BOOK REVIEW - "FAITHFULLY DIFFERENT: REGAINING BIBLICAL CLARITY IN A SECULAR CULTURE" BY NATASHA CRAIN

 

Pressures to conform. Some give in so they can be part of the in-club. Some give in so they won't be part of the out-club. Such pressure is not new: Remember when Israel asked the prophet Samuel to give them a king so they can be like other nations? Or that a lot of people in Jesus' time believed in Him but not publicly for fear they would be kicked out of the synagogue?

"Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture" by apologist and podcast hostess Natasha Crain points out that there is nothing wrong in being different if not fitting in is based in the truth.

In the first three chapters, Crain points out that a Christian world-view is now a minority view. She adds that secularism isn't just not being non-religious, but that this world-view is anything but neutral, pushing others to either join their lemming parade or keep quiet, at the risk of being demonized. And that pressure is affecting contemporary Christianity as well, where "compassion" is redefined as accepting what society claims is okay.

The remainder of the book encourages us to have our beliefs (Chapters 4-6), our thinking (Chapters 7-9), and our living (Chapters 10-12) to be faithful to the principles and doctrines of Scripture and resisting elements of secularism such as nationalism, individualism, virtue signaling, and "cancel culture." 

I recommend this book. 

BOOK REVIEW - "LIFE OF JESUS IN 30 DAYS" BY TREVIN WAX.

 

Definitely the best liturgical book written by a Southern Baptist I've read.

"Life of Jesus in 30 Days" is a devotional book compiled by Trevin Wax, Vice President of Research and Resource Development of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board. He also has followed a similar format with book on Psalms and the Letters of Paul.

Each day is divided into three readings: morning, midday, and evening. The middle section is shorter, and Wax says it could be combined with the evening reading if your schedule does not allow the middle reading, though the midday is the shortest of the three. Each reading is highlighted by a passage from the Gospels (not in order nor exhaustive), but also has other thoughts from Scripture, creeds (the Apostle's Creed is there at least three times), and readings from the Common Prayer Book. Each of the 90 readings also includes the Gloria Patra and the Lord's Prayer.

This is a little more liturgical/high church than I'm used to. But this book and the other two I mentioned are good at helping you have a developed devotional time. I do recommend this collection.

ALBUM REVIEW - "MODERN PSALMS II" BY DAVID PATACONI

Photo borrowed from David Pataconi

Last year, I took the 20 day challenge of posting covers of albums/CDs that influenced me. Not the first time: I did it before in 2020, and was surprised that the selected ones didn't change. One exception, though: TheoTerran's self-titled album made my list, the only recent album that had that honor.

Now if you're wondering what TheoTerran has to do with a review of "Modern Psalms II" by David Pataconi, then you aren't aware that Pataconi is half of TheoTerran. While there are differences in sound, both are heavily electronic projects. 

Included on this album is "My Path To Walk," a single that was released last year (2024), and was my favorite song of that year. There are a lot of other excellent songs on this project. My favorites included "Holy," "Psalm 18 (You Are My Light)," "Psalm 56 (My Shield)," Psalm 121 (Lift My Eyes Up)," "At Your Feet," and the fantastic closing instrumental "Hope in the Void."

My favorite song from '23 was TheoTerran's "WarCry." As mentioned above, my '24 favorite was Pataconi's "My Path to Walk." Even though this is only mid-March when I'm writing this, I would not be a bit surprised if my favorite song for '25 is from "Modern Psalms II."

 

BOOK REVIEW - "YOUNG, RESTLESS, REFORMED: A JOURNALIST'S JOURNEY WITH THE NEW CALVINISTS" BY COLLIN HANSEN

 

I first heard of this book on Trevin Wax's Reconstructing Faith podcast, and soon read about it in another book I recently read ("Killing Calvinism" by Greg Dutcher). So I checked this book out.

In "Young, Restless, Reformed," journalist Collin Hansen investigates the modern resurgence of Calvinism. When Emerging Christianity seemed to be the fad of the day, Hansen went to various places where he found traditional Calvinism was alive and strong.

Hansen goes to various locations, such as the Passion Conference, Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota where John Piper is the pastor, and The Southern Theological Seminary which saw a revival in Biblical inerrancy as well as Calvinism.

My opinion? This book is more of a journal of Calvinism's rebirth, interviewing not just the big names but young people who were influenced as well. It reviews people getting into Calvinism not as one trying to convince the unconvinced but a reporter telling what influenced his interviewees' lives.

I recommend this book.

BLOG UPDATE!!!

 

Sunset at our apartment complex, 2/28/25, before DST makes it later.

A quick update on this blog. I plan on cutting down posts to 2 a week, except for special occassions. Posting days will be Tuesday and Saturday - if you prefer it being Friday instead of Saturday, let me know.

Thank you for reading.

BOOK REVIEW - "CRIME SCENE SECRETS" (MOUNTAIN COUNTRY K-9 UNIT BOOK 4) BY MAGGIE BLACK

 

Who is the John Doe killed during a wedding rehearsal? Was it the Rocky Mountain Killer - the deceased had a clip with RMK on it - or is it a copy cat killer with the same M.O.? Can FBI agent Kyle West, his K-9 partner, and  Crime Scene Investigator Ophelia solve these mysteries so the wedding can happen, but not another murder?

"Crime Scene Secrets" by Maggie K. Black is the fourth installment of Love Inspired Suspense's Mountain Country K-9 Unit series. As typical of this Harlequin imprint, this story has exciting, edge of the seat action and great characters who somehow find out how to fall in love with each other.

Yes, this is the fourth part of a nine part series, with ten different authors. Does it need to be read in order? On one hand, this story does not spoil anything if you haven't read the previous story, nor do you feel lost if you have missed a book. However, I feel it's more enjoyable with this series to read them in order. In other words, while it has it's place in the series, it also works as a stand alone.

For those who haven't read any of the series, besides the main story, the Mountain Country K-9 Unit is searching for the Rocky Mountain Killer, who killed three young men from a rancher's club a decade ago and three more in the present day. This murderer is also suspected of stealing a dog that was going to be trained to be a therapy dog. Plus, the crime tech, hoping to become a foster parent, has that process derailed because of a false accusation.

I recommend this book, the author (I've read several of her books and enjoyed them) and this series.

BOOK REVIEW - "KINGDOM POLITICS: GOVERNMENT FROM GOD'S PERSPECTI VE" BY TONY EVANS

 "Now, wait a minute!" some of you may say. "Didn't you post a review of this book less than a month ago?" 

No. Just over three weeks ago, I posted a book review on "Kingdom Politics: Returning God to Government." This post is on "Kingdom Politics: Government from God's Perspective." Let me explore the similarities and differences in this review of the latter.

"Kingdom Politics: Government from God's Perspective" by Dr. Tony Evans is the study book for a six part study based on his book "Kingdom Politics: Returning God to Government." Each of the six weekly studies are designed with an introduction section called "Hitting The Streets," and two Bible studies. Also, the book includes a code so you can log in and view a video for each of the sections.

While there is a lot of overlap, there are differences (beside this one having a dark cover and "Returning God to Government" has a white cover). "Returning God to Government" has 12 chapters divided into a trio of four chapter divisions; "Government from God's Perspective" has 6 lessons, and they don't fit perfectly with the other book.

In this age of political division, one important thing to a lot of people is if this book leans left/Democrat or right/Republican. Evans encourages we instead be "Kingdom Independents," seeking Scripture to see how God views issues. Evans believes it's possible for one person to take that approach and side with Democrats on the matter of justice while another ends up standing with Republicans for the sanctity of life. 

This is supposed to be a six week study. We managed to cram those six weeks into eighteen, spending three weeks in each chapter, going through the "Hitting the Streets" and two studies one week each. But maybe your group might move quicker.

I recommend this study.