Bonhoeffer (book review)

August 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve always been an admirer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s work, but Eric Metaxas’ sweeping biography has given me a whole new appreciation for this influential theologian.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy takes you behind the scenes that influenced this great man. You will see how his family helped encourage Dietrich to be such a deep thinker. Then you will read how Bonhoeffer’s thinking was sharpened as he challenged the Nazi’s co-opting of the church in Germany, leading him to call pastors back to a biblically-sound foundation.

By perhaps the most compelling storyline is how this pastor could join the band of German citizens who agreed that Adolph Hitler must be assassinated. Although to us now it may seem like an easy decision to make, to those who lived through the events leading up to Word War II, it was an excruciating decision. Eric Metaxas does a masterful job of taking us inside the thinking process that led Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his decision.

And through all of the turmoil swirling around him, Bonhoeffer found time to not only teach young pastors, but to leave behind some timeless teachings in his masterful books.

If you are already familiar with Bonhoeffer’s writings, this biography will give you a whole new appreciation into the man who crafted the books. If you aren’t yet familiar with Bonhoeffer’s books, Bonhoeffer will whet your appetite to know more. Don’t miss out on this one!

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George Washington Carver (book review)

August 9, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I love reading biographies about our most prominent historical figures. A man that looms large at a pivotal time in US history is George Washington Carver, who is wonderfully captured in this biography by John Perry.

This book is a part of a wonderful series from Thomas Nelson called “The Christian Encounters Series.” Carver was a man strong in his Christian faith, and yet he showed it in his gentle lifestyle. As an African American born in the Jim Crow South, Dr. Carver endured his share of discrimination. But he also benefited by his share of helpful folks — both black and white — who treated him with dignity and respect, and opened doors of opportunity for him. Yet whether treated well or treated poorly, he treated everyone the same gracious, gentlemanly way.

Dr. Carver also lived out his Christian faith in his strong work ethic. He was busy learning more about creation and the Creator, and finding ways to show God through his discoveries. Although at times he was offered extraordinarily high salaries to leave Tuskegee Institute, he stayed right where he believed God had placed him.

Dr. Carver never had children of his own, but saw himself has a father to all his students. And those students gladly received his fatherly love and counsel. His Sunday evening Bible studies (which weren’t mandatory) were the best-attended event of the week. Even after graduation, many students maintained a lifelong correspondence with Father Carver.

Dr. Carver was revered as a father, a scientist, and a teacher. His impact on the advancement of science, and his example of hearing God’s whisper in all of His creation, are immeasurable. Regardless of race or age or background, all of us owe a debt of gratitude to this giant of a gentleman scientist.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

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At The Beach…

August 9, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

…doing some more reading! I’m on vacation with my family this week.

For your enjoyment, I’ve posted some book reviews which will post every day this week. All of these books I highly recommend. Hope you enjoy them.

I’ll see you next week.

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Cardinal Virtues of Ladies & Gentlemen

August 8, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

George Washington Carver never married, and never had children of his own. But he saw himself as a father to all of his students at the Tuskegee Institute, and they viewed him the same way.

The graduating class of 1921 presented Dr. Carver with a beautiful fountain pen. He used that pen to write the following note to his children—

As your father, it is needless for me to keep saying, I hope, except for emphasis, that each one of my children will rise to the full height of your possibilities, which means the possession of these eight cardinal virtues which constitutes a lady or gentleman.

1st. Be clean both inside and outside.

2nd. Who neither looks up to the rich or down on the poor.

3rd. Who loses, if need be, without squealing.

4th. Who wins without bragging.

5th. Who is always considerate of women, children, and old people.

6th. Who is too brave to lie.

7th. Who is too generous to cheat.

8th. Who takes his share of the world and lets other people have theirs.

I think we would do very well if we, too, possessed these virtues, and taught them to our children.

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Biblical Psychology (book review)

August 4, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’m not one who’s into psycho-babble, but I do like trying to understand human nature a little better. A great book to help on this learning journey is Oswald Chambers’ Biblical Psychology.

As you might imagine, Chambers has a heavy emphasis on the biblical part. In fact, he makes the case that no one can really know themselves. But we can know God better, and He will reveal our real selves to us. Chambers delves into Scripture to teach how our body, soul, and spirit interact with each other, with outside influences, and with the Spirit of God.

It was an absolutely fascinating book to read. This is one of Oswald Chambers’ longest books, and also one of his most technical books. So be forewarned that you will have to really concentrate and apply yourself to grasp all he discusses, but if you persevere through it, you will be richly rewarded.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Thinking Or Doing

August 4, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Thinking Or Doing

     We perceive Truth by doing the right thing, not by thinking it out.

From Baffled To Fight Better

Oswald Chambers was not anti-thinking; neither am I. But there is a problem when I insist on something making sense to me before I act on it. If God says, “This way,” my first response shouldn’t be, “I’ll think about it.” But it should be, “Yes, I will obey.”

The words of the old hymn ring true:

Trust and obey
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
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21 And Loving It

August 4, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Today Betsy and I celebrate 21 years of  marriage!

It sounds like a long time, but it’s only 1095 weeks. That’s just enough time for my life to have been irrevocably changed for the better, and just enough time to know that we’ve only scratched the surface.

Betsy, I cannot wait to see what the next 1095 weeks are going to bring us!

I love you more and more with each passing day!

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The Spirit War: Learning And Loving (book review)

August 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’m glad that my family shares at least a little bit of my passion for reading. My oldest son reviewed book one of this trilogy (you can read his review by clicking here), and he continues with his review of the second book.

[Guest book review by Harrison Owens]

Learning and Loving is the second book of the Spirit War trilogy by Frenando Quirós. Over his three-part series Quirós explores the life of Jesus. This book focuses on the time period of Jesus’ visit to the temple until His temptation by satan, and His miracle of driving out the demons into the pigs.

For anyone who read my last review you know I thought it was a very good book. With this book I was much less impressed. To begin with the demons have a horrible language problem. There was also some nudity and multiple people are described as being “perfectly possessed.”

Another issue I had with the book was a theological one. In part of this book it is explained that Jesus received His training from monks. When He returns He tells His mother Mary about having an out-of-body experiences with the monks. Also it is very explicitly stated that Jesus is NOT the Son of God and that His power was just given to Him by God. I understand that real life is not like a Sunday School story but I felt that this book just went too far.

I also feel that this book could be very misleading to people who have never heard the story of Jesus. In the preface Quirós writes, “There are scripture footnotes along the way… but this is neither a scholarly nor a formally religious work.” So even though he does claim this as a work of fiction, someone who has never read the Bible could interpret this book the wrong way. So with this many content issues I don’t think I could recommend this book because I don’t feel that God would be happy with us for taking in this much bad content, even if it’s a story about Jesus.

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Work Out

August 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In order to grow muscle, it has to be stretched beyond what we usually use. Muscles don’t grow unless they are worked out.

The same is true for us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. If we only do easy things—if everything is rosy all the time—we’ll never grow. In fact it’s worse than that: if we’re not challenged, we will actually atrophy and shrink back.

So with that in mind, here are some encouraging words for your spiritual work out.

“By affliction God teaches us many precious lessons, which without it we should never learn. By affliction He shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world and makes us long for heaven.” —J.C. Ryle

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. …Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. —Apostle James

“God does not give us overcoming life—He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength.” —Oswald Chambers

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. —Apostle Paul

I pray that you will gain strength in your spiritual work out today.

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Upside (book review)

August 2, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever heard how a TV news producer decides what the lead story will be? Or how a managing editor decides which stories get the front page of the newspaper? It comes down to this: “If it bleeds, it leads.” Sad, but too often true. With all of this negative news leading, Dr. Bradley R.E. Wright’s book Upside: Surprising Good News About the State of Our World is indeed surprisingly good news!

Dr. Wright notes that sociologist Joel Best “classifies the different types of bad statistics as follows: some numbers are bad to begin with; some numbers get bad as they are passed along; and some numbers are chosen because they are bad.” In other words, there’s just a lot of bad news out there!

But despite all of this negative press, people around the world are surprisingly upbeat. That’s because when a sociologist like Dr. Wright gets a hold of all of these statistics, he can put them into the proper perspective. He looks at the data on a variety of topics:

  • Personal finances
  • Education
  • Health
  • Crime and war
  • Marriage and divorce
  • The environment

“The trouble with this country is that there are too many people going about saying ‘the trouble with this country is….’” —Sinclair Lewis

Do bad things happen? Yes. Are there some issues that still need to be addressed? Absolutely. Is the world ready to collapse all around us? It doesn’t appear so. Christians should have the clearest and keenest worldview because it’s a biblical worldview. Dr. Wright does an excellent job of helping the reader find the perspective that is realistic, yet balanced.

Economist professor Julian Simons summarized it this way—

Almost every economic and social change or trend points in the positive direction, as long as we view the matter over a reasonably long period of time. That is, all aspects of material human welfare are improving in the aggregate.

I am a Bethany House book reviewer.

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