Jan 14 2012

Fairy tales and Fantasies are as old as the world

N.D. Wilson in the introduction to Twilight Land by Howard Pyle:

Fairy tales and fantasies are as old as the world. This is an easy thing to forget.  It is easy to see only the stories we tell today – fresh and shiny – and then assume that they came from nowhere, that they have no ancestors, and no narrative parents whatsoever.  But today’s fantasies are built on a rich imaginative heritage, a global heritage.  As long as there has been language, there have been stories.  And as far back as we can trace, those stories have been about dragons and magic and sacrifices, fools and wise men and wizards, fate and luck and love.  What we call realism in storytelling is a relatively new concept.  It is the sapling in the wood surrounded by towering moss-covered giants as old as history, giants grown up out of myths and legends.  Fantasy.

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Jan 13 2012

The King Jesus Gospel by Scot McKnight

I love reading challenging non-fiction books, but I almost always struggle when it comes to posting reviews.  I want to wrestle with the ideas, debate premises and offer conclusions. But all too often I lack either the time or the focus, or both, to do them justice. So I procrastinate and frequently end up doing nothing. Not really a good practice for a book blogger, right?

I mention this because I have been avoiding posting on The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited for this reason for quite some time. I am not sure I can do it justice or engage the real meaty issues it touches on. But the good folks at Net Galley and Zondervan didn’t send me a review copy so I could fret about my self-esteem … So. Some thoguhts below.

First, what is this all about anyway? Publisher synopsis:

Contemporary evangelicals have built a ‘salvation culture’ but not a ‘gospel culture.’ Evangelicals have reduced the gospel to the message of personal salvation. This book makes a plea for us to recover the old gospel as that which is still new and still fresh. The book stands on four arguments: that the gospel is defined by the apostles in 1 Corinthians 15 as the completion of the Story of Israel in the saving Story of Jesus; that the gospel is found in the Four Gospels; that the gospel was preached by Jesus; and that the sermons in the Book of Acts are the best example of gospeling in the New Testament. The King Jesus Gospel ends with practical suggestions about evangelism and about building a gospel culture.

This is a powerful examination of what it means to speak of the Gospel and how our understanding of it impacts our “Gospeling” or evangelism. McKnight argues forcefully that to present a plan of salvation, or soterian, gospel is to miss the larger picture of scripture and God’s plan for the universe.

As noted, there is a lot packed in there and a lot you can, and should, debate.  But for now, a few thoughts … Keep Reading

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Jan 11 2012

Peter Schweizer on Congress, Insider Trading and Sweetheart deals for public officials

UPDATE: Sorry, here is a direct link to the podcast.

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Pejman Yousefzadeh and I are joined by Peter Schweizer to discuss his book Throw Them All Out detailing how politicians get away with insider trading, sleazy land deals and more.

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Jan 10 2012

Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II by Joseph A. Springer

I have been on a World War II history kick lately.  This kick continues with my most recent read – Joseph A. Springer’s Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II.  It is an oral history that follows the USS Franklin(a fleet aircraft carrier) from the laying of its keel in Newport News, Virginia to its battles during World War II.

I normally do not like oral histories because many times they are choppy – the first-hand accounts are not normally interwoven with the narrative very well.  However, this book is the rare exception.  Springer provides an excellent framework of the ship’s history in the narrative.  He then fills in the personal details with the oral history.  Springer’s writing style is light and easy to read.

The most gripping parts of the book are the accounts of the crew’s fight for the Franklin’s survival in one instance (the ship was hit by a kamikaze on October 30, 1944 that caused enough damage to require repairs in the mainland U.S.)  and fighting to contain damage in another (it was hit again on March 18, 1945 by one bomb that caused cataclysmic damage).  The stories are interesting and engaging.  For example, many of the survivors describe  where they were when the bomb hit the ship and how they either left the ship or fought to control the fires raging below the decks.

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By Jeff Grim • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Jan 7 2012

The Singer by Calvin Miller

 

For most who live,
hell is never knowing
who they are.
The Singer knew and
knowing was his torment.

Recalling the popularity of  The Singer: A Classic Retelling of Cosmic Conflict by Calvin Miller when I was younger, and having a vaguely positive recollection of reading and enjoying it as a teenager, when I saw it for a dollar at a library sale I snatched it up.  Seeing it as a quick and potentially inspirational read, I read it read it that same week

It is a rather unique book (the first of a trilogy), a sort of poetic narrative – some poetry, prose – that re-imagines the Gospel in the form of a classical myth or fairy tale of a troubadour compelled to sing the song that points man back to their creator.  His opponent is the World Hater who seeks to keep mankind enslaved and unaware of the song.

And even after all these years, it stands up very well. A little forced in places and certainly “artsy” in a sense but with beautiful and evocative language that re-imagines this timeless story in a way that knocks the dust off and allows us to see it fresh.

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