Nuke's Blog
Periodic ramblings by an old geek…

Wow, has it been another long time between posts, sorry.  Have you accepted that as the "law of the land" around these here parts of the blog-o-sphere?  Can I just stop apologizing about the time between posts now?  Maybe I’ll experiment with shorter, more frequent posts this time around.  Maybe I’ve made that promise before and already failed. :)  Anyway, here are some books I’ve finished reading over the past few months.

 

Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture (Adam S. McHugh)

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I have an admission to make.  I am an introvert.  Yes, I know that’s hard to believe… there aren’t many introverted engineers out there and all. ;)  This book was written for me.  It was written for many in the church, who like me, have been discouraged for years in the face of all the energetic extroverts around us doing everything they possibly can to witness to others, to get up on "stage," to lead study groups, volunteer for anything and everything, etc.  (Ok, maybe my real problem is being a lazy person!)  The author is an introverted pastor who points out how we actually get sick or physically beat down from spending too much time in large groups of people.  He has good advice for us to get over those barriers we have around us, as well as for those extroverts out there to perhaps understand how we work just a little bit more.  There are so many examples and explanations throughout the book that I simply can’t list them all, so I will instead suggest you check it out for yourself.  After that, maybe you will understand just a bit why I’m not so talkative in public, and sort of "hide" behind this blog. ;)

 

The Façade (Michael S. Heiser)

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This fiction book, by one of the lead Biblical scholars working for Logos Bible Software, has put to words many of my thoughts related to end times and the schemes of Satan against God.  It’s a bit rough around the edges, but this isn’t meant to be your typical mainstream fictional story.  The book is based on Heiser’s own Biblical research, which is interesting to follow as the book progresses.  The great thing for me about the book was that it helped me further envision something I had recently considered briefly in a previous post, namely that the great lie of 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 would be linked to aliens.  That may still strike you as off-your-rocker-territory stuff, but come back to me after you read through this one.  You can even get if for $0.99 right now at Logos’ new Vyrso eBook website.  It’s a quick read, so what are you waiting for?  I’m interested to hear what you think.

 

Letters between a Catholic and an Evangelical (Fr. John R. Waiss, James G. McCarthy)

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I would suggest anyone who doesn’t understand the differences between Catholic and Protestant believers, yet has a slight desire to look into them more, to check this book out.  The "larger" differences are dealt with, as well as perhaps some of the more subtle differences.  Yet, we also find how much commonality there is between beliefs.  This works itself out through several back-and-forth letters between these two gentleman, which leads to interesting dialogue.  Though, in the end, neither one convinces each other to change, which I’ve seen enough in "real life" to recognize that’s probably the way things will continue to be anyway.  Good food for thought, and you’ll get plenty of Scripture to consider if you spend the time to dig into their dialogue by following their references.

 

The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Josh McDowell)

Evidence for Christianity (Josh McDowell)

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It turns out the "New" book was published seven years before the second one.  The description in Evidence for Christianity‘s preface goes into much detail, but basically it is a condensed version of the other.  After making my way through both, I’m not sure you gain much with the shorter version, as it is still a good 700+ pages!  I really hovered between 3 and 4 stars for these two books by Josh.  They are jam-packed full of answers to many of the skeptics’ questions on Biblical reliability, the resurrection, etc.  The format is a bit difficult to get used to, however, since these are published in a similar manner to lecture note outlines.  You do get used to it, but it’s just not a simple read through the book.  You would be best off to scour the table of contents for a question you have and go from there.  The major reason I was thinking 3 stars is that I guess I don’t see that someone can completely convince themself from "facts" and "evidence" that Christianity is true.  Scripture seems to say quite often that our ability to believe is God’s work.  Can this book perhaps lead them to consider Christ when they wouldn’t have before… make them more "open?"  It doesn’t seem to jive with what I read in the Bible.  Now, can it bolster a believer’s faith, giving them more confidence that the evidence aligns with their belief?  Perhaps, but I think we all have to remember Paul’s words in his letter to the Corinthians.

          1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

          2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

          “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

          10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

          14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:26–2:16 (ESV)

 

I Am Number Four (Pittacus Lore)

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So… I’m going to cop out a bit on this one and let you jump over to Jake’s review on his blog post last year.  This was a fun book, and I can’t wait to read the next one in the line, which Jake reviewed just last week.  The movie version of the first book is number two in my again-active Netflix queue, so I’ll be interested to see how it holds up (unfortunately, I see it was pretty trashed on Rotten Tomatoes… here’s to having low expectations going in).

 

Grace: God’s Unmerited Favor (Charles Spurgeon)

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Given Spurgeon’s notoriety in the Christian world, I suppose I’m surprised it took me this long to get around to reading something he wrote.  This was very short, but packed with good material.  He lays out a very good argument for the grace of God being behind our salvation, rather than our works.  Though, in hindsight, it seems to me someone should spend quality time in Romans and Galatians if they still don’t get it.  But, if you’ve read the epistles and still don’t follow, this would be a great little book to dig into.

 

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (John Piper)

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Did anyone else notice I rated everything four stars prior to this one?  Piper’s latest book just stuck out like a sore thumb when I got to "thinking" about it in comparison to the others.  This just wasn’t as good as his other books I have read.  Maybe I just don’t get exactly what he’s arguing for in the book, and perhaps need to read it again.  The basic idea seems to be almost similar to a couple statements I made above related to McDowell’s books… namely, we Christians are maybe afraid to think to much about the foolish beliefs we have, but shouldn’t fear it.  If you don’t get what I said there, I’m not really trying to explain it anyway.  I’m just trying to give you the same feeling I had when I finished the book.

 

The Leviathan: The Nation Testifies (Steve Box)

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Wow, was this book interesting.  Don’t let the rating throw you off too much, this was a quick and enlightening read.  The author could certainly use an editor, but I don’t think the book would have quite the impact it would if someone cleaned it up.  This is authentic testimony from someone who spent way too much time in the world of drugs, especially meth.  He lays out some seemingly solid evidence that meth has ties to occult practices and the demon world.  Ever look at an ingredients list and/or instructions for creating meth?  Well, me neither, but what he notes in the book is a bit shocking.  I understand he goes into much more detail on the topic in one of his other books.  If you have teenagers, I think this would be perfect material to get them to read.  It will scare the bejeebers out of them (I hope).  And, if you don’t believe there is a demon world out there, I’ll leave you with one last piece of Scripture.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:10–12 (ESV)

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