These are reviews of books I have read this past year.
Vintage Jesus by Mark Driskol
Mark Drisko is the teaching pastor at Mars Hill Community Church in Seattle Washington. This books deals with major issues about Jesus. It is part of a series dealing with issues of Christianity. At times this book is very humorous with several references to pop culture. At times it is pretty standard, but at other times it is fascinating. He as a chapter on how Christ fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. That chapter is simply amazing.
My Rating: 4+
Claiming the Center by Jack Rogers
Jack Rogers is a leading voice in the Presbyterian church. He believes in including everyone in Christianity. He believes we need to accept the views of liberal and fundamentalist as equally valid. He says that those who believe in the Deity of Christ and those who don't are valid Christians. This book does offer good insight into how the religious right developed. His information is sound. It is his conclusions that are wrong. This really explains how we got here religiously.
My Rating: 2+
Wake Up America by Tony Campollo
Written in 1991, Campolo discusses how America and the American church has become very materialistic. He believes we must follow Jesus' words and feed, clothe and love the poor. He believes that the words of Christ supersede the writings of Paul. He suggests that Christ's call to protect the poor may even override Romans 13, which deals with relating to governments. I dislike a lot of it, but some of it I found helpful. One of the most astonishing things is that he opposes text criticism.
My Rating: 2
Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur
This book sent shock waves through the evangelical world. Too many Christians professed but did not live like it. The church accepted these professions at face value. MacArthur wrote this book hoping to correct this error. This book talks about how true Christians live a consistent life of obedience to Christ. He tells how Jesus said it would be hard to follow him. He details how the Bible teaches this all through scripture. It is a must read.
My Rating: 5
Absolutely Free by Zane Hodge
This is a book attempting to answer The Gospel According to Jesus. In order to balance my reading, I decided to read a counterpoint to MacArthur's view. Hodges has an easy believism view. He says that just because a person doesn't live a Christian life, that does not mean he is not saved. He says we have no right to doubt any one's profession. He says all you have to do is believe. He separates discipleship from salvation. He even questions whether the verse in Corinthians about examining oneself is even for us today. He quotes hymns as evidence.
My Rating: 2
Missions in the Old Testament by Walter Kaesar
Dr. Kaesar suggests that God's goal for humanity has always been, "I shall be their God and they shall be my people." After the fall, God's goal was to restore that relationship. He says that Israel was to be a priest to bring about that restoration to the planet. He says that even though Israel failed to do that, that does not negate what they were supposed to do. At times he went overboard. But most of what he is saying I believe is valid. It really opened my thinking.
My Rating: 4+
Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
He gives his strategy for church planting. He tells how churches must seek to fulfill all five purposes of the church, which are": worship, service, fellowship, evangelism, and discipleship. He believes we must fulfill felt needs first. He is opposed to verse-by-verse exposition because he says it is only for church people. He believes in verse with verse exposition, aka topical preaching. It does, however have some good insight.
My Rating: 3+
Common Sense by Glenn Beck
The Fox News host has rewritten Thomas Paine's manifesto. He believes there is a plot by politicians of all political parties to divide us. He believes that these people only care about their own power. This book includes Common Sense by Thomas Paine. He comes off as a universalist. It is an interesting book.
My Rating: 4
I am normally not a huge fan of Glen Beck becuase he is a little too emotional for me but I have to agree with you on his book. I think that it was a really decent read that had a lot of really good points that I had never thought of. I was plesantly surprised. And it did not come off as extreme one way or another. He was pretty balanced in it.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiousity how do you come up with the rating system? I know in some of the books you explained what you liked and disliked but not all.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you are such an avid reader! hope you pass that along to the kiddos!