Reflections of the Kingdom

Following Jesus: A Year of Disciplemaking and Movement-Building in the Gospels by Peter Roennfeldt My rating: 4 of 5 stars There are not any surprising revelations here; for the most part, the book follows the common interpretation of the Gospel stories, and where it appears to diverge from the academic consensus, the difference is nuanced enough to make little difference. For example, the claim that the “East” was dominated by animism and multiple gods is a little off considering the magi (from which this section was talking about) were members of the Zoroastrian Priestly caste (which is actually monotheistic) … which doesn’t really change the exercise much; fortunately most of these historical commentaries are cited, so you can follow-up with the source if desired (a lot of which seems to come from Theologian Mark Edwards). The main contribution (outside of the familiar stories told in an effective outline form that is useful for group study) here ...

Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community by Bonnie Kristian My rating: 4 of 5 stars In the past decade or so, I have encountered a veritable avalanche of questionable assertions based upon dubious facts (if any) obviously designed to manipulate their target audience. It seems as if people are more gullible than ever and this book tries to identify why we are apparently unable to separate fact from fiction. In fact … given the proliferation of slanted news “opinion” and poorly researched news “entertainment” re-enforced by misleading news “memes” … how to we know what is true and what is not. The author tries to explain what the problem actually is, how we got here and what we should do about it … the later from a decided Christian perspective … and while I am generally in agreement on pretty much everything she says, I am not as optimistic. Yes … forwarding that “political” me...

The Road Away from God: How Love Finds Us Even as We Walk Away by Jonathan Martin My rating: 5 of 5 stars Every now and then, if you are lucky, you will have an encounter that resonates with your soul and you weep for the beauty now revealed. Reading this book was one of those encounters for me, and I was totally not expecting that. To begin with, I didn't pick up the book for myself, I picked up the book because I wanted to be able to reach the “unchurched” who no longer feel that my Church is a spiritually safe home … and this book is absolutely aimed at those people, but the advice here was not the answer I was searching for. Ultimately this reimagining of the “Road to Emmaus” story in Luke re-affirms the idea that regardless of the reason they left and whatever road they are on, they are right where they are supposed to be. Sometimes that is hard to take when you are the one left behind … and that is where this book hit me. I have never reall...

Interpreting Your World: Five Lenses for Engaging Theology and Culture by Justin Ariel Bailey My rating: 4 of 5 stars Man is a social animal where we divide ourselves into groups or communities that are typically determined by something we call “culture.” In fact, culture plays an outsized role in determining our identity, purpose and “tribe.” Some philosophers argue that the very nature of self can only develop within and without other people … for it is be such comparisons and contrasts that we find out what makes us different and what makes us the same (e.g. the boundaries of self and the collective and of the other). Culture is such a ubiquitous part of our psychology that it is actually difficult to define it distinctly … so it is more of a recognition when you see it (a sort of this are my people and these are not division of the world) … Much like the author, I find that I “gravitate to spaces in which I am comfortable, where I know what will ...

A Christian Theology of Science: Reimagining a Theological Vision of Natural Knowledge by Paul Tyson My rating: 2 of 5 stars I am an Engineer (aka Man of Science). I am also a practicing Christian (aka Man of Faith) … so I was intensely interested in this ambitious attempt to integrate the two (where I have traditionally seen the two in completely different domains of knowledge). Unfortunately … I am NOT a Philosopher (ergo I eschew sesquipedalianism) … and that makes this book a struggle. The nearly complete lack of simple and/or common language in the treatment of this topic makes it primarily accessible to academics (and probably a small subset of those). This alone makes it difficult to recommend the book. But wait … there's more. Unless I have totally missed the principle argument here, the author is basically complaining that our society places more emphasis on science to understand our world than theology/philosophy … without coming straig...