SOME THOUGHTS ON MARTIN LUTHER KING JR'S BIRTHDAY

 Yesterday, about this time, I realized Sanctity of Life Sunday was the next day (i.e. the day I'm writing this), and I hadn't written a blog. Well, today I realized the same was true for Martin Luther King's Birthday. So I'm going to give some thoughts I have on the day and the issues of racism and racial reconciliation.

Let me start with saying that I believe racism and other racial prejudices are alive and well in the country today, much more than most whites realize. On the other hand, I also think activists are calling things racism that are nowhere close, such as those who considered it to be racist to oppose President Obama's political agenda.

One other point. Six out of seven years, MLK Day is the day after Sanctity of Life Sunday. Coincidence? Probably. But do they fit together? Absolutely. Both days focus on human dignity. 

I can give more thoughts, but I'd rather recommend some good books dealing with the issues of Social Justice, Racial Reconciliation, the alternative of Critical Race Theory and the like. So that's how I'll end this blog.

Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism's Looming Catastrophe by Voddie Baucham

Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice by Thaddeus J. Williams 

The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation by Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker

The Dignity Revolution by Daniel Darling and Rich Stearns

Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity - and Why This Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay 

FAVORITE NON-FICTION OF 2021

 

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

Yesterday, I shared my favorite fiction books of this year. Today, I'm dealing with non-fiction. I mentioned I had a goal of reading 12 such books, and came just short of doubling that target.

Since a lot of the fiction authors I read are friends on Facebook, and I don't want any to think I like another author better than them, I put the lists in alphabetic order by author. I usually don't have that situation with non-fiction writers, I am quicker to put them in order from my favorite and down. This year, I did some debating. Partly because I do know one of the authors on my list personally and that my wife has met another. And while there might be books I want to promote and have everybody read it, this year I'm hoping you will consider getting (or at least checking out and reading) all ten of these.

I mentioned earlier this week that I reread three non-fiction books. I debated considering them in my top ten list, and if i did, all three would be in the top ten. All three of them, by the way, made my list the first time I read them.  So I decided to leave them off the list. But which books are they? I'll gladly tell you. They're, in alphabetic order by title:

1. Getting to Know The Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (2nd edition) by Bryan Litfin. (My previous listing may have been from the 1st edition.)
2. Living The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C.J. Mahaney.
   
3. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. 

So here is my list of non-fiction for this year:

1. Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity by Alisa Childers. 
   
2. Beyond Poverty: Multiplying Sustainable Community Development by Terry Dalrymple.
3. Calling on the Name of the Lord: A Biblical Theology of Prayer by J. Gary Millar (New Studies in Biblical Theology, No. 38).
   
4. Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice by Thaddeus J. Williams.
5. Corporate Worship: How the Church Gathers as God's People by Matt Merker (9Marks: Building Healthy Churches).
   
6. The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ by Randy Singer.
7. Facing Snarls and Scowls: Preaching through Hostility, Apathy, and Adversity in Church Revitalization by Brian Croft and James B. Carroll.
8. Faith Seeking Freedom: Christian Libertarian Answers to Tough Questions by Dr. Norman Horn, Doug Stuart, Kerry Baldwin, and Dick Clark.
9. Voice of a Prophet: Who Speaks For God? by A.W. Tozer.
10. When Faith is Forbidden: 40 Days on the Frontlines with Persecuted Christians by Todd Nettleton. 

You'll notice that unlike my fiction list, all I gave on this list is the title, author, and if applicable the series it's in. That's because in the case of nine of them, you can tell what the book is about with just the title and subtitle. The exception is #6, The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ, which has no subtitle. The book is written by attorney and pastor Randy Singer, and looks at key confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees.

If you want to know the order I placed them, yell, and I'll let you know. And if you've been a faithful follower of this blog and have been reading all the entries for at least the past four days, you'll know which one was number one.

Which books have you read and been blessed by? Which of these have you read? Which ones will be on the top of your reading list? And which one of these is written by an author that has shown up frequently on my favorite fiction lists?

BOOK REVIEW: CONFRONTING INJUUSTICE WITHOUT COMPROMISING TRUTH BY THADDEUS J. WILLIAMS

If you're pro-injustice, please raise your hands. Hmmm... I don't see any hands up. Maybe we all want justice, but disagree how to implement it.

Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice by Thaddeus J. Williams takes a look at the Social Justice issue. He breaks down the issue into four categories, with three questions on each.

In the introduction, Williams mentions the Newman effect. My first thought was of the grinning Mad Magazine character Alfred E. Neuman. No, this refers to English journalist Cathy Elizabeth Newman, presenter of Channel 4 News. Williams mentions a viral interview she had in 2018 with Canadian psychology professor Jordan Peterson about gender inequality. Newman repeatedly used the phrase "So you're saying..." to interpret Peterson's statements in a negative and unflattering light. At the end of each of the four parts, he returns to "The Newman Effect" by giving five statements that he definitely wasn't saying. 

Each of the twelve chapters feature an essay by different people about how they've overcome prejudice.

I read the handful of 1 star reviews on Amazon, most of which say that he spends his time on one side without giving a fair view on the other side. Reading the book, I question if they did, because Williams is quick to repeatedly point out that there is injustice in the world and that an ineffective form of Social Justice (he terms it as Social Justice B) does have reasons for coming into existence.

I highly recommend this book.