Musings of a Snickerdoodle

Can a biography be focused too much on its subject?   This may sound odd, but I think it can.   As Christians, we know that our faith comes from God, and we know that He has ordained whatever good works we do in our service for Him.   We are also not after the praise of men, nor do we consider it a great compliment to be praised by them.   We try to do our good works as unnoticed by people as possible, seeking the praise of God alone.      Knowing all of this, it seems quite strange for this biography of D. L. Moody to begin with telling how Moody was praised by three U. S. Presidents, and that he, " gained an immortality only presidents can bestow: their genuine respect".   You'd think that as a Christian Moody would resent the praise of the 'great' people of the world.   Kevin Belmonte made too much of the man. One statement in particular makes it seem as though God was dependent on him. "Consider as well how history would have ...

Before I read this book, I didn't realize how controversial the subject of Elders has been in recent years, especially amongst Baptist churches.   My church family has always had at least two elders, and I guess I have just never really considered the concept of single eldership(pastor as the only elder).   Elders in the Life of the Church by Phil A. Newton and Matt Schmucker makes the case for the Biblical basis of churches having multiple elders.      The book begins with a short history lesson on the historical presence of multiple elders in Baptist Churches, and how the practice of plural eldership has declined.   The authors turn to the Bible to examine what is said about elders.   It is noted that the development of elders in Churches is not addressed in the New Testament, it is assumed, and appointing elders is practiced/promoted by the apostles rather than defended.   The qualifications a man must have to be an elder are addre...

I usually love chronological Bibles as it is very interesting to read the Bible through in the supposed chronological order, and I was quite excited to get this one. This Bible has full color throughout, and the headers that note the changing of epochs   are so vivid they almost look 3d.   But sadly, some of the pictures were inappropriate/indecent and it's not very nice to have such things in one's Bible, let alone have them be so visually crystal clear.    The NIV Chronological Study Bible seeks to present the Scriptures in their probable chronological order, with historical notes, chronologies, maps and pictures throughout. I thought it was interesting that they note that, "The Bible is not a theology book arranged according to topics: God, man, sin, salvation, etc.   Nor is it simply a chronicle of events from creation to the final consummation.   Historical events are often the Bible's subject matter, but these events are always reported f...

In Robots or Rebels, Robert Pruitt addresses the modern manifestation of legalism that has been around since the Church first appeared in the times of the Apostles, the ones stuck in true legalism he calls 'Robots'.   He also warns about rebels, who turn from legalism and flee to antinomianism.   As he says in the book, " "Rebels do not love Christ and do not desire to look holy before anyone.   Robots, on the other hand, desire to look holy while not realizing that true holiness only flows from the heart and life of one who sincerely loves the Lord Jesus. "        "Too many preachers and teachers today proclaim a gospel that saves from the penalty of sin, while not necessarily saving one from bondage to sin."   This leads to many who profess faith but who have no works, no holiness, to show that they are actually alive.   They do not have any evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in them, no evidence that they are among the ones Go...

Why do so many Christian organizations become secular within a generation or two?   How does one build a focused ministry that doesn't change its core purpose?   Peter Greer and Christ Horst provide some excellent answers in Mission Drift:   The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches .   They have examined and analyzed various ministries, some that have stayed focused on their Gospel focused mission, and some that drifted away from that focus have become secular in focus, not spiritual.  The authors make the interesting observation that "It is often Christians who seem most likely to be the biggest critics of bold Christian distinctiveness".   They quote the Christian Founder of Quaker Oats speaking of people "who are much interested in the loaves and fishes, but not at all in the faith."   They bring up organizations that were Christian at first, but now only help with material needs alone.   Greer and Horst also make th...

I like this Atlas very much, it is a nice overview of the geography of Biblical events. It was more interesting than I had expected.  You can get caught up following the discussion of places, and looking at the locations of Biblical places. Beginning with a basic overview of the geography of the middle east and then move into historical geography.   Moving along the timeline of the Bible, we examine Abraham's journeys, follow the possible path of Israel's Exodus from Egypt, and then journey to the promised land.   We see Israel's dispersions from Israel into other lands, and finally end up looking at Israel at the time of the New Testament.   The places visited by Christ are considered, and then we see the spread of the Gospel.    The book ends with an examination of the city of Jerusalem in detail. Some particular sections I found helpful were the maps of the distribution of land to the twelve tribes of Israel.   It makes the account in the ...

The Life of John Calvin by W.J. Grier is not your typical biography.   Grier had wanted to write a life of John Calvin, but was not able to do so.   It turns out that he had written some articles on Calvin in the Evangelical Presbyterian magazine of which he was editor.   These articles were edited into the book I am reviewing now.   Because these are 'articles', the timeline doesn't flow as smoothly as a normal biography, but this is a minor flaw.      It is very interesting to see how God used Calvin.   Calvin's life was not one people would generally envy.   It wasn't a life full of health, wealth and the favor of people, actually it was quite the opposite.    Calvin didn't want a public life, he wanted to focus privately studying God's word,   but God made him a pastor.   He didn't want to go back to Geneva after they 'kicked' him out and then desired him to come back, but God moved Him to go back, and things we...