shelves: apologetics, theology
review:

]]> 205205272
How deeply have leftist billionaires infiltrated America’s churches?

Liberal theology isn’t new. Pastors and theologians have drifted, slipped, or even plunged into doctrinal error for centuries. But in recent decades, Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham reveals, well-funded forces from outside the church have been sowing seeds of discord from behind the scenes.

In Shepherds for Sale, Basham documents how progressive powerbrokers—from George Soros, to the founder of eBay, to former members of the Obama administration—set out to change the American church. Secular foundations and think tanks have deliberately targeted Christian media, universities, megachurches, nonprofits, and even entire denominations, not to mention many high-profile pastors and influencers, with infiltration and astroturf campaigns. Their goal: to co-opt the church for political purposes. In exchange for toeing a left-wing line, many of those church leaders and institutions have received cash, career jumps, prestige, and praise.

Now, many evangelical leaders are pushing their members to “whisper�� about sexual sins, reconsider the importance of abortion, lament the effects of climate change, and repent of “perpetuating systemic racism.�� Meanwhile, America’s largest evangelical denominations are fraught with division over issues like critical race theory, and many ministries once known for publishing sound doctrine are now promoting social justice.

Through years of investigation, Basham uncovered compromise at the highest levels of evangelical leadership—from the revered Presbyterian theologian who furtively backed a rogue congregation rebelling against his own denomination, to the celebrity megachurch pastor who secretly encouraged a group of pastors to change their views on sexuality.

A rigorously reported exposé, Shepherds for Sale serves as a warning of what can happen when a church forgets that true power lies not in the world’s wisdom, but in Scripture.

©2024 Megan Basham (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers]]> 352 Megan Basham 0063413442 Peter 4 culture, history 4.30
author: Megan Basham
name: Peter
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/06
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves: culture, history
review:
I think this is a worthwhile book, a helpful history of recent shifts (in the last 5-10 years) among some evangelical leaders and organizations toward the message of the political left. The money is only a part of the story. As can happen with books, the subtitle is more to the point than the title. There are a few (mostly minor) errors or places where there is more to the story, but not more than I think you will find in most books on recent events and most of the criticisms of the book have at least as many, if not more errors.
]]> 9964939 Understand where we came from.

Whether you're an avid student of the Bible or a skeptic of its relevance, The Book That Made Your World will transform your perception of its influence on virtually every facet of Western civilization.

Indian philosopher Vishal Mangalwadi reveals the personal motivation that fueled his own study of the Bible and systematically illustrates how its precepts became the framework for societal structure throughout the last millennium. ��From politics and science, to academia and technology, the Bible's sacred copy became the key that unlocked the Western mind.

Through Mangalwadi's wide-ranging and fascinating investigation, you'll discover:

What triggered the West's passion for scientific, medical, and technological advancement
How the biblical notion of human dignity informs the West's social structure and how it intersects with other worldviews
How the Bible created a fertile ground for women to find social and economic empowerment
How the Bible has uniquely equipped the West to cultivate compassion, human rights, prosperity, and strong families
The role of the Bible in the transformation of education
How the modern literary notion of a hero has been shaped by the Bible's archetypal protagonist
Journey with Mangalwadi as he examines the origins of a civilization's greatness and the misguided beliefs that threaten to unravel its progress. ��Learn how the Bible transformed the social, political, and religious institutions that have sustained Western culture for the past millennium, and discover how secular corruption endangers the stability and longevity of Western civilization.

Endorsements:

“This is an extremely significant piece of work with huge global implications. Vishal brings a timely message.�� (Ravi Zacharias, author, Walking from East to West and Beyond Opinion)

“In polite society, the mere mention of the Bible often introduces a certain measure of anxiety. A serious discussion on the Bible can bring outright contempt. Therefore, it is most refreshing to encounter this engaging and informed assessment of the Bible’s profound impact on the modern world. Where Bloom laments the closing of the American mind, Mangalwadi brings a refreshing optimism.�� (Stanley Mattson, founder and president, C. S. Lewis Foundation)

“Vishal Mangalwadi recounts history in very broad strokes, always using his cross-cultural perspectives for highlighting the many benefits of biblical principles in shaping civilization.�� (George Marsden, professor, University of Notre Dame; author, Fundamentalism and American Culture)]]> 442 Vishal Mangalwadi 1595553223 Peter 3 culture
I liked this book as a good examination of the Western world from the perspective of an Easterner. Mangalwadi does a good job of showing how many of the things we take for granted in the Western world are only because of the Bible's influence (rationality, technology, language, science, compassion, liberty, etc...). They are not natural for other cultures except for areas of Western influence. It also shows the dangerous position the West is in as it abandons its unique heritage into relativism and anti-biblical thinking.

From my perspective, the book is not the strongest in drawing distinctions between Christian and apostate Christian culture, both of which are influenced by the Bible. But this book is not primarily meant as an internal critique of Western culture, but to show the differences between the West and East and the biblical foundation for most of the West. He does make some distinctions amidst Western culture that clarifies some things and I think I understand the points he makes.

Basically the book it gives us more responsibility to use what we have been given as a Westerners and not to through away that heritage. While the West is not perfect, and is growing less and less perfect, by taking its standard of life (the Bible) as the standard for our's, we may build upon its foundations and rebuild a Christian civilization that will not merely include the West, but the whole world. ]]> 4.31 2011
author: Vishal Mangalwadi
name: Peter
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2012/09/14
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves: culture
review:
On the plus side of three stars, say, three and a half.

I liked this book as a good examination of the Western world from the perspective of an Easterner. Mangalwadi does a good job of showing how many of the things we take for granted in the Western world are only because of the Bible's influence (rationality, technology, language, science, compassion, liberty, etc...). They are not natural for other cultures except for areas of Western influence. It also shows the dangerous position the West is in as it abandons its unique heritage into relativism and anti-biblical thinking.

From my perspective, the book is not the strongest in drawing distinctions between Christian and apostate Christian culture, both of which are influenced by the Bible. But this book is not primarily meant as an internal critique of Western culture, but to show the differences between the West and East and the biblical foundation for most of the West. He does make some distinctions amidst Western culture that clarifies some things and I think I understand the points he makes.

Basically the book it gives us more responsibility to use what we have been given as a Westerners and not to through away that heritage. While the West is not perfect, and is growing less and less perfect, by taking its standard of life (the Bible) as the standard for our's, we may build upon its foundations and rebuild a Christian civilization that will not merely include the West, but the whole world.
]]> 128100056 240 Mark Jones 1629959669 Peter 4 applied-theology, theology 4.39
author: Mark Jones
name: Peter
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/29
date added: 2024/07/29
shelves: applied-theology, theology
review:
A good book on an important topic.
]]> 61215384
The inspiration for the upcoming original series on Prime Video, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

The Return of the King is the third part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure The Lord of the Rings.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

The Dark Lord has risen, and as he unleashes hordes of Orcs to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggle deep into his realm in Mordor.

To defeat Sauron, the One Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way is impossibly hard, and Frodo is weakening. The Ring corrupts all who bear it and Frodo’s time is running out.

Will Sam and Frodo succeed, or will the Dark Lord rule Middle-earth once more?]]> 432 J.R.R. Tolkien Peter 5 stories-poetry 4.67 1955
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Peter
average rating: 4.67
book published: 1955
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/26
date added: 2024/07/26
shelves: stories-poetry
review:

]]> 19139818 309 David B. Calhoun 1848713568 Peter 0 4.25 2013
author: David B. Calhoun
name: Peter
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves: currently-reading, historical-theology, history, theology
review:

]]> 77347
Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats, who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known. But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost: Washington, who had never before led an army in battle.

The darkest hours of that tumultuous year were as dark as any Americans have known. Especially in our own tumultuous time, 1776 is powerful testimony to how much is owed to a rare few in that brave founding epoch, and what a miracle it was that things turned out as they did.

Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough's 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.

©2005 David McCullough; (P)2005 Simon and Schuster Inc.]]> 386 David McCullough 0743226712 Peter 5 history 4.17 2005
author: David McCullough
name: Peter
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/12
date added: 2024/07/12
shelves: history
review:

]]> 16245380 380 David B. Calhoun 1848711727 Peter 4 history 4.56 2012
author: David B. Calhoun
name: Peter
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/07
date added: 2024/07/07
shelves: history
review:

]]> 59803792 360 Thomas Vincent 1800401809 Peter 0 4.50 1980
author: Thomas Vincent
name: Peter
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/27
shelves: currently-reading, systematic-theology, theology
review:

]]> 57008295
Old English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern readers. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven’t changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation (gafol-fisc, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a glorious trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers. We discover a world where choking on a bit of bread might prove your guilt, where fiend-ship was as likely as friendship, and where you might grow up to be a laughter-smith.

The Wordhord takes readers on a journey through Old English words and customs related to practical daily activities (eating, drinking, learning, working); relationships and entertainment; health and the body, mind, and soul; the natural world (animals, plants, and weather); locations and travel (the source of some of the most evocative words in Old English); mortality, religion, and fate; and the imagination and storytelling. Each chapter ends with its own “wordhord”—a list of its Old English terms, with definitions and pronunciations.

Entertaining and enlightening, The Wordhord reveals the magical roots of the language you’re reading right now: you’ll never look at—or speak—English in the same way again.]]> 284 Hana Videen 1788166108 Peter 4 history 4.24 2021
author: Hana Videen
name: Peter
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/18
date added: 2024/06/18
shelves: history
review:

]]> 857385 109 Howard Jones 0803298013 Peter 3 culture, history 4.05 1961
author: Howard Jones
name: Peter
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1961
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/11
date added: 2024/06/11
shelves: culture, history
review:

]]> 144182704 The eighteenth century saw many changes within the Scottish church. The Kirk was divided by the Patronage Act of 1712 into Moderates (men favoured by the landed gentry) and Evangelicals (men favoured by the people). The Marrow Controversy highlighted theological strife within the Church. Ebenezer Erskine’s Protest against patronage led to the first major rift in the Church of Scotland with the Secession of 1733.�� �� Through all these, Donald Macleod is our reliable guide. Drawing attention to the major characters of the period and gives a faithful account of the theological discussions, including the social, economic, ethnic, and personal factors involved. He also subjects these discussions to theological evaluation. A fascinating look at a crucial period for anyone with an interest in theological history.]]> 352 Donald MacLeod 1527110486 Peter 4 historical-theology, history 4.47
author: Donald MacLeod
name: Peter
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/11
date added: 2024/06/11
shelves: historical-theology, history
review:

]]> 16180610 Out of the Silent Planet
The adventures of the remarkable Dr. Ransom begin in C. S. Lewis's acclaimed Out of the Silent Planet, first published in 1943. As the novel opens, Ransom is abducted by a megalomaniacal physicist and his accomplice and taken via spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra. The men plan to use Ransom as a human sacrifice, but he escapes and must fight for his life, and the chance to return to Earth, while exploring a world that is enchanting in its difference from Earth and startling in its similarity.

Perelandra
Perelandra continues the adventures of Dr. Ransom in an extraordinary tale. Ransom is fighting against the most destructive of human weaknesses, temptation, when he must battle evil on a new planet - Perelandra - after it is invaded by a dark force that strives to create a new world order on the peace-loving planet.

That Hideous Strength
In the concluding book of the trilogy, That Hideous Strength, the dark forces that were repulsed in Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra are poised to invade Earth, while a rumor circulates that the ancient wizard Merlin is returning and offering tremendous power to those who can find and control him. The heroic Dr. Ransom is trying to handle these threats, while battling a sinister technocratic organization, by applying age-old wisdom to a new universe dominated by science. These groups struggle to a climactic resolution that brings The Space Trilogy to a magnificent, crashing close.]]> 728 C.S. Lewis 1451664826 Peter 4 stories-poetry 4.31 1938
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Peter
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1938
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/09
date added: 2024/06/09
shelves: stories-poetry
review:

]]> 61215372
The inspiration for the upcoming original series on Prime Video, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

The Two Towers is the second part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure The Lord of the Rings.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs. Now they continue the journey alone down the great River Anduin—alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.]]> 448 J.R.R. Tolkien Peter 5 stories-poetry 4.60 1954
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Peter
average rating: 4.60
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/07
date added: 2024/06/07
shelves: stories-poetry
review:

]]> 123847700 112 Jonathan L. Master 1629954098 Peter 4 systematic-theology, theology 4.43
author: Jonathan L. Master
name: Peter
average rating: 4.43
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/16
date added: 2024/04/16
shelves: systematic-theology, theology
review:

]]> 32739518 563 John Oller Peter 5 history 4.15 2016
author: John Oller
name: Peter
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/10
date added: 2024/04/10
shelves: history
review:

]]> 653024 424 Jochem Douma 0875522378 Peter 4 applied-theology, theology 4.04 1996
author: Jochem Douma
name: Peter
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/12
date added: 2024/03/12
shelves: applied-theology, theology
review:

]]> 50611055 Practical Theology for the Church Today

The Trinity is one of the most essential doctrines of the Christian faith, as it reveals a magnificent truth about God--that he is one God eternally existing as three distinct persons. While Christians often struggle to find the right words to describe the union of Father, Son, and Spirit, the Bible gives clarity concerning the triune God's activity in nature (creation), grace (redemption), and glory (reward). In the second installment of the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, theologian Scott Swain examines the Trinity, presenting its biblical foundations, systematic-theological structure, and practical relevance for the church today.]]> 161 Scott R. Swain 1433561212 Peter 4 systematic-theology, theology 4.47
author: Scott R. Swain
name: Peter
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/12
date added: 2024/03/12
shelves: systematic-theology, theology
review:

]]> 117942 The only English translation authorized by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

First published in the Soviet journal Novy Mir in 1962, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich stands as a classic of contemporary literature. The story of labor-camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, it graphically describes his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of communist oppression. An unforgettable portrait of the entire world of Stalin's forced work camps, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is one of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union and confirms Solzhenitsyn's stature as "a literary genius whose talent matches that of Dosotevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy"--Harrison Salisbury

This unexpurgated 1991 translation by H. T. Willetts is the only authorized edition available, and fully captures the power and beauty of the original Russian.]]> 160 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 0451523105 Peter 4 history, stories-poetry 3.91 1962
author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
name: Peter
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1962
rating: 4
read at: 2017/06/30
date added: 2024/02/11
shelves: history, stories-poetry
review:

]]> 61215351 One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit.

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.]]> 432 J.R.R. Tolkien Peter 5 stories-poetry 4.52 1954
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Peter
average rating: 4.52
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/09
date added: 2024/02/09
shelves: stories-poetry
review:
I first read the Lord of the Rings out loud with my wife shortly after we got married. Now we are listening to it on Audible (narrated by Rob Inglis) with our children. We listened to this volume, the Fellowship of the Ring, on our drive to California and back.
]]> 17802855 This classic biography was first published forty-five years ago and has since established itself as the standard account of Saint Augustine's life and teaching.

The remarkable discovery of a considerable number of letters and sermons by Augustine cast fresh light on the first and last decades of his experience as a bishop. These circumstantial texts have led Peter Brown to reconsider some of his judgments on Augustine, both as the author of the Confessions and as the elderly bishop preaching and writing in the last years of Roman rule in north Africa. Brown's reflections on the significance of these exciting new documents are contained in two chapters of a substantial Epilogue to his biography (the text of which is unaltered). He also reviews the changes in scholarship about Augustine since the 1960s. A personal as well as a scholarly fascination infuse the book-length epilogue and notes that Brown has added to his acclaimed portrait of the bishop of Hippo.]]> 548 Peter Brown 0520280415 Peter 4 history 4.39 1967
author: Peter Brown
name: Peter
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1967
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/09
date added: 2024/02/09
shelves: history
review:

]]> 19117
Fathers and Sons enraged the old and the young, reactionaries, romantics, and radicals alike when it was first published. At the same time, Turgenev won the acclaim of Flaubert, Maupassant, and Henry James for his craftsmanship as a writer and his psychological insight. Fathers and Sons is now considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century.

A timeless depiction of generational conflict during social upheaval, it vividly portrays the clash between the older Russian aristocracy and the youthful radicalism that foreshadowed the revolution to come—and offers modern-day readers much to reflect upon as they look around at their own tumultuous, ever changing world.

Introduction by Jane Costlow]]> 244 Ivan Turgenev 0451529693 Peter 3 stories-poetry 3.99 1862
author: Ivan Turgenev
name: Peter
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1862
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/06
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves: stories-poetry
review:

]]> 125371567 152 Jonty Rhodes 1629959073 Peter 5 theology 4.54
author: Jonty Rhodes
name: Peter
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/28
date added: 2023/12/28
shelves: theology
review:
Excellent. This is a book which every Christian would do well to read, especially those who worship with a Reformed church or are thinking about it.
]]> 56149158 486 J. Gresham Machen 1733627243 Peter 4 4.72
author: J. Gresham Machen
name: Peter
average rating: 4.72
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/27
date added: 2023/12/27
shelves: apologetics, systematic-theology, theology
review:

]]> 62143524 ��
Central Europe has long been infamous as a region beset by war, a place where empires clashed and world wars began. In The Middle Kingdoms , Martyn Rady offers the definitive history of the region, demonstrating that Central Europe has always been more than merely the fault line between West and East. Even as Central European powers warred with their neighbors, the region developed its own cohesive identity and produced tremendous accomplishments in politics, society, and culture. Central Europeans launched the Reformation and Romanticism, developed the philosophy of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, and advanced some of the twentieth century’s most important artistic movements.��
��
Drawing on a lifetime of research and scholarship, The Middle Kingdoms tells as never before the captivating story of two thousand years of Central Europe’s history and its enduring significance in world affairs.]]> 640 Martyn Rady 1541619781 Peter 5 history 4.11 2023
author: Martyn Rady
name: Peter
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/20
date added: 2023/11/20
shelves: history
review:
I enjoyed reading this book, mostly because it covers a good deal of history that was less familiar to me. I am more familiar with the history of Western Europe than that of Central Europe, so this book was helpful in filling gaps in my knowledge of Central European history. There were a few places I thought could be improved, but it is hard to criticize a book that has such a broad topic to cover for not covering something sufficiently. I especially appreciated the chapters that covered the history from 1000 to 1648.
]]> 29093220
For fifteen years, America had tried to work with the four Muslim powers (Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco) driving the piracy, but negotiation proved impossible. Realizing it was time to stand up to the intimidation, Jefferson decided to move beyond diplomacy. He sent the U.S. Navy and Marines to blockade Tripoli—launching the Barbary Wars and beginning America’s journey toward future superpower status.

Few today remember these men and other heroes who inspired the Marine Corps hymn: “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.�� Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates recaptures this forgotten war that changed American history with a real-life drama of intrigue, bravery, and battle on the high seas.]]> 272 Brian Kilmeade 0143129430 Peter 4 history 3.86 2015
author: Brian Kilmeade
name: Peter
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/15
date added: 2023/11/15
shelves: history
review:

]]> 10155 272 Arthur Conan Doyle 0812967259 Peter 4 stories-poetry 3.92 1912
author: Arthur Conan Doyle
name: Peter
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1912
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/11
date added: 2023/11/11
shelves: stories-poetry
review:

]]> 63093336 Few “experts�� answering this question actually know what nationalism is--and even fewer know what could make it Christian. In The Case for Christian Nationalism, Stephen Wolfe offers a tour-de-force argument for the good of Christian nationalism, taken from Scripture and Christian thinkers ancient, medieval, and modern. Christian nationalism is not only the necessary alternative to secularism, it is the form of government we must pursue if we want to love our neighbors and our country.

Wolfe shows that the world’s post-war consensus has successfully routed the United States towards a gynocratic Global American Empire (GAE). Rather than the religious right’s golden calf, Christian nationalism is the idea that people in the same place and culture should live together and seek one another’s good. The grace of the gospel does not eliminate our geography, our people, and our neighbors. Instead, it restores us to pursue local needs and local leadership freely and without apology.

If you want to be able to answer the political debate raging today, you must understand the arguments in The Case for Christian Nationalism.]]> 478 Stephen Wolfe 1957905336 Peter 4 culture, philosophy
I do think it would have been helpful if Wolfe had written about how what he said about nations and ethnicity applied to the USA in particular, the way he wrote about how what he said about religious liberty applied to the USA in particular. ]]> 3.71 2022
author: Stephen Wolfe
name: Peter
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/31
date added: 2023/10/31
shelves: culture, philosophy
review:
This was a helpful, thought-provoking book. There are some things in it which I either disagree with, am uncertain about, or would put differently, but I appreciate the main thrust of the book and its unique contribution to modern discussions about Christianity and culture.

I do think it would have been helpful if Wolfe had written about how what he said about nations and ethnicity applied to the USA in particular, the way he wrote about how what he said about religious liberty applied to the USA in particular.
]]> 887326 272 William Tyndale 0140434771 Peter 4 applied-theology
The Pope and his followers had done this by replacing God's word with themselves and their traditions. The constant theme of this book is the return to God's word, His promises and His law. Whatever Tyndale is talking about, he finds a way to bring the discussion back to the issue of God's word. In Tyndale's view, God's word regulates our faith, worship, and life. God's promise of salvation in Christ is alone the ground and resting place of the Christian's faith.

The invasive and overreaching authority of the Roman Church was Tyndale's main target. It is easy to be disappointed with his argument against resistance to tyrannical kings, but more work on the lower magistrate principle of resistance would be done later by other Reformed authors, like Samuel Rutherford, whose main opponent was an overreaching monarchy, rather than the Pope. Yet, Tyndale's words directed to a people under persecution and tyranny (from one who knew it personally) are helpful and wise, even if unbalanced in places.

----------

"I have described unto you the obedience of children, servants, wives, and subjects. These four orders are of God's making and the rules thereof are God's word...If any person of impatiency or of a stubborn and rebellious mind withdraw himself from any of these, and get him to any other [holy] order: let him not think thereby to avoid the vengeance of God in obeying rules and traditions of man's imagination." (p. 180)

"For the law is God's and not the king's. The king is but a servant to execute the law of God and not to rule after his own imagination." (p. 183)

"Thou seest also that to have a faith where God hath not a promise is idolatry." (p. 190)

“Without God’s word do nothing. And to his word add nothing, neither pull anything away therefrom, as Moses everywhere teacheth thee...Remember Saul was cast away of God forever for his good intent. God requireth obedience unto his word and abhorreth all good intents and good zeals which are without God’s word. For they are nothing else than plain idolatry and worshipping of false gods.

And remember that Christ is the end of all thing. He only is our resting place and he is our peace (Ephesians second chapter)…If thou trust in thy words there is no rest. Thou shalt think, I have not done enough. Have I done it with so great love as I should do? Was I so glad in doing as I would be to receive help at my need, I have left this or that undone and such like. If thou trust in confession, then shalt thou think. Have I told all? Have I told all the circumstances? Did I repent enough? Had I as great sorrow in my repentance for my sins as I had pleasure in doing them? Likewise in our holy pardons and pilgrimage, gets thou no rest. For thou seest that the very gods themselves which sell their pardon so good cheap, or some whiles give them freely for glory sake, trust not therein themselves. They build colleges and make perpetuities to be prayed for forever and lade the lips of their beadsmen or chaplains with so many masses and diriges and so long service, that I have known of some that have bid the devil take their founders�� souls for very impatience and weariness of so painful labour.

As pertaining to good deeds therefore, do the best thou canst and desire God to give strength to do better daily, but in Christ put thy trust and in the pardon and promises that God hath made thee for his sake, and on that rock build thine house and there dwell. For there only shalt thou be sure from all storms and tempests and from all wily assaults of our wicked spirits which study with all falsehood to undermine us. And the God of all mercy give thee grace so to do, unto whom be glory forever. Amen.�� (p. 179-180)]]> 3.54 1528
author: William Tyndale
name: Peter
average rating: 3.54
book published: 1528
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/08
date added: 2023/10/02
shelves: applied-theology
review:
Written during the early years of the Reformation when the Protestants were being accused of rebellion and unrest, Tyndale wrote this book to assert that they were actually restoring God's ordained institutions of family and state. The church had undermined these institutions and released men from their proper obedience. It had made these institutions mere branches of the church. It was the Pope who had undermined society and caused continual unrest and wars. Tyndale appeals to all men in all places of society to take responsibility for their own positions and to live by the word of God.

The Pope and his followers had done this by replacing God's word with themselves and their traditions. The constant theme of this book is the return to God's word, His promises and His law. Whatever Tyndale is talking about, he finds a way to bring the discussion back to the issue of God's word. In Tyndale's view, God's word regulates our faith, worship, and life. God's promise of salvation in Christ is alone the ground and resting place of the Christian's faith.

The invasive and overreaching authority of the Roman Church was Tyndale's main target. It is easy to be disappointed with his argument against resistance to tyrannical kings, but more work on the lower magistrate principle of resistance would be done later by other Reformed authors, like Samuel Rutherford, whose main opponent was an overreaching monarchy, rather than the Pope. Yet, Tyndale's words directed to a people under persecution and tyranny (from one who knew it personally) are helpful and wise, even if unbalanced in places.

----------

"I have described unto you the obedience of children, servants, wives, and subjects. These four orders are of God's making and the rules thereof are God's word...If any person of impatiency or of a stubborn and rebellious mind withdraw himself from any of these, and get him to any other [holy] order: let him not think thereby to avoid the vengeance of God in obeying rules and traditions of man's imagination." (p. 180)

"For the law is God's and not the king's. The king is but a servant to execute the law of God and not to rule after his own imagination." (p. 183)

"Thou seest also that to have a faith where God hath not a promise is idolatry." (p. 190)

“Without God’s word do nothing. And to his word add nothing, neither pull anything away therefrom, as Moses everywhere teacheth thee...Remember Saul was cast away of God forever for his good intent. God requireth obedience unto his word and abhorreth all good intents and good zeals which are without God’s word. For they are nothing else than plain idolatry and worshipping of false gods.

And remember that Christ is the end of all thing. He only is our resting place and he is our peace (Ephesians second chapter)…If thou trust in thy words there is no rest. Thou shalt think, I have not done enough. Have I done it with so great love as I should do? Was I so glad in doing as I would be to receive help at my need, I have left this or that undone and such like. If thou trust in confession, then shalt thou think. Have I told all? Have I told all the circumstances? Did I repent enough? Had I as great sorrow in my repentance for my sins as I had pleasure in doing them? Likewise in our holy pardons and pilgrimage, gets thou no rest. For thou seest that the very gods themselves which sell their pardon so good cheap, or some whiles give them freely for glory sake, trust not therein themselves. They build colleges and make perpetuities to be prayed for forever and lade the lips of their beadsmen or chaplains with so many masses and diriges and so long service, that I have known of some that have bid the devil take their founders�� souls for very impatience and weariness of so painful labour.

As pertaining to good deeds therefore, do the best thou canst and desire God to give strength to do better daily, but in Christ put thy trust and in the pardon and promises that God hath made thee for his sake, and on that rock build thine house and there dwell. For there only shalt thou be sure from all storms and tempests and from all wily assaults of our wicked spirits which study with all falsehood to undermine us. And the God of all mercy give thee grace so to do, unto whom be glory forever. Amen.�� (p. 179-180)
]]> 46161249 The Pastor of Kilsyth introduces us to the life and ministry of William Hamilton Burns (1779�� 1859), the father of the better known preacher and missionary to China William Chalmers Burns (1815��68). But while eclipsed in fame by his son, the life and ministry of William H. Burns contains much that is of value to us today. This is reflected by Iain Murray who referred to The Pastor of Kilsyth as a ‘little known work,�� but notwithstanding this said it is ‘one of the best Scottish ministerial biographies.�� Those who give time to read this book will undoubtedly be led to agree with Murray.

The author of The Pastor of Kilsyth was another son of William H. Burns, Islay Burns (best known as a writer, and as the successor to Robert Murray M‘Cheyne in Dundee). He gave three reasons for writing this biography, and they are still helpful in outlining its value. Islay Burns first said that he aimed to introduce his readers to a ‘humble, unobtrusive, loving, cheerfully serious, and quietly conscientious country clergyman.�� What we have here then is the life of an ‘ordinary�� faithful pastor. He held no prestigious pulpit, he held no important professorship in theology. He founded no institution. He simply laboured in relative obscurity, but did so faithfully and with perseverance. Yes, he ultimately saw great revival. But along the way there were spiritually discouraging days in the nation, there was personal hardship (for example, the early death of children) and sacrifice (for example, in supporting the founding of the Free Church of Scotland he gave up his manse and church building) and years of no great visible fruit.

In our celebrity-driven age (from which the evangelical church is far from exempt), this is exactly the kind of life we need to study. We need to be reminded of the beauty, dignity and ultimately the glory of humble, obscure Christian service (Matt. 10:42). Yes, we need the towering leaders of men like John Calvin and John Knox. However, the great work of the church is ultimately carried forward by those who receive little earthly reward and recognition (but great is their reward in heaven!). William H. Burns was one of these, and we need many like him in our day.]]> 289 Islay Burns 1848718713 Peter 4 history 4.16 1860
author: Islay Burns
name: Peter
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1860
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/28
date added: 2023/09/28
shelves: history
review:

]]> 2098882
In The Trojan War historian and classicist Barry Strauss explores the myth and the reality behind the war, from Homer's accounts in The Iliad and The Odyssey to Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of ancient Troy in the late nineteenth century to more recent excavations that have yielded intriguing clues to the story behind the fabled city. The Trojans, it turns out, were not ethnic Greeks but an Anatolian people closely allied with the Hittite Empire to the east. At the time of the Trojan War the Greeks were great seafarers while Troy was a more settled civilization. And while the cause of the war may well have been the kidnapping of a queen—and, more significantly, the seizure of her royal dowry—the underlying cause was a conflict between the Trojans and the Greeks for control of the eastern Aegean Sea.

Through vivid reconstructions of the battles and insightful depictions of its famous characters, The Trojan War reveals the history behind Homer's great epic, without losing the poetry and grandeur of the epic myth.]]> 288 Barry S. Strauss 0743264428 Peter 3 history 3.69 2006
author: Barry S. Strauss
name: Peter
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/21
date added: 2023/08/21
shelves: history
review:

]]> 61427961 The traditional family was central to the American story. Only recently has it fallen into neglect.The American Way is the narrative of how this happened.Many history books emphasize American individualism and enterprise, but in The American Way, Allan C. Carlson shows that Americans saw the family as central to their national identity.

Not only did the traditional family shape public policy in the twentieth century, but the American family moved us towards the “melting pot�� vision of America. Whether it’s Theodore Roosevelt, the campaign for a family wage, or Life magazine’s ideal of the family, we see that the family has been the heart of the American dream, and it is only in recent decades that we have abandoned it.]]> 252 Allan C. Carlson Peter 5 culture, family-life, history 4.09
author: Allan C. Carlson
name: Peter
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/14
date added: 2023/08/14
shelves: culture, family-life, history
review:

]]> 1145635 Sloane, a devoted student of early Americana, speaks lovingly of the people who spent much of their lives creating wardrobe closets, foot stoves, church pew armrests, grindstones, featherbed patter paddles, charcoal burners, English phaetons, giant hogsheads, drovers' sleighs, windowsill sundials, and other items of long ago.
Credited with "doing gallant service, preserving records of the ways and the means of the forefathers who got along well with the resources now long forgotten" ( Springfield Republican ), Eric Sloane has written an immensely enjoyable book that will enchant anyone who takes pleasure in reading about the past and views its artifacts as part of a rich national heritage.]]> 128 Eric Sloane 0486427609 Peter 5 culture, history 4.36 2003
author: Eric Sloane
name: Peter
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/14
date added: 2023/08/14
shelves: culture, history
review:

]]> 60767117
Weaving personal experience with expert knowledge, Dr. Abigail Favale provides an in-depth yet accessible account of the gender paradigm: a framework for understanding reality and identity that has recently risen to prominence. Favale traces the genealogy of gender to its origins in feminism and postmodern thought, describing how gender has come to eclipse sex, and how that shift is reshaping language, law, medicine, sexuality, and our own self-perceptions.

With substance, clarity, and compassion, Favale teases out the hidden assumptions of the gender paradigm and exposes its effects. Yet this book is not merely an exposé—it is also a powerful, moving articulation of a Christian understanding of reality: a holistic paradigm that proclaims the dignity of the body, the sacramental meaning of sexual difference, and the interconnectedness of all creation. The Genesis of Gender is a vital, timely resource for anyone seeking to better understand the gender paradigm—and how to live beyond it.]]> 248 Abigail Rine Favale Peter 3 applied-theology, culture 4.57 2022
author: Abigail Rine Favale
name: Peter
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/27
date added: 2023/07/27
shelves: applied-theology, culture
review:
This book was well written and worth reading for its insights on recent history and the debates around gender theory. I would disagree with some things in the book, most of which have to do with the fact that the author is Roman Catholic and I am Protestant.
]]> 13214695 724 James Waddel Alexander 1429018038 Peter 4 history 4.67 2008
author: James Waddel Alexander
name: Peter
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/30
date added: 2023/06/30
shelves: history
review:

]]> 20312187 1. Children Showing Respect for Parents
2. Children Getting Parents' Permission
3. Children Obeying Parents' Instruction and Correction
4. Children Giving Back to Parents
5. Children Honoring Father and Mother in the Lord
6. Parents' Loving, Praying, and Providing for Children
7. Parents' Nurturing, Teaching, and Training Children
8. Parents' Admonishing and Correcting Children
9. Parents' Directing Children into Adulthood
10. Parents' Being Faithful to All under Their Care]]> 182 William Gouge 1601782500 Peter 5 applied-theology, family-life 4.26 2014
author: William Gouge
name: Peter
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2023/06/28
date added: 2023/06/28
shelves: applied-theology, family-life
review:

]]> 58058569
After the staggering slaughter of back-to-back world wars, the West embraced the ideal of the “open society.�� The By liberating ourselves from the old attachments to nation, clan, and religion that had fueled centuries of violence, we could build a prosperous world without borders, freed from dogmas and managed by experts.

But the populism and nationalism that are upending politics in America and Europe are a sign that after three generations, the postwar consensus is breaking down. With compelling insight, R. R. Reno argues that we are witnessing the return of the “strong gods”—the powerful loyalties that bind men to their homeland and to one another.

Reacting to the calamitous first half of the twentieth century, our political, cultural, and financial elites promoted open borders, open markets, and open minds. But this never-ending project of openness has hardened into a set of anti-dogmatic dogmas which destroy the social solidarity rooted in family, faith, and nation. While they worry about the return of fascism, our societies are dissolving.

But man will not tolerate social dissolution indefinitely. He longs to be part of a “we”—the fruit of shared loves—which gives his life meaning. The strong gods will return, Reno warns, in one form or another. Our task is to attend to those that, appealing to our reason as well as our hearts, inspire the best of our traditions. Otherwise, we shall invite the darker gods whose return our open society was intended to forestall.]]> 208 R.R. Reno 1684512697 Peter 4 culture, history 3.89 2019
author: R.R. Reno
name: Peter
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/22
date added: 2023/06/22
shelves: culture, history
review:

]]> 30800844 210 Jim Herrington 1534764763 Peter 4 applied-theology, family-life 4.03 2016
author: Jim Herrington
name: Peter
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/23
date added: 2023/06/19
shelves: applied-theology, family-life
review:

]]> 567946
In the same way, when people are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they are ushered into an objective, visible, covenant relationship. Regardless of the state of their heart, regardless of any hypocrisy, regardless of whether or not they mean it, such people are now visible saints, Christians. A Christian is one who would be identified as such by a Muslim. Membership in the Christian faith is objective-it can be photographed and fingerprinted. In baptism, God names us and imposes gracious obligations upon us.

Multitudes of faithless, corrupt Christians show that they do not believe what God said at their baptism. They live like adulterous husbands. But the tragedy is that many conscientious conservative Christians also do not believe what God said at their baptism.]]> 216 Douglas Wilson 1591280052 Peter 3 theology
On the other hand, there were some things I disagreed with, found unclear, or thought was unhelpful, such as the phrases "covenantal election" and "corporate justification." I don't think the book or author is heretical, but I wouldn't recommend the book as particularly helpful. It is also somewhat dated, tied as it is to the Federal Vision controversy of the early 2000s.]]> 4.02 2002
author: Douglas Wilson
name: Peter
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/08
date added: 2023/06/08
shelves: theology
review:
I listen to this book with question in mind, "is this book as bad as its critics claim?" Admittedly, that is a pretty low bar to meet. And no, I didn't find it as bad as its critics claim. And some of its main points about the visible church/covenant administration were good, although not necessarily unique to this book (e.g. it is appropriate to call professing believers and their children "Christians" and hold them accountable as such; also, apostates are covenant breakers).

On the other hand, there were some things I disagreed with, found unclear, or thought was unhelpful, such as the phrases "covenantal election" and "corporate justification." I don't think the book or author is heretical, but I wouldn't recommend the book as particularly helpful. It is also somewhat dated, tied as it is to the Federal Vision controversy of the early 2000s.
]]> 60557409 ��
Winters in the World is a beautifully observed journey through the cycle of the year in Anglo-Saxon England, exploring the festivals, customs, and traditions linked to the different seasons. Drawing on a wide variety of source material, including poetry, histories, and religious literature, Eleanor Parker investigates how Anglo-Saxons felt about the annual passing of the seasons and the profound relationship they saw between human life and the rhythms of nature. Many of the festivals celebrated in the United Kingdom today have their roots in the Anglo-Saxon period, and this book traces their surprising history while unearthing traditions now long forgotten. It celebrates some of the finest treasures of medieval literature and provides an imaginative connection to the Anglo-Saxon world.]]> 268 Eleanor Parker 1789146720 Peter 5 culture, history 4.19 2022
author: Eleanor Parker
name: Peter
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/29
date added: 2023/05/29
shelves: culture, history
review:
A very enjoyable book. A walk through the year the Anglo-Saxons knew and their reflections on the seasons in their poetry. (I listened to this book on Audible.)
]]> 6453877 Herman Melville’s masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history

Over a century and a half after its publication, Moby-Dick still stands as an indisputable literary classic. It is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, Moby-Dick is a haunting, mesmerizing, and important social commentary populated with several of the most unforgettable and enduring characters in literature. Never losing its cultural presence, Melville’s nautical epic has inspired many films over the years, including the film adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea, starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson, and directed by Ron Howard. Written with wonderfully redemptive humor, Moby-Dick is a profound and timeless inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception.

This Penguin Classics deluxe edition features a foreword by Nathaniel Philbrick and cover art by Tony Millionaire. This edition prints the Northwestern-Newberry edition of Melville’s text, approved by the Center for Scholarly Editions and the Center for Editions of American Authors of the MLA.]]> 625 Herman Melville 0143105957 Peter 4 stories-poetry
This is a hard book to rate since it is such an odd book. Much of it feels like it should be titled, "Meditations of a Whaler." The chapters vary wildly from one another - you never know what to expect! It is not book of quick action, but a book in which one must revel in the torrent of words giving lively descriptions and observations on whales and the mundane details of whaling. The plot concerning the monomaniac Ahab and his fateful hunt for Moby Dick does appear from time to time, building to a climax at the end.
]]> 4.15 1851
author: Herman Melville
name: Peter
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1851
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/02
date added: 2023/05/02
shelves: stories-poetry
review:
"One often hears of writers that rise and swell with their subject, though it may seem but an ordinary one. How, then, with me, writing of this Leviathan? Unconsciously my chirography expands into placard capitals. Give me a condor's quill! Give me Vesuvius' crater for an inkstand! Friends, hold my arms! For in the mere act of penning my thoughts of this Leviathan, they weary me, and make me faint with their outstretching comprehensiveness of sweep, as if to include the whole circle of the sciences, and all the generations of whales, and men, and mastodons, past present, and to come, with all the revolving panoramas of empire on earth, and throughout the whole universe, not excluding its suburbs. Such, and so magnifying, is the virtue of a large and liberal theme! We expand to its bulk. To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be who have tried it."

This is a hard book to rate since it is such an odd book. Much of it feels like it should be titled, "Meditations of a Whaler." The chapters vary wildly from one another - you never know what to expect! It is not book of quick action, but a book in which one must revel in the torrent of words giving lively descriptions and observations on whales and the mundane details of whaling. The plot concerning the monomaniac Ahab and his fateful hunt for Moby Dick does appear from time to time, building to a climax at the end.

]]> 1123555 J.N.D. Kelly 0801431891 Peter 5 history 4.00 1995
author: J.N.D. Kelly
name: Peter
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/30
date added: 2023/04/30
shelves: history
review:

]]> 918395 416 Bruce Chadwick 1402210418 Peter 4 history 3.61 2006
author: Bruce Chadwick
name: Peter
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/14
date added: 2023/04/14
shelves: history
review:

]]> 50345003 166 Orthodox Presbyterian Church Peter 4 4.33
author: Orthodox Presbyterian Church
name: Peter
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/12
date added: 2023/04/12
shelves:
review:

]]> 55563896 Introduction - Matthew A. Vogan
Sermons on Jeremiah's Lamentations
Chapter One
1. Sermon 1 on Lamentations 1:1
2. Sermon 2 on Lamentations 1:2-5
3. Sermon 3 on Lamentations 1:6-8
4. Sermon 4 on Lamentations 1:9-10
5. Sermon 5 on Lamentations 1:11-14
6. Sermon 6 on Lamentations 1:14-18
7. Sermon 7 on Lamentations 1:18-22
Chapter Two
8. Sermon 1 on Lamentations 2:1-4
9. Sermon 2 on Lamentations 2:4-11
10. Sermon 3 on Lamentations 2:11-14
11. Sermon 4 on Lamentations 2:15-22
Chapter Three
12. Sermon 1 on Lamentations 3:1-13
13. Sermon 2 on Lamentations 3:14-21
14. Sermon 3 on Lamentations 3:21-24
15. Sermon 4 on Lamentations 3:24-28
16. Sermon 5 on Lamentations 3:24-30
17. Sermon 6 on Lamentations 3:30-38
18. Sermon 7 on Lamentations 3:39-40
19. Sermon 8 on Lamentations 3:40-44
20. Sermon 9 on Lamentations 3:44-54
21. Sermon 10 on Lamentations 3:55-66
Chapter Four
22. Sermon 1 on Lamentations 4:1-4
23. Sermon 2 on Lamentations 4:5-11
24. Sermon 3 on Lamentations 4:12-20
25. Sermon 4 on Lamentations 4:20-22
Chapter Five
26. Sermon 1 on Lamentations 5:1-7
27. Sermon 2 on Lamentations 5:8-22
Naphtali Press Special Editions (NPSE) Hearkening back to the days of subscription and older days of patron-supported publishing, through yearly sponsorships NPSE researches and produces labor-intensive Puritan, Reformed, and Presbyterian titles that otherwise would be cost prohibitive to produce in good-quality and critical editions. Depending on sponsorship levels, each series year NPSE will be able to take on projects such as large, Puritan-era works never published in modern editions; transcriptions of Puritan and other era works that remain in manuscript; and translations of Reformed works into English for the first time.]]> 320 David Dickson 1601787987 Peter 3
This book was a difficult read, not only because of the older language and occasional archaic Scottish words (which are explained by the editor), but also because of the grave subject matter. But the sermons are good and profitable and they are a helpful application of Lamentations to a Christian people.

Here are David Dickson’s summary of the purposes of Lamentations:
1. “To teach the remnant of the Lord’s people, who were not cut off, how to behave themselves under their afflictions ... to turn to God as the only remedy of their pitiful state.��
2. “To stir up godly sorrow, sense of sin and of wrath in the hearts of those who survived the calamity ... he mourns that he may, by his example, teach them to mourn who were not sensible of the ills come upon the church...��
3. “He writes it for their cause who were overset with sorrow, to teach them to moderate their sorrow and to teach them the right way of lamentation.��
4. “Because many young ones were led away captive who knew little or nothing of the good state they had left, or how great damage they had sustained ... that they may mourn when they come to age and discretion when they apprehend what ills their fathers sustained and felt.��
5. “It is written for the kirk’s edification in all ages, that they in this map and mirror may behold the doleful case of a deserted church, pursued of God in His anger, and may make use of the like stroke to prevent it before it comes, and mourn when the like stroke were come and seek unto God to have it mended.��
]]> 3.75
author: David Dickson
name: Peter
average rating: 3.75
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/31
date added: 2023/03/31
shelves: applied-theology, biblical-exegetical-theology
review:
“We take upon us to pray that Christ’s kingdom may come. If then we be not sorrowful when His kingdom is hurt, it is a token that our prayers have not been fervent.��

This book was a difficult read, not only because of the older language and occasional archaic Scottish words (which are explained by the editor), but also because of the grave subject matter. But the sermons are good and profitable and they are a helpful application of Lamentations to a Christian people.

Here are David Dickson’s summary of the purposes of Lamentations:
1. “To teach the remnant of the Lord’s people, who were not cut off, how to behave themselves under their afflictions ... to turn to God as the only remedy of their pitiful state.��
2. “To stir up godly sorrow, sense of sin and of wrath in the hearts of those who survived the calamity ... he mourns that he may, by his example, teach them to mourn who were not sensible of the ills come upon the church...��
3. “He writes it for their cause who were overset with sorrow, to teach them to moderate their sorrow and to teach them the right way of lamentation.��
4. “Because many young ones were led away captive who knew little or nothing of the good state they had left, or how great damage they had sustained ... that they may mourn when they come to age and discretion when they apprehend what ills their fathers sustained and felt.��
5. “It is written for the kirk’s edification in all ages, that they in this map and mirror may behold the doleful case of a deserted church, pursued of God in His anger, and may make use of the like stroke to prevent it before it comes, and mourn when the like stroke were come and seek unto God to have it mended.��

]]> 62982922 248 Alastair J. Roberts 1949716139 Peter 3 3.89
author: Alastair J. Roberts
name: Peter
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/28
date added: 2023/03/28
shelves: applied-theology, culture, theology
review:
I found this book to be a mixed bag with some good and helpful essays and some that were disappointing. I appreciated chapters 1-4 and 7-8 (there were 12 chapters total).
]]> 56258882 Table of
First Decade of Sermons
The Word of God
The Word of God
The Exposition of God's Word
True Faith
The Force of Faith
Justification by Faith
The Apostles' Creed, Articles 1-4
The Apostles' Creed, Articles 5-8
The Apostles' Creed, Articles 9-12
The Love of God and Our Neighbor
Second Decade of Sermons
The Law of Nature and of Men
First and Second Commandments
Third Commandment
Fourth Commandment
Fifth Commandment
Sixth Commandment
Sixth Commandment
Sixth Commandment
Sixth Commandment
Seventh Commandment
Third Decade of Sermons
Eighth Commandment
Eighth Commandment
Eight Commandment
Ninth and Tenth Commandments
Ceremonial Laws of God
Ceremonial Laws of God
Judicial Laws of God
Use, Fulfilling, and Abrogation of the Law
Christian Liberty, Works, and Merits
Sin
Fourth Decade of Sermons
The Gospel
Repentance
God
Creation, Providence, and Predestination
Adoring, Calling Upon, and Serving God
The Son of God Our Lord Jesus Christ
Christ's Kingdom and Priesthood
The Holy Ghost
Angels and Devils
The Reasonable Soul of Man
Fifth Decade of Sermons
The Holy Catholic Church
The Unity of the Church
The Ministry of the Word of God
The Ministry of the Word of God
Prayer to God
The Sacraments
The Sacraments
Holy Baptism
The Lord's Holy Supper
The Institutions of the Church]]> 2055 Heinrich Bullinger 1601788274 Peter 0 4.50
author: Heinrich Bullinger
name: Peter
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/15
shelves: currently-reading, theology, systematic-theology
review:

]]> 50673340 464 Donald MacLeod 1527102416 Peter 4
The few places where I was disappointed were pretty minor compared to the book as a whole and were mostly some off hand comments in his application to modern times or a few times where his (respectful) criticism of his subjects isn’t convincing (for example, he critiques Rutherford with the Westminster Confession’s statement on the judicial laws, as if it said that the judicial laws apply as to their general equity only to individuals and churches, even though it is expressly speaking of states). But it is a well written and helpful book overall and worth reading.

Here is one things I learned from the book. Macleod explains that the presbytery, as an assembly of elders between the local kirk session and the regional synod, developed in Scotland from the weekly “Exercise�� in which local ministers would meet together to study Scripture. In the weekly Exercise, several of the ministers would take turns expositing a particular text, and people from the churches usually came to listen as well. This was a practice that arose early on in Reformed cities like Geneva, but in Scotland it filled the need for a level of church government between the local church session and the regional synod that met only once or twice a year due to the distance involved. In 1579, the GA replied to a question that “The exercise may be judged a presbytery,�� and in 1580 began to organize presbyteries with defined boundaries, absorbing the Exercise. Even in 1705, the GA directed that presbytery meetings begin with a Presbyterial Exercise.]]> 4.47 2020
author: Donald MacLeod
name: Peter
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/13
date added: 2023/02/13
shelves: historical-theology, history, systematic-theology
review:
A very good book except for a few scattered comments. The author does a good job weaving together history and theology in his account of Scottish theology 1500-1700.

The few places where I was disappointed were pretty minor compared to the book as a whole and were mostly some off hand comments in his application to modern times or a few times where his (respectful) criticism of his subjects isn’t convincing (for example, he critiques Rutherford with the Westminster Confession’s statement on the judicial laws, as if it said that the judicial laws apply as to their general equity only to individuals and churches, even though it is expressly speaking of states). But it is a well written and helpful book overall and worth reading.

Here is one things I learned from the book. Macleod explains that the presbytery, as an assembly of elders between the local kirk session and the regional synod, developed in Scotland from the weekly “Exercise�� in which local ministers would meet together to study Scripture. In the weekly Exercise, several of the ministers would take turns expositing a particular text, and people from the churches usually came to listen as well. This was a practice that arose early on in Reformed cities like Geneva, but in Scotland it filled the need for a level of church government between the local church session and the regional synod that met only once or twice a year due to the distance involved. In 1579, the GA replied to a question that “The exercise may be judged a presbytery,�� and in 1580 began to organize presbyteries with defined boundaries, absorbing the Exercise. Even in 1705, the GA directed that presbytery meetings begin with a Presbyterial Exercise.
]]> 27248299 224 Murdo Fraser 1780273061 Peter 5 history 3.50 2015
author: Murdo Fraser
name: Peter
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2023/01/25
date added: 2023/01/25
shelves: history
review:
I really enjoyed reading this book and I think the author did an excellent job. While the author is rather balanced in his evaluation of both men, after reading it, I am all the more appreciative of Argyle and his support of Presbyterianism and the covenants.
]]> 57615523 A major new biography of Huldrych Zwingli—the warrior preacher who shaped the early Reformation

Huldrych Zwingli (1484��1531) was the most significant early reformer after Martin Luther. As the architect of the Reformation in Switzerland, he created the Reformed tradition later inherited by John Calvin. His movement ultimately became a global religion. A visionary of a new society, Zwingli was also a divisive and fiercely radical figure.
��
Bruce Gordon presents a fresh interpretation of the early Reformation and the key role played by Zwingli. A charismatic preacher and politician, Zwingli transformed church and society in Zurich and inspired supporters throughout Europe. Yet, Gordon shows, he was seen as an agitator and heretic by many and his bellicose, unyielding efforts to realize his vision would prove his undoing. Unable to control the movement he had launched, Zwingli died on the battlefield fighting his Catholic opponents.]]> 376 Bruce Gordon 0300235976 Peter 5 history 4.18
author: Bruce Gordon
name: Peter
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/01/13
date added: 2023/01/13
shelves: history
review:

]]> 3786992
Lisa Wilson tells wonderful stories of colonial New England men, addressing the challenges of youth, the responsibilities of adulthood, and the trials of aging. She finds that ideas about patriarchy or nineteenth-century notions of separate spheres for men and women fail to explain the world that these early New England men describe. Patriarchal power, although certainly real enough, was tempered by notions of obligation, duty, and affection. These men created their identities in a multigendered, domestic world. A man was defined by his usefulness in this domestic context; as part of an interdependent family, his goal was service to family and community, not the self-reliant independence of the next century’s “self-made�� man.]]> 255 Lisa Wilson 0300085508 Peter 4 culture, family-life, history 3.67 1999
author: Lisa Wilson
name: Peter
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/31
date added: 2022/12/31
shelves: culture, family-life, history
review:

]]> 6563218 Translated by Dr. Rob Roy McGregor
Preaching as Calvin undertook to do it extends far beyond the confines of a carefully written manuscript. It is not bound by the niceties of style, sentence structure, and the like. it is marked by an immeasurably greater degree of intensity, by an obvious determination to instruct and persuade, by an astounding capacity to confront hearers both with the truth of divine revelation and with the implications of that truth for faith and obedience. There are distinct advantages, therefore, in having before us these sermons on Genesis precisely as they were delivered. They let us see and hear a man aflame with love for the lord and his Word, a preacher who spent himself utterly in the work of summoning his people to repentance, faith and holiness. The feature that has struck me most powerfully is the sermons' immediacy. As I have read them, it has quite often seemed to me almost as though I were sitting with the congregation in Geneva and listening to Calvin himself as he opened up the passage, and then carefully, deliberately, and sometimes with painful specificity applied its teaching to those who heard him. In his masterful translation Dr. McGregor has quite wonderfully brought the preacher back to life and allowed us the privilege of being able, with a little imagination, to take our places in St. Peter's Church on those cold autumn and winter days with the Reformer himself in the pulpit.]]> 888 John Calvin 1848710380 Peter 5 4.43 2009
author: John Calvin
name: Peter
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2022/12/27
date added: 2022/12/27
shelves: biblical-exegetical-theology, theology
review:

]]> 4537634 Great Dawson volume 131 Christopher Henry Dawson 0837190010 Peter 4 culture 3.94 1960
author: Christopher Henry Dawson
name: Peter
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1960
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/12
date added: 2022/12/12
shelves: culture
review:

]]> 18136477 308 R.A. Sheets 0984378510 Peter 4 history 4.73 2012
author: R.A. Sheets
name: Peter
average rating: 4.73
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2022/11/02
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: history
review:

]]> 59604232
Today we see a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christians, and Christians are increasingly aware that they need to form strong communities to do for them what the culture no longer can. This is a good thing, but it will only work if like Nehemiah and his men we are committed to resisting the dictates of our culture. If we are at all afraid of looking like the crazy fundamentalists that our culture loves to hate, then our communities will be as easily led by the culture as anybody else.

In this short book, Pastor Douglas Wilson describes some of the most important ways to create and maintain counter-cultural Christian communities. Whether he is talking about the need for kids to get calluses or for love and loyalty within churches, Douglas Wilson brings decades of on-the-ground wisdom and experience to the topic.

A city without walls is not really a city; neither is a city without a church at the center. Get busy. Build the walls, fight sin, love your family and church, and live out the Gospel.]]> 110 Douglas Wilson 1952410878 Peter 4 applied-theology, culture 4.35
author: Douglas Wilson
name: Peter
average rating: 4.35
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/11
date added: 2022/10/11
shelves: applied-theology, culture
review:

]]> 52754093 The #1 New York Times bestseller by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important chapter in the American story that’s ��as resonant today as ever�� (The Wall Street Journal)—the settling of the Northwest Territory by courageous pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would define our country.

As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A Massachusetts minister named Manasseh Cutler was instrumental in opening this vast territory to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the prohibition of slavery. In 1788 the first band of pioneers set out from New England for the Northwest Territory under the leadership of Revolutionary War veteran General Rufus Putnam. They settled in what is now Marietta on the banks of the Ohio River.

McCullough tells the story through five major characters: Cutler and Putnam; Cutler’s son Ephraim; and two other men, one a carpenter turned architect, and the other a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. “With clarity and incisiveness, [McCullough] details the experience of a brave and broad-minded band of people who crossed raging rivers, chopped down forests, plowed miles of land, suffered incalculable hardships, and braved a lonely frontier to forge a new American ideal�� (The Providence Journal).

Drawn in great part from a rare and all-but-unknown collection of diaries and letters by the key figures, The Pioneers is a uniquely American story of people whose ambition and courage led them to remarkable accomplishments. “A tale of uplift�� (The New York Times Book Review), this is a quintessentially American story, written with David McCullough’s signature narrative energy.]]> 352 David McCullough 1501168703 Peter 5 history 3.84 2019
author: David McCullough
name: Peter
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2022/10/06
date added: 2022/10/06
shelves: history
review:

]]> 57007971 A sweeping history of the Greeks, from the Bronze Age to today����

More than two thousand years ago, the Greek��city-states,��led by��Athens and Sparta,��laid the foundation for��much of��modern science, the arts,��politics, and law.��But the influence of the Greeks did not end��with the rise and fall of this classical civilization.��As historian Roderick Beaton��illustrates,��over three millennia��Greek speakers��produced a series of civilizations��that��were rooted in��southeastern Europe but��again and again ranged widely across the globe.����
��
In��The��Greeks, Beaton traces��this history��from the��Bronze Age Mycenaeans��who built��powerful��fortresses at home��and strong��trade routes abroad, to��the��dramatic��Eurasian conquests of��Alexander the Great, to the pious Byzantines who��sought to export Christianity worldwide, to today’s Greek diaspora, which flourishes on five��continents. The product of��decades of research, this is��the story of the Greeks��and their global impact��told as��never before. ��]]> 608 Roderick Beaton 1541618297 Peter 4 history 4.12 2021
author: Roderick Beaton
name: Peter
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/03
date added: 2022/10/03
shelves: history
review:
While I would take exception to a few of its claims regarding early Christianity, this was an interesting, helpful, and unique account of Greek history not limited to one time period, but following their history up to the present time.
]]> 1691
This translation gives a close but stylish representation of Augustine's thought and expression. Roger Green's introduction describes the aims and circumstances of the work, and outlines its influence on major figures in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.]]> 194 Augustine of Hippo 0192839284 Peter 4 theology 3.93 397
author: Augustine of Hippo
name: Peter
average rating: 3.93
book published: 397
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/05
date added: 2022/09/05
shelves: theology
review:

]]> 56517494 Table of
1. Introduction
2. The Place of Extra-Biblical Evidence in Interpreting Scripture
3. The Historicity of Genesis 1:1-2:3
4. 'In the Beginning'
5. The Days of Creation
6. 'God Created'
7. 'The Heavens and the Earth' and Cosmology
8. Days One to Six
9. The Completed Creation and the Seventh Day
10. The Historicity of Genesis and the Garden of Eden
11. The Work of Creation and the Gospel
The Creation of Heaven and Angels
Endorsements
'If you want to get to the heart of the message of this book, you could In the beginning there is truth. In this in-depth investigation, Prof. Dr. C. van Dam shows us that Holy Scripture opens with the revelation of facts. The first pages of Holy Scripture are in no way an oriental campfire fantasy or a human tale. In fact, the author convincingly argues that in Genesis 1 and 2 we have received the reliable account of how God brought the universe into being within a period of six days (qualified by evening and morning). It is no exaggeration that such an exposition about the origin of the world and about the historical Adam and Eve has probably never been as necessary as it is today. This book definitely meets a big need!' -- Jürgen-Burkhard Klautke, Dean of the Academy of Reformed Theology [ART] Giessen, Germany 'The first chapters of the book of Genesis form the foundation of God's message for mankind. The last few years have witnessed more and more new interpretations of these chapters with huge consequences for the church and its theology. Dr. Cornelis Van Dam has served the discussion well by thoroughly investigating these different visions and showing how they are in part based on current scientific notions of the origin of the cosmos and the human race. However, those who want to honor the self-testimony of Genesis have many good reasons to remain with the classic Christian understanding.' -- Mart-Jan Paul, Professor of Old Testament at the Evangelical Theological Faculty in Leuven (Belgium)]]> 400 Cornelis Van Dam 1601788053 Peter 4 4.40
author: Cornelis Van Dam
name: Peter
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/05
date added: 2022/09/05
shelves: biblical-exegetical-theology, theology
review:

]]> 29921671 208 C.S. Lewis Peter 4 apologetics, theology 4.38 1949
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Peter
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1949
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/03
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: apologetics, theology
review:

]]> 565812
The Faithful Shepherd not only sustains a bold thesis about Americanization but also affords the reader one of the freshest and most comprehensive histories of the seventeenth-century New England mind and society. This new printing contains a new introduction reflecting on how our understanding of seventeenth-century New England has developed since the book was first published.]]> 300 David D. Hall 0674019598 Peter 5 historical-theology, history
I have admiration for the New England Puritans, but a consistent takeaway I draw from studying them is an appreciation for Presbyterianism.

Also, I find that their history shows that their heirs are not only found in modern Congregationalist churches, but also in Baptist and Presbyterian churches (the directions these two wings of Congregationalism tended toward).]]> 3.80 1972
author: David D. Hall
name: Peter
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1972
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/25
date added: 2022/08/25
shelves: historical-theology, history
review:
One takeaway from this book is that New England churches were most radically Congregationalist in the 1630s and that from that time there was tension between those who defended that system and those who sought to modify it toward presbyterianism.

I have admiration for the New England Puritans, but a consistent takeaway I draw from studying them is an appreciation for Presbyterianism.

Also, I find that their history shows that their heirs are not only found in modern Congregationalist churches, but also in Baptist and Presbyterian churches (the directions these two wings of Congregationalism tended toward).
]]> 8564186 88 Daniel R. Hyde 1601780893 Peter 4 theology 4.16 2010
author: Daniel R. Hyde
name: Peter
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/05
date added: 2022/08/05
shelves: theology
review:

]]> 663513 360 Martin Greschat 0664226906 Peter 5 history 3.88 2004
author: Martin Greschat
name: Peter
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/01
date added: 2022/08/01
shelves: history
review:

]]> 317501 The four Pevensies help Caspian battle Miraz and ascend his rightful throne.

NARNIA... the land between the lamp-post and the castle of Cair Paravel, where animals talk, where magical things happen... and where the adventure begins.

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are returning to boarding school when they are summoned from the dreary train station (by Susan's own magic horn) to return to the land of Narnia—the land where they had ruled as kings and queens and where their help is desperately needed.]]> 216 C.S. Lewis 0020442408 Peter 5 stories-poetry 3.94 1951
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Peter
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1951
rating: 5
read at: 2016/01/03
date added: 2022/07/29
shelves: stories-poetry
review:
These books are old favorites of mine, and now I get to share them with my wife. It is a fine tale with delightful characters and moving scenes, and the description of the feast at the end is marvelous.
]]> 59606964
Our modern society has called for us to “smash the patriarchy,�� and the church has not done much better.

Instead of telling men how they can hone and refine their aggressive traits, the church has told men that they should aspire to be meek servant-leaders, and when a man shows any signs of independence, he is shown the door.

This leaves most young men lost. They don’t know what to do or how to improve, so they watch Jordan Peterson videos on YouTube to learn how to grow in their masculinity and sense of mission.

In this book, Michael Foster and Bnonn Tennant remind men that their natural aggressive instincts are gifts from God that are meant to be used for the kingdom. Men are supposed to found households, join brotherhoods, and work towards a mission.

It's Good to Be A Man offers men a quick guide to where they are and how they can improve.

God made men to be strong and aggressive risk-takers. This is a feature, not a bug. Foster and Tennant remind us that it’s good to be a man.]]> 242 Michael Foster 1954887051 Peter 5
There are a few statements that could be problematic if read with suspicion, and a handful I might take exception to, but that shouldn’t distract from the helpfulness of the book as a whole. ]]> 4.26
author: Michael Foster
name: Peter
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/27
date added: 2022/07/27
shelves: applied-theology, culture, family-life
review:
This is not a book about men and women and their differences, nor is it about marriage and family. The subtitle does a good job explaining its purpose, “A Handbook for Godly Masculinity.�� Recognizing the twin threat of effeminacy/androgyny and sinfully corrupt masculinity, they direct men onward to act like men in a godly manner.

There are a few statements that could be problematic if read with suspicion, and a handful I might take exception to, but that shouldn’t distract from the helpfulness of the book as a whole.
]]> 12198619
Originally published in 1974.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.]]> 504 Edmund S. Morgan 0807897302 Peter 5 history 5.00 1962
author: Edmund S. Morgan
name: Peter
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/25
date added: 2022/07/25
shelves: history
review:
An interesting book for its insight into 18th century New England from the perspective of the history of Ezra Stiles, Congregationalist minister and president of Yale College. As the author says in his preface concerning Ezra Stiles, “But his intellectual curiosity was omnivorous, and precisely because his mind was more receptive than creative, this book is as much a study of the times as it is of the man.��
]]> 25825420
The Abolition of Man, Lewis uses his graceful prose, delightful humor, and keen understanding of the human mind to challenge our notions about how to best teach our children--and ourselves--not merely reading and writing, but also a sense of morality.]]> 113 C.S. Lewis Peter 4 philosophy 4.16 1943
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Peter
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1943
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/18
date added: 2022/07/18
shelves: philosophy
review:

]]> 1238669
The wicked Prince John plots to usurp England's throne, but two of the most popular heroes in all of English literature, Richard-the-Lion-Hearted and the well-loved famous outlaw, Robin Hood, team up to defeat the Normans and regain the castle. The success of this novel lies with Scott's skillful blend of historic reality, chivalric romance, and high adventure.]]> 544 Walter Scott 1593082460 Peter 4 stories-poetry 3.70 1819
author: Walter Scott
name: Peter
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1819
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/18
date added: 2022/07/18
shelves: stories-poetry
review:

]]> 13571215 Francis A. Schaeffer 1596444304 Peter 5 culture, history
The historical overview is nuanced, as Schaeffer notes when humanists have produced good and helpful things (such as an appreciation for nature and art in the Renaissance). He examines not only the philosophers, but also the artists and other indicators of cultural change. His digression on slavery and the Industrial Revolution in the chapter on the Reformation's influence on politics seemed a little out of place, and there might be a few historical claims some might want to debate, but overall we found it a fair and helpful evaluation of Western history. My wife and I enjoyed listening to this as an audiobook together. ]]> 3.91 1975
author: Francis A. Schaeffer
name: Peter
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at: 2016/08/21
date added: 2022/06/09
shelves: culture, history
review:
A sweeping overview of Western history, this book focuses on how culture has been directed by basic perspectives on life and meaning. I would summarize its thesis by saying that the humanist attempt to construct a philosophy and way of life by reason alone, apart from God, (begun especially in the Renaissance) met with disappointment in the 18th and 19th centuries and was forced to abandon reason, leaping into the realm of non-reason to find arbitrary meaning and value. The values it has led to are "personal peace and affluence" and the method it has grown to rely upon is totalitarian force and manipulation by an elite. Without transcendent absolutes, arbitrary absolutes and human authority have become paramount, especially when personal peace and affluence are threatened. The only way for our society to live, rather than die, is to turn to the Christian gospel and worldview. Among other things, the church must stand against totalitarianism, holding to the revealed word of our God which judges all men and institutions.

The historical overview is nuanced, as Schaeffer notes when humanists have produced good and helpful things (such as an appreciation for nature and art in the Renaissance). He examines not only the philosophers, but also the artists and other indicators of cultural change. His digression on slavery and the Industrial Revolution in the chapter on the Reformation's influence on politics seemed a little out of place, and there might be a few historical claims some might want to debate, but overall we found it a fair and helpful evaluation of Western history. My wife and I enjoyed listening to this as an audiobook together.
]]> 10971807
Hodge's legacy is especially important to American Presbyterians. His brand of theological conservatism became vital in the 1920s, as Princeton Seminary saw itself, and its denomination, split. The conservative wing held unswervingly to the Old School tradition championed by Hodge, and ultimately founded the breakaway Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

The views that Hodge developed, refined, and propagated helped shape many of the central traditions of twentieth- and twenty-first-century American evangelicalism. Hodge helped establish a profound reliance on the Bible among Evangelicals, and he became one of the nation's most vocal proponents of biblical inerrancy. Gutjahr's study reveals the exceptional depth, breadth, and longevity of Hodge's theological influence and illuminates the varied and complex nature of conservative American Protestantism.]]> 528 Paul C. Gutjahr 0199740429 Peter 5 history 4.31 2011
author: Paul C. Gutjahr
name: Peter
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/06
date added: 2022/06/06
shelves: history
review:

]]> 1283468 295 James Oscar Farmer Jr 0865546738 Peter 4 historical-theology, history 3.94 1986
author: James Oscar Farmer Jr
name: Peter
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/30
date added: 2022/04/30
shelves: historical-theology, history
review:

]]> 60787401 From Philosophy to Technology, Tracing the Origin of Identity Politics

How did the world arrive at its current, disorienting state of identity politics, and how should the church respond? Historian Carl R. Trueman shows how influences ranging from traditional institutions to technology and pornography moved modern culture toward an era of "expressive individualism." Investigating philosophies from the Romantics, Nietzsche, Marx, Wilde, Freud, and the New Left, he outlines the history of Western thought to the distinctly sexual direction of present-day identity politics, providing readers with a clearer understanding of the modern implications of these ideas on religion, free speech, and issues related to personal identity. For fans of Trueman's The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, this new book offers a more concise presentation and application of some of the most critical topics of our day.]]> 6 Carl R. Trueman Peter 5 culture, history, philosophy 4.62 2022
author: Carl R. Trueman
name: Peter
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/21
date added: 2022/04/21
shelves: culture, history, philosophy
review:

]]> 289870 Librarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found here.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ‘there and back again��. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.

The prelude to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century.]]> 300 J.R.R. Tolkien Peter 5 stories-poetry
"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -Thorin to Bilbo

"You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!" -Gandalf to Bilbo]]> 4.29 1937
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Peter
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1937
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/07
date added: 2022/04/07
shelves: stories-poetry
review:
Earlier Melody and I enjoyed reading this book out-loud together, and now this time we read it out-loud to the children.

"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -Thorin to Bilbo

"You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!" -Gandalf to Bilbo
]]> 7466619
The fact that all people have been made by God and are God s creatures should therefore be reason enough for us to go to them, seeking with the utmost faithfulness to bring them to eternal life.

This is why we have undertaken the writing of this little book concerning all these matters, inserting various quotations from the word of God and, insofar as the Lord has given us grace, explaining them. From these every Christian can thoroughly learn what sort of fellowship the church of Christ is, how Christ the Lord alone rules, what ministry he requires in that rule and how this ministry is to be ordered and performed, in relation to all those who are brought to the church of Christ and wish to be kept and built up in it.

We have throughout set out the spiritual quotations, so that the Christian reader can himself see the foundation of the word, consider it and lay it up in his heart. For there are not a few who, as soon as anything is said about church discipline and order, are always crying out that we want to bring back the traditions and bondage of men; and so we do not wish to put forward anything other than the obvious and certain teaching and clear undoubted command of our Lord Jesus Christ.]]> 218 Martin Bucer 0851519849 Peter 5 applied-theology, theology 4.26 2009
author: Martin Bucer
name: Peter
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/07
date added: 2022/04/07
shelves: applied-theology, theology
review:

]]> 48944522 270 D.C. Macnicol 1848718780 Peter 4 history 3.93 1907
author: D.C. Macnicol
name: Peter
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1907
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/11
date added: 2022/02/11
shelves: history
review:

]]> 36492950 496 Katherine Dimancescu 0989616916 Peter 3 history 3.86
author: Katherine Dimancescu
name: Peter
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2022/02/04
date added: 2022/02/04
shelves: history
review:
This book has lots of helpful information and research about my ancestor George Denison and other early New England settlers, but it can be frustrating to read due to the way it is written.
]]> 46039087 Volume 1, Prolegomena, provides an introduction to doing systematic theology. Mastricht begins by addressing the nature of theology, wherein he lays out the proper method, subject matter, and definition of theology. He then discusses Scripture as the rule of doing theology, as it is the only infallible source and foundation for knowing God. Finally, Mastricht gives his rationale for the best distribution of theological topics. This volume also includes Mastricht’s homiletical aid “The Best Method of Preaching,�� as well as a biographical sketch by Adriaan Neele to help readers understand the significance of Mastricht’s life and ministry.]]> 238 Petrus Van Mastricht Peter 4 systematic-theology, theology 4.50
author: Petrus Van Mastricht
name: Peter
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves: systematic-theology, theology
review:

]]> 53968566
From a New York Times best-selling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist, a sweeping epic of how the Vikings and their descendants have shaped history and America

Scandinavia has always been a world apart. For millennia Norwegians, Danes, Finns, and Swedes lived a remote and rugged existence among the fjords and peaks of the land of the midnight sun. But when they finally left their homeland in search of opportunity, these wanderers—including the most famous, the Vikings—would reshape Europe and beyond. Their ingenuity, daring, resiliency, and loyalty to family and community would propel them to the gates of Rome, the steppes of Russia, the courts of Constantinople, and the castles of England and Ireland. But nowhere would they leave a deeper mark than across the Atlantic, where the Vikings’��legacy would become the American Dream. In The Viking Heart , Arthur Herman melds a compelling historical narrative with cutting-edge archaeological and DNA research to trace the epic story of this remarkable and diverse people. He shows how the Scandinavian experience has universal meaning, and how we can still be inspired by their indomitable spirit.]]> 512 Arthur Herman 1328595900 Peter 3 history 3.61 2021
author: Arthur Herman
name: Peter
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves: history
review:
This book was good, although it felt like it had potential to be better. The title and subtitle are a little misleading, but I appreciated how it traced the history of influential Scandinavians throughout their history (not only during the Viking period).
]]>