Educational Ministries books recommended by Randy Stone

OKPreacher Christian Resource Center has been running a series of interesting “seven questions” interviews with Southern Baptist leaders.

They recently interviewed Dr. Randy Stone who is the Education Minister at Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX. One of the questions was;

“What are some books that you recommend a minister read when they are considering implementing an educational program?”

The books below are the ones suggested by Dr. Stone.

How People Grow by Cloud and Townsend

Beyond the Box by Easum and Travis

Cultivating a Life For God by Neil Cole

The Church of Irresistible Influence by Robert Lewis

The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman

Pouring New Wine into Old Wineskins by Aubrey Malphurs

7 practices of Effective Ministry by Stanley and Joiner

Book Review : Godless: The Church of Liberalism, by Ann Coulter

When Ann Coulter, began to make the rounds of television and radio talk shows promoting her new book Godless: The Church of Liberalism I had no intention of reading the book.

I have always had mixed feelings about Ms. Coulter. I enjoy reading her column and even link to it from my web index. She is usually both insightful and entertaining. However, well. . . she tends to be. . . how do I say this without appearing to be mean and nasty . . . she tends to be aggressive. The same sharp wit that cuts right through the muck (and that I find entertaining) also serves to cut her enemies to shreds. She is insightful, she is entertaining, she is brilliant . . . and she is vicious.

Now, for me to write that of Coulter is a bit of the pot calling the kettle black. I can be a bit harsh myself at times. Dr. Paige Patterson once told me that spending time with me was like having your elbow struck on the funny bone. It has now been almost 15 years since he made that statement and I have mellowed a great deal with age, but I still have sanctifcation issues with which I must deal. However, I do not have Coulter’s facility with words. With me words are more like blunt instruments, while Coulter’s words are like a Samarai sword cutting through butter.

All this to say, I enjoy Coulter in small doses, and had no intention of reading her book (a big dose). However, while reading William Dembski’s intelligent design blog, Uncommon Descent, I came across the following statement;

“Having been a sounding board for Ann Coulter, on chapters 8-10 of Godless, I’m happy to see the entire book now that it is out. Ann is taking Phillip Johnson’s message as developed in DARWIN ON TRIAL and REASON IN THE BALANCE and bringing it home to the masses. Critics will dismiss it for its hyperbole, lack of nuance, and in-your-face attitude. But she has the gist just right, which is that materialism (she calls it liberalism) dominates our culture despite being held by only a minority of the populace and has become an agenda among our elites (academy, scientists, media) for total worldview reprogramming. Close to half the book is devoted to science and evolution. I cannot help but feel that Godless will propel our issues in the public consciousness like nothing to date. Phillip Johnson’s DARWIN ON TRIAL took ten years to sell 300,000 copies. I expect Ann will sell more than that in ten weeks.”

Well, one of the things that I have learned is that when William Dembski recommends a book it will be both interesting and informative. All too often, when someone has risen to the level of scholarship that Dembski has attained, they lose all perspective on what makes a book “good.” All too often, the reading lists of the academic elite could more descriptively be called “snoozing lists” because you can fall asleep ten times on every page while trying to get through them. Dembski, who’s background includes a PhD in mathematics and postdoctoral work in physics at the University of Chicago, postdoctoral work in computer science at Princeton, etc. etc. etc, has managed to reach the highest levels of academia and still maintain a perspective that values readability and creativity. Every book that I have read as a result of his recommendation has been a thoroughly enjoyable read as well as informative, challenging, and useful.

So, based upon Dembski’s recommendation quoted above, I discreetly suggested this title to my family as one that I might enjoy receiving as a Father’s Day gift, and voila, it arrived in the eight hands of my four youngsters on Father’s Day.

What do I think of Coulter’s book? It is good. In fact, it is very good. I enjoyed it and I recommend it. The message of the book is one that needs to be heard, and as Dembski noted, she brings it home.

In fact, in recent weeks I have quoted from this book no less than seven times in my regular “It’s Monday Night and Time for Quotes” posting on Silver and Gold.

And, despite its hyperbole and in-your-face attitude it carries an important message that I was surprised to see fleshed out in as nuanced a fashion as Coulter has managed to pull-off. She is convincing.

Now the caveat; while most of Coulter’s rhetoric is amusing, entertaining, and informative there are definitely places that will make many readers cringe. The majority of these sword brandishings aren’t too extreme, but there is one that I personally found apalling. If I am going to recommend the book, and I do, I must also mention this paragraph from the book that made me want to vomit.

“Richard Dawkins produced a two-part television series for Britains Channel 4 that is nothing but an all-out attack on religion, titled Root of All Evil? He compares Moses to Hitler, says religion is equivalent to child abuse, and calls the New Testament a ’sadomasochistic doctrine.’ In the show titled ‘The God Delusion,’ Dawkins stands outside the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, warning his British audience of ‘Christian fascism’ and a growing ‘American Taliban.’ (I defy my coreligionists to tell me they do not laugh at the idea of Dawkins burning in hell.)” [pages 267-268]

Well, Ann, this is one of your coreligionists that does NOT laugh at the idea of Dawkins burning in Hell. I cannot imagine any Christian who does not have a heart of stone that would laugh at the idea of “anyone” burning in Hell. Had this parenthetical statement come earlier in the book, I don’t know that I would ever have read o
n.

Coulter, herself, has warned her potential audience that they will find some of the content aversive. I saw interviews with her on several talk shows in which the host quized/attacked her because of her statement regarding the New Jersey girls. Most people quote only the last two sentences of the following, but I feel that fairness to Coulter demands a larger block of text, and even this is probably not sufficient, to understand the context of her statement.

“After 9/11, four housewives from New Jersey whose husbands died in the attack on the World Trade Center became media heroes for blaming their husbands’ deaths on George Bush and demanding a commision to investigate why Bush didn’t stop the attacks… The Jersey Girls weren’t interested in national honor, they were interested in a lawsuit. They first came together to complain that the $1.6 million average settlement to be paid to 9/11 victims’ families by the government was not large enough. After getting their payments jacked up, the weeping widows took to the airwaves to denounce George Bush, apparently for not beaming himself through space from Florida to new York and throwing himself in front of the second building at the World Trade Center. These self-obsessed women seemed genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them. The whole nation was wounded, all of our lives reduced. But they believed the entire country was required to marinate in their exquisite personal agony. Apparently, denouncing Bush was an important part of their closure process. These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. I’ve never seen people enjoying their husband’s deaths so much.” [page 103]

Coulter responded to the hosts’ challenge of her statement, that she has been surprised at the outcry. Not because she thinks this statement innocuous, but because there are statements in the book that she considers much more potentially offensive.

She warned you. I warn you. If you read the book do not be surprised.

Nevertheless, I reiterate, that I think the book is important in that it is pertinent to our cultural milieu, it is timely, and . . .

I give it 4 1/2 stars out of a possible 5 for its ability to entertain.

For more book reviews by Kevin Stilley check out Building A Theological Library .

For quotations from Godless, check out It’s Monday Night and Time for Quotes – 7/3/06 and It’s Monday Night and Time for Quotes – 7/10/06

* * * * * * *

GO HERE for Tim Challies review of Godless.

Some Marvin Olasky book recommendations

Some book recommendations by Marvin Olasky in a recent column:

Miroslav Volf’s “Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace,”

Stephen J. Nichols’s “Heaven On Earth: Capturing Jonathan Edwards’s Vision of Living in Between”

Mike Bechtle’s Evangelism For The Rest of Us

Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer’s “AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America’s Upper Classes from Military Service — and How it Hurts our Country,”

Joshua London’s “Victory in Tripoli: How America’s War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation,”

Phillip Jenkins’s “Decade of Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making of Eighties America,”

Ramesh Ponnuru’s “The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life.”

Melanie Phillips’ “Londonistan,”

Marvin Olasky’s own “Scimitar’s Edge”

Steve Camp recommends books on justification

Book Review : Old Testament Theology, by Gerhard Hasel

Book Review

by Kevin Stilley

Gerhard Hasel . Old Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate . Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991. 262 Pages.

Reading Hasel is a hastle. However, if the reader is able to avoid being overwhelmed by the information that is presented this book provides excellent insight into the current state of affairs in the realm of Old Testament Theology.

The danger of being overwhelmed by the information that is presented comes in several forms. One such danger is the possibility of drowning in the flood of names. In the introduction to this volume alone the author refers to at least twenty-five separate individuals and their work. Additionally, there is the danger of getting lost in the dense forest of Old Testament theological terminology that is employed by the author. Those who enter this realm of Old Testament Theology without some previous experience in the discipline may find it difficult to follow Hasel as he seeks to lead the reader to greater understanding of OT issues. Hasel, may have overestimated the level of expertise of his fellow trekkers. The pace that he sets may be too rapid for some.

Another danger to the novice would be to assume that because the information is presented in an extremely dogmatic fashion in places it is safe to accept Hasel’s position. In fact, in many of the places where Hasel presents his case most forcefully he does so without presenting his case most rationally. Is it possible that he subscribes to the philosophy that one should speak louder when his case is weak?

Having pointed out several dangers (their are others including such things as acceptance of pluralistic tendencies) to the reader who is receiving his initial orientation to the field of Old Testament Theology let it be said that it is also a very important book; a very fine book. If one can master the material that is presented by Hasel in this monograph one is well on their way to an understanding of Old Testament Theology. The preceeding material was meant only to serve as a warning to the reader that he must read critically, as he should with all material.

The author lays the foundation for the superstructure of his book by introducing it with a discussion of the history of Old Testament Theology. Old Testament theology is traced from the time of the Reformation up through the golden age of Old Testament theology which began in the 1930’s. Hasel uses this as background material to explain why there is not general consensus on the methodology that should be employed in the work of Old Testament theology. He notes that, “The historical survey of this chapter highlights major roots of the basic issues in the current debate on OT theology with which the following chapters (II-V) deal.” The logical progression of this material is obvious. Hasel’s ability to “arrange” material is one of the strong points of this book.

In chapter two, which focuses on methodology for Old Testament theology, Hasel summarizes the approaches that are often taken: the dogmatic-didactic method; the genetic-progressive method; the cross-section method; the topical method; the diachronic method; the formation-of-tradition method; the thematic-dialectical method; recent critical OT theology methods; and the new Biblical theology method. He concludes this lengthy section of the book with seven proposal which he believes to be essential for the development of a “canonical OT theology that follows a multiplex approach.” The author cunningly introduces here ideas which he will further develop later in the book.

Chapter three which is entitled, “The Question of History, History of Tradition, Salvation History, and Story” is a very complex chapter. The material that is being dealt with is by its very nature complex and so is Hasel’s handling of it. Not only does Hasel communicate with the words that he uses in this chapter, there appear to be metamessages behind the words. One such passage that this reviewer found interesting follows:

We are thrown back upon the question of what measuring rod is applied to
establish “facticity.” In view of the Biblical testimony the historical-critical method working without a God-hypothesis of which Scripture testifies brings with it a cirsis of objectivity and facticity. The question arises where we need to develop, in order to overcome the present dilemma, a new set of concepts which is more appropriate to the dynamic nature and full reality of the texts that admittedly emcompass the unity of facta and dicta , fact and interpretation, event and word, happening and meaning.

No doubt, the reader will want to read through this chapter several times and will find many sections that demand focused attention.

While I cannot agree entirely with all of the specifics of Hasels treatment regarding the center of the Old Testament and therefore of an Old Testament theology, I can certainly appreciate his position. This chapter is one of the strongest sections of the book. Hasel has the spiritual eyes to see that everything is relative; that is, everything is relative to God. If anything is allowed to replace God as the center there has been a serious deviation away from Biblical Christianity.

Hasel uses chapter five on the relationship between the Testaments to once again address the multi-plex approach to doing an Old Testament theology. This approach, which he has been building a case for since the early portions of this book, is more fully developed in the conclusion of this work.

In the conclusion of this volume the author has offered several guidelines or “proposals” which he feels are essential to the development of an Old Testament Theology. The proposals that he makes in this section do not seem to be revolutionary until one considers the discussions that have preceded this chapter. Hasel is reacting/responding to some widely divergent methodologies that have been employed in the recent years. He has obviously given a great deal of mental energy in determining the methodology that should be employed in “doing” Old Testament Theology. His cries must be heard and seriously considered by those who will engage in this task in future years.

Godless, recommended by William Dembski

Ann Coulter, isn’t usually an author that you would think of when building your theological library. However, consider the following statement made by William Dembski at Uncommon Descent;

“Having been a sounding board for Ann Coulter, on chapters 8-10 of GODLESS), I’m happy to see the entire book now that it is out. Ann is taking Phillip Johnson’s message as developed in DARWIN ON TRIAL and REASON IN THE BALANCE and bringing it home to the masses. Critics will dismiss it for its hyperbole, lack of nuance, and in-your-face attitude. But she has the gist just right, which is that materialism (she calls it liberalism) dominates our culture despite being held by only a minority of the populace and has become an agenda among our elites (academy, scientists, media) for total worldview reprogramming. Close to half the book is devoted to science and evolution. I cannot help but feel that GODLESS will propel our issues in the public consciousness like nothing to date. Phillip Johnson’s DARWIN ON TRIAL took ten years to sell 300,000 copies. I expect Ann will sell more than that in ten weeks.”

Baptist Ecclesiology

Longing to Know, by Esther Meek

Longing To Know , by Esther Meek

Recommended by John Frame:

“All in all, this is the best book on epistemology (let alone Christian epistemology) to come along in many, many years. It is a must for any serious student of the discipline and, indeed, for ordinary people who are trying to get clear on how to know God.” ( John Frame , from a review published in Presbyterian)

An Interview with Trito-Isaiah