Politics and Religion, those are the two things we are never supposed to talk about. In this audiobook, Chip Ingram does that very thing. He takes us though subjects that most Christians have never heard a single sermon on. He delves into a list that tent to start angry debates.
The following is a partial list of subjects covered:
Sex
Homosexuality
Abortion
The Environment
These are controversies that could be taken from the front page of today’s newspaper. They touch each of our lives in one way or another. If they do not directly affect us, they usually do through our friends and loved ones.
Ingram's writing is easy to read (or in my case, listen to) and the information is every informative. He not only shows the beliefs held on both sides of the issue, he gives a biblical understanding on each subject. The last part of the book is written in a question and answer format. Here is where the book really shines. He takes the hard cases and shows how to give not only a biblical answer, but he does it with a pastor's heart. The book is clear and precise, yet loving and sensitive.
I enjoyed the narration tremendously. I felt like I was listening to a lecture more than an audiobook. The audio was clear and professional.
If you feel that the world is changing way too fast and you need to get a handle on these subjects, please consider this book.
To wrap it up - Read or listen to this book!
I highly recommend this audiobook and give it a 5 out of 5 star.
I enjoyed this book courtesy of the Christian Audio review program at http://christianaudio.com and received the audio book, free of charge, from ChristianAudio.com in exchange for an honest review.
This being the second Todd Starnes book I have read, or in this case listened to, I am becoming somewhat of a fan. He is funny but knowledgeable. His writing is simple and easy to read. He causes you to both think and feel.
Here we have a list of things no one would have believed could happen in America. The world has been turned upside down. The very things your parent taught you were right and noble are now seen as bigoted and hateful. To love God and you neighbor is now seen as racist, extreme, and even terrorism.
Like the phrase attributed to Saddam Hussein’s Democrat lawyer, Ramsey Clark, “One man’s terrorist is another man's freedom fighter”. The far left sees good as evil and visa versa. To have a choice to send you child to a school of your choosing is to hate teachers. To put a terrorist in prison is to be an Islamophobe. To say that an innocent baby should not be killed is to start a war on women. On and on it goes. Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" instructs the left to never have a conversation with their adversary because that humanizes them, their job is to demonize them, And demonize they have done.
We live in a New Amerika where an elderly lady is told she can not read her bible on public property; where a solder can die for the right to freedom of religion, but does not have freedom himself to display a bible; where a child can’t even read his Bible during free time at lunch. For years, many liberals have hated religion. They removed “God” from the Democrat platform. When they realized their mistake and decided to put Him back in, the crowd booed and hissed. For the last 40 years, they have passed laws to give us freedom “from” religion. After 9-11 they finally found a religion they can admire. Now they can call Christians - terrorist and Al-Qaeda - freedom fighters.
Now that I have come down off of my soap box, I would like to review Starnes book. Here, Starnes gives us a list of atrocities that have been performed in the name of tolerance. Seeing tolerance as the greatest virtue, the left tend to tolerate only those who agree with them. That is no tolerance at all. Tolerance says, even if I disagree with you, you have a right to believe what you do. The left says that tolerance is closing the mouths of those who disagree so that those who do agree with them do not get there feelings hurt. If you agree with same-sex marriage, you are tolerant. If you don't, you are a Homophobe. If you agree with abortion, you are for women. If not, you have waged a war on women. If you believe that Government should be in control of medical care, you have compassion for the poor. If not, you are a racist. Somehow, spending other people’s money, as opposed to spending your own on the poor, makes a person feel more compassionate. They have taken Alinsky's advice and demonized their opponents. Why can we not have a little civility? Everyone has the right to live peaceable, no matter what race or religion. America stands for freedom! Let us not give that freedom away to the “Thought Police”.
I can say that this book was top notch. It will both, break you heart and give you pride for our country. Your heart will be broken for the assault on the average American who has had their constitutional rights taken away, but you will be proud that the story doesn't end there. People are standing up to the bullying and calling for common sense, which is very uncommon today.
The narration was great. With the mix of good narration and a well written book, I did not feel I was listening to the written word, it was more like listening to a conversation.
I loved this book and highly recommend it to everyone.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I enjoyed this book courtesy of the Christian Audio review program at http://christianaudio.com and received the audio book, free of charge, from ChristianAudio.com in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a little different that I expected. Full of life and zeal, there is an excitement about who God is and what he does. God is in control! Because God is sovereign we can marvel at who He is.
Here, Montgomery and Jones, show us the wonder of a sovereign God. If God is in control, we have nothing to worry about. Many are offended when told that God has control of every situation. They can only look at the bad things that happen in the world and say it must be God's fault. Would it not be better that God is in control than us? If something bad happens we know He has a reason. Something is bringing Him glory. If we are in control and something bad happens, it has no reason and nothing good can come out of it.
The Bible says, "All things work for the good of those who are called". If God is not in control of everything, that statement has to be false.
Here they also show us that it is natural for people to believe that works are how we get right with God. But natural man is fallen and blind. What he believes is a lie. The only way to be right with a holy God is through the sacrifice of Christ. Grace is totally unmerited favor.
Through the whole book, the authors show us what is usually called the 5 points of Calvinism. Because of the negative feelings that come with that terminology, they prefer not to be called Calvinists.
I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to all. If you want a book that will melt your heart and give you a new sense of wonder about our God, this is the book to read.
I recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book, free of charge, from Zondervan and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Today, it seems like there is an Atheist behind every bush. It has become "cool" to believe that there is no God. While in college, many young people are devastated by professors who take a sledgehammer to the Christian faith, leaving the student in doubt and even depression.
In this well written book, the authors have given us an antidote to the disease that is spreading in many colleges. Truth Matters, give a reason for our faith.
The book is based around Bart Ehrman's arguments against the Bible. Ehrman, a professor at UNC has written multiple books claiming that the gospel as we know it is simply not true. These books have destroyed many peoples faith because they were not prepared to counter his arguments. Here, Kostenberger, Bock, and Chatraw counter Ehrman's arguments.
Many professors take advantage of new students. It is like shooting fish in a barrel. They know that most teens only know about the bible from what they learned in youth group. In the first week of class they can silence all arguments as they place another notch on their guns - another easy kill.
In this book, Kostenberger and company provide some practical information for stemming the tide and helping the student fight back. They provide a stepping stone for those who do not want to bury their head in the sand.
I enjoyed this book tremendously and highly recommend it especially to students.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book, free of charge, from B&H Publishing Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
To my surprise, this was not a book about the origins of the Bible or apologetics. But it was a good surprise. In stead of an apologetics book, we have a love letter to God's word. DeYoung teaches us what it means to fall in love with God's word. He takes us through the Bible and shows us what it says about itself. God's word calls us to love God's word.
Because the Bible is the very words of God, we should treat it as such. It should be studied and reverenced. It should be a guide to lead us to God, the author.
The writing is short and to the point and the Language is simple and easy to understand. Here is a book for anyone from new believer to a Bible professor.
Because this is the audio version, I want to add that the narration is very good and fits the material.
If you are looking for a short enjoyable book to read during quite time, this may be the book for you.
I highly recommend this audiobook and give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I enjoyed this book courtesy of the Christian Audio review program at http://christianaudio.com and received the audio book, free of charge, from ChristianAudio.com and Crown & Covenant Publications in exchange for an honest review.
This book will be an exception to the rule when it comes to my normal reviews. I will be giving the book a good rating and review because of the writing and the interesting experience of reading it, but not for the views and thoughts of the author, which I personally disagree with.
The book was very engaging. Sanford is a very good writer even if he is bias against "Christian Right". He admits that much at the first of the book. This is meant to be a history of the Christian Reconstruction movement, but he spends just as much time on the christian right as Reconstructionists. All-in-all it is an interesting read but he does place little jabs at those he disagrees with throughout the book. Some of the arguments against CR is warranted and should be heeded.
But with that said, much of what is written (but not all) is just not true. The problem he has throughout the book is in tying today’s religious right to the Reconstrutionist camp. Is that not the premise of the whole book? If that fails, then what has he accomplished. The whole reason for the book is to tie today’s christian right to the now defunked Christian Reconstruction of the 1990s.
I read around 100 Christian books a year. I have read some Reconstruction books over the years. But I can say that in my 30 years of being a Christian, being a conservative politically, and meeting thousands of conservative Christians, that I have never personally met a Reconstructiuonalist or anyone who held to their beliefs. In fact, I can count on one hand how many people I have met who have ever even heard the name of one CR.
Getting back to the content. Sanford sees Christians as domestic terrorists. They bomb abortion clinics and kill doctors. There have been 9 people killed over abortion since 1993. In 21 years, eight were shot and one bombed. Fifty times more patients die at the hands of the abortion doctors (excluding infants) than by anti-abortion protesters. In a sense Sanford is saying, because nine out of 2.18 billion Christians (that is one-third of the population of the world) has committed a terrible crime, then all are terrorist. Can we not say the same about the atheist? More people have been killed in the name of atheism (Communist-Marxism) than religion. Here is a quote from the book:
"Meanwhile, the agents of violence who followed in Terry’s wake left a path of destruction sustained by bitter rhetoric exceeding even his own. Clinic bombings and day-to-day threats increased during the tumultuous 1980s and continued unabated through the 1990s. The assassination of doctors and clinic personnel began just after Randall Terry’s movement peaked, with killings carried out in 1993, 1994, and 1998, and numerous others attempted. An atmosphere of terror was created through the posting of wanted signs on the internet and the transmission of death threats to doctors in their workplaces and private homes. The zealots behind these acts subscribed to what has been called a “theology of vigilantism” and spoke openly of guerilla warfare and theocratic revolution. Most of them began with an evangelical background similar to Randall Terry’s. They simply went farther with it."
I have been a christian for over 30 years and am pro-life myself. I have never heard anyone advocate killing a doctor or bombing a clinic. I have heard that we need to pray that God will convict their heart that what they are doing is wrong. That is why we call it pro-life and not anti-abortion. We do not believe in individual vengeance. The Bible say "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord". God gave Government the sword for punishment. It is funny how those who are "for" abortion call themselves pro-choice, but call those who are against abortion, anti-abortion. That makes it sound like they are for the choice to abort, but not for the abortion itself. In our case we are for life in any case. We believe murder is wrong whether it is an infant or an Adult, even more so with an infant because they have never done anything to deserve death.
Sanford spends much of the book trying to prove that the Right-wing christian is practicing Christian Reconstuctionalism but has to admit halfway through that..."Indeed, the theonomist position on the current utility of Old Testament laws has never gained much support outside of the Reconstructionist movement. Christian Worldview advocates of the Religious Right from Schaeffer to Dobson have mostly steered clear of the controversial issue."
In other words, Right wing Christians do NOT believe that we should use O.T. case laws in today society. Is that not the whole basis of this book...to prove that the Religious Right was created and maintained by the beliefs of the theonomist? That is like saying that the guy who shot me has long hair. You have long hair, so you must have been the one who shot me. That is the logical fallacy of guilt by association. The bad thing is the Religious Right is not even associated with the Theonomist. Since the 1990's, Theonomists hardly exist.
In the second half of the book,Sanford tries to show that the Christian Right are conspiracy nuts who think the humanists are trying to take over. Isn't this the same thing he believes about the Right? We are trying to take over the world? He says that those who believe that abortion is wrong are moved by emotion and morals gleamed from the bible, but those who believe abortion is a right are moved by experience and reason. So to think that abortion actually takes a life is emotion.
Back to the book... Sanford seems to believe that the Christian Right has used their power to change the whole country toward Biblical morals. From were I stand, they must be doing a very bad job. Both Democrats and Republicans vote on the Liberal side of every piece of legislation. Abortion, Gay marriage, marijuana, and every other liberal belief is now legal in many parts of the country and within ten years will probably be legal in every state of the union. With liberals controlling the news media, print media, Hollywood, and Government, I do not see the Christian Right having any power other than tipping the waitress at Chili's after church on Sunday morning :)
All in all the book was an interesting read and I was never bored.
I can only say I recommend it for those who search out both sides of the story and have more knowledge of the Christian Right and Christian Reconstuctionism than what they see here. If not, you are not getting the whole story.
I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.
I received this book, free of charge, from Metacomet Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was always a fan of the early sitcoms. I also enjoy a few of the newer ones, but without the same enthusiasm. "I Love Lucy", "Dick Van Dyke", and the like are classics. When I saw this book was up for review, I jumped at the chance.
Austerlitz takes a look at the history of the sitcom from its earliest days up to the later (30 rock and community). We see some commentary about each show and some interesting "behind the scenes" moments. The writing is fluid and easy to read. You find yourself thinking, "Just one more chapter".
Each chapter is written in episode fashion, with a different show in each chapter. He not only speaks of the show from the title of the chapter, he also interweaves sitcoms that were in some way linked to each show.
I enjoyed the book even if I disagreed on some of his critiques. My disagreements are probably more from my enjoyment of reruns as a kid than from anything said by the author. There are a few spots of foul language that I did not care for, but that is to be expected.
If you love sitcoms or just want a good history of the genre, this would be a good book to pick up.
I recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book, free of charge, from Chicago Review Press Incorporated and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
