July Book Recap
July is not yet done. But I won't be producing any more book reviews this month. So here was my month of reviews. A couple Bibles, a couple theology books and a whole lot of page turning.
China's Reforming Church
This book is/was outstanding. The second of two books about the church and its doctrine I found this one exciting and intimately focused. One must be Reformed to truly appreciate the book. However, one does learn a lot about China and its attitude to the West. America Christians should read this simply to get their facts straight about the church in China.
Reading Theologically
This is the book that broke my neck. I just kept nodding my head over and over again. I am a home grown theologian. I have made an effort to read people I disagree with and that includes people I would certainly deem "heretical." This has slowly taught me a lot about how to read. I could have learned 80% of these skills simply by reading this book. It was "below me" but its value spills over on each and every page.
Truth Matters
This book was very good. That's why I gave my copy away. This book is meant for highschoolers. I have a feeling many older church members need to buy it, read it and then give it to a youth in their church. I'll let you go do that now. :-)
Surprised by Scripture
This book is an excellent introduction to N.T. Wright and some of his challenging expositions on the Scriptures. These essays don't touch on justification or the new perspective on Paul. They do cover many relevant social issues. Fans of Wright have probably read his view on these subject already. But it makes a great starter book.
Evangelism
I barely even promoted my review of this book. Theologically I just couldn't disagree more with the author. I agree with many of the practical concerns and challenges but this book is loaded with plentiful examples of forced exegesis for the new monasticism: evangelism. I normally am all about Crossway and IXMarks. But this one hits the point where our theologies diverge the most.
Calvin
This is the book to buy this month. There are a lot of good books this month but this is the one that touches deeply on theology, practical living and false depictions of John Calvin. This is the book to get. Seriously. Now.
ESV ValueThin Bible
The first of my busy Bible period (I reviewed one last month and have another on the way). This review was short and practical. There are no features to the Bible. Just affordability and good looks. Yeah the pages are "paper thin" but I love everything about this Bible.
NIV Essentials Study Bible
This is the one study Bible to rule them all. It is really, really good. I think it has excellent balance and wonderful information. It's not from a specific theological view. You wouldn't get inundated by Dispensationalism, Covenant Theology, etc. but you will hear about the viewpoints as well as some rounded conclusions. I'm not a big fan of study Bibles at this point but this is now the Bible I will recommend.
And finally, there was the book review from my wife this month. I keep pushing her to review more:
Practical Theology for Women
It did sound to me that Alsup was a little too charismatic in her views of studying the Bible. Nevertheless, my wife highlights some positives and negatives in this short and practical book for laywomen interested in theology.
