Deus Misereatur

Don't Be Stupid.: A Call for Christians to Believe and Live an Intelligent Faith by Joshua M Beck My rating: 5 of 5 stars "It's about clearing away the stupid in the Christian image so our world can see Christ" (151). That's how Joshua Beck ends his little 163 page paperback "Don't Be Stupid: A Call for Christians to Believe and Live an Intelligent Faith". Beck is a teacher of Apologetics and Ethics at a local Christian High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as well as a writer and podcaster. The book is written in a straightforwardly conversational style that is laid back and comfortable. Almost like sitting down and chatting with the author at a coffee shop. Primarily, the book is not a defense of the Christian faith, but more how to smartly defend what we believe. Yet that description doesn't quite get to the point. It's not about putting on airs, getting all uppity and egg-heady; "The idea...is not simply to be smart. It's...

Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God's Emotions and Suffering by Robert J. Matz My rating: 4 of 5 stars On rounding the corner in the hallway, I came on a huddle of men deep in the middle of a conversation. At first, there would pop up snatches of words from their muffled chatter until I finally came up close and could hear more clearly. That’s when I quickly realized they were deep in the middle of a technical discussion, using important guild language they all easily understood. It took some time to catch up to speed and get into the dialog. Something like this is how I felt as I dove into the 200 page softback “Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God’s Emotions and Suffering” edited and refereed by Robert J. Matz, assistant director of online studies and institutional effectiveness and assistant professor of Christian studies at Midwestern Baptist , Seminary and A. Chadwick Thornhill, chair of theological studies for Liberty University School of Divinity and an assistant ...

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them . Almighty God, we pray for your Church worldwide, including Fellowship Church, Hope Church, Life Changing Church and Life Church, as well as this congregation. Grant grace to be courageously committed to you; supply all that is lacking, whether valor, assets, good leaders, laborers or open doors. For the shepherds of your church, help us to maintain true doctrine and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and may we be truly holy, all for the good of your Church and your glory. And for those in the ministry who are atheists, agnostics, predators, pedophiles, or wolves in sheep’s clothing, convert them, and where necessary, remove them and prosecute them. Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is graci...

The Second Mountain by David  Brooks My rating: 4 of 5 stars David Brooks, author, speaker, executive director of the Aspen Institute and launcher of the WEAVE program, has handed the American public something of a secular version of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes in his recently published "The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life". This 384 page hardback is clearly friendly to faith, family, community and conjugality. And it is filled with words from a man who has entered a new stage of life where he looks back over his years seeing that in some ways, much of it was vanity of vanities and chasing after the wind. Or, as he puts it, "For many, the big choices in life often aren't really choices; they are quicksand. You just sink into the place you happen to be standing" (108). But what matters most is enjoying your life, your wife, the sun and the night, the neighborhood wherein you live, and the people with whom you engage. But unlike Ecclesiastes,...

Not Forsaken: A Story of Life After Abuse by Jennifer Michelle Greenberg My rating: 5 of 5 stars " When evil looms and darkness falls And tragedy is breaking When all that's good seems overturned By God I'm not forsaken For though I fall or wander far I'm not too far for saving And when my Shepherd seeks and finds How can I keep from singing " (229)? So cantillates Jennifer Michelle Greenberg, mother, wife, writer, musician and abuse survivor, in her new 240 page hardback "Not Forsaken: A Story of Life After Abuse". This volume is the tale of her terrors and troubles at the hands of an abusive father, and it is far, far more. It is truly a story of life after abuse, abundant life found only in the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. An easy to read book, it is ideally suited for those who have been traumatized and those who long to help the trampled! "I am not my abuser. I have a choice. I aspire to heal and grow by God's g...

“O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, ... Praise the LORD” (Psalm 116.16-19)! O LORD, we thank you for saving us from many dangers and devastations – known and unknown; for providing us with livelihoods and loves; for filling us with good things and being a God of steadfast love and faithfulness. Glory to you, O God Most High! Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name : O God, how we long to see you honored by all; to be reverenced and held in high regard by presidents and presidential candidates of all parties, constituents and denizens in all regions, by multiple Medias world over, family members, fellow workers, friends and foes. Since the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure (Isaiah 33.6c), may the hallowing of your ...

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you have been wondering what is happening among younger adults and college students, and if you have been puzzled by their seeming emotional fragility and lack of ability to engage with reasonable discussions, then a helpful book is out and about. Greg Lukianoff, an attorney, New York Times best-selling author, and the President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), and Jonathan Haidt, American social psychologist, Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University's Stern School of Business, and author, have pulled together an insightful and useful dossier running 352 pages, "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure". The hardback came out in September 2018, and was recently reformatted into a softback. The authors ...