The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth by R.A. Torrey My rating: 4 of 5 stars In the early part of the twentieth century a controversy in the church erupted between the modernists and the fundamentalists. The fundamentalists got their name from the fact that they published an enormous number of booklets defending “the fundamentals,” …
History and Meaning/Eighth Decade of Psalms: Psalm 78
Introduction: In this psalm of covenantal remembrance, Asaph gives us inspired commentary on the history of Israel, from the Exodus down to the time of David. It is largely a story of God and man contending, God with blessing and man with sinning. It is also a history full of lessons and dark meanings for …
Review: Anatomy of Melancholy and Other Poems
Anatomy of Melancholy and Other Poems by Robert Wrigley My rating: 4 of 5 stars Decent stuff. Some good images here. View all my reviews
Faithful Desolation: Eighth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 77
Introduction: We have been considering psalms of deliverance, and this psalm is no different in that respect. But one notable distinction here is that the deliverance seemed late in coming, and the psalmist struggled mightily with that providence. In his struggle, he teaches us how to struggle when we are confronted with anything similar. And …
Review: The Luck Stone
The Luck Stone by P.G. Wodehouse My rating: 4 of 5 stars Wodehouse is always fun, but this one was different. This is a “boys at boarding school” story, but with a mysterious stone from India and criminals thrown in. In other words, this is an adventure story, not a light comedy in the style …
Review: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande My rating: 4 of 5 stars Clear, informative, and important. My generation is in the thick of helping elderly parents, and we are not all that far away from being elderly parents. Gawande is a nominal Hindu, and so is not helpful with …
Book of the Month: July 2016
I have confessed on previous occasions that I like to read dictionaries, chipping away at them a page or two at a go. I also like to do the same thing with collections of anecdotes, and as it turns out that I have just finished one. The plotting is terrible, and it is hard to …
Review: Three Men in a Boat
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome My rating: 4 of 5 stars Very enjoyable, a lot of fun, and some glorious writing. Some laugh out loud spots, not unlike Wodehouse. View all my reviews
Atheist Debate War Stories
I am currently in Atlanta for the ACCS conference — and what a great time that is — but it turns out that John Lennox was also in town for another conference just a stone’s throw away, and through a fortuitous set of circumstances, we wound up seated next to each other at dinner last …
Review: Hammer of God
Hammer of God by Bo Giertz My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is a collection of three loosely related novellas about the “cure of souls” in Lutheran Sweden. It is all very good, and parts of it are glorious. I think it would be particularly encouraging to pastors involved in the hard slog …