Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Tyndale Biography

 
    The book is "Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice" by David Teems.
     If you can have only one book on Tyndale in your library, this may be the one. The author , David Teems, shows some love for the period that Tyndale lived in. He also shows a deep interest in the Reformation and how it came to England.
    Tyndale was a contemporary of Martin Luther (Not the civil rights guy) and  Henry VIII also with Thomas More and Shakespeare.
    It was Tyndale who brought the Scriptures into England and translated the Scripture into that mother tongue. He had to do it in secret because the Roman church was so strong in those days; they controled the scripture. No one was allowed to touch it except for the priests.
    It was Tyndale who gave us the flowing pace of the scripture passages we know and love and memorize today.. And he did it from the Greek. He didn"t have any other translations to build upon. Yes, Wycliffe had a translation. But that was from the Latin text and in middle English. Tyndale gives us a modern English translation.
     Today we can look back at the translation we have. All this is welcome to Tyndale.
     The attempts Sir Thomas More, the lap dog of HenryVIII, used to discredit Tytndale are mentioned here also.
      It wasn"t easy bringing out a English translation in those days. Tydale can even be credited with bringing the reformation to England. Germany had Luther. Geneva had Calvin. But England had Tyndale.
      I recommend this book highly for an easy to read and flowing story.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Coming Revolution by Dr.Richard G. Lee

The Coming Revolution          This is a call to action. We have allowed government control over our lives for too long  In this 232 page book  Dr. Richard G. Lee, founding pastor of First Redeemer Church in metropolitan Atlanta, has set down the need for change. A change not only in our people but a change in how we are governed. This coming revolution is a quiet one but just as important as the one that got us freedom from British rule.
            “Revolutions don’t just happen,” he states in the Introduction, “They happen because of widespread frustration and a history of disappointments, insults, and provocations of many kinds that eventually compel people to respond.”
            In the first four chapters, Dr. Lee gives the story of the founding of our nation and the steps taken to break away from British rule. We were founded on Christian principles,  Dr. Lee contends, as he details the people who came to our shores for religious freedom . A good retelling of history is found here.
            I found this book to be informative and  inspiring. It makes the point that we Americans need to hold our political leaders accountable to us. The seventh and last chapter of the book gives some suggestion of what we can do.
            The change must come in the voting booth. But in order for us to be informed we must have the facts. Dr. Lee presents us with the facts. It is not argumentative or confrontive. It is not subversive. What it presents is a call to wake up and do something about it.
            I would recommend this book as supplemental reading in political science classes.
            I recieved this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com(http://BookSneeze.com)> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Friday, January 20, 2012

The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven K. Scott


             In this expanded edition of the book Steven K. Scott looks at some secrets to success, wealth and happiness that King Solomon left for his son in the book of Proverbs. In sixteen chapters and two hundred sixty five pages the reader is taken on an excursion of what the Richest Man and the wisest man in the world had to say about life.
 Many people today come at you with plans to make riches. Few if any give you any advice for life. Proverbs is the book in the Bible in which King Solomon wrote instructive advise to his son. It is also applicable to our life  today
            In this book Scott makes Solomon his mentor,
            The writing style is friendly and flows. It caused me to consider the Proverbs differently. It held my interest. The information was presented thematically. By that I mean the theme was stated in the subtitle: “Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness.”   Scott succeeded in fulfilling the promise. It was presented in a coherent manner.
            I recommend this book to everyone. Any book using Proverbs as a launch is welcome in my library      
            I received this book for free from Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

True Writer

    If you are for real, if you are a writer, you will write no matter what. You will use notebooks to jot down your ideas.  Don't edit just write.
    Be curious. Ask questions, even if only within yourself. Jot these answers you get down in an idea book or a journal. A common composition book as seen above will do nicely. You will be transferring these notes to your final manuscript shortly.
     Do research. Not everything is known yet by you. But you will soon find out. Have a library card. The library is the best place to do your research. They have the encylopedias, the dictionaries, the books, etc that you will need as the first place to look.
      And write. Write. Write. And someday  I will be reviewing your book here.

  

Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy

     This is an old one but still a good one on procrastination. We all do it to some extent. The copy  right on this small paper back business edition of the book is 2001, 2002.So you can see it is old. Still, I feel the information is applicable today.
      Tracy uses 21 chapters and 113 pages not including the index to present his thesis. If we  do things in order of importance we should be able to control time.  We only have 24 hours in a day. Part of that is spent in making a living. We should learn how to work smart.  A list is the easiest way to keep track of what we need to do.
      He uses the frog as a metaphor for procrastination. We all have a frog to eat. It is the most important thing that needs to get done each day.
      Tracy is a motivational speaker. I don"\'t know if he is still around. But his teaching and words will be around long after he dies.
        As I sat in the library writing this a young man came up to me and told me how impressed he was with the book. He said it changed his life. That is a good recommendation.
        The book is put out by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Real Marriage by Mark & Grace Driscoll

Real Marriage     In 241 pages the Driscoll's attempt to give a marriage advice book. It is a welcome addition to the genre  of  Christian life material. The messsage they are trying to get across is that marriages can be blessed by God when we realize that He was the founder of marriage. There is a whole book in the Bible on the subject. That book is the Song Of Solomon.
     The book, is laid out in three parts. The first part is on marriage. The second part is on sex. The third part, which is the shortest, is on the affects of the marriage union when we reach the last day.
      The book was interesting to me. It was, I feel, a good addition to an area that most Churches are silent about or at the most hush-hush about. I felt the second section on sex was a bit graphic and more than you needed to know. It is for that reason I think it is a book for married people.
      The information was present in a conversational manner. It is done in a respectful tone.
       The authors were able to convey Biblical truth.
        I received this book free of charge from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I expressed were my own.

Monday, January 2, 2012

The Walk by Shaun Alexander

    What are the stages a person goes through in their relationship with God?
    Shaun Alexander in this book suggests five stages.  They are  Unbeliever, Believer, Example, Teacher and Imparter.He states that all go through them if they are striving to be committed to being a hero in God's sight. It has 245 pages.  Within these pages he has 214 of the main story, 12 for discussion, and the rest for an apendex of questions and notes.
    There will be disagreement on the last stage, that of the Imparter. I find it hard to belive that God still needs men to do sign and wonders. I hold that the signs and wonders of the book of Acts was for that time period before the whole scripture was canonized. So that would be one area of critic of this book.
    This is an interesting thesis and written in an easy to comprehend style. If used in a discussion group it will generate much conversation.
     I was given this book for free from WaterBrook Multinomah Publishing Group for this review. All opinions are my own and do not reflect the publisher.