On this date 453 years ago (Feb 6, 1564), John Calvin preached his last sermon, after being carried to the church because he was too ill to get there any other way. Perhaps it is fitting then that today hard copies of the new edition of Calvin’s sermons on 1 Timothy (updated language and spelling) became …
Archive of posts tagged books
Best Reads of 2016
Each year I keep a list of the books I read all the way through, typically with brief notes, as a way of tracking my thoughts and a way to look back on each year and see some of what influenced me. So, in this post I have drawn from that list some of the …
New Commentary by Grant Osborne
While at ETS I was able to pick up a copy of this new commentary– the initial volume of a new commentary series- by Grant Osborne. Grant was my supervisor in my masters work so I was delighted to hear that he had started this project- a verse by verse commentary through the NT in …
Winston Churchill on Pastoral Ministry
No, not that Winston Churchill. I’m referring to the American novelist who was quite famous in the early 20th century. I listed his novel, The Inside of the Cup, as one of the most intriguing books I read in 2015. I had hoped to write something more extensive about the book, but as typical I …
The Body Snatcher
While in Scotland recently I picked up a nice older copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s little book, The Body Snatcher. This is really a short story (originally published in 1881) but was published in a little volume as part of Merriam’s Violet Series in 1895. This is a fascinating story which seemed in many ways …
Fun, Fascinating Read from Hal Poe
This past weekend I finished reading the latest book from my friend & colleague, Hal Poe. Total Commitment: A Memoir of God and Politics When South Carolina Elected a Republican Governor is a fascinating read on so many levels. If you know Hal, then hearing that he has published his memoirs from his days in politics …
Go Set a Watchman
My first completed book of the year is Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman. Despite all the criticism of the book, I thought it was superb. They say it was a draft. May I be so blessed as to write such drafts! If Lee announced she had a forthcoming volume of scrap stories about Jean …
Remembering Those Who Taught Me
2015 was marked by the death of three teachers who have had significant impact on my life. First, on June 10, Dr. Louise Bentley died. Dr. Bentley taught me Arts in Western Civilization and has ever since been a model to me for what a teacher ought to be- love of the subject matter, love …
Protection from the Pastorals
The recently published Fortress Commentary on the Bible: New Testament contains 22 pages of commentary, written by Deborah Krause, devoted to each of the Pastoral Epistles. With Fortress one expects a more critical direction from the commentary. The introduction to the whole volume makes this explicit with its endorsement of feminist, liberation and queer interpretation. …
Great Deal on a Great Book
I saw this morning that Peter Hitchens’ book, The Rage Against God, is available on Kindle for $1.99 for a limited time. This is such a powerful, beautiful book on so many levels, and I fear many people have missed this book because they didn’t realize what it is. The marketers promoted it as a …