Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Academic through the Baker Academic Bloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html . I love Bible study. It is the favorite part of my Christian development and maturity. I always find new insights and revelations of something deep and meaningful. In seminary, I took multiple Bible study courses. So when I was presented with the opportunity to review a resource for Bible study, I jumped at the chance. The Baker Compact Dictionary of Biblical Studies is edited by Tremper Longman III and Mark L. Strauss, two professors in the field of biblical studies at two different universities. The Baker Publishing Group releases many resources for Bible study. This particular book should be considered an "entry level" bo...

I was reluctant to read this book. Many attempts to discuss religion fall into the critique of religion as a hollow faith existence of following rules and human structures. I was worried that Greg Paul may have been falling into that camp. I was pleasantly incorrect. Paul provides a clear, concise, practical examination of what religion is and how it is absolutely vital to the existence of the Christian faith. This book responds to two fronts that are dismantling religion as a vital human experience. The first is the "relationship over religion" argument. This grows out of an expression of faith seeking people. They profess that church conduct is no longer relevant. The structures that are in place have put a stumbling block in the way of people finding authentic faith. What matters more is the pursuit of a relationship with Christ. The other front is the generalized anti-faith argument that religion is source of community unrest and societal problems. This point is rai...

In my previous post, I talked about how great it is to be a comic book fan right now. Part of the reasons was that comic book characters and stories have gone mainstream in media. That means we don't have to read 4 color, paper copy anymore (that is just frosting!). Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice is one example of how mainstream comic characters have become. And it is a testimony to what culture has done to comics. For those uninterested in my long analysis of the movie, allow me to summarize my feelings about it. Dislikes - 1. It is too dark. I am not talking about tone. I am talking about cinematography.  2. I don't care how much Zack Snyder defends the "manslaughter over murder" deaths in the movie, I didn't care for it 3. This is not like a Marvel movie. 4. This is not a DC movie. 5. Not another Batman origin. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!! 6. Perry White. Likes - 1. This movie did not hold my hand as a comic book fan. This was not a, "Hey, lets make...

Day three on the ark. All is dark. It sounds like rain. These critters stink. Spoiler Alert I've been wandering around the internet and found many complaints by Christians leveled against the movie Noah. The chief complaint is that it is not biblical. I can't understand this complaint. Why isn't it biblical? Is it because it includes elements that aren't written into the story? Is ti because it is too fantastic (as in loaded with fantasy images)? Is it because the characters don't do what is wanted or expected? I have already touched on some of these issues in the previous posts. But I want to focus on the biblical nature of this movie in detail. I felt that it is perhaps more biblical than most movies based on biblical narratives. And that is saying a lot considering the number of Bible themed movies that have come out recently. I feel that this movie is more biblical because it not only takes the Noah story seriously, but it also puts the Noah story into t...

The last blog post respected anyone who had not seen the movie. I didn't share anything about the content. ***TO BE WARNED - THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD*** As much as I loved Noah , I did have a few complaints. My first complaint is that this was way more of an action movie than I expected. There were some dramatic fight scenes included and they were, to some, graphically violent. I know that violence is somewhat necessary. Conflict is a critical tool in story telling. And violence seems to be the most visceral way to express conflict. Given the characterizations of "men" in the movie, violence is possibly a necessary way to portray that conflict between "men" and Noah. Don't get me wrong, I like action movies. Die Hard is one of my all time favorite Christmas movies. And I wasn't complaining about the violence in the movie. I just felt that at times, the action movie genre that was employed was a little over the top. It wasn't used just a part o...

Lisa and I decided on a last minute date Friday night. I wasn't sure if I would get to see Noah this weekend. So when the opportunity opened up, I jumped. I also knew that people would want my opinion. I've already posted a few comments on the movie. If you have seen any of those, you know I have a very positive opinion of Noah. I've gone so far to say that it is more of a Christian movie than other films released by Christian distributors. I'll get into the why of that as I go along. One of the reasons I was very interested in seeing this film was the amount of anti-Christian rhetoric that was being leveled against it before it was released. I started hearing the Ultra-conservative opinions being formed against the movie before the media screenings. That means these opinions were being formed before even seeing any of the content in context. But I have to confess, I also had my pre-conceived ideas about the movie. Months ago I saw some early blurbs on some things...

This is a review of Craig Groeschel's new work, Chazown. This book was provided to me at no cost by WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review. Chazown is the Hebrew word that is translated often as "vision". As in, "without vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18)." It doesn't mean the physical ability to see, but the heart's or mind's ability to see. And churches need vision to accomplish mission. There are some basic prerequisites for this book. If you do not believe in God or the work of Jesus Christ as Traditional Christianity defines, then you don't need to read this. This book is not designed for pew-squatters who prefer to define church by which pew is theirs or if the preacher lets them out on time. It shouldn't be read by anyone who wants to just take the church for granted, believing that church exists for their benefit or what they can get out of it. This book is for believers who seriously feel called to do somethi...

I received an advance reading copy of Ron Carpenter, Jr.'s book, The Necessity of an Enemy, from WaterBrook Multnomah. I found this book through the regular mailings that pastors receive from Pastor Resources Magazine. What is an enemy and how do they apply in the Christian life? That is at the heart of this book. Enemies are not basic, minor annoyances of life. For Carpenter, enemies are the events/persons/choice we make that could potentially derail the journey of faith. Carpenter shares experiences from his own ministry of major events that could have ended his ministry, marriage, family unity, and even his life. The title implies that the true enemies that we encounter in life are part of the process of developing Godly, Christ-like lives. If there is an enemy present, there is potential to grow. But giving into an enemy is very easy. Therefore we need to protect ourselves. We definitely live in an age where dealing with "enemies" needs to be taught in the churc...

This ebook was provided by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. I have to say up front that this was a difficult book to read. Not because of content, but format. It did not work well on my Kindle. The content was easy to read and did press on some deep emotional stumbling block that do stand in the way of developing the Christ following so many desire. I believe that this book is helpful in identifying or defining each of the "enemies" in a more helpful way. And each response or counterpoint is something that the church needs to see more of today. I don't believe this will speak to non-churched individuals. It may speak to those marginally churched individuals who still have a spiritual hunger. It will also work with those in the church who are sincere in working toward true reconciliation. I believe it is a helpful and thought-provoking book for the church.

I'm back from a long summer non-break. I started reading Radical Together by David Platt before the break started and it got lost in the summer activity. I was able to finish it this week and am fulfilling an obligation since I was given a copy of this book free of charge by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. It really isn't a difficult book to read. It was my misfortune to read it when the summer got busy. This is a companion to Radical by the same author. I have not read that book, yet. The sentence that really stuck out to me in the entire book was, "individually and together, we are to selflessly serve a self-centered God." It was a powerful reminder to me to that God does expect us to put God's interests before our own as individuals and as churches. Platt focuses on the corporate in this book more than the individual (thus Radical Together). And I felt he was challenging contemporary churches to pause and refle...

Awakening: A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom Stovall Weems What makes fasting easier? How can you make fasting more effective? Is it necessary? Stovall Weems provides a pattern for bringing people into the discipline of fasting without making it a burden. He also proposes that following a fast can be effective in producing spiritual awakening. And he stresses the necessity of it if you desire a fresher, more passionate relationship with God. Awakening has two parts. The first two thirds of the book is the foundational teaching regarding Weems’ approach to fasting. The last one thirds of the book sets out a pattern for implementing fasting into your life. Early in the book, Weems makes a decent argument for the need of believers to re-emphasize prayer and fasting in our lives. He also makes a passing mention of the role of giving. And he is right on. Believers in the current generations of the church have left the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and giving ...

It is making waves in the talk show circuits. It is on the best sellers list. Wal-Mart has a whole pile of the book. It is a smash hit. Heaven Is For Real tells the story of a little boy, Colton Burpo, who undergoes a serious surgical procedure. While under the anesthetic Colton experiences the wonders of heaven, the very throne room of God. The story is told from Colton's dad's perspective. Todd Burpo is a Wesleyan minister. Colton begins to divulge little pieces of what he experienced long after the surgery. The book tells of the little pieces of Colton's experiences that he shared over the course of a couple of years. This is a sweet book. The innocence Colton portrays makes you want to follow in his dad's footsteps, "Tell me more." It is a very quick read. I got through it in just a few hours. But I can't say that I liked the book. I'm probably too much of a cynic. Maybe I'm ingrained in my own beliefs too much. But as I read through the ...

Who goes to heaven? Who goes to hell? And who gets to choose? These are the questions that Rob Bell sets out to answer. To cut to the chase, Bell believes that God chooses everyone going to heaven. He argues that God is interested in a good story. And a god who allows people to live for approximately 72 years and then potentially spend eternity in hell does not make for a good story. For Bell, God allowing everyone to spend eternity with God makes a better story. And it does. It makes for a good story. And I agree with Bell on a good percentage of what he says early in the book. In general I believe that traditions and opinions of contemporary believers have strayed quite a bit from early beliefs. It is also interesting what biblical gymnastics are employed to argue for beliefs about the afterlife. Bell challenges the comfy armchair pictures and opinions about heaven and hell that we most commonly run into in today's churches. He draws out the many biblical approaches to heav...

I am reviewing Gabe Lyons' *The Next Christians* that I received free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review. I wanted to read this book based on the title. What could the next generation of followers be like that would require this writing? I have watched the Postmodern flash and the emerging movement fade and wondered if this was the next passing claim. The first thing that I noticed is that it is not original in the emotion behind the writing. This is a restoration ideology - "let's get back to how Jesus did it". And Lyons gives a couple of passing references to the earlier moves in church history. But he does not give a full nod to what he sees as an original shift. Church history is marked by a large number of efforts to get back to the original message of the Gospel,the marks of those efforts in the lives of followers, and the impact those followers have on the world. The second thing that I noticed was the categories of chu...

Our household is filled with Disney fandom. So when a new movie comes out, especially an animated film, we are pretty quick to go see it. Wall-E came out this last week. And if you haven't been touched by the Disney propaganda machine, then I will provide a brief plot summary. Wall-E is apparently the last working robot left on Earth to clean up the mess that consumerist Earthlings (Stuff-ans) have made while the Stuff-ans have launched themselves into space aboard a trans-galactic luxury liner. Wall-E scrounges around the urban landscape compacting the leftovers of human civilzation. He encounters the humans when he hitchhikes aboard a probe ship and causes havok among the "civilized" robots and humans. There were a lot of themes followed in this movie. Environmentalism and consumerism were the most obvious with their most catastrophic ends being protrayed. But for me, the real movement of the movie came through in the idea of becoming more than what your "directi...

If you saw the new movie list, you know that the second installment of The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian, came out this last weekend. Seeing as our boys loved The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, we made an opening weekend screening part of our plans. I didn't mess with reading any pre-reviews. I also didn't bother to read the book. The first was probably not a big issue. The second one was a mistake. I should have refreshed my memory of the original story. The foreboding doom of that last statement should not in any way reflect on the movie itself. It was a great movie. The quality of the acting was a little better. The scenery was, of course, beautiful. The story moved along at a good enough pace. And the action. Oh the bloodless violent action. For all the hacking and slashing that happened in the movie, it was truly amazing that bloodshed was kept at a minimum. Unrealistically so. But its a kids movie. Thankfully the blood was at a minimum. You have to realize ...

I picked up a copy of Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Murrow. Like many others in the church, I have noticed the growing absence of men in the church as a whole. Women are taking the majority of leadership positions, leading mission outreach activities, and showing up without their husbands. Murrow began to study the statistics and talk to men and women about this phenomenon. His answer can be summed up as: the church as it is in today's culture is a feminine haven where masculinity is shunned, retrained, or demonized. As I have been reading, I can see places where Murrow's argument is sound. He makes some very good points. And there are some times when I just cringe at what he says. One thing that really almost set me off of the entire book was in saying the men who are active in church are more feminine in characteristics than masculine. Basically he was saying that men who enjoy being in church fit a more feminine stereotype than masculine. And while that may strike...

Okay, I need to explain that quite a bit. There is not a Power Ranger Bible. But there is a new line of Bibles that are related to the Power Rangers. Let's go back a few years. A guy named Walt Disney really changed the way the world looked at cartoons. From Mickey Mouse to Snow White, animated art became a major cultural machine. In Japan, Osamu Tezuka was influenced by Disney and brought those techniques, with a uniquely Japanese flavor, to Japanese reading audiences. This art form, called manga, became a huge cultural medium and remains so today. Manga is also more than just comic strips. They are visual storytelling. This form of story telling easily translated to animated medium. "Cartoons" based on manga art form, called anime, began to be popular in the 1970's. Some of those shows were shown in the U.S. and gained a following here. One of the earliest that I remember was Battle of the Planets. There was also Voltron, Defender of the Universe. This show in par...

I have finished the three books of Philip Pullman. The Golden Compass is the first book in the series. I thought I would chime in with my final thoughts on the book. First, let me say that I decided that I would not go see the movie. After reading the novels, I didn't feel that the I could agree with where the story was going to go. I am sure that the movie is a wonderful cinematic piece. But I chose not to see it. The second and third books develop the story of the main character, Lyra, as she continues on the adventure that was begun in The Golden Compass . The story continues to show the opposition of Free Thinkers versus the Church. Lyra, and her new companion Will, seem to be caught between the two sides. Lyra was raised by the church (although she never fit in) but doesn't want to give over completely to her father's anti-church opinion. Along the journey to find Lyra's father, Will acquires a remarkable knife that enables the wielder to travel between worlds...

This Advent our family is making a conscious effort to spend a little time together each day. It may be a reading a story together, or making Christmas cookies, or coloring our own Christmas cards. Last Friday our activity was going to a movie. This year's holiday offerings are a little slim. I didn't feel comfortable taking our boys to see Fred Clause . And The Golden Compass was a no go for Lisa. So we settled on Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium . No one is giving this movie a good review. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 38% (out of 100% I assume). Most were complaining about that it was too sweet. One of the reviewers even said that people wouldn't stay to the end. I am going to disagree. This is perhaps one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time. No, the acting is not stellar. Dustin Hoffman was a lovable, sort of off-beat character. Natalie Portman is a composer caught between the world of magic and reality. Jason Bateman is firmly entrenched in the real worl...