Understanding how the Lordship of Jesus Christ extends to all areas of life.
If you have been hearing about these terms, “Modern” and “Postmodern” but aren’t certain where to begin, The Death of Truth, (Dennis McCallum, General Editor), is a great place to start. The topics are dealt with in a scholarly manner, but are explained in an easy enough manner for the common person to understand. One of the most helpful aspects of the book are the wonderful charts, that give a great visual aid to the comparison of these worldviews.
This book contrasts the worldviews of Modernism against Postmodernism as they apply to:
Health Care, Literature, Education, History, Psychotherapy, Law, Science, and Religion.
If there is a downside to the book, it may be that some of the authors tend to defend Modernism a bit too much in their zeal to show the imbalance of its rebellious progeny: Postmodernism. This shows up the most in the chapters on education and health. In health, the author seems so opposed to any form on alternative medicine that I think he goes a bit far and throws the baby out with the bath water. Not all alternative medical approaches are “new age” or bogus superstition. In education, there is more credence given to the modern approach to education that is warranted. Modernist education wasn’t Biblical either. On a good note though, they do have a great explanation of the views of Multiculturalism and the real relatvisitic motives behind the facade.
With those disclaimers aside, I really think this book is a very useful tool for anyone who wants to understand the culture in which we live. Ideas have origins and destinations. This book does a good job of filling in the gaps between the two.
http://www.xenos.org/ministries/crossroads/dot.htm
Bethany House
Copyright 1996
ISBN #1-5561-724-0
288 pages.
On a scale of 1-5, I’d give this a 4 overall.
How Shall We Know Live? (Restoration: The Reclaiming of Work and Worship)
The late Charles Colson established himself as a pillar of wisdom and insight within the Christian community. The struggles of his fall from grace in the public eye during the Watergate scandal, his subsequent conversion to Christianity, and his ministry through Prison Fellowship, were used by God to conform his heart and worldview to God’s Word.
If Mr. Colson were only able to leave us with one book from his heart, I suspect that How Now Shall We Live? may be the one he would choose. This book is truly a foundational book in terms of dealing with a comprehensive look at the Christian faith. With this book Mr. Colson has placed himself in the ranks of the truly great works from apologists like C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer and Dr. David Noebel’s book, Understanding the Times.
Colson shares that any worldview must address the following questions:
One of the key premises of the book is stated in the introduction: “Evangelism and cultural renewal are both divinely ordained duties. God exercises his sovereignty in two ways: through saving grace and common grace.” Much of the book is dedicated to the practical application of how we can, as Christians, be part of redeeming culture, not merely souls. For those who may feel that this is a misguided approach, and that only the preaching of the gospel is important (we should avoid being involved in social activity), you may be disappointed that Mr. Colson doesn’t really prove this point Biblically, he merely presupposes it based on a long line of Christian thought from Augustine to Aquinas to Calvin, Luther, Kuyper, etc.
While Mr. Colson certainly believes that the Gospel is the only thing that can transform culture, he also believes, probably based in large part on his numerous experiences working in prisons, that there is a practical, human work to do. God has redeemed work (it is not a curse) and humanness. Giving a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus has an eternal reward.
It would be rare to find someone who agrees entirely with Mr. Colson on all points (particularly his alliance with some ecumenical movements), but one thing we hopefully can all agree upon is that he was remarkably redeemed by his Creator, and has put his hand to the plow, laboring unceasingly for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom. This book is perhaps the most comprehensive, start to finish, single book on a Christian worldview on the market today. (Understanding The Times by David Noebel is also in that category.) If you could only give a friend one book to define for them what a Christian worldview is, in a nutshell, this would certainly be one to consider.
The author is careful not to shoot over the heads of those not well-versed in Christian terminology. This book is well-suited for seekers as well as those who are mature Christians. He shares a wonderful bibliography and with the able help of Nancy Pearcey (a staggeringly fabulous thinker in her own right) he adds immensely to the library of Christian worldview resources. This is a book you simply must read.
To quote from the final page of the book, “Christianity is a worldview meant to be lived out in the crucible of a fallen world, and it comes most alive in the relationships in which we grapple to apply if day by day.” Reviewer’s note: Amen!
On a scale of 1-5, I’d give this a 4.5 overall.
Copyright 1999, Tyndale, ISBN: 0-8423-1808-9. 574 pages.
PS: As a postscript to this review, I have received some extra information about the background of this book that is important:
Of the book’s 45 chapters, Nancy Pearcey authored 27 or 28 (a few partial chapters). Harold Fickett, a novelist and fiction writer, authored the 10 chapters consisting of extended stories (see the Acknowledgements at the back of the book). Colson wrote the remaining approximately 7 chapters. So it would be most accurate to say the book represents the ideas and work of 3 authors.
For the sake of not causing confusion for those who read it previously, I will leave my original post intact, however, I apologize for not making this review more accurate to the facts of the situation. I hope I have remedied that.
Israel Wayne is an Author and Conference Speaker who serves the Lord with Wisdom’s Gate Ministries.
The Carpenter’s relationship was an all-American love story, complete with a romantic courtship and marriage, followed by a “happily-ever-after” ending. That is until they were both nearly killed in a dramatic car accident the day before Thanksgiving in 1993. They had only been married for three months. To make a long story short, Krickitt emerged from the accident with no memory of Kim whatsoever. She had lost several years of her memory completely, and had no recollection of ever meeting, let alone marrying, Kim. The book details Krickitt’s struggle to come back from the brink of death, and their desire to maintain a marriage, that no longer held shared memories to help hold it together.
This book would be a great read for anyone who is dealing with head trauma in their family, is experiencing marital conflicts, wants to have a successful marriage, or for anyone who simply loves a good story.
Kim and Krickitt are very honest about their own struggles and failures and I appreciated that their book wasn’t overly simplistic. They demonstrated that life is sometimes hard in the long run and everything doesn’t get neatly solved in a half an hour.
Kim was committed to his wife, even though she didn’t love him anymore, even though she didn’t LIKE him anymore, even though she didn’t even remember him anymore. Krickitt had to learn to trust God to give her love for a man that she no longer knew. Their true story is an inspiration because it shows ordinary, everyday people, being heroic simply be doing the right thing; day after difficult day.
The book was made into a movie that hit the theatres in early 2012. http://www.thevow-movie.com/ I have not seen the movie, but from what I can gather, there is little to no emphasis on their Christian faith reflected in the new film. To hear a bit about the real story, check out this interview:
On a scale of 1-5, I’d give this a 3.75 overall.
224 Pages.
The Vow
(The Kim & Krickitt Carpenter Story)
By Kim & Krickitt Carpenter, with John Perry (and Dana Wilkerson
Copyright 2000 & 2012
Broadman & Holman
ISBN#0-8054-2130-0
ISBN# 978-1-4336-7579-9
By Norman L. Geisler & Frank Turek
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, is a modern-day Christian apologetics classic. I have to place this book in the top ten books written so far on regarding understanding a Christian philosophy of of all of life.
This is a very linear, comprehensive work that seeks to answer the major questions of life and religion. The book begins with Epistemology and the fact that truth can be known. It then moves to Cosmology and addresses the origins of the universe. It addresses the questions of morality, the existence of miracles and the supernatural, the historicity of Jesus Christ and His claims to divinity, the compilation and canonization of the New Testament texts, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and includes some good appendix chapters that address things like “If God, Why Evil?” and “Isn’t That Just Your Interpretation?”
Another outline could be:
To give you an idea of the general acceptance of the overall soundness of this book, it is endorsed by: Ravi Zacharias, Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Phillip E. Johnson, Cal Thomas, William A. Dembski, Hank Hanegraaf, John Ankerberg & J. Buudziszeski.
As with all of the Hovel audiobook titles, the narration is excellent and the quality is superb.
Hovel Audio
ISBN: 978-1-59644-399-0
Copyright, 2006.
www.ChristianAudio.com
Crossway Books
ISBN: 1-58134-561-5
Copyright, 2004.
www.crossway.com
448 pages. On a scale of 1-5, I’d give this a 4.5 overall.
Review by Israel Wayne.
Rescue Me
We all know people who have made a mess of their lives. Sometimes that person is us, and sometimes it’s someone we love. The hard part is knowing what to do. How do you escape an addiction, habitual sin, or character flaw that renders you helpless and hopeless?
Rescue Me: Finding Freedom Through Godly Character by Glenn Meldrum is an excellent resource for people who need to find freedom from themselves. The book of James (chapter 1) tells us that the slippery slope of self-destruction begins with a desire that originates inside of us. We want something. We believe that the object of our desire is good for us (at least in the short-term). Once that desire has conceived, it gives birth. The child that it bears is sin. When sin grows up and matures, it brings forth death.
Jesus came to give us life. Abundant and full LIFE! He provides the means to overcome our own struggles and live a victorious life. In a world of “self-help” books, Rescue Me, stands out. This book correctly identifies us as the problem, not the solution. The solution is found in learning how to tap into the resources that God has made available to us through the Atonement, the Word of God and the Spirit of the Risen Christ.
If you need to break free from habitual sin in your own life, or if you know someone who just can’t seem to overcome their own issues and character flaws, please consider picking up a copy of this important book.
Published by:
Wisdom’s Gate
P.O. Box 374
Covert, MI 49043
1-800-343-1943
http://www.wisgate.com/rescueme.html
I would give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. (Review by Israel Wayne)
