Volume four of the First Series of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (got all that?) includes Augustine’s major writings against the Manichaeans and the Donatists. If you want to familiarize yourself with Augustine and the church fathers, this volume is not the place to start. Don’t get me wrong, as with a lot of Augustine’s writings, there is much solid gold, much that merits more thought, and some that is outright wrong. And yet, although the topics are relevant ones to... Read more
It should come as no surprise to readers of this blog that I love books. (Movies too, but that’s less relevant now.) Which makes it a challenge when something happens to a book. Not in book, though that can be a challenge too. I mean when something happens to the physical object that is a book. Like for example when you’re reading a used copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and every time you turn the page, that page falls out of... Read more
DC Universe has a lot of potential for comic book fans. Read more
Just what is so attractive about Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy that a small-but-steady trickle of Evangelicals are willing to abandon their faith for? In his book In Search of Ancient Roots, Kenneth Stewart explores the reasons former Evangelicals give for their exit from the faith and argues that much of what they are looking for is found within traditional Protestantism, if only we would abandon our obsession with the new and immediate in favor of the faith handed down to... Read more
Growing up, my teen detective series of choice was The Three Investigators rather than The Hardy Boys or their single white female equivalent, Nancy Drew. This wasn’t so much because of an intentional choice on my part as it was because of what was available on the shelf at my local library. So when I pulled the very first volume of the “Nancy Drew Mystery Stories”, The Secret of the Old Clock, off our shelves as part of my effort to get all this... Read more
If you had asked me before reading Sinclair Ferguson’s The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, & Gospel Assurance—Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters whether I lean towards the false doctrine of legalism or the false doctrine of antinomianism, I’d have said “antinomianism” without hesitation. Having read Ferguson’s excellent book, I’d still say “antinomianism”, but with a good deal of hesitation. The Whole Christ has its origins in a book published in the 1640s called The Marrow of Modern Divinity. This earlier book is... Read more
There are lots of things I’m ignorant of, but one field where my ignorance shames me most is that of Baptist history. Which makes Brandon O’Brien’s Demanding Liberty: An Untold Story of American Religious Freedom an interesting introductory read. Overall it is well-written, informative, and, from what I can tell, a good way to get a taste of the Baptist struggle for religious liberty in the mid- to late-1700s. O’Brien focuses (rightly) on the life and writings of Isaac Backus and... Read more
A day in the life of a group of working-class women brings a light touch to important issues like sexism, sisterhood and the struggle to raise a family. Read more
Kuyper mania is sweeping the nation! Okay, not really. But at least in obscure corners of Evangelicaldom, including my desk in rural Missouri, people are excited to see the writings of Abraham Kuyper being translated into English. Although expensive, these volumes are surely going to be essential reading for any Christian who wants to think carefully about the relationship between church and the culture. Which means those who have long been interested in Kuyper have found their moment. We’ve seen... Read more
A Review of "Made for Friendship" by Drew Hunter Read more
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