I figured because I'm a college grad and can read and comprehend some of the old dead guy Reformers in old English, that I could grasp the logic of this book and gain some real insight. But in the end, I must say that this book was painful, tedious, and plain old boring. Unless you have a PHD like the author or naturally love logic, I would guess that you will not enjoy this book. The author does not bring his concepts down to an easy-to-grasp level. Reading slowly and carefully, I was able to follow the author's logic, but the subject matter and ideas were so dry, who would want to read this? The back of the book doesn't quite portray what the book is like. It gives us interesting topics that sound promising: be able to logically state your beliefs when up against athiests and the ability to logically see that Christianity is more logical than athiesm. But instead, the book starts out dry, slow to anything interesting. If you aren't already good at logic, you will go "okay" "okay" "okay" but unless you do a lot of studying, you will not be able to use these concepts in real life. The book is beneficial, if you can get through it and grasp the concepts, so I give it 3 stars. Rather than this book, I would recommend the DVD "The Truth Project" which does an even better job explaining logically to a lay person how a Christian worldview actually makes much much more sense than an athiest view. If you do read this book, I would recommend you skip directly to chapter 4 unless you want to know:
The Introduction is focused on athiests like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens and their bashing of Christianity. "Dawkins thinks that a religious upbringing is worse than most forms of child abuse." Stokes explains that athiests declared religion dead, but then Christians started using logic to demonstrate that religion is not irrational, and so God made a comeback.
Chapter 1 is about "evidentialism [the] require[ment] that all beliefs be supported by evidence". As I was reading this, I was agreeing that evidentialism is true. We use logic and evidence to support our beliefs. But the author surprised me by stating that it is false. This chapter was okay to read.
Chatper 2 is explaining why evidentialism is false. Why? Because once you give some evidence, you must give evidence for THAT evidence and evidence for THAT evidence, endlessly into infinity. So the alternative to evidentialism is either to cut the requirement for evidence short (which most of us logically allow) or to create a circular argument. This chapter was painful and boring to read.
Chapter 3 focuses more on pointing out why those who hold evidentialism are illogical and wrong. Very boring chapter. Painful to read.
The rest of the book picks up a little more but I still did not enjoy the author's writing style. He argues that athiests demand a logical argument/reason to believe in God. However, using reasonable arguments to "prove God" would negate taking God on "faith". If we know something 100%, we don't need to use faith to believe. We believe through reason. To believe on faith, there must be some belief that is not tied to proof. Stokes does warn readers not to take faith too far into unreasonable, illogical conclusions - God is not the author of confusion.
By the end, Stokes does address all those questions that you and I want to know from the back of the book and more. He addresses Darwin/evolution, the argument for intelligent design, how God and science fit together logically, and Stokes even addresses the subject of evil. I enjoyed learning that non-Christian scientists don't have any logical answers and was shocked by some of their claims that don't hold to any sort of logic at all. Although I am glad I read this book, I would not recommend it to the average reader. Instead, I would highly recommend the much easier, much more comprehensive (much more expensive) DVD called "The Truth Project." The Truth Project is worldview changing and something all Christians should watch.
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
1 Star: Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones
I thought this was going to be the greatest bible book for children on earth. I bought it to read to my nephew and niece because it is so important to me that they grow up knowing and loving God. I thought the author might be related to the famous Martin Lloyd Jones and I saw this book recommended from a Reformed Booksite, so I loved this book before I even read it. But once I read it, I was completely floored by its teachings. It is probably the biggest disappointment of any book I've ever read. It's completely the opposite of what I expected.
#1 or #2 goal of most Christian parents = saved Christian kids. This book works against this goal. Before you read my review, understand why I disagree with this book and believe it destroys the holiness of God and leads our children towards a worldly unsaved life, rather than a strong conviction of who God is and who man is - a sinner in need of Christ. I believe God is INFINITELY powerful, glorious, intelligent, all-knowing and sovereign. Nothing can happen that could defeat God, or He would not be God. He would then only be "a god", but the thing that beat him or defeated Him would also be "a god" if it could outsmart an infinite god. You would have God and Satan as two equal gods, which is not Christianity, it is called Dualism. For God to really be God, He must always get His way 100% of the time. After all, if he is INFINITELY superior to all creation, nothing could ever beat Him, outsmart Him, or make God come up with a Plan B. God NEVER had a Plan B. Everything that happens is in His Plan A.
We all want our children to be saved, right? How do we get saved? Humans must come to realize their need for God, or we will always seek satisfaction in the world. Until we finally realize how utterly unworthy we are, how lost in sin we are, and how much we can't ever stop sinning on our own, we will never need God. When we finally die to ourselves, giving up our self-righteous deeds and efforts toearn our way into heaven, we will fall broken and humble. This is when we can fall on our knees and turn to God and He will change us. If we love the world and ourselves more than God, we will never turn to Him. So, when we read a book to our kids, we need to make sure the book is not "puffing up the child's self-will, self-esteem, and pride" but instead painting a great, grand picture of how holy God is and how undeserving we are. It is this view that will lead our children to see the need for God and lead them to rely on Him for salvation.
This book destroys God from being infinitely holy and worthy of our worship and adoration. This book also destroys our view that we are unworthy, but instead makes children feel like we are holding all the cards and it is this weak, pathetic, wimpering god that is begging us to love him back. Few of our children will ever find Christ with this perspective. Read below my direct quotes from this book and see my explainations as to why these claims aren't true.
- Pg 1 First sentence "God wrote "I love you" - he wrote it in the sky, and on the earth, and under the sea." *****PROBLEM: The author immediately paints a picture that God loves "you" and is telling this to all people through creation. Who are the "you"? ALL CHILDREN. ALL PEOPLE. What about the unbelieving ones? This book says God loves those too! What about the sinning ones? The murdering ones? The evil ones? Well, this book just gives us a blanket statement "God loves you" whoever you are, regardless of who you are, despite who you are. Now, technically, I believe this is true. BUT the problem is that God can say "I love you" to the believers who go to heaven. But God can also say "I love you" to the believers who go to hell. But God's loving you isn't what keeps you out of hell or gets you to heaven. But to achild (and even most of us adults), this statement implies that because God loves you "you will go to heaven." But that's not the truth. This sentence is the theme of this entire book and it is completely misleading. Did Jesus EVER tell the unbelievers "God loves you?" No. That's because, although it may be true, it's not going to get anyone to realize their need of a savior.
- 2 "Some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done."
- 4 "The Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of hereoes. The Bible is most of all a Story." *****PROBLEM: Suddenly, the author destroyed the real purpose of the Bible and turned it into a big story. Unfortunately, this "the Bible is just a story" like has become a very popular claim of non-Christians to destroy the authority of the Bible. If the Bible is a story, it loses it's application purposes and we aren't as obligated to take it so seriously anymore. It's just a guide, after all. It's just like all my other story books. Many of the top athiests use this argument.
- 4 "All the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them." *****PROBLEM: Again, this makes God weak and needy of our human love. We need to teach our children about the holiness of God. The awesomeness! The grandness! God isn't just INFINITELY PERFECT, He's infinitely, infinitely, infinitely perfect! He isn't just good. He's good plus more good, plus the greatest good that could ever be conceived and then even 10 times greater than that! And then 1000 times that! Then a trillion times that! God is SOOOO BEYOND even the word "Good"! It is only through holding God up as an awesome, amazing, powerful, all wise God, that humans will begin to worship Him. Why would we worship a weak God? We worship what is WORTHY OF WORSHIP. The reason we don't worship God or worship Him poorly is because we don't see God as ALL THAT GREAT. Try taking the best most holy character traits and magnifying them as 10 times your best image of them. Then multiply that times 1 million times that! You can't even conceive it! But if we can see the grandest view of God, our worship will be true and natural. This is what our kids need. A holy, lofty infinitely glorious view of God.
- 5 "And at the center of the Story, there is a baby." "This is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend." *****PROBLEM: Author lowered God to a fussy baby. Weak, powerless infant. He was only a baby for a year or two! If God wanted us to elevate a baby, the Bible would have been written as 27 books on the baby Jesus. No, the Bible was written about THE MAN Jesus! A full grown, powerful, glorious man with the fullness of God inside him. Now that is awesome! Not a weak helpless baby.
Then it switches to the Genesis story:
- 6 "In the Beginning, there was nothing. Only emptiness. And darkness. And... nothing but nothing. But God was there." *****PROBLEM: The author writes that there was nothing. Oh, but then tacks on at the end "I forgot to mention God happened to be there." No! This causes damage to God. It should be "God was ALL THERE WAS! The earth was not yet. There was nothing there! It should not be "Nothing was all there was. Oh, but God on the side." The author is putting God inside the box of creation. The author puts God inside the darkness, inside the physical universe, as if God lived on a planet or something. No, God is spirit and outside of time, earth, and the physical world. The creator is greater than the creation! The creation should not come first.
- 6 Like a mommy bird flutters her wings over her eggs to help her babies hatch, God hovered over the deep, silent darkness. He was making life happen." *****PROBLEM: Huh? Comparing God to a bird. That's insulting. A mother bird warms and shields her eggs under her wings. God was not "warming and shielding" the deep under a wing. He was creating!
- 7 "God said, "Hello light!" and light shone into the darkness. "You're good," God said." *****PROBLEM: Notice God did not create the light? He said "hi" to the light. The author has removed God as the creator. Now he's just an observer. Notice that God no longer declares or pronounces or makes this creation good, but observes it is good.
- 7-8 "The God said, "Hello sea! Hello sky!" "Hello land!" "Hello trees!" "Hello grass and flowers!" "Hello stars! Hello sun! Hello moon!" *****PROBLEM: The author removed the creation days, allowing for the possibility of an evolutionary millions of years. And again, God is no longer the creator but just the observer, noticing these things.
- 10 "God saw all that he had made and he loved them." *****PROBLEM: Now, finally, the author acknowledges that God made these things. But his glory and name has already been reduced because the credit for the creation was taken away from him in all the prior pages. This final summary is tacked on at the end but its weight is not at all similar to "God created the earth." "God created the animals." It's more like "God said hi to the animals. Then at the end, "Oh, God made them." The impact is not at all the same.
- 10 "He would make people to share his Forever Happiness." "Forever Happiness?" What's that? Heaven on earth? Life with Christ/God? But not everyone is going to share His "Forever Happiness". What about those who end up in eternal torment? "He would make people" but apparently not ALL people "share his Forever Happiness".
- 11 "So God breathed life into Adam and Eve." *****PROBLEM: Notice again, the author did not say that God created them. Adam being created from the earth is removed. Eve being created from Adam is removed.
- 11 "And when God saw them he was like a new daddy, "You look like me!" he said. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever made!" *****PROBLEM: Again, the author is praising man for man's greatness! We need to be praising God, not man. We need to get off our egos, our pride, our selfishness, our self-esteem, self-worth and be God-centered, God-focused, God-esteeming!
On to the story of the fall:
- 13 "God had a horrible enemy. His name was Satan." *****PROBLEM: The author paints Satan as "God's enemy" or as a co-equal god. This is Dualism, not Christianity. In reality, God is an infinitely powerful God and Satan is just like an ant under God's shoe. God created Satan. Any moment He wanted, God could go "poof!" and Satan would be destroyed. Satan is no match for God. But this sentence makes Satan seem powerful.
- 13 "Satan was seething in anger and looking for a way to hurt God. He wanted to stop God's plan, stop this love story, right there. So he disguised himself as a snake and waited in the garden." *****PROBLEM: This sentence sets it up in the readers mind that Satan CAN hurt God. That Satan CAN stop God's plan and make God go find a Plan B. But this is false. Even Satan's plans and attempts to ruin things for God STILL fit into God's Plan A. God never has to go to a Plan B. This was God's plan all along - to include Satan and all Satan and man's sinfulness in the redemption story of Jesus Christ.
- 14 "As soon as the snake saw his chance, he slithered silently up to Eve, "Does God really love you?" the serpent whispered. "If he does, why won't he let you eat the nice, juicy, delicious fruit? Poor you, perhaps God doesn't want you to be happy." *****PROBLEM: Again, the author turns the fall into a question of God's love for man. The fall was NEVER about whether or not God loved man. It was about whether or not man would OBEY God and worship God and LOVE God back. God has always loved man and taken care of man. It is man (just like Satan), who rejected God and fell in his own desire to take God's place on the throne. Man wanted to make his own choices and be his own god. The author misses the entire point of Christianity and the entire need for salvation! God is not saving us BY PROVING HE LOVES US and convincing us that He loves us. No! That's not Christianity at all. That's man's false Christianity that allows man to stay on the throne! In fact, it makes God the weaker being in need of man's love so much that God must grovel for man's love. And man, being the powerful god, in man's mercy of God, will believe God and accept God. But Christianity is about God accepting a fallen man! It's not the story of man accepting God, even though we in our feeble minds sometimes thing the world revolves around us. We need God! God doesn't need us. God loves us whether we go to heaven or hell. Doesn't matter. The question of "does God love me" was never ever ever the issue. It's "Will man obey God and love God." Jesus NEVER begged anyone to believe that Christ loved them. He told them that THEY are to "Love God with all your mind and heart"
- 14 "Does God love me, Eve wondered. Suddenly she didn't know anymore." *****PROBLEM: This is NOT why Adam and Eve fell. They both knew God loved them. Firstly, the Bible teaches us that Eve was tricked. Adam, knowing 100% better, chose to DISOBEY God. Man thought he was wiser than God and wanted to take His throne or place. Man fell out of disobedience, not out of doubting love. Man fell out of pride, saying to himself "I am smarter and superior than God." It is the same reason Satan fell. Pride! This book encourages pride in children! It elevates man and lowers God in nearly every single sentence!
- 14 "And a terrible lie came into the world. It would never leave. It would live on in every human heart, whispering to every one of God's children: "God doesn't love me." *****PROBLEM: This is not the lie. The lie was "Man could eat the apple and be wiser than God! That God was wrong about the apple!" The lie isn't that God doesn't love man. The lie is that man doesn't need God!!!
- 17 "A terrible pain came into God's heart." "He knew everthing else would break. God's creation would start to unravel, and come undone, and go wrong. From now on everything would die - even though it was all supposed to last forever." *****PROBLEM: The author just painted the picture that things in the world happened against God's will and wishes and power. God was powerless to stop them. They crumbled around Him. It weakens the human's perception of God. Suddenly, God is not all-powerful, all-wise. He got tricked. His purposes were ruined by Satan and man! This is completely false. If we read the NT, we will see that the redemption story was planned from all eternity. This is why Jesus Christ is the ETERNAL son of God. He didn't just become the son of God to plop down on earth, take on a human body, then go back up and mold back into God. Ephesians 1:4 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Acts 4:27-28 "this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." Ac 2:23 "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men." 1 Pe 1:20 "He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you" Luke 22:22, Acts 13:27-33, and more.
- 20 "God loved his children too much to let the story end there. Even though he knew he would suffer, God had a plan - a magnificent dream. One day, he would get his children back." *****PROBLEM: God would get his children back. Which children? Not all the children will believe, so either God didn't do a very good job getting his children back (a weak view of God) or God never mean to get all them back. The truth is that not all will be saved and so God never planned from the foundation of the earth that all would be saved. If he had planned for all to be saved, all he had to do was go "poof" to Satan and no one would have fallen in the first place. The redemption story was planned from the beginning and so was the means through Satan and man's fall. But this sentence makes it seem like God couldn't do what he planned to do. When the truth is that God DID and IS doing exactly what He wanted all along. The error was in man's assuming he knew God's plan. So we think God made an error. God never made an error. God always had this ONE plan from the beginning. If God didn't want this, He had the power to change it at any time.
- 20 "You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children - with a Never Stopping, Never Give Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love." *****PROBLEM: What about the ones that go to eternal torment? Again, this makes children believe in Universalism - the belief that ALL people will be saved. This is not what is taught in the Bible.
On to the New Testament:
- "It had taken centuries for God's people to be ready, but now the time had almost come..." *****PROBLEM: This is the false teaching that God had to wait for man to be ready to receive Jesus Christ. This is a prevelant teaching among today's tv evangelists of the Word Faith cult. It makes God dependent upon man. "God needs man to allow God to work in the world" is the false teaching. This sentence supports that teaching. And so does the two beginning sentences on the following page: "EVERYTHING WAS READY. The moment God had been waiting for was here at last!" Yes, it was in all caps! It teaches children falsely that God had to wait until this time due to man not being ready. The truth was God planned this time all along and ordained everything to be just as it was. God is in control. He isn't dependent upon man.
- "There was a young girl who was engaged to a man" PROBLEM: "A girl" not a "young woman" is matched to "a man". The implication is not good.
- "This girl was minding her own business when suddenly a great warrior of light appeared - right there in her bedroom." PROBLEM: Yikes! Angels appearing in a girls bedroom is not a good picture. Today, it is a very very prevelant claim of several Pentecostal authors, Course In Miracles teachers, alien abductees, and pagan spiritualists that "beings of light come into a person's bedroom" and these beings go by names like "Jesus" "Michael" "Seth" "George" or aliens. These are demons and not Jesus Christ or angels! This sentence leaves room for this teaching. In the Bible in Luke chapter 1, it says that an angel came to see Mary but NOTHING is said about it being in her bedroom or even where this meeting took place.
- "So [God] pulled out all the stops. He'd sent an angel to tell Mary the good news. He'd put a special star in the sky to show where his boy was." PROBLEM: Not true. Nowhere in the Bible does God tell Mary about the star. The first mention of the start is when the wisemen see it and this is when Jesus is declared "a child" and no longer "a baby". It is assumed Jesus was about 2 years old at this time.
- [This book also teaches incorrectly that there were THREE wisemen (the Bible doesn't tell how many there were)
- "The three Wise Men (actually, if you'd met them, you'd have thought they were kings because they were so rich and clever and important looking) set off." PROBLEM: The Bible never says any of this.
The book has a chapter called "How to pray":
- "In those days there were some Extra-Super-Holy People (at least that's what they thought), and they were called "Pharisees"." PROBLEM: Notice the author doesn't explain why the Pharisees were wrong: they were trying to get saved through self-righteous works. Actually, the author doesn't even really say the Pharisees were not holy. They were sinful on the inside and hypocritically fake holy/pure on the outside. Their good deeds were only external. Children should be taught that it is the inside that counts, but the author implies the opposite.
- "People walking by would stop and stare, which might sound rude - except that's exactly what the Extra-Super-Holy People wanted. They wanted everyone to say, "Look at them. They're so holy. God must love those people best." PROBLEM:
- "Now you and I both know they were wrong - God doesn't just love holy people." PROBLEM: The author implies that these holy people were accepted and loved by God for their holy works! This is incorrect. God rejected them for their external holy works and told them to look at their inner hearts to see how evil they actually were! In fact, in the Bible, God despises holy people for trying to work or earn their way into eternal life. We get to heaven by realizing how unworthy we are, not how holy and worthy we are. These are fake holy people and the author should have portrayed it like this.
- The Lord's prayer is written like this: "Hello Daddy! We want to know you. And be close to you. Please show us how. Make everything in the world right again. And in our hearts, too. Do what is best - just like you do in heaven. And please do it down here too. Please give us everything we need today. Forgive us for doing wrong, for hurting you. Forgive us just as we forgive other people when they hurt us. Rescue us! We need you. We don't want to keep running away and hiding from you. Keep us safe from our enemies. You're strong, God. You can do wahtever you want. You are in charge. Now and forever and for always! We think you're great! Amen! Yes we do!" PROBLEM: God had been brought down to the place of an imaginary invisible friend. Children and adults are taught not to revere, respect or to admire and worship a holy holy HOLY infinitely HOLY God. He is no longer grand and awesome. He's just like your invisible imaginary pal. The Bible's prayer starts of giving reverence to God "Blessed be your name" "Your will be done" shows we trust God's ways and His will and want His will done and not our own wills done. "Give us our daily bread" shows that we acknowledge every good thing is from God. Even our daily food and needs are provided by God.
I could go on, but I hope readers get the point. This book destroys the awesomeness of God and turns Him into a weak imaginary friend who asks the child to "do this or be that" and the child will then listen to the advice of their "friend" and dismiss them anyway. This view of God has no power. This weak god is nothing that man should worship him. But OUR GOD is AWESOME, POWERFUL and AMAZING! If we teach children of the REAL God who created the bazillion stars in the night sky and created the Grand Canyon and Hawaii and the oceans and the intricate human eye etc, then they will worship him in their hearts, seeing how valuable He really is.
#1 or #2 goal of most Christian parents = saved Christian kids. This book works against this goal. Before you read my review, understand why I disagree with this book and believe it destroys the holiness of God and leads our children towards a worldly unsaved life, rather than a strong conviction of who God is and who man is - a sinner in need of Christ. I believe God is INFINITELY powerful, glorious, intelligent, all-knowing and sovereign. Nothing can happen that could defeat God, or He would not be God. He would then only be "a god", but the thing that beat him or defeated Him would also be "a god" if it could outsmart an infinite god. You would have God and Satan as two equal gods, which is not Christianity, it is called Dualism. For God to really be God, He must always get His way 100% of the time. After all, if he is INFINITELY superior to all creation, nothing could ever beat Him, outsmart Him, or make God come up with a Plan B. God NEVER had a Plan B. Everything that happens is in His Plan A.
We all want our children to be saved, right? How do we get saved? Humans must come to realize their need for God, or we will always seek satisfaction in the world. Until we finally realize how utterly unworthy we are, how lost in sin we are, and how much we can't ever stop sinning on our own, we will never need God. When we finally die to ourselves, giving up our self-righteous deeds and efforts to
This book destroys God from being infinitely holy and worthy of our worship and adoration. This book also destroys our view that we are unworthy, but instead makes children feel like we are holding all the cards and it is this weak, pathetic, wimpering god that is begging us to love him back. Few of our children will ever find Christ with this perspective. Read below my direct quotes from this book and see my explainations as to why these claims aren't true.
- Pg 1 First sentence "God wrote "I love you" - he wrote it in the sky, and on the earth, and under the sea." *****PROBLEM: The author immediately paints a picture that God loves "you" and is telling this to all people through creation. Who are the "you"? ALL CHILDREN. ALL PEOPLE. What about the unbelieving ones? This book says God loves those too! What about the sinning ones? The murdering ones? The evil ones? Well, this book just gives us a blanket statement "God loves you" whoever you are, regardless of who you are, despite who you are. Now, technically, I believe this is true. BUT the problem is that God can say "I love you" to the believers who go to heaven. But God can also say "I love you" to the believers who go to hell. But God's loving you isn't what keeps you out of hell or gets you to heaven. But to a
- 2 "Some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done."
- 4 "The Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of hereoes. The Bible is most of all a Story." *****PROBLEM: Suddenly, the author destroyed the real purpose of the Bible and turned it into a big story. Unfortunately, this "the Bible is just a story" like has become a very popular claim of non-Christians to destroy the authority of the Bible. If the Bible is a story, it loses it's application purposes and we aren't as obligated to take it so seriously anymore. It's just a guide, after all. It's just like all my other story books. Many of the top athiests use this argument.
- 4 "All the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them." *****PROBLEM: Again, this makes God weak and needy of our human love. We need to teach our children about the holiness of God. The awesomeness! The grandness! God isn't just INFINITELY PERFECT, He's infinitely, infinitely, infinitely perfect! He isn't just good. He's good plus more good, plus the greatest good that could ever be conceived and then even 10 times greater than that! And then 1000 times that! Then a trillion times that! God is SOOOO BEYOND even the word "Good"! It is only through holding God up as an awesome, amazing, powerful, all wise God, that humans will begin to worship Him. Why would we worship a weak God? We worship what is WORTHY OF WORSHIP. The reason we don't worship God or worship Him poorly is because we don't see God as ALL THAT GREAT. Try taking the best most holy character traits and magnifying them as 10 times your best image of them. Then multiply that times 1 million times that! You can't even conceive it! But if we can see the grandest view of God, our worship will be true and natural. This is what our kids need. A holy, lofty infinitely glorious view of God.
- 5 "And at the center of the Story, there is a baby." "This is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend." *****PROBLEM: Author lowered God to a fussy baby. Weak, powerless infant. He was only a baby for a year or two! If God wanted us to elevate a baby, the Bible would have been written as 27 books on the baby Jesus. No, the Bible was written about THE MAN Jesus! A full grown, powerful, glorious man with the fullness of God inside him. Now that is awesome! Not a weak helpless baby.
Then it switches to the Genesis story:
- 6 "In the Beginning, there was nothing. Only emptiness. And darkness. And... nothing but nothing. But God was there." *****PROBLEM: The author writes that there was nothing. Oh, but then tacks on at the end "I forgot to mention God happened to be there." No! This causes damage to God. It should be "God was ALL THERE WAS! The earth was not yet. There was nothing there! It should not be "Nothing was all there was. Oh, but God on the side." The author is putting God inside the box of creation. The author puts God inside the darkness, inside the physical universe, as if God lived on a planet or something. No, God is spirit and outside of time, earth, and the physical world. The creator is greater than the creation! The creation should not come first.
- 6 Like a mommy bird flutters her wings over her eggs to help her babies hatch, God hovered over the deep, silent darkness. He was making life happen." *****PROBLEM: Huh? Comparing God to a bird. That's insulting. A mother bird warms and shields her eggs under her wings. God was not "warming and shielding" the deep under a wing. He was creating!
- 7 "God said, "Hello light!" and light shone into the darkness. "You're good," God said." *****PROBLEM: Notice God did not create the light? He said "hi" to the light. The author has removed God as the creator. Now he's just an observer. Notice that God no longer declares or pronounces or makes this creation good, but observes it is good.
- 7-8 "The God said, "Hello sea! Hello sky!" "Hello land!" "Hello trees!" "Hello grass and flowers!" "Hello stars! Hello sun! Hello moon!" *****PROBLEM: The author removed the creation days, allowing for the possibility of an evolutionary millions of years. And again, God is no longer the creator but just the observer, noticing these things.
- 10 "God saw all that he had made and he loved them." *****PROBLEM: Now, finally, the author acknowledges that God made these things. But his glory and name has already been reduced because the credit for the creation was taken away from him in all the prior pages. This final summary is tacked on at the end but its weight is not at all similar to "God created the earth." "God created the animals." It's more like "God said hi to the animals. Then at the end, "Oh, God made them." The impact is not at all the same.
- 10 "He would make people to share his Forever Happiness." "Forever Happiness?" What's that? Heaven on earth? Life with Christ/God? But not everyone is going to share His "Forever Happiness". What about those who end up in eternal torment? "He would make people" but apparently not ALL people "share his Forever Happiness".
- 11 "So God breathed life into Adam and Eve." *****PROBLEM: Notice again, the author did not say that God created them. Adam being created from the earth is removed. Eve being created from Adam is removed.
- 11 "And when God saw them he was like a new daddy, "You look like me!" he said. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever made!" *****PROBLEM: Again, the author is praising man for man's greatness! We need to be praising God, not man. We need to get off our egos, our pride, our selfishness, our self-esteem, self-worth and be God-centered, God-focused, God-esteeming!
On to the story of the fall:
- 13 "God had a horrible enemy. His name was Satan." *****PROBLEM: The author paints Satan as "God's enemy" or as a co-equal god. This is Dualism, not Christianity. In reality, God is an infinitely powerful God and Satan is just like an ant under God's shoe. God created Satan. Any moment He wanted, God could go "poof!" and Satan would be destroyed. Satan is no match for God. But this sentence makes Satan seem powerful.
- 13 "Satan was seething in anger and looking for a way to hurt God. He wanted to stop God's plan, stop this love story, right there. So he disguised himself as a snake and waited in the garden." *****PROBLEM: This sentence sets it up in the readers mind that Satan CAN hurt God. That Satan CAN stop God's plan and make God go find a Plan B. But this is false. Even Satan's plans and attempts to ruin things for God STILL fit into God's Plan A. God never has to go to a Plan B. This was God's plan all along - to include Satan and all Satan and man's sinfulness in the redemption story of Jesus Christ.
- 14 "As soon as the snake saw his chance, he slithered silently up to Eve, "Does God really love you?" the serpent whispered. "If he does, why won't he let you eat the nice, juicy, delicious fruit? Poor you, perhaps God doesn't want you to be happy." *****PROBLEM: Again, the author turns the fall into a question of God's love for man. The fall was NEVER about whether or not God loved man. It was about whether or not man would OBEY God and worship God and LOVE God back. God has always loved man and taken care of man. It is man (just like Satan), who rejected God and fell in his own desire to take God's place on the throne. Man wanted to make his own choices and be his own god. The author misses the entire point of Christianity and the entire need for salvation! God is not saving us BY PROVING HE LOVES US and convincing us that He loves us. No! That's not Christianity at all. That's man's false Christianity that allows man to stay on the throne! In fact, it makes God the weaker being in need of man's love so much that God must grovel for man's love. And man, being the powerful god, in man's mercy of God, will believe God and accept God. But Christianity is about God accepting a fallen man! It's not the story of man accepting God, even though we in our feeble minds sometimes thing the world revolves around us. We need God! God doesn't need us. God loves us whether we go to heaven or hell. Doesn't matter. The question of "does God love me" was never ever ever the issue. It's "Will man obey God and love God." Jesus NEVER begged anyone to believe that Christ loved them. He told them that THEY are to "Love God with all your mind and heart"
- 14 "Does God love me, Eve wondered. Suddenly she didn't know anymore." *****PROBLEM: This is NOT why Adam and Eve fell. They both knew God loved them. Firstly, the Bible teaches us that Eve was tricked. Adam, knowing 100% better, chose to DISOBEY God. Man thought he was wiser than God and wanted to take His throne or place. Man fell out of disobedience, not out of doubting love. Man fell out of pride, saying to himself "I am smarter and superior than God." It is the same reason Satan fell. Pride! This book encourages pride in children! It elevates man and lowers God in nearly every single sentence!
- 14 "And a terrible lie came into the world. It would never leave. It would live on in every human heart, whispering to every one of God's children: "God doesn't love me." *****PROBLEM: This is not the lie. The lie was "Man could eat the apple and be wiser than God! That God was wrong about the apple!" The lie isn't that God doesn't love man. The lie is that man doesn't need God!!!
- 17 "A terrible pain came into God's heart." "He knew everthing else would break. God's creation would start to unravel, and come undone, and go wrong. From now on everything would die - even though it was all supposed to last forever." *****PROBLEM: The author just painted the picture that things in the world happened against God's will and wishes and power. God was powerless to stop them. They crumbled around Him. It weakens the human's perception of God. Suddenly, God is not all-powerful, all-wise. He got tricked. His purposes were ruined by Satan and man! This is completely false. If we read the NT, we will see that the redemption story was planned from all eternity. This is why Jesus Christ is the ETERNAL son of God. He didn't just become the son of God to plop down on earth, take on a human body, then go back up and mold back into God. Ephesians 1:4 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Acts 4:27-28 "this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." Ac 2:23 "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men." 1 Pe 1:20 "He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you" Luke 22:22, Acts 13:27-33, and more.
- 20 "God loved his children too much to let the story end there. Even though he knew he would suffer, God had a plan - a magnificent dream. One day, he would get his children back." *****PROBLEM: God would get his children back. Which children? Not all the children will believe, so either God didn't do a very good job getting his children back (a weak view of God) or God never mean to get all them back. The truth is that not all will be saved and so God never planned from the foundation of the earth that all would be saved. If he had planned for all to be saved, all he had to do was go "poof" to Satan and no one would have fallen in the first place. The redemption story was planned from the beginning and so was the means through Satan and man's fall. But this sentence makes it seem like God couldn't do what he planned to do. When the truth is that God DID and IS doing exactly what He wanted all along. The error was in man's assuming he knew God's plan. So we think God made an error. God never made an error. God always had this ONE plan from the beginning. If God didn't want this, He had the power to change it at any time.
- 20 "You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children - with a Never Stopping, Never Give Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love." *****PROBLEM: What about the ones that go to eternal torment? Again, this makes children believe in Universalism - the belief that ALL people will be saved. This is not what is taught in the Bible.
On to the New Testament:
- "It had taken centuries for God's people to be ready, but now the time had almost come..." *****PROBLEM: This is the false teaching that God had to wait for man to be ready to receive Jesus Christ. This is a prevelant teaching among today's tv evangelists of the Word Faith cult. It makes God dependent upon man. "God needs man to allow God to work in the world" is the false teaching. This sentence supports that teaching. And so does the two beginning sentences on the following page: "EVERYTHING WAS READY. The moment God had been waiting for was here at last!" Yes, it was in all caps! It teaches children falsely that God had to wait until this time due to man not being ready. The truth was God planned this time all along and ordained everything to be just as it was. God is in control. He isn't dependent upon man.
- "There was a young girl who was engaged to a man" PROBLEM: "A girl" not a "young woman" is matched to "a man". The implication is not good.
- "This girl was minding her own business when suddenly a great warrior of light appeared - right there in her bedroom." PROBLEM: Yikes! Angels appearing in a girls bedroom is not a good picture. Today, it is a very very prevelant claim of several Pentecostal authors, Course In Miracles teachers, alien abductees, and pagan spiritualists that "beings of light come into a person's bedroom" and these beings go by names like "Jesus" "Michael" "Seth" "George" or aliens. These are demons and not Jesus Christ or angels! This sentence leaves room for this teaching. In the Bible in Luke chapter 1, it says that an angel came to see Mary but NOTHING is said about it being in her bedroom or even where this meeting took place.
- "So [God] pulled out all the stops. He'd sent an angel to tell Mary the good news. He'd put a special star in the sky to show where his boy was." PROBLEM: Not true. Nowhere in the Bible does God tell Mary about the star. The first mention of the start is when the wisemen see it and this is when Jesus is declared "a child" and no longer "a baby". It is assumed Jesus was about 2 years old at this time.
- [This book also teaches incorrectly that there were THREE wisemen (the Bible doesn't tell how many there were)
- "The three Wise Men (actually, if you'd met them, you'd have thought they were kings because they were so rich and clever and important looking) set off." PROBLEM: The Bible never says any of this.
The book has a chapter called "How to pray":
- "In those days there were some Extra-Super-Holy People (at least that's what they thought), and they were called "Pharisees"." PROBLEM: Notice the author doesn't explain why the Pharisees were wrong: they were trying to get saved through self-righteous works. Actually, the author doesn't even really say the Pharisees were not holy. They were sinful on the inside and hypocritically fake holy/pure on the outside. Their good deeds were only external. Children should be taught that it is the inside that counts, but the author implies the opposite.
- "People walking by would stop and stare, which might sound rude - except that's exactly what the Extra-Super-Holy People wanted. They wanted everyone to say, "Look at them. They're so holy. God must love those people best." PROBLEM:
- "Now you and I both know they were wrong - God doesn't just love holy people." PROBLEM: The author implies that these holy people were accepted and loved by God for their holy works! This is incorrect. God rejected them for their external holy works and told them to look at their inner hearts to see how evil they actually were! In fact, in the Bible, God despises holy people for trying to work or earn their way into eternal life. We get to heaven by realizing how unworthy we are, not how holy and worthy we are. These are fake holy people and the author should have portrayed it like this.
- The Lord's prayer is written like this: "Hello Daddy! We want to know you. And be close to you. Please show us how. Make everything in the world right again. And in our hearts, too. Do what is best - just like you do in heaven. And please do it down here too. Please give us everything we need today. Forgive us for doing wrong, for hurting you. Forgive us just as we forgive other people when they hurt us. Rescue us! We need you. We don't want to keep running away and hiding from you. Keep us safe from our enemies. You're strong, God. You can do wahtever you want. You are in charge. Now and forever and for always! We think you're great! Amen! Yes we do!" PROBLEM: God had been brought down to the place of an imaginary invisible friend. Children and adults are taught not to revere, respect or to admire and worship a holy holy HOLY infinitely HOLY God. He is no longer grand and awesome. He's just like your invisible imaginary pal. The Bible's prayer starts of giving reverence to God "Blessed be your name" "Your will be done" shows we trust God's ways and His will and want His will done and not our own wills done. "Give us our daily bread" shows that we acknowledge every good thing is from God. Even our daily food and needs are provided by God.
I could go on, but I hope readers get the point. This book destroys the awesomeness of God and turns Him into a weak imaginary friend who asks the child to "do this or be that" and the child will then listen to the advice of their "friend" and dismiss them anyway. This view of God has no power. This weak god is nothing that man should worship him. But OUR GOD is AWESOME, POWERFUL and AMAZING! If we teach children of the REAL God who created the bazillion stars in the night sky and created the Grand Canyon and Hawaii and the oceans and the intricate human eye etc, then they will worship him in their hearts, seeing how valuable He really is.
1 Star: The Gospel Of Yes by Mike Glenn (Forward by Scot McKnight)
I did not agree with the "prosperity gospel" being encouraged in the forward from Scot McKnight:
- Quotes 2 Corinthians 1:20 "No matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ."
- "Make a list of God's promises [from the Bible]". McKnight doesn't caution readers that many "promises" are made to specific people during a specific time and can't accurately just be plucked out of context and applied to all believers in all time.
- "All those promises are a big "yes" in Christ." Again, McKnight ignores all context but just gives a blanket assurance that God says "yes" to any verse where God has ever made a promise to anyone and we can pluck that verse out of the Bible and apply it to us.
On to the book:
- Mike Glenn tells readers about his tough year as pastor and how he went to a house by the lake and began "screaming" at God. "God had betrayed me. He kept things from me. He didn't warn me in advance."
- Glenn says he waited all night and God didn't show up to face him. He says he wanted to wrestle with God like Jacob did in the Old Testament.
- "I sat in a rocking chair"..."I made it known that I wasn't leaving that chair until something happened." "I sat on the porch all day." "Suddenly... I knew God was coming." Glenn says he got scared.
- "In the silence I heard two sentences." Glenn writes that God spoke two sentences of advice, then was gone. This book is about that advice that Glenn says he received from God: "Why don't you let the church be who I made her to be?" and "Why don't you be who I made you to be?"
- Glenn says he had come to hold some thoughts that made life more difficult for him, including, "Who had God created me to me?" "It had never occured to me that God might want me to enjoy my life!" "I might actually like the plan God had for my life."
- So Glenn went back to his church and changed things around - getting rid of everything that didn't fit his current skills or gifts: no more administrative duties, civic groups, and no more meetings because "I lack the patience."
- Glenn says this had been the most liberating experience, getting rid of everything this self professed "type A personality perfectionist" is not good at and focusing all his time in the areas where he is strongest. "I don't waste time trying to get better at things I'm not good at."
I disagree with this book in many areas and believe it creates a false Christianity. This book paints God as a god who says "yes" to ALL promises in the Bible and claims that we can apply ALL 3573 promises in the Bible to ME and YOU and all believers. Well, if God really gave us all 3,573 promises, all Christians should have the most perfect trial free, healthy, wealthy, prosperity filled lives on earth! But the Bible does not teach this. In fact, Paul was one of the poorest in terms of worldly prosperity and the apostle Paul tells us to expect and find joy in trials in Romans 5:3 and all through the book of Philippians.
I also disagree with Glenn's teaching that God wants us to rid ourselves of all difficult tasks in life and only do the things we are good at. As you saw from Glenn's own writing, he did away with meetings "because he lacked the patience". But patience is a virtue! So Glenn is encouraging readers to avoid tasks that would help us build our patience. Why would you want to settle for less patience? I don't believe Christians should only do the things we are good at but should do the things that are the BEST in terms of bringing glory to God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. So, if sitting patiently through one meeting a month helps and edifies your neighbor, then I believe we should be open to this task. I feel that Glenn is portraying a selfish type of lifestyle: do what I want to do because I'm good at it. If I'm not good at it, I'm not doing it, even if it has other value.
Glenn continues through the book wording his sentences just right to lead readers into feeling good about being selfish and focusing only on doing the things they are good at and that make them happy. If you don't read carefully, I can see many many Christians actually believing this. Glenn makes it sound so innocent and appealing.
For more experienced Christians, they will be shocked by Glenn's (who did go to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) lack of understanding of even basic Christian concepts: How living a biblical Christian life can bring joy (Glenn writes about self-sacrifice = misery); Why a Christian will desire to live righteously (Glenn writes about not sinning out of fear and scolding). Glenn gives the reason for seeking Christianity/God/Jesus is avoidance of hell and getting eternal life - again a purely selfish perspective. Yes, it's true that may be a motivating factor for many in the beginning, but as we mature, "What about knowing Jesus Christ and the beauty to be had in Christ?" Glenn needs to listen to and read John Piper's Desiring God book. Piper once wrote "Would you be fully satisfied in heaven if you had all the greatest things but Jesus Christ wasn't there?" Glenn's book seems to answer "Yes" to this question, when we as Christians know the answer is "NO!" That heaven without Christ isn't heaven at all, it's hell in the disguise of heaven. Satan doesn't only use ugly things to trick us away from Christ, but Satan seduces people with the very very best that the world has to offer. I pray that readers will discern the short comings of this book and not fall pray to slip into a worldly life: Mt 6:19-20 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
- Quotes 2 Corinthians 1:20 "No matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ."
- "Make a list of God's promises [from the Bible]". McKnight doesn't caution readers that many "promises" are made to specific people during a specific time and can't accurately just be plucked out of context and applied to all believers in all time.
- "All those promises are a big "yes" in Christ." Again, McKnight ignores all context but just gives a blanket assurance that God says "yes" to any verse where God has ever made a promise to anyone and we can pluck that verse out of the Bible and apply it to us.
On to the book:
- Mike Glenn tells readers about his tough year as pastor and how he went to a house by the lake and began "screaming" at God. "God had betrayed me. He kept things from me. He didn't warn me in advance."
- Glenn says he waited all night and God didn't show up to face him. He says he wanted to wrestle with God like Jacob did in the Old Testament.
- "I sat in a rocking chair"..."I made it known that I wasn't leaving that chair until something happened." "I sat on the porch all day." "Suddenly... I knew God was coming." Glenn says he got scared.
- "In the silence I heard two sentences." Glenn writes that God spoke two sentences of advice, then was gone. This book is about that advice that Glenn says he received from God: "Why don't you let the church be who I made her to be?" and "Why don't you be who I made you to be?"
- Glenn says he had come to hold some thoughts that made life more difficult for him, including, "Who had God created me to me?" "It had never occured to me that God might want me to enjoy my life!" "I might actually like the plan God had for my life."
- So Glenn went back to his church and changed things around - getting rid of everything that didn't fit his current skills or gifts: no more administrative duties, civic groups, and no more meetings because "I lack the patience."
- Glenn says this had been the most liberating experience, getting rid of everything this self professed "type A personality perfectionist" is not good at and focusing all his time in the areas where he is strongest. "I don't waste time trying to get better at things I'm not good at."
I disagree with this book in many areas and believe it creates a false Christianity. This book paints God as a god who says "yes" to ALL promises in the Bible and claims that we can apply ALL 3573 promises in the Bible to ME and YOU and all believers. Well, if God really gave us all 3,573 promises, all Christians should have the most perfect trial free, healthy, wealthy, prosperity filled lives on earth! But the Bible does not teach this. In fact, Paul was one of the poorest in terms of worldly prosperity and the apostle Paul tells us to expect and find joy in trials in Romans 5:3 and all through the book of Philippians.
I also disagree with Glenn's teaching that God wants us to rid ourselves of all difficult tasks in life and only do the things we are good at. As you saw from Glenn's own writing, he did away with meetings "because he lacked the patience". But patience is a virtue! So Glenn is encouraging readers to avoid tasks that would help us build our patience. Why would you want to settle for less patience? I don't believe Christians should only do the things we are good at but should do the things that are the BEST in terms of bringing glory to God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. So, if sitting patiently through one meeting a month helps and edifies your neighbor, then I believe we should be open to this task. I feel that Glenn is portraying a selfish type of lifestyle: do what I want to do because I'm good at it. If I'm not good at it, I'm not doing it, even if it has other value.
Glenn continues through the book wording his sentences just right to lead readers into feeling good about being selfish and focusing only on doing the things they are good at and that make them happy. If you don't read carefully, I can see many many Christians actually believing this. Glenn makes it sound so innocent and appealing.
For more experienced Christians, they will be shocked by Glenn's (who did go to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) lack of understanding of even basic Christian concepts: How living a biblical Christian life can bring joy (Glenn writes about self-sacrifice = misery); Why a Christian will desire to live righteously (Glenn writes about not sinning out of fear and scolding). Glenn gives the reason for seeking Christianity/God/Jesus is avoidance of hell and getting eternal life - again a purely selfish perspective. Yes, it's true that may be a motivating factor for many in the beginning, but as we mature, "What about knowing Jesus Christ and the beauty to be had in Christ?" Glenn needs to listen to and read John Piper's Desiring God book. Piper once wrote "Would you be fully satisfied in heaven if you had all the greatest things but Jesus Christ wasn't there?" Glenn's book seems to answer "Yes" to this question, when we as Christians know the answer is "NO!" That heaven without Christ isn't heaven at all, it's hell in the disguise of heaven. Satan doesn't only use ugly things to trick us away from Christ, but Satan seduces people with the very very best that the world has to offer. I pray that readers will discern the short comings of this book and not fall pray to slip into a worldly life: Mt 6:19-20 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
1 Star: Simple Secrets to a Happy Life by Luci Swindoll
This quick easy read from Luci Swindoll, the sister of famous Chuck Swindoll, was not what I was expecting from a Christian book at all. This book had hardly anything to do with Christianity but was like reading an advice column or receiving a list of advice from Mom. Nearly every one of the 50 points in this book have been drilled into the heads of all grown daughters from their mothers. There is nothing AT ALL new in this book. The only thing that would make this a "Christian book" is that Luci is a Christian and she drops God's name a few rare times. I don't understand, who would buy this book? Who would write this book and ask money for it as if they were offering something new for $15.99?
The advice of this book goes like: Be organized, take care of your health, draw pictures, value what you have, build a small library, have integrity, prioritize, do something with your hands, learn a new skill, cook something for yourself, forgive others, be generous and finally, read your bible everyday.
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
The advice of this book goes like: Be organized, take care of your health, draw pictures, value what you have, build a small library, have integrity, prioritize, do something with your hands, learn a new skill, cook something for yourself, forgive others, be generous and finally, read your bible everyday.
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
-1 Star: FALSE TEACHER: Lisa Bevere's "Be Angry But Don't Blow It!"
Readers should know who the author is before they read the book, so they can know what to expect and be cautious when discerning the truth. Lisa Bevere is the wife of John Bevere, a prosperity gospel member of the Word Faith "denomination" or what I would call "cult". I do not use the term "cult" or "heresy" or "false teacher" lightly. I use these terms to describe someone who I believe knows full well that they are teaching falsehood and still teach it for riches. After reading John Bevere's outrageously false book "Relentless", I am certain the three terms fit the Beveres. Still, with an open mind, looking for any benefit this book might have, I read this book. I mean, even false teachers might get something right, right? I have seen Sheila Walsh write one good book after a lifetime of false teachings, but sadly, this Lisa Bevere book is filled with the same errors her and her husband have tricked people with for years. I hope after reading my review, you will understand how this book "sounds good" on the surface, but if you discern carefully, you will see the errors.
Ch 1: Lisa Bevere throws a plate at her husbands head in anger and blames him for making her mad. She writes, "Anger in and of itself is not wrong, but rage and fury escalate it into the dimention of the destructive."
=== TRUTH: Godly anger is not wrong, but selfish humanistic prideful anger is always wrong. In the greek language, Godly anger is a different word from selfish anger. In the original Greek, the Bible is very clear: only godly anger or righteous anger is ever considered good. Selfish anger is always wrong. Lisa should have clarified, because her teaching will lead readers to believe all anger is okay, as long as you don't let it turn into rage. Clearly, throwing a plate at John's head had nothing to do with "godly anger" or "righteous anger" and even Lisa admits this on page 5, when she writes, "I fell asleep under the blanket of self-justification and righteousness. Gone was my repentance."
Ch 2: Lisa Bevere quotes Ephesians 4:26 as a command to "Be angry" and she even puts it in italics, giving readers free reign to sin in anger as much as they like. She writes "God gives us permission to be angry. He knows and understands man's inborn capacity for anger." "Anger is as valid a human emotion as joy, sorrow, faith, and fear. God tells us, "Be angry", because it is okay to be upset. Even God gets angry... as a matter of fact, quite frequently." "There is a fine line between anger and sin." Bevere alludes to the idea that "age, personality, position and place" help determine sin. Her examples: The older you are or the more authority you have, the more responsible you are and the more you should know better. TRUTH: A sin is a sin, no matter who does it. Pg 9, she explains that when she was younger, that she would honk and curse people while driving, but when her "little ones were copying [her], [she] no longer enjoyed the priviledge of yelling at strangers." Wow. That's scary. Her only reason for stopping was that her children were mimicking her. It had nothing to do with repentance and acknowledging the error of her sinful ways or obedience to God or Christ-likeness or living a life to glorify God.
Pg 10, Bevere uses dictionary definitions for anger to show us that anger is okay and not sinful. She determins that "Anger by definition should be brief and transitory, not drawn out and dangerous." She even has the nerve to falsely teach, "God models the healthy type of anger for us: "For His anger lasts only a moment" (Ps 30:5). The rest of the chapter is spent showing us how "short-term anger" is good, but "long-term" anger is wrong, when it turns into "bitterness." Bevere even uses Eph 4:26 out of context to justify her claims, declaring that "letting the sun go down on anger" shows that holding anger for a long period can "progress toward the destructive ledge of being angry and sinning." Bevere's teaching that short-term angry is not sinning is completely false. All selfish anger is sin. Only righteous anger can be good.
Ch 3: Bevere tells how she used to punish her husband in anger until he had earned his way out of punishment. This chapter is spent telling readers to make sure not to carry anger past nighttime in accordance with "Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry" or you will carry that anger into the next day and the next and the next until you have a weeks worth of anger.
Ch 4: This chapter is about "the progression from anger to sin, or the progression of anger to rage to fury." Again, Bevere is teaching falsely that anger is natural, normal, healthy and not a sin. She calls "rage and fury" the sin. But she justifies "anger" as normal and good because it is "short-term". Bevere quotes Neil Clark Warren's book, "Make Anger Your Ally", "anger is described as a completely natural, perfictl legitimate. It is that internatl happening which prepares us to cope with hurtful, frustrating, and fearful exdperiences." And "anger is simple a state of physical readiness." She uses the horrific analogy of holding a gun and claims "Of course, there is nothing wrong with being ready, willing and able to respond, or shold we say to shoot. no harm has yet been done, we are just booting up for what might lie ahead." In describing rage as not yet sinning, she writes, "Aiming [the gun] doesn't necessarily come with a commitment to shoot." Then she begins to add the last part, "Rage continue to progress to fury as our temperature rises, and at this point we are committed to shoot." So only when we are COMMITTED TO PULLING the trigger we are sinning? This is completely false! Didn't Jesus say Mt 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Jesus does not seperate anger and rage and say these are okay and only fury is wrong. According to Bevere, fury is where you pull the trigger. That is the point where you physically act out. Jesus' entire point is that the inner man counts, not just the outward physical demonstration. Bevere caps off her false teaching, "We [just] watched as the natural response of "anger" was escalated to the dangerous final and regrettable stage of fury. This example illustrates the dividing line between constructive anger and descructive fury." FALSE. This internal anger is not constructive to say the least. In otherwords, Lisa Bevere is teaching that in chapter 1, her anger towards her husband was "constructive" all the way up until she threw the china at his head. And this would also mean that in chapter 2, where she spends a great deal of time telling how she would punish and make her husband "pay" in her mind, that all this anger was "constructive" because she "didn't pull the trigger" yet? Wow. What a false teaching.
I could not read any more of this book. But I read this review to show those open enough to read my review that the Beveres are false teachers and to warn them that these "wolves" will devour those who do not discern wisely.
Ch 1: Lisa Bevere throws a plate at her husbands head in anger and blames him for making her mad. She writes, "Anger in and of itself is not wrong, but rage and fury escalate it into the dimention of the destructive."
=== TRUTH: Godly anger is not wrong, but selfish humanistic prideful anger is always wrong. In the greek language, Godly anger is a different word from selfish anger. In the original Greek, the Bible is very clear: only godly anger or righteous anger is ever considered good. Selfish anger is always wrong. Lisa should have clarified, because her teaching will lead readers to believe all anger is okay, as long as you don't let it turn into rage. Clearly, throwing a plate at John's head had nothing to do with "godly anger" or "righteous anger" and even Lisa admits this on page 5, when she writes, "I fell asleep under the blanket of self-justification and righteousness. Gone was my repentance."
Ch 2: Lisa Bevere quotes Ephesians 4:26 as a command to "Be angry" and she even puts it in italics, giving readers free reign to sin in anger as much as they like. She writes "God gives us permission to be angry. He knows and understands man's inborn capacity for anger." "Anger is as valid a human emotion as joy, sorrow, faith, and fear. God tells us, "Be angry", because it is okay to be upset. Even God gets angry... as a matter of fact, quite frequently." "There is a fine line between anger and sin." Bevere alludes to the idea that "age, personality, position and place" help determine sin. Her examples: The older you are or the more authority you have, the more responsible you are and the more you should know better. TRUTH: A sin is a sin, no matter who does it. Pg 9, she explains that when she was younger, that she would honk and curse people while driving, but when her "little ones were copying [her], [she] no longer enjoyed the priviledge of yelling at strangers." Wow. That's scary. Her only reason for stopping was that her children were mimicking her. It had nothing to do with repentance and acknowledging the error of her sinful ways or obedience to God or Christ-likeness or living a life to glorify God.
Pg 10, Bevere uses dictionary definitions for anger to show us that anger is okay and not sinful. She determins that "Anger by definition should be brief and transitory, not drawn out and dangerous." She even has the nerve to falsely teach, "God models the healthy type of anger for us: "For His anger lasts only a moment" (Ps 30:5). The rest of the chapter is spent showing us how "short-term anger" is good, but "long-term" anger is wrong, when it turns into "bitterness." Bevere even uses Eph 4:26 out of context to justify her claims, declaring that "letting the sun go down on anger" shows that holding anger for a long period can "progress toward the destructive ledge of being angry and sinning." Bevere's teaching that short-term angry is not sinning is completely false. All selfish anger is sin. Only righteous anger can be good.
Ch 3: Bevere tells how she used to punish her husband in anger until he had earned his way out of punishment. This chapter is spent telling readers to make sure not to carry anger past nighttime in accordance with "Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry" or you will carry that anger into the next day and the next and the next until you have a weeks worth of anger.
Ch 4: This chapter is about "the progression from anger to sin, or the progression of anger to rage to fury." Again, Bevere is teaching falsely that anger is natural, normal, healthy and not a sin. She calls "rage and fury" the sin. But she justifies "anger" as normal and good because it is "short-term". Bevere quotes Neil Clark Warren's book, "Make Anger Your Ally", "anger is described as a completely natural, perfictl legitimate. It is that internatl happening which prepares us to cope with hurtful, frustrating, and fearful exdperiences." And "anger is simple a state of physical readiness." She uses the horrific analogy of holding a gun and claims "Of course, there is nothing wrong with being ready, willing and able to respond, or shold we say to shoot. no harm has yet been done, we are just booting up for what might lie ahead." In describing rage as not yet sinning, she writes, "Aiming [the gun] doesn't necessarily come with a commitment to shoot." Then she begins to add the last part, "Rage continue to progress to fury as our temperature rises, and at this point we are committed to shoot." So only when we are COMMITTED TO PULLING the trigger we are sinning? This is completely false! Didn't Jesus say Mt 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Jesus does not seperate anger and rage and say these are okay and only fury is wrong. According to Bevere, fury is where you pull the trigger. That is the point where you physically act out. Jesus' entire point is that the inner man counts, not just the outward physical demonstration. Bevere caps off her false teaching, "We [just] watched as the natural response of "anger" was escalated to the dangerous final and regrettable stage of fury. This example illustrates the dividing line between constructive anger and descructive fury." FALSE. This internal anger is not constructive to say the least. In otherwords, Lisa Bevere is teaching that in chapter 1, her anger towards her husband was "constructive" all the way up until she threw the china at his head. And this would also mean that in chapter 2, where she spends a great deal of time telling how she would punish and make her husband "pay" in her mind, that all this anger was "constructive" because she "didn't pull the trigger" yet? Wow. What a false teaching.
I could not read any more of this book. But I read this review to show those open enough to read my review that the Beveres are false teachers and to warn them that these "wolves" will devour those who do not discern wisely.
2 Stars: God Loves Broken People by Sheila Walsh
Readers must know a little about the author, Sheila Walsh, before they begin this book. Walsh started out as a singer, then began co-hosting The 700 Club with Pat Robertson. The 700 Club and Pat Robertson are part of the Word Faith cult, also known as teachers of the prosperity gospel, "name it, claim it", "blab it, grab it" crowd, who are only after your money. Sheila Walsh was one of them = BIG WARNING. Did she change since those days? Since, she has joined false teacher Steve Arterburn's Women of Faith group and written a prosperity gospel filled devotional (Daily Gifts of Grace). Her articles tell readers that "God promises" to give us things and essentially turn God into a genie who "owes us health, wealth, etc". Sept 2011, Walsh began a children's book series titled "Gabby, God's Little Angel" about a foolish child angel that is completely unbiblical. This book is filled with super cute appealing images but completely unbiblical ideas about angels. It turns foolish speech and general sillyness into appropriate behavior for a female child angel (not Biblical in itself). So, coming into this book, one should be extremely careful and discerning when reading ANY Sheila Walsh book.
That being said, I was shocked to not find this book dripping with prosperity gospel and false unbiblical teachings like her other material. Walsh even quotes from conservative biblical theologians like John Piper and R.C. Sproul! And apparently, their teaching on God's sovereignty has rubbed off on Walsh. In this book, she not only bashes the prosperity gospel (although she does not take any responsibility for having preached it herself), but she declares over and over again that God is sovereign. And because God is sovereign, we can trust Him through trials. This book is EXCELLENT in that it gives readers the proper biblical perspective on suffering and trials - even emphasizing joy in trials, growth, God's providence and God's overall hand over believers because of God's sovereignty. This book paints a very beautiful view of suffering and even makes half of you actually desire more suffering in your life. Yes, I was moved to pray for more trials and suffering after reading this book, because Walsh does an excellent job pointing out all the benefits in us that come through suffering and trials.
Actually, if this wasn't Sheila Walsh, I would recommend this book to others with 4 stars. But seeing that I am not a trained theologian and I don't trust Walsh and don't wish to promote her, I must still greatly caution readers and will give this book 2 stars. Of course, I would recommend Elizabeth Elliott anyday, but after reading this ONE book, I don't think you'll die or adopt any false views after reading this book. So I would say this ONE book might just be edifying and beneficial. Most of the complaints from other reviewers on Amazon are accurate in that the book does drag on and go from story to story (some kind of useless), but it seems Walsh is cleaning up her act a bit - using the ESV bible now mostly (where she used to always use the Message Bible). I would still caution readers but I would say, if you like her writings, this one book is not just pretty good, IT IS GOOD. I hope readers will get past the ramblings and see all the positives because this book really is better than many other "Why is there suffering? Why trials?" books written even by male theologians.
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
That being said, I was shocked to not find this book dripping with prosperity gospel and false unbiblical teachings like her other material. Walsh even quotes from conservative biblical theologians like John Piper and R.C. Sproul! And apparently, their teaching on God's sovereignty has rubbed off on Walsh. In this book, she not only bashes the prosperity gospel (although she does not take any responsibility for having preached it herself), but she declares over and over again that God is sovereign. And because God is sovereign, we can trust Him through trials. This book is EXCELLENT in that it gives readers the proper biblical perspective on suffering and trials - even emphasizing joy in trials, growth, God's providence and God's overall hand over believers because of God's sovereignty. This book paints a very beautiful view of suffering and even makes half of you actually desire more suffering in your life. Yes, I was moved to pray for more trials and suffering after reading this book, because Walsh does an excellent job pointing out all the benefits in us that come through suffering and trials.
Actually, if this wasn't Sheila Walsh, I would recommend this book to others with 4 stars. But seeing that I am not a trained theologian and I don't trust Walsh and don't wish to promote her, I must still greatly caution readers and will give this book 2 stars. Of course, I would recommend Elizabeth Elliott anyday, but after reading this ONE book, I don't think you'll die or adopt any false views after reading this book. So I would say this ONE book might just be edifying and beneficial. Most of the complaints from other reviewers on Amazon are accurate in that the book does drag on and go from story to story (some kind of useless), but it seems Walsh is cleaning up her act a bit - using the ESV bible now mostly (where she used to always use the Message Bible). I would still caution readers but I would say, if you like her writings, this one book is not just pretty good, IT IS GOOD. I hope readers will get past the ramblings and see all the positives because this book really is better than many other "Why is there suffering? Why trials?" books written even by male theologians.
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
1 Stars: Our Favorite Sins by Todd D. Hunter
Firstly, readers should know the author Todd D. Hunter is Anglican and this book is clearly written with Anglicans in mind. Hunter quotes from famous Anglican N.T. Wright, Anglican Henry Nouwen, Anglican Dallas Willard, the Book of Common Prayer, the Saturday Compline, Celtic Daily Prayer book, and more. So, if you're not Anglican, Church of England or Episcopalian and your theology does not agree with Anglican theology, you may not agree with some parts of this book. I was also very concerned with this author's use of the "New Age-ish" paraphrased Message Bible and found I could not read these paraphrased bible quotes. They are nothing at all like my NIV Bible. They don't even sound like Bible verses anymore! Also, readers should know that Hunter uses the Barna Group and David Kinnaman's stats throughout the book.
Now, when I read a book about sin, I expect the big, bad, ugly, deadly sins to be addressed with a good solution for overcoming them. Hunter dedicated a few very brief chapters that glossed over their subjects to barely mention or gloss over a few "sinful" topics that for the most part, aren't even in the Bible!: Anxiety, Procrastination (that's not even sin!), Eating, Lazy and Media (not really a sin either! Hunter attacks "Computer media" in this chapter but skips over ALL other forms of media, including the TV! This is like making a chapter called "Football" as a sin! It is not a sin! The obessession would be the sin, not the computer or internet or football.). So, I want to ask the author, where are the 7 deadly sins? Where are the sins in the 10 commandments? Where are sexual sins? In a book titled "Our FAVORITE sins", I am certain sex is one of the very favorites! So is greed. Anger? Unforgiveness? Pride? These are all WAY bigger, worse and more "favorite" to most humans than lazy and eating. Not everyone has a problem with eating! So many people are hard working so this sin hardly applies to humans across the board, but we all have issues with anger, unforgiveness and pride. This book misses the point entirely. And when the author does mention the 5 "sins" he chose, Hunter barely even mentions them. Instead, he tells us a story about "Lazy Larry" or "Media Mary". Please! How childish.
Okay, so Chapters 1-9 were useless, shallow and a waste of time. So how about the answer/solution chapters 10 and 11? Hunter is very into dropping the word "ancient" in referring to a path created 2,000 years ago and known to monks, so throughout the book and he encourages we use "ancient" knowledge/wisdom to solve our problem with sin. So 10 and 11 are titled "Ancient and Frutiful 1 and 2". Hunter encourages us to follow the advice of a monk known as Mark the Ascetic, "in order to position yourself above the aformentioned destrictive passions" make some "ascetic efforts or spiritual training exercises to reshape your interior evils (heart condition)." Hunter tells us to follow Mark's advice, "Struggle to put to death whatever is earthly (Col 3:5)", because Mark knew, "as do all monks "in the Jesus tradition" know, that our evil desires lead us to the burning of our souls in fire (Pg 142). So the big answer to overcoming sin, the correct path according to Hunter and Mark: solitude, followed by silence.
Pg 143, Huner explains the solitude is meant to be physical and "within the rhythms and routines of one's actual life." Hunter tells readers to "connect with Jesus through solitude" (Pg 143). Hunter tells readers to move into "silence", where we will become more alter and aware of our hearts. Hunter quotes Anglican Nouwen, "Silence is promarily a quality of the heart that leads to ever growing [love]." Hmmm.... somehow I'm not buying this. Hunter continues pg 146, "Through silence, apprentices of Jesus learn to be alter to their will, to what they really want and why they want it." Hmmm... can't say I agree with Hunter. I thought we were supposed to seek God's will, not our own selfish wills? Our human purpose is to bring glory to God, not seek our own.
The rest of the book is spent discussing liturgical prayers, sacraments and no real answers. Hunter was right that the solution to overcoming sin is that we need a change in our INNER selves, not only in our outer actions. However, his solution of silence and solitude (escapism/avoidance), liturgy, sacraments and ritual (religion) will not give us the inner change we desire.
HOW TO OVERCOME SIN: As a believer in Reformed theology, God has granted me the gift of overcoming all my ongoing sins through TRUE salvation and hearing the TRUE gospel according to Jesus (which is VERY different from what you've probably heard preached). Did you know the modern day "Christian" gospel is nearly the OPPOSITE of what Jesus preached in the Bible? If you didn't, read Walter Chandry's Today's Gospel or John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus. Anyway, through true salvation, I received the real Holy Spirit and an abhorrance of sin! Before that, I had heard the world's fake easy-believism gospel and always excused sin as "not so bad." Now that I have the Holy Spirit inside me, I realized how gross and horrible sin was! It's like this: Imagine your mother, child, loved one going up on a cross for YOUR personal sins - even for one sin. One single moment of anger. One single lie. Now you will see the lie isn't so small anymore, is it? How horrified you would be as you watched them suffer and die for hours. Believe me, when we get a view of how disgusting and distasteful our sins are, we won't be eager to return to them. When we realize how much one sin destroys and how horrible it is in God's eyes, we won't take our sin so lightly anymore. We overcome our sins by recognizing that God is amazing, perfect and above all, HOLY. When we recognize how sick our sins are and how very very VERY MUCH that we totally deserve hell and are convinced that we deserve hell and realize that there isn't even ONE SINGLE good thing inside us that would cause us to "deserve" or "earn" heaven, we realize that we need to fall at the feel to Jesus Christ and beg Him to draw us and come and make a home inside us with the Holy Spirit. It is after we are actually saved and receive the Holy Spirit, that we no longer want to sin. Now I'm not saying in a moment here or there, we don't have a thought or an angry feeling or unforgiveness but we abhore these sins so much that immediately, we turn to God and plead for Him to take those feelings away. We truly REPENT and TURN FROM OUR SINS. We no longer even wish to hold onto them anymore. That is true salvation from sins. Salvation from sins is not a halfway thing. If you have a near heart, you should not longer love sin. If you feel that you aren't at this point yet, pray and ask God to get you there. For years, my prayers were, "God, I know I'm not there yet, but do WHATEVER it takes to get me there." And I always meant whatever. A broken leg, a missing arm, a car accident, lost job, homeless - WHATEVER. Even when I didn't really feel like it, I prayed and asked for Him to find a way to get me there because I knew that God and Jesus Christ are the TRUTH. Don't forget, knowledge and believe won't save you. Salvation comes from OBEDIENCE and turning your whole life over to Christ and making HIM the LORD over your life. It is DYING TO SELF AND LIVING FOR CHRIST. Anything less is false assurance.
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
Now, when I read a book about sin, I expect the big, bad, ugly, deadly sins to be addressed with a good solution for overcoming them. Hunter dedicated a few very brief chapters that glossed over their subjects to barely mention or gloss over a few "sinful" topics that for the most part, aren't even in the Bible!: Anxiety, Procrastination (that's not even sin!), Eating, Lazy and Media (not really a sin either! Hunter attacks "Computer media" in this chapter but skips over ALL other forms of media, including the TV! This is like making a chapter called "Football" as a sin! It is not a sin! The obessession would be the sin, not the computer or internet or football.). So, I want to ask the author, where are the 7 deadly sins? Where are the sins in the 10 commandments? Where are sexual sins? In a book titled "Our FAVORITE sins", I am certain sex is one of the very favorites! So is greed. Anger? Unforgiveness? Pride? These are all WAY bigger, worse and more "favorite" to most humans than lazy and eating. Not everyone has a problem with eating! So many people are hard working so this sin hardly applies to humans across the board, but we all have issues with anger, unforgiveness and pride. This book misses the point entirely. And when the author does mention the 5 "sins" he chose, Hunter barely even mentions them. Instead, he tells us a story about "Lazy Larry" or "Media Mary". Please! How childish.
Okay, so Chapters 1-9 were useless, shallow and a waste of time. So how about the answer/solution chapters 10 and 11? Hunter is very into dropping the word "ancient" in referring to a path created 2,000 years ago and known to monks, so throughout the book and he encourages we use "ancient" knowledge/wisdom to solve our problem with sin. So 10 and 11 are titled "Ancient and Frutiful 1 and 2". Hunter encourages us to follow the advice of a monk known as Mark the Ascetic, "in order to position yourself above the aformentioned destrictive passions" make some "ascetic efforts or spiritual training exercises to reshape your interior evils (heart condition)." Hunter tells us to follow Mark's advice, "Struggle to put to death whatever is earthly (Col 3:5)", because Mark knew, "as do all monks "in the Jesus tradition" know, that our evil desires lead us to the burning of our souls in fire (Pg 142). So the big answer to overcoming sin, the correct path according to Hunter and Mark: solitude, followed by silence.
Pg 143, Huner explains the solitude is meant to be physical and "within the rhythms and routines of one's actual life." Hunter tells readers to "connect with Jesus through solitude" (Pg 143). Hunter tells readers to move into "silence", where we will become more alter and aware of our hearts. Hunter quotes Anglican Nouwen, "Silence is promarily a quality of the heart that leads to ever growing [love]." Hmmm.... somehow I'm not buying this. Hunter continues pg 146, "Through silence, apprentices of Jesus learn to be alter to their will, to what they really want and why they want it." Hmmm... can't say I agree with Hunter. I thought we were supposed to seek God's will, not our own selfish wills? Our human purpose is to bring glory to God, not seek our own.
The rest of the book is spent discussing liturgical prayers, sacraments and no real answers. Hunter was right that the solution to overcoming sin is that we need a change in our INNER selves, not only in our outer actions. However, his solution of silence and solitude (escapism/avoidance), liturgy, sacraments and ritual (religion) will not give us the inner change we desire.
HOW TO OVERCOME SIN: As a believer in Reformed theology, God has granted me the gift of overcoming all my ongoing sins through TRUE salvation and hearing the TRUE gospel according to Jesus (which is VERY different from what you've probably heard preached). Did you know the modern day "Christian" gospel is nearly the OPPOSITE of what Jesus preached in the Bible? If you didn't, read Walter Chandry's Today's Gospel or John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus. Anyway, through true salvation, I received the real Holy Spirit and an abhorrance of sin! Before that, I had heard the world's fake easy-believism gospel and always excused sin as "not so bad." Now that I have the Holy Spirit inside me, I realized how gross and horrible sin was! It's like this: Imagine your mother, child, loved one going up on a cross for YOUR personal sins - even for one sin. One single moment of anger. One single lie. Now you will see the lie isn't so small anymore, is it? How horrified you would be as you watched them suffer and die for hours. Believe me, when we get a view of how disgusting and distasteful our sins are, we won't be eager to return to them. When we realize how much one sin destroys and how horrible it is in God's eyes, we won't take our sin so lightly anymore. We overcome our sins by recognizing that God is amazing, perfect and above all, HOLY. When we recognize how sick our sins are and how very very VERY MUCH that we totally deserve hell and are convinced that we deserve hell and realize that there isn't even ONE SINGLE good thing inside us that would cause us to "deserve" or "earn" heaven, we realize that we need to fall at the feel to Jesus Christ and beg Him to draw us and come and make a home inside us with the Holy Spirit. It is after we are actually saved and receive the Holy Spirit, that we no longer want to sin. Now I'm not saying in a moment here or there, we don't have a thought or an angry feeling or unforgiveness but we abhore these sins so much that immediately, we turn to God and plead for Him to take those feelings away. We truly REPENT and TURN FROM OUR SINS. We no longer even wish to hold onto them anymore. That is true salvation from sins. Salvation from sins is not a halfway thing. If you have a near heart, you should not longer love sin. If you feel that you aren't at this point yet, pray and ask God to get you there. For years, my prayers were, "God, I know I'm not there yet, but do WHATEVER it takes to get me there." And I always meant whatever. A broken leg, a missing arm, a car accident, lost job, homeless - WHATEVER. Even when I didn't really feel like it, I prayed and asked for Him to find a way to get me there because I knew that God and Jesus Christ are the TRUTH. Don't forget, knowledge and believe won't save you. Salvation comes from OBEDIENCE and turning your whole life over to Christ and making HIM the LORD over your life. It is DYING TO SELF AND LIVING FOR CHRIST. Anything less is false assurance.
My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher but I am not required to give a positive review. I always give brutally honest reviews and attempt to critically point out parts of the book that may not appeal to others. I want you readers to be able to confidently choose a book based on the stars I give it, because I know you have limited money, time and energy to read. So let's make the most of our lives and choose the very best books.
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