In the Reign of Terror

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In the Reign of Terror, G. A. Henty
(Blackie and Sons, no date), hb., 352 pp.
Ages 7+

This is the first Henty book I ever read myself, and it shaped my positive view of Henty. I have looked forward to being able to read it to my boys, and I was gratified to see they enjoyed it as much as I did when I first read it several years ago. I have commented on some other Henty books here previously and often found myself a bit disappointed, largely because those books failed to live up to this one. In the Reign of Terror is the best Henty book I have read. Unlike With Wolfe in Canada the story flowed well and remained human throughout. It was adventurous and engaging. My boys (ages 11, 9, 7) loved it.

This book provides a good picture of life in the midst of the French Revolution. I wanted my boys to see how this movement differs from the American Revolution- the animosity towards upper class, the revolt against God and enthroning of reason and how that led to unspeakable atrocities in the name of liberty. This book does a good job of that. In that vein it is pretty weighty as the family in the story deals with the execution of most of its members. The violence is not gratuitous but the book is honest.

Harry, the English boy who is the main character, provides a great example of humility, grit, bravery, loyalty, chivalry and perseverance. A French Marquis asked Harry’s father to send over one of his sons to show the Frenchman’s son the hardiness of English boys. There is a great story of Harry rescuing the girls of the family from a wild dog and of Harry and one of the sons on a wolf hunt. Eventually as the revolution continues the characters move to Paris and with the death of the Marquis and his wife, Harry takes on the task of protecting the daughters and leading them to safety in England. The story is told in a very compelling way.

There are many great lessons in the book. There is a good example here not only of masculine bravery but also of feminine bravery and the important support a man draws from a woman who believes in him. This last point is subtle and provided some good foundational conversations with my boys about the importance of a good wife. Choosing a wife is a topic that is far from their minds at the moment, but this story provided an opportunity to plant a few important seeds.

We heartily commend this book.
NOTE: Link at the top is to a more recent reprint edition.

Wise Words

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Wise Words: Family Stories that Bring the Proverbs to Life, by Peter Leithart
(Canon Press), audio, 4 CD’s
Ages 5+

This book is also available in print, but I bought the audio to listen to as we travelled over the holidays. It is excellent and we all enjoyed it greatly. The stories are read well, and Leithart has done an amazing job weaving these stories. He has taken common fairy tale motifs and woven in common elements from biblical stories creating fun stories that illustrate themes from Proverbs. Each story is concluded with a “moral” which cites a specific passage from Proverbs. This moral though only points out one of the many lessons contained in each story. I enjoyed asking my boys if they caught the various allusions to biblical stories, motifs, etc.

I highly recommend this book. It is fun and instructive. My boys begged us to continue listening. It is also a great opportunity to check and develop biblical literacy as you see what biblical allusions your children catch. The book is also a great training in learning to read all sorts of literature (fairy tales in this case) in light of the gospel.

Oxford Press Holiday Sale

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Each year I look forward to the annual holiday sale from Oxford University Press. They regularly have exceptional deals on prominent books. This year the sale is even better because they teamed up with Amazon. See the sale homepage here.
There are not many things in their bible/theology section that I like. They are good for broader reading, which brings back a point I have mentioned before: Pastors need to read broadly.
Some of the categories I particularly like from Oxford are: American history, world history and reference works. Happy reading.

The Coral Island

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The Coral Island, R.M. Ballantyne
(London: The Thames Publishing Company )
Various reprints
Ages 10+

I first discovered Ballantyne while rummaging through old bookshops in Scotland. I could tell his books were adventure stories for boys, and they appeared to be the sort I was looking for (in the vein of other boys adventures from the Victorian era). However, I did not know the author and therefore I did not use my meager funds to buy any of his books. Then one day I searching for information about him on the web, I encountered a modern literary critic discussing Ballantyne. When this critic sought to apologize for Ballantyne’s “Puritanism” I knew I had to give him a try! Eventually I was able to purchase several of his books, and to read a couple.

This volume is the first one I have read to my boys. It starts slowly so their interest was not aroused immediately. This was aggravated by the fact that the wording is often difficult- the phrasing is different and we typically encountered a couple of word each night that I did not know. It is not unusual for us to encounter words the boys may not know. I will either change the word on the fly or stop and explain the word. However, in this book I found myself stumped. Considering this book was extremely popular with boys about 150 years ago, it serves as a critique of our current setting!

Once the book got going, my boys (ages 11, 9, 7) really enjoyed it (my five year old paid some attention). It is a great tale of adventure, suspense, courage, pluck, determination, etc. These were the qualities that endeared the book to me when I originally read it. The boys in the book are stranded on an island and have to provide for themselves. They work hard, innovate, and enjoy and study nature. Eventually when they encounter others they stand for right and risk their lives for an innocent woman. In doing this they explicitly state that their chivalrous actions are simply an outworking of the gospel. The story gives a good basis for encouraging boys to be active, to persevere and to solve problems rather than whining or looking for easy ways out.

Humility is also encouraged by the way the story is told. Typically in such stories the main character is the brave, heroic one. However, in this story, while the main character is a good example, one of the other boys is the strongest and smartest. Thus the narrator is often acknowledging the abilities of another.

In addition Ballantyne is explicit about the importance of the gospel. As the boys encounter pirates and savage natives they see evil up close. In one part, Ralph, the main character is surprised to see that the savage pirate captain is gracious to some missionaries. The dialogue which followed is worth quoting:

“Why, Dick, you must be new to these seas if you don’t know that,” cried another. “The captain cares as much for the Gospel as you do. (an’ that’s precious little), but he knows, and everybody knows, that the only place among the southern islands where a ship can put in and get what she wants in comfort is where the Gospel has been sent to. There are hundreds o’ islands, at this blessed moment, where you might as well jump straight into a shark’s maw as land without a band o’ thirty comrades armed to the teeth to back you.”

“Ay, said a man with a deep scar over his right eye, Dick’s new to the work. But if the captain takes us for a cargo o’ sandal-wood to the Fijis. He’ll get a taste o’ these black gentry in their native condition. For my part, I don’t know and I don’t care what the Gospel does to them, but I know that when any o’ the islands chance to get it, trade goes all smooth and easy; but where they haint got it, Beelzebub himself could hardly desire better company.”

“Well, you ought to be a good judge,” cried another, laughing, “for you’ve never kept any company but the worst all your life!”
“Ralph Rover!” shouted a voice down the hatchway, “captain wants you aft.”
Springing up the ladder, I hastened to the cabin, pondering as I went the strange testimony borne by these men to the effect of the Gospel on savage natures’ testimony which, as it was perfectly disinterested, I had not doubt whatever was strictly true.” (160-161)

Late similar statements are made:

“As for the missionaries, the captain favors them because they are useful to him. The South Sea islanders are such incarnate fiends they are better of[f] being tamed, and the missionaries are the only men who can do it.” (161)

“we find that wherever the savages take up with Christianity they always give over their cannibalism and are safe to be trusted.” (166)

These are great statements about the power of the gospel and the importance of the gospel for the world. Ballantyne is careful not to suggest that only the natives are in need of grace, however. For example, when the boys encounter a native missionary, the missionary does not take it for granted that these boys are converted. Ralph relates:

“[he] exhorted us to consider that our souls were certainly in as great a danger as those of the wretched heathen whom we pitied so much, if we had not already found salvation in Jesus Christ. “Nay, further,” he added, “if such be your unhappy case, you are, in the sight of God, much worse than these savages (forgive me, my young friends for saying so): for they have no knowledge, no light, and do not profess to believe; while you on the contrary, have been brought up in the light of the blessed gospel, and call yourself Christians. These poor savages are indeed the enemies of our Lord; but you, if you be not true believers, are traitors!'” (223)

Chapter 27 also has a touching evangelistic scene as Ralph, the main character, comforts a dying pirate who sees the error of his ways. It is well done because the pirate is sure the gospel promises are not for him, and Ralph tries to explain the gospel calling for him to repent and believe. The portrayal is realistic and thoughtful. It opens the door for good conversations about the gospel with your children.

Ballantyne, a man of his time like of all of us, does at times sound condescending to the people of the South Seas. There are places where I modified his language in reading.

This is a challenging book to read, but it is a good one combining as it does courage and adventure with such a strong missionary impulse.

Note: Vision Forum has begun reprinting Ballantyne’s novels. They have a nicely bound copy of Coral Island.

Work, Worldview and Maturity

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I am quite behind in items I intend to write about here, but the rush of finals and a cracked screen on my laptop are conspiring against me. 🙂

I am almost half way through listening to the audio version of How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life , by Peter Robinson, and it is surprisingly good. Whatever you think about Reagan (I like him), this book is compelling and worthwhile for several reasons. First, the author is honest enough to state that as he came to the White House (getting his first real job by fluke as he says) in his early 20’s he was looking for an older man to serve as a role model. We all need such role models, though sometimes people do not want to admit it. The account of this young man trying to define his life, looking for an embodied example of a “good life” reminds me that there are people all around asking this same question. The author did not tell Reagan he had begun watching him as an example. He just watched, thought and discussed with others. Who is watching us without our knowing? What sort of example are we providing? As pastors we should expect to serve as examples to the church (1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7; my previous post mentioned the sore lack of good examples).

The life lessons mentioned in the book so far are really good ones, typically rooted in a Christian worldview. The discussion about working hard and persevering were particularly good. It made me think this would be a good book to give to young men in keeping with the “Month of Man” address I mentioned previously. Robinson discusses the value of work and how we were made for meaningful work (drawing from his conversations with a theologian friend). This idea is so important and contrasts clearly with the spirit of the age which was illustrated in an email I recently received. The email encouraged me to sign up for a certain service which would make me money. It promised to “help you make the income you want without the stress of a job.” Get all you want without the bother of a job! Work is not only a means to an economic end. It is a worthwhile end in itself.
We need to teach once more the biblical idea of work, and it is encouraging to find this concept in a book like this one.

Importance of Example

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Here is a sad comment from a student. He was discussing his call to ministry and wrote:

“when I felt God calling me to ministry I was truly ignorant about how to live the life, because I can’t say that anybody truly set a good example for me growing up.”

This is far too common. We need for the church to be the church and for pastors to lead well with teaching and example (1 Tim 4:16). This is also a reminder of why we need not just good examples out there somewhere but faithful churches and faithful pastors in every place. May God give us grace to provide examples to the young men coming behind us.

Douglas Bond Books on Sale

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If you have read much on this blog, you will know that we are big fans of Douglas Bond. So, I wanted to pass on the news that there is a Christmas sale going on for his books. These would make great Christmas gifts. By following the label at the bottom of this post you can see our comments on the Bond books we have read.

I have also had the opportunity to read several chapters from the forthcoming sequel to Guns of Thunder in the Faith & Freedom Trilogy, and it looks really good. The story shifts back to Scotland and the rest of the family which remained there. This moving back and forth between continents is helpful in showing what was going on in both places during this time period. Our view of history tends to be isolated, and this helps correct that problem. We will be eagerly awaiting the publication of this volume.

Studying Romans

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Each year in the SBC a certain book of the Bible is chosen to be the focus of the “January Bible Study.” Churches are not required to do this, but it does provide a good way to encourage careful study of various books. This year the study focuses on Romans, and this Saturday I will meet with a group of pastors to study through the book in preparation for them teaching their churches.

I have written a brief article on “The Opportunity of Studying Romans” to encourage pastors and others undertaking this study. Romans has had such a significant impact on the church historically and this brief article traces some of this in the stories of Augustine, Luther and Wesley. Gordon Fee has written, “This letter is arguably the most influential book in Christian history, perhaps in the history of Western civilization.”

May the Lord be pleased to bless these studies going on around the country to the good of His church.